WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Falcon & Winter Soldier #1 by Derek Landy, Federico Vicentini, Matt Milla and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Falcon/Winter Soldier #1 drops us right in the middle of the action as Bucky Barnes is at home relaxing when he comes under attack by a team of trained killers. Bucky then shifts into Winter Soldier mode and doesn't hesitate to take out the entire hit squad.
As is soon revealed, this is just the first step in a conspiracy that involves Bucky, Sam Wilson, Hydra and the newest villain in the Marvel Universe -- a child by the name of the Natural, who just might the deadliest opponent the two superheroes have ever faced.
It turns out that this assassination attempt is in relation to Bucky's new job. After the events of Secret Empire, Bucky finally received an official pardon for his crimes as the Winter Soldier from the government -- but in return, he basically has to act as the government's own assassin.
Bucky is working alongside an organization called the Office of Federal Utilities, which is a secret operation that tracks terrorist groups on American soil. When Bucky goes back to the O.F.U. offices, however, he discovers that the entire workforce has been killed by a single, brutal assailant. Luckily, Barnes doesn't have to investigate on his own -- soon, Sam Wilson joins the hunt, given that he is looking for a missing veteran that may have come under the scrutiny of the O.F.U.
Once Sam and Bucky are reunited, they follow the trail of evidence and locate the only O.F.U. worker who survived the attack. But when they arrive, they meet a teenager who calls himself the Natural. At first, he appears to be friendly, as he expresses his admiration for Sam and Bucky, who both wielded the shield of Captain America. But the Natural's admiration is short-lived as he advises both men that he will kill them. And he nearly succeeds.
In fact, Sam and Bucky have no idea what hit them. The Natural is so fast that they can barely keep up with him, and he is so skilled in combat that he gets the upper hand at every turn. Using nothing but his fists and his feet, the Natural completely wrecks both the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, who are both taken by complete surprise.
This kid, as he is all too proud to reveal, is the one who killed the entire O.F.U. workforce. Clearly, he has already left a bloody trail of bodies in his wake, and he's just getting started. Worse yet, he's jovial about the whole thing and confident to a fault. But the real surprise comes when he reveals he is being groomed by Hydra to become the next leader.
Luckily for Sam and Bucky, the Natural is really a fan of them, and he wants to give them a chance to come after him again. With both superheroes on the ground, the Natural challenges the Falcon and the Winter Soldier to come after him for a second-round -- and this time, he promises not to hold back.