History Film / CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier

* KickTheDog: [[spoiler:Pierce]] slaps the Winter Soldier, who is in no state to defend himself. Unlike [[spoiler:electrically shocking him to erase his memories]], which he does afterwards anyway, it doesn't even serve any purpose. He's just acting on the frustration you'd feel when performing PercussiveMaintenance on a piece of glitching technology that has inconvenienced you, not a confused and scared human being asking questions [[spoiler:about his returning memories]]. It's bad enough that [[spoiler:Brock Rumlow]] shows [[EvenEvilHasStandards discomfort with Pierce's treatment of the Soldier]].

[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[TagLine Don't trust anyone]]."'' [[note]]From left to right: ComicBook/NickFury, [[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes the Winter Soldier]], ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, [[BigBad Alexander Pierce]], and ComicBook/BlackWidow.[[/note]]]]

Picking up after the events of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', the film revolves around the still struggling [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Man Out of Time]], Steve Rogers, working with ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} to battle new global threats as ComicBook/CaptainAmerica. However, after an assassination attempt on S.H.I.E.L.D. director ComicBook/NickFury by the enigmatic Winter Soldier, Steve discovers sometimes the greatest threats can come from [[TheConspiracy within]], and goes on the run with ComicBook/BlackWidow to uncover the truth.

It stars Creator/ChrisEvans as Captain America, Creator/SamuelLJackson as Nick Fury, Creator/SebastianStan as the Winter Soldier, Creator/AnthonyMackie as ComicBook/TheFalcon, Creator/ScarlettJohansson as ComicBook/BlackWidow, Creator/EmilyVanCamp as [[ComicBook/Agent13 Sharon Carter]], Creator/CobieSmulders as ComicBook/MariaHill, Creator/RobertRedford as Alexander Pierce, Creator/FrankGrillo as Agent Brock Rumlow (the film's version of Crossbones), and Georges St-Pierre as Batroc the Leaper.

* ActionGirl: Black Widow, Maria Hill, and Sharon Carter are all highly-trained and deadly agents of the spy organization ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}

** The basic plot is inspired by Creator/EdBrubaker's ''ComicBook/CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier'', while elements from the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe (especially Creator/MarkMillar's ''ComicBook/TheUltimates 2'') can be seen as well.

** It also draws heavily on the ''Nick Fury vs S.H.I.E.L.D.'' miniseries from 1988.

** Played for laughs with ComicBook/BlackWidow. She shows Steve a bullet wound scar on her abdomen and says that she [[DistinguishingMark can't wear]] [[FemmeFataleSpy bikinis anymore]] [[GlamourFailure because of it]]. His reply? [[DeadpanSnarker "Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now."]]

* CallForward: One of the potential threats Sitwell says Zola's algorithm recognized is "[[ComicBook/DoctorStrange Stephen Strange"]].

** Arnim Zola and a picture of ComicBook/RedSkull (before and after he took the serum) appear in a scene.

** [[spoiler:Baron von Strucker, ComicBook/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}}]] all appeared in TheStinger.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Steve makes friends with a random Air Force veteran on a jog... who turns out to be Sam Wilson, the former pararescueman with the equipment that allows him to become ComicBook/TheFalcon.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: The film deconstructed the MinionWithAnFInEvil with Dr. Arnim Zola. He was originally a timid scientist working under the ComicBook/RedSkull during World War II in [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger the original film]], who only reluctantly sided with him after [[PiggybackingOnHitler his boss killed his Nazi allies]] to start his own campaign of world conquest. By the end of the film [[HerrDoktor he defects to the Allies and rats on him]], but when he reappears in the sequel as a VirtualGhost, it's revealed that [[spoiler:he had a far greater potential for evil than anyone suspected, having spent decades rebuilding HYDRA within S.H.I.E.L.D. so they could ultimately launch a much more insidious campaign to TakeOverTheWorld. While he wasn't as much of an overtly sadistic CardCarryingVillain like the Red Skull, his methods ultimately prove far more effective, highlighting that someone who chooses to work within such an ObviouslyEvil organization like HYDRA isn't likely to be an incompetent lackey after all.]]

** Agent Sitwell refers to [[ComicBook/DoctorStrange Stephen Strange]] by name when [[spoiler:listing people that Hydra consider potential threats to their overall goals]].
** [[spoiler:ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} and ComicBook/ScarletWitch]] appear in TheStinger [[spoiler:as prisoners of Hydra's new leader, Baron von Strucker]].

** [[ComicBook/DoctorStrange Dr. Stephen Strange]] is named at one point as one of the targets of [[spoiler:Project Insight]].

* HuntingTheRogue: Zigzagged: HYDRA, protected by their infiltration of the World Security Council, tried to eliminate high level agents of SHIELD who might object to the launching of Project Insight. This included ComicBook/NickFury, [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]], and [[ComicBook/BlackWidow Natasha Romanoff]]. After sending the Winter Soldier to eliminate Nick Fury, they grow suspicious that Fury may have had time to warn Rogers. STRIKE team members attempt to detain Steve when it becomes clear he's aware that something is amiss at SHIELD. This leads to an elevator fight, a chase sequence, and a highway brawl as they try to kill Rogers, Romanoff, and new ally Sam Wilson. When live news coverage prevents them from executing the trio on the spot, they are instead arrested. However, they manage to escape and begin to work to turn the tables, hunting for the rogue HYDRA agents who have infiltrated SHIELD. The cat and mouse chase continues until the climax of the movie.

** The scene where Cap jumps out of a plane without bothering to use a parachute is a reference to a similar scene from the first issue of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. It also happens in ''Comicbook/BatmanAndCaptainAmerica''.

** Natasha uses camotech to disguise herself. The technology is a favorite of Bobbi Morse/ComicBook/{{Mockingbird}}, a fellow spy in the comics, who at one point in ''ComicBook/SecretAvengers'' used it to pretend to be Natasha as a prank.

** [[spoiler:Baron von Strucker]] in TheStinger is [[spoiler:experimenting on [[ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} twins]] with [[ComicBook/ScarletWitch superpowers]]]]. In the comics, [[spoiler:Strucker actually subjected his own twins to a treatment which gave them superpowers]].

** [[spoiler:The patch of STRIKE and the Insight crew is colored in green and yellow, the same colors ComicBook/{{Hydra}} uses in the comic books.]]

** [[spoiler:Hydra have recovered and begun to study Loki's staff, with ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} and ComicBook/ScarletWitch as their prisoners.]]

** The first stinger features [[spoiler:Baron von Strucker discussing the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. and revealing that Hydra operations in Europe go undamaged. He's studying [[Film/TheAvengers2012 Loki's staff]], and the scene closes on the debut of ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} and ComicBook/ScarletWitch in the MCU, as prisoners of Hydra]].

** The Falcon wields [[GunsAkimbo two SMGs]]. ComicBook/BlackWidow wields two Glocks.

* ThrowbackThreads: Captain America initially uses the unmasked outfit based on his comic book appearance post-''ComicBook/CivilWar'' as the ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} Commander Steve Rogers. After escaping from S.H.I.E.L.D. without his new costume, he goes to the Captain America Museum and borrows his classic old costume used in WWII as seen in ''[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger The First Avenger]]''.

* ArtificialLimbs: Once again, the Winter Soldier's left arm. The film dodges [[FridgeLogic the question]] of how the arm stays moored to his body, as in the comics, he is an otherwise unaltered human with a cybernetic arm. [[spoiler:The experiments Zola conducted on Bucky in the [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger first film]] prior to his becoming the Winter Soldier eventually gave him [[SuperStrength physical]] [[SuperToughness attributes]] that match Cap's.]]

* ElevatorActionSequence: Cap defeats an entire squad of goons inside an elevator in one sequence, even getting in a good PreAsskickingOneLiner.
-->'''Steve:''' Before we get started, does anyone wanna get out?

** [[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843866/mediaviewer/rm985275904?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_pos_293 Pierce's publicity shot shows him standing with his arms crossed]]. [[spoiler: Much like [[https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/a18197437/president-kennedy-official-portrait/ JFK in his official portrait.]] Both men end up killed by a US military veteran. There's a popular conspiracy theory that claims Oswald was a CIA asset, and/or there was another CIA shooter on the grassy knoll. The head of an intelligence agency kills Pierce, with help from an assassin who works for him.]]

** When Steve enters the elevator after his meeting with Pierce, the curved apartment buildings framed in the view through the glass wall behind him are the Watergate complex. Which means there's an actor allusion hidden in there, since Pierce's actor Robert Redford portrayed Bob Woodward in ''Film/AllThePresidentsMen''.
** Just when the police car is about to ram Fury's car from the side, you can see the police car that's going to box Fury in from behind sitting in the background.

* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Nick Fury is targeted for a ConspicuouslyPublicAssassination -- agents impersonating the D.C. police first [[CarFu box him in from all four sides]]. Then a SWAT van pulls up discharging a team with assault rifles who open fire on him, then try to force their way into his bulletproof car with a hydraulic ram. The intent is two-fold -- to get close to Fury (when he sees the police officers in the car on his shotgun side staring at him, he assumes it's because he's a black man driving a very expensive, very fortified SUV) and to delay anyone calling the real police given the time they need to get past Fury's defenses.

* KickTheDog: [[spoiler:Pierce]] slaps the Winter Soldier, who is in no state to defend himself. Unlike [[spoiler:electrically shocking him to erase his memories]], which he does afterwards anyway, it doesn't even serve any purpose. He's just acting on the frustration you'd feel when performing PercussiveMaintenance on a piece of glitching technology that has inconvenienced you, not a confused and scared human being asking questions [[spoiler:about his returning memories]]. It's bad enough for even [[spoiler:Brock Rumlow]] to feel [[EvenEvilHasStandards uncomfortable with the treatment of the Soldier]].

** The Baxter building, headquarters of the ComicBook/FantasticFour, is seen as [[spoiler:one of the targets of the Helicarriers]] in a blink-and-you'll miss it scene. Doubles as an ActorAllusion, as Chris Evans played the Human Torch in the ''[[Film/FantasticFour2005 Fantastic Four]]'' films. [[invoked]]

** When Steve criticizes S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new strategy, Fury is quick to point out that Cap's generation also did questionable things. Steve does not deny this, but he points out that they never attacked someone unless they attacked first.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Falcon says that the last remaining wingsuit is stored under guard at Fort Meade. We never get to see the break-in needed to get it. Then again, Steve's and Tasha's reaction to the security measures for it makes it sound like it would be a banal matter for them.

* SherlockScan: Done by Cap, allowing him to deduce he is about to be attacked inside a crowded elevator, via clues such as one agent keeping his hand on his gun and another sweating profusely...and the not-so-subtle addition of three big guys getting on the elevator (clearly STRIKE goons) going to the [[BlatantLies Records floor]].

'''Falcon:''' Man, shut the hell up.

* IdealistVsPragmatist: The Winter Soldier is on the Idealist end. His counterpart, Nick Fury is willing to lie and keep secrets from people. At one point, he forced a hostage rescue operation and the elimination of an eco-terrorist cell when negotiations failed with them.

* DecapitationStrike: This is the plan of [[spoiler:Hydra]], as they plan to assume control of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s newest weaponry and aim them simultaneously at thousands of high-ranking targets (including several in the White House and the Pentagon) to take over the world in an enormous coup d'etat(s). Thanks to the Avengers' intervention, they end up blowing ''each other'' up. And that's only ''after'' they [[spoiler:entrap and kill most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own (uninvolved) leading figures.]]

* EpicFail: TheReveal that [[spoiler:Hydra]] was responsible for ''UsefulNotes/NorthKorea'' is just utterly hilarious, because Zola implies that every failure the country has had is because [[spoiler:Hydra]] told them to do it. And since North Korea is crazy personified, this theoretically means that if Kim Jong-Un painted a tunnel black and dubbed it a "coal mine," [[spoiler:Hydra]] told him to do so.

** The Winter Soldier and Captain America, as fellow [[spoiler:OlderThanTheyLook UsefulNotes/WorldWarII]] super soldiers.

* ForceAndFinesse: Played with Captain America and the Winter Soldier respectively. Cap is the GeniusBruiser making clever use of his shield while the Winter Soldier is a blunt instrument that steamrolls most opponents with his great strength and heavy weaponry. And medium weaponry. [[WalkingArmory And any other weaponry that's hanging around.]] However, he's also really good at ambushing people.

* DemotedToExtra: Sharon Carter is prominent throughout the Cap mythos, but gets less than four minutes of screentime.

* OutOfFocus: Sharon Carter, perennial leading lady in Cap's stories, is more or less a named extra.

** The way Steve signals a kid to keep quiet about recognizing him is identical to the way Cyclops signalled a kid to keep quiet about recognizing him in Film/XMen1.

* BadassInCharge: Fury proves he's not just a pretty face.

* MsFanservice: Natasha Romanoff, again. She even [[BareYourMidriff flashes her belly button]] to show Cap her scar from the Winter Soldier, who shot her through her abdomen, which also killed the scientist she was protecting. It's downplayed compared to previous films because despite the above, she spends most of her screen time fully dressed in baggy clothes and wears her costume in only two scenes.

* TheMatchmaker: Black Widow keeps trying to find dates for Steve. Even [[CasualDangerDialog during the heat of battle]]. She's multitasking.

->''"It's not a world of spies anymore. Not even a world of heroes. This is the age of miracles, doctor. [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron There is nothing more horrifying...]] than a miracle."''

->''"I'm with you to the end of the line."''

* AluminumChristmasTrees: [[spoiler:Zola's]] algorithm is an example of statistical [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_classification binary classification]], which has been in use since at least WWII (for detection of hostile aircraft based on their radar signals). Also counts as a GeniusBonus.[[invoked]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: In the DVD commentary, the directors explicitly cite ''Film/ThreeDaysOfTheCondor'' as one of the inspirations for this film, even saying that they could have called it "Three Days of Captain America."

* BadLiar: Steve Rogers, [[TheCape beacon of morality]] that he is, is truly a terrible liar. Not a single S.H.I.E.L.D. employee is fooled by his repeated claims not to know what is going on, and Black Widow even calls him out on it ([[TheyFightCrime in a cute adorable way]]). He's no better at other kinds of deception, either. His idea of a hiding a USB key with the fate of the world resting on it is putting it between two packs of gum in a vending machine that is being restocked.

->''I'm with you to the end of the line.''

* OnlyOnePlausibleSuspect: Steve Rogers sets out to discover who has ordered the attacks on both him and Nick Fury. Only one plausible suspect is shown, and [[spoiler:Alexander Pierce]] does indeed turn out to be behind it all. Perhaps in awareness of this, the film doesn't really attempt to make him look anything but shady.

It stars Creator/ChrisEvans as Captain America, Creator/SamuelLJackson as Nick Fury, Creator/SebastianStan as the Winter Soldier, Creator/AnthonyMackie as ComicBook/TheFalcon, Creator/ScarlettJohansson as ComicBook/BlackWidow, Creator/EmilyVanCamp as [[ComicBook/Agent13 Sharon Carter]], Creator/CobieSmulders as ComicBook/MariaHill, Creator/RobertRedford as Alexander Pierce, Frank Grillo as Agent Brock Rumlow (the film's version of Crossbones), and Georges St-Pierre as Batroc the Leaper.

* SlaveToPR: Upon capturing Captain America and his allies, [[spoiler:a Hydra agent prepares to shoot him right then and there (in broad daylight and out in the open), but Rumlow spots a news helicopter and whispers "Not here!" in his ear.]] A JustifiedTrope, since [[spoiler:they want to make it easier to take control, and you can't ''publicly execute Captain America'' and then tell everyone you're the good guy. Steve would have become a martyr]].

** Breaking glass windows happens quite a lot throughout the movie, in a somewhat justified example as the person doing it is usually Cap, who also usually jumps shield first. He punches [[spoiler:Zola's computer screen]] with his bare hand to no ill effect, but only cracks it -- and besides, it's ''Cap''.

* CaptainObvious: When the police ambush Fury's car, they first attempt to get past his car's defenses by shooting up the windows, riddling them with bullets. When that fails, the SWAT team deploys their tripod-mounted pneumatic battering ram and sets it up.

%%* CeilingSmash: Cap takes out Rumlow in the elevator with this move.

* CommieNazis: The Winter Soldier wears the Soviet red star and uses Soviet ammo, [[spoiler:but was created and works for Hydra, a splinter Nazi faction. This is an homage to the comics, where the Winter Soldier was a Russian assassin]].

### Open fire with submachine guns. They succeed at riddling the windows with bullets.

** Fury's armored SUV, complete with AI, a Gatling gun, and med-kit. [[FlyingCar Flight capability]] is also mentioned.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The Winter Soldier pulls [[spoiler:Sitwell]] out of a moving vehicle and then throws him into the path of a passing truck that obliterates him. He also punts a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent into the engines of a moving Quinjet, causing it to explode. He ''[[RuleOfThree also]]'' shoots another agent in the neck, and the man gives a choking scream of pain.

** STRIKE has a fleet of matte black 2007 Suburbans.

* FalseFlagOperation: This is the Winter Soldier's modus operandi. [[spoiler:The Soviet branding on [[ArtificialLimbs his arm]] and the old Russian ammo he uses are meant to disguise his allegiance to Hydra. It's implied the assassinations Hydra had him carry out in this guise are the cause of the tension between America and Russia during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.]]

* FlyingCar: [[Series/AgentsOfSHIELD Just like Lola]], Fury's car is capable of this. Unfortunately, by the time he's in a position to make use of it, the police have shot up the car and damaged the flight system beyond usability. So he has to resort to CarFu instead.

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Natasha claims the Winter Soldier shot her with a rifle from a distance, "Russian slug, no rifling". Rifling is what makes aiming possible.

* ISurrenderSuckers: Rumlow does this to Sharon. He drops his gun and pretends to give up, then pulls out his knife and slashes her arm, causing her to drop her gun.

** Winter Soldier gets a high-pitched metallic shriek that is ''highly'' unnerving and appropriately creepy and cyberpunk-ish.

** Steve's leitmotif from [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger the first movie]] also makes its return early on.
** Steve gets a new leitmotif as well. The melody sounds similar to his old one, but darker and more electronic/modern/epic. Kind of like a cross between his old theme and a Batman-ish one.

* LookBothWays: Fury takes out the last two police officers trying to assassinate him this way, by luring them into trying to box his car from either side, then hitting the brakes just before they reach an intersection. The cops' cars keep rushing forward and are subsequently hit by a box rental truck.

** [[EverybodyOwnsAFord Every vehicle is a Chevy.]] Unless it's a Harley.

* SovietSuperscience: Downplayed and, unlike in the comics, [[spoiler:subverted]]. While the Winter Soldier does have some Soviet trappings, uses Cold War-era rounds and even speaks Russian at one point, [[spoiler:it's all to obscure his real Hydra-based origins]].

** An entire team of "police officers" riddles Fury's crashed SUV with assault rifle fire. Given how ridiculously armored the thing is, anything less wouldn't have even been a bother. When they get tired of their bullets bouncing off the glass, they go to Plan B: the "SWAT team" deploys a pneumatic battering ram to break the window. Fury responds with a minigun that takes out most of the "SWAT team" and some of the "patrol cops", and blows up the "SWAT team" van and a squad car. This means they resort to Plan C: try to shoot at him during the resulting "police" chase. And when Fury manages to trick the "police" cars into getting T-boned by a box rental truck, they resort to Plan D: the Winter Soldier fires a sticky bomb that attaches itself to the underside of Fury's car and flips the car on its roof.

** [[spoiler:Arnim Zola existing as a sentient computer intelligence]] visualized as a green face on a screen, is similar to the [[Characters/{{Kree}} Supreme Intelligence of the Kree]] from the comics.

** When a kid recognizes Steve in his civilian PaperThinDisguise, Steve signals him not to blow his cover, identically to how Cyclops handled the exact same situation in ''Film/XMen1''.

--->'''Steve:''' Is this Riley?\\
'''Sam:''' Yeah.

** When Sam hands Steve and Natasha his "resume", it includes a photo of Sam standing next to someone. His former partner who died.
-->'''Steve:''' Is this Riley?\\