Marvel characters love making lists because not only are they an effective way of organising one’s goals, but also they’re a brilliant method of sneaking Easter eggs and references into a scene.
Such is the case in the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney Plus, in which it is revealed that Bucky Barnes is making up for his past misdeeds by tracking down the corrupt individuals he helped and the innocents he harmed.
The Winter Soldier has a list of names that he’s working his way through, which at one point is held up to the camera in a way which is rather convenient for the fans and theorists among us.
Read on for everything you need to know about the names to take note of on Bucky’s list, from comic book villains to Marvel creators.
What are the names on Bucky’s list?
It’s worth noting from the beginning that not all of the names on Bucky’s list are references to existing characters or famous figures in Marvel history.
The full list is below for your reference, but we’re going to focus on the seven entries highlighted in bold, which will be of particular relevance to fans.
- A Rostov
- PW Hauser
- F Gannod
- I Tahlazar
- H Zemo
- N Henrikson
- N Sari
- T Osman
- L Kaminski
- M Kaminski
- C Kusnetsov
- S Whitaker
- Y Nakasima
- C Holbein
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Bucky’s list explained
A Rostov (aka Red Barbarian or Agamemnon)
The first name on the Winter Soldier’s list could belong to one of two people in the Marvel Universe, both of which have a tangential connection to the former Soviet assassin.
This could be short for Andre Rostov, also known as the Red Barbarian, a formal general in the USSR’s armed forces who was notorious for his brutality towards those who crossed him or let him down. In the comics, he worked at a gulag where Bucky Barnes was briefly imprisoned and thus the two became bitter enemies. Many years later, when Rostov had gone into a luxurious exile, the Winter Soldier tracked him down and assassinated him.
Alternately, this could be a reference to Andrei Rostov (note the slightly different spelling). This entirely different character has previously gone by the codename Agamemnon and was a Russian revolutionary who briefly dated Black Widow. That relationship ended when he hatched a dangerous plan that resulted in his arrest, but the character remains active elsewhere in the Marvel Universe. Most recently, he has clashed with Russia’s resident superhero team, The Winter Guard.
PW Hauser (Wilhelm Hauser)
This one is quite the deep cut. It appears to be a reference to Wilhelm Hauser, a character who appeared in the pulpy Nick Fury comics of the 1960s. He was a general who served under Adolf Hitler during the Second World War and was a staunch believer in the evil Nazi regime. Wilhelm ultimately died after a violent confrontation with Erich Koenig, a member of Fury’s wartime squad known as the Howling Commandos.
Interestingly, another Hauser cropped up in the pages of Marvel Comics much more recently after Sam Wilson took on the mantle of Captain America. Harry Hauser was a radical media commentator who called for Sam to quit through his radio show The Hauser Retort and attempted to convince John Walker, the USAgent, to take the shield off him by force. Fortunately, the plan never came to fruition.
While the initials don’t quite match up in the latter case, it’s possible that Harry is also being referenced here given his association with the show’s main protagonist.
H Zemo (Helmut Zemo)
This is an easy one! After all, Zemo looks set to be the main villain in Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with Daniel Brühl reprising the role from 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. It’s easy to see why Bucky would want to track him down, given that the former Sokovian intelligence officer framed the Winter Soldier for an attack on the UN and used his brainwashing code words against him – a move that ultimately caused a devastating schism in the Avengers.
L Kaminski (Len Kaminski)
Sometimes Marvel likes to recognise influential figures from its real-life history rather than those from its fictional universe. Such is the case here, as Len Kaminski served as a writer and assistant editor at Marvel Comics for a number of years, working on titles including Iron Man, War Machine and Venom. He also created the character of Bucky’s sister Rebecca.
C Kusnetsov (Doctor Kuznetsov)
Another obscure one here, but this could be a reference to a Soviet scientist named Doctor Kuznetsov, who was active in the Marvel Universe during the Cold War. Kuznetsov created a sentient robot named Udarnik for the purpose of winning the Space Race for the USSR, but his superiors did not take the project seriously and ordered he abandon it after the Americans reached the lunar surface. Unwilling to destroy his creation, he secretly funnelled resources from the regime to send Udarnik to the moon, where he later became a problem for Tony Stark in a comic book series titled Iron Man: Fatal Frontier.
S Whitaker (Steve Whitaker)
This one could be a nod to another noteworthy comic book creator: Steve Whitaker. He worked on the legendary V for Vendetta alongside writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd, with the latter once describing him as “one of the finest colourists Britain has ever produced”. Sadly, Whitaker passed away in 2008, but an outpouring of tributes at the time proved a testament to his work and character. It’s not hard to imagine why the team behind The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would want to reference him, given his Marvel work on titles including What If? and Super Soldiers, which featured both Captain America and John Walker (aka USAgent).
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is streaming exclusively on Disney Plus. Take a look at the rest of our Sci-fi and Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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