SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Old Man Hawkeye #8 by Ethan Sacks, Marco Checchetto, Andres Mossa and VC’s Joe Caramagna, in stores now.
At its core, Old Man Hawkeye is a series about revenge. Years ago, Clint Barton was betrayed by those he thought his friends, the Thunderbolts, who joined forces with Baron Zemo and the rest of the world's supervillains to orchestrate an attack on the Avengers. The brutal trap ended with almost all of Earth's heroes dead, and what few remain now live in hiding. The Red Skull controls what's left of the country, his greatest allies acting as his deputies, enforcing the villain's cruel rule over anyone left alive in the wastelands of a once great nation.
However, Clint's hunt for retribution against Zemo and the Thunderbolts isn't the only thread in this story. Concurrently, we are also following Bullseye in his quest to kill one of the world's last heroes. The former Daredevil villain is now an aging sheriff who works for the Red Skull. He does as he's told, as long as what he's told is to kill people. However, when the cybernetically-enhanced Bullseye learns that Hawkeye is still alive, he sees the opportunity to go after past glories -- to hunt down a tried-and-true superhero... a challenge. It's enough to make Bullseye go rogue and ignore the Red Skull's commands.
RELATED: Old Man Hawkeye: Marvel’s Deadliest Assassin Has Set His Sights on [SPOILER]
Naturally, the skeleton-faced villain is not one to take kindly to insubordination. So what does he do? He dispatches his most effective weapon to take care of the problem: A re-programmed Winter Soldier. Yes, Old Man Hawkeye #8 features a showdown between two of Marvel's greatest assassins -- and only one walks away alive.
The ultimate fight between cybernatically-enhanced assassins goes down at a power plant in Wyoming. We may not find out how, but somehow the Red Skull and his allies were able to grab hold of Bucky Barnes and reinstall his Winter Soldier programming. With a new control chip firmly in place, the Winter Soldier's handlers dispatch him in the power plant to take out Bullseye once and for all. Thanks to his glowing red eyes, the issue makes it clear that this isn't fan-favorite Bucky -- this is the Terminator version of the character we saw at work in "The Winter Soldier" storyline.
Bullseye tries to surprise his enemy by stabbing him with a sai (a signature move of his, as fans of Daredevil will recall), but Bucky barely feels pain or weakness. He just follows his programming. However, what his handler's don't know is that Bullseye has set up a trap for him. With a few well-placed shots (it's kind of Bullseye's thing), he takes out the Winter Soldier's cranial camera and metal arm. Next, it's all about making sure he follows the bait. When his target is in just the right place, Bullseye swings a sharp pitchfork forward and stabs it right in the face of Barnes.
RELATED: Old Man Hawkeye Reveals Which Avenger Died First
Since that isn't enough to put him down permanently, Bullseye kicks the weapon in deeper and makes sure that it connects to an electrical current. The burning shock, as well as the pitchfork in his head, finally puts the Winter Soldier down -- for good. But perhaps the most tragic moment of the series comes next. With his dying breath, Bucky thanks Bullseye for killing him. In this final moment, the Winter Soldier programming fades and Bucky finds himself back in control -- barely long enough to offer thanks for finally being stopped.
There's no telling how many assassination missions the Winter Soldier was sent on on behalf of the Red Skull. Clearly, it was enough for Bucky himself to welcome a brutal, painful death.
KEEP READING: Casualty Report: Every Avenger Old Man Hawkeye #7 Killed, And How