Old soldiers are hard to kill. Tragic, near-death events can be survived by the strong, but it always comes at a cost. One's identity, one's body, and one's morals can all be spent in order to maintain one's will to live. War changes the warrior, and fiction likes to make that change literal with some of its victims. Regardless, tenacity is a value ignored at your own peril. Soldiers like these are living proof that the past strikes back.
Soldier: 76, an Overwatch agent thought dead who hunts the perpetrators of the organization's fall.
VS.
The Winter Soldier, friend to Steve Rogers rescued from death to be brainwashed and weaponized.
WHO IS THE DEADLIEST?!
SEASON 1 EPISODE 6
Soldier: 76[]
| “ | I'm a soldier, Ana. Our war's never over.
— Soldier: 76, to Ana
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” |
Hunted across the world for his actions as a vigilante, the infamous Soldier: 76 works to expose the truth behind the collapse of Overwatch.
Those who rumor the masked man is a former Overwatch agent speak true: In reality, Soldier: 76 is Jack Morrison, former commander of the organization who was assumed dead after a fateful confrontation with the leader of Blackwatch. Surviving the encounter and attending his own funeral, Morrison resurfaced as a vigilante hero, waging a world-wide war against shadowy corporations and the terrorist organizations of Los Muertos and Talon.
Jack Morrison was a member of the American "soldier enhancement program" and is equipped with military and covert training. His biological enhancements give him impeccable combat abilities, including increased strength, agility, and accuracy. His experience in combat spans both his enrollment in the United States Military, his years fighting in the Omnic Crisis, and his vigilante warfare that has continued to the present day of Overwatch's timeline.
Soldier: 76 utilizes an arsenal of stolen Overwatch weaponry, including biotic technology developed by Angela Zeigler and an automatic heavy pulse rifle. His tactical visor gives him access to automatic aim for a limited period of time, and three helix rockets can be fired occasionally from his rifle.
Soldier Enhancement Program-
Tactical Visor-
Soldier 76 can temporarily deploy his Tactical visor after several minutes of combat, which automatically targets any foes he wishes to shoot within his line of sight. This cannot target invisible foes unless previously detected. It lasts 6 seconds upon being deployed, and needs to be recharged for several more minutes for another use. Of note is that 76's effective range is greatly increased by hundreds of meters in this duration.
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Other Examples:
Winter Soldier (MCU) []
| “ | I know who killed Fury. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited over two dozen assassinations in the last 50 years.
— Natasha Romanoff, Regarding the Winter Soldier
|
” |
he Winter Soldier is the alias of the World War II-veteran turned HYDRA assassin Bucky Barnes. Born in the Great Depression, Bucky grew up as best friend of Steve Rogers, standing beside him through all trouble the duo went through. By the dawn of World War II, Bucky had enlisted into service despite Steve's inability to join. While Steve Rogers would eventually become the first "Super Soldier" as Captain America, Bucky would be busy fighting on the Western Front before being captured by HYDRA and being experimented on by Armin Zola. Captain America eventually destroyed the HYDRA camp where he was imprisoned, and the duo soon founded the Howling Commandos, a daring spec ops team determined to stop HYDRA. While on mission, however, Bucky was thrown off the train seemingly to his death.
This was not the case, however. Bucky would survive the fall, and be captured into Soviet custody to be further experimented on by "reformed" HYDRA scientist Armin Zola. Continuously brainwashed and preserved through cryogenics, Bucky soon forgot his past life and became The Winter Soldier, HYDRA's most lethal and dedicated assassin. Taking over two dozen lives over the course of fifty years, Bucky was finally freed from his brainwashing after confronting and nearly killing Captain America, his former best friend. Finally free, Bucky set out across the country to discover his past and, more importantly, think about his future.
Bionic Arm-
Super Soldier Serum-
Barns, like Captain America, was injected with the Super Soldier Serum, effectively giving him the same strength, speed, agility, and reflexes; all are on superhuman levels.
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Note:
- This battle takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War, so WS is no longer under Hydra control.
X-Factors[]
| Warrior | Experience | Training | Tenacity | Physicality | Brutality | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soldier: 76 | 90 | 80 | 80 | 85 | 80 | 83 |
| Winter Soldier | 80 | 95 | 70 | 95 | 80 | 84 |
Experiance (Combat)-
Both fighters have been combat ready for decades, and in sheer numbers it's about even on combat on both sides. Soldier: 76 gets a slight edge, however, in that he participated in three different forms of armed conflict constantly (His time in the American Military, His time as a captain of Overwatch during the Omnic Crisis, and his time as a vigilante in El Dorado), while the Winter Soldier was only deployed for weeks at a time for a period of 50 years on top of his short service in the Howling Commandos. Soldier: 76 was also a major force in ending the Omnic Crisis, having mowed down countless bastion units and participated in even more recon missions. Even more so, the Winter Soldier's actions under his guise were done in a brainwashed trance, memories he did not retain after he was freed from Soviet and Hydra control. Both fighters are experianced in fighting technologically advanced foes.
Training-
Both fighters were trained standard for the U.S. military of their respective times (Giving S76 an edge here being trained in a much more technologically advanced military), but that's where Soldier: 76 ends. Outside of standard Modern Army Combatives, Soldier: 76 has never shown the advanced martial arts skills the Winter Soldier has utilized. Bucky Barnes was also extensively trained in covert assassinations, and is much better at killing targets one-on-one than Soldier: 76, whose experience and training has constantly been in armed conflicts involving armies on either side save for his time as a vigilante.
Tenacity-
Barns has an iron-clad will to live, but Soldier 76 fights until his last breath. Bucky, especially as the Winter Soldier, tends to flee fights he cannot win, whereas 76 has consistently worked at his best even when mortally wounded. Armor-wise, they match up evenly with Soldier being a bit more bulky in his Kevlar, but adding his biotic field in the mix makes Soldier much more adept at staying alive.
Physicality (Includes Strength, Speed, Durability, and Agility)-
Both fighters endured a soldier enhancement program, and neither has shown himself to be superior than the other in terms of abilities enhanced. The edge marginally goes to Barns, who has shown many more capabilities in all categories but durability and stamina. Even in those cases it is incredibly close. The dude single-handedly took down several fighters jets mid-flight.
Brutality
Both Barns and Soldier: 76 have shown to be hard-held soldiers with a soft-spot for the innocents, and both have no aversion to violence, blood, and any of their affiliates.
Setting[]
The battle will take place in El Dorado, in 2080. Soldier: 76's attention is focused on catching a strange, bionically enhanced soldier he suspects is working with Talon.
Barns, emerging from Cryo-Stasis after an unnamed conflict with Thanos, is exploring the new, developing world around him, yet can't find any trace of the Avengers or their legacy. When presented with the year, he freaks out even further, his Soviet ensigna and bionic arm also begins to evoke suspicion. When confronted with Los Muertos gang members, he is assisted by a lone Soldier, who swiftly turns his gun on Barns. He asks questions Barnes can't properly reply to regarding Overwatch, and a fight ensues.
Voting Rules[]
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Voting is closed
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Battle has been written
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WINTER SOLDIER WINS 2-1
Battle[]
El Dorado. The City of Gold, as some called it. But Jack Morrison knew the second meaning to that name. Like the legends of Dorado that came before the construction of the modern city, the banks of gold it carried came with criminal scum like flies to a rotten corpse.
A particularly irritating breed of these flies Morrison dealt with on a daily basis was the gang of Los Muertos, still alive like a cockroach after one-too-many beatings with a shoe. His shoe, in particular. Not seeing any traces of their trademark neon skulls in the high mists of an apartment roof, Soldier: 76, as Morrison like to call himself, was hunting different prey tonight. Civilians were rambling of a mystery soldier with the ensigna of a the Soviet Union of all things roaming the streets 76 vowed to keep clean.
Masked Face? Check.
Weird Symbols? Check.
Armed and Dangerous? Check.
Black Leather? Double-check.
Morrison could already tell this was a notch above the usual Muertos thugs.
~
Bucky Barnes was used to being out of the times. Ever since he was reunited with Steve and escaped his years of…
Flashes of terrified faces filled with the agony of death trickled their way into Barnes’ thoughts as he reminisced over his past life. It was painful thinking of it, and Rodgers often helped alleviate the pain, but this case was different.
Looking around, seeing hovering cars sweep cobblestone roads and humanoid robots casually walking the streets, the former Winter Soldier saw the fantasies of his childhood as they jumped out of their coloring book pages.
And looking around, the former Winter Soldier had no clue, when, or where he was.
Several weeks scouting the streets revealed nothing other than a large gang presence and the fact he was deep in the heart of Mexico. History books, or history ‘pads’, as the store manager called them, had no mention of the New York crisis, the Avengers, or the legend of Captain America. The closest he got was some organization called "Overwatch".
All Barns could remember is getting knocked out in some sort of… conflict, and falling out of a cryo-stasis chamber after its lid was blown off by a generously psychotic Australian.
A stranger out of time once again, Barnes sighed, and slipped out of the sight of suspicious civilians into the deeper slums, enshrouded in the evening's autumn mist.
~
Morrison couldn’t figure out why Los Muertos members plastered themselves with glow-in-the-dark paint like those old bowling allies. Damn kids, he thought, back in my day, criminals at least had a decent sense of functionality. Regardless of fashion sense, Soldier: 76 tracked the mystery man down into Muertos-infested territory, and he wasn’t about to let an information source like that get picked off by gang warfare.
Seeing the purple glowing skulls weave their way towards the red star, Soldier 76 vaulted over some apartments to intercept the fight.
~
“Not looking for a fight. Doesn’t have to be any more complicated than this already is.”
Surrounded with walls of clay bricks, Barnes was hoping to avoid conflict.
Naturally, nothing much changed on that part over the years.
“Tirate a un poso, freak. We got a clear policy here on this side of the city. We see metal, we bash it in.” The leader eyed Bucky’s metal arm, then made some gestures at the other Muertos members. “Make sure there’s nothing left but bolts and blood, ¿de acuerdo?”
“Got it, boss.” The Grunt pulled out an M16, fully equipped with an underbarrel grenade launcher.
Looks like the new tech didn’t stop at the gangs, Bucky thought, let's hope I'm not too rusty.
Within a split second, The Winter Soldier rushed the Muertos grunt, punching him a bruise that would cycle through around three colors before healing. Before the weapon could even be fired, the thug spat blood as Bucky’s arm thrusted into his gut. Taking the weapon for his own, Barnes faced the rest of the gang.
“Anyone else?”
The rest ran instantly. Or, they would have, if they weren’t shot straight clean with pulse fire.
A menacing red light emanating from a visor emerged from the shadows. Barnes clenched his rifle, awaiting the figure that emerged.
~
“Looks like you didn’t need my help after all, kid,” Morrison walked towards the mystery man, hand hovering over his pulse rifle, “Didn’t know the Soviets had a soldier enhancement program of their own.”
Soldier 76 kept a keen eye for any movements towards the M16. It was an outdated weapon, sure, but in the hands of an enhanced soldier Morrison knew even a nailgun could be made into a death machine.
“Get to the point. There’s been enough violence here already.”
“And there won’t be any, long as you tell me all about the enhancement program in Russia, and why an American like you is working for them.” Jack could tell he just hit a nerve. He had his weapon ready at a moment’s notice, and Morrison knew he wasn’t going to get this information that easy.
"Afraid that's not going to happen."
After that, there were no more words of negotiation. Morrison knew that at this point, only force would get him the information he wanted. Reflexively, Jack drew his gun, and vaulted into the alley next to him looking for higher ground as the click of a gun loading and fast-paced footsteps followed him.
~
It had been nearly a century since Barnes last tasted combat, yet he chased down his opponent with near mechanical efficiency.
Lacking in speed, Barnes quickly lost the crazed old man he encountered, and kept a keen eye on the buildings around him. Unwilling to lose the high ground in the beginning of the fight, he punched his mechanic arm through the solid stone of a wall near him, and quickly climbed his way up into the twilight mists above.
Once at the top, it was only a matter of time before he caught his opponent, who was conveniently dressed in bright red, white, and blue and sporting a giant, easy-to-find red glowing visor.
Yet, he was nowhere to be seen.
Barnes collectively thought: Shi- Reflexively using his mechanical arm to block the shot, Barnes nearly escaped a large, cauterized hole in his chest. Instead, the strange energy bullet managed to burn halfway through his metallic forearm.
Surviving the blow, Barnes rolled out of the way of any more pulse fire, and shot a grenade in the direction of the shots.
The explosion was met with a loud grunt, but followed by footsteps. Bucky wondered if this man had taken the Super Soldier Serum as well.
~
Hrmph. No going down that easy. Morrison thought. His vest managed to absorb most of the shrapnel, but he could tell he was down for the count. That is, if he didn't throw down a biotic emmiter that instant. Feeling his bones set themselves in place, with open wounds closing, Morrison was going to make sure he wouldn't underestimate this foe again.
Morrsion sprinted, jumping over the alleys beneath him. Once he closed the distance, he had a special surprise for this 'Winter Soldier'.
"I've got you in my sights."
His visor picked up a lone target running off towards the slums. And Morrison was sure as hell we wasn't going to let a potential threat get away like that.
Firing off a barrage of pulse fire, reloading, and repeating, dozens of rounds zoomed towards the Winter Soldier with pin-point accuracy.
~
Barnes couldn't avoid a single shot, and he couldn't tell why. Each shot acted as if it were tracking him down, and he knew that his arm couldn't sustain much more fire before it hit his flesh. Jumping into an alleyway below, Bucky narrowly escaped what would have been death seconds later.
His arm nearly dysfunctional, and his time running out, Barnes knew he had one shot to make it. He pulled out his M16, and thought for a second, realizing the distance his opponent had to close before even firing. Barnes vaulted down the alley as he heard footsteps getting closer.
~
"Giving up yet? Because I'm not going to play any more damn cat and mouse games."
Morrison realized in moments he just fell into the same trap he had laid for his foe. He fired his helix rockets in the direction of the bullet fire that ensued, and snatched several shots in his legs before he could move out of range. Jack spat blood, realizing his Biotic emmiter wasn't safe from the barrage. His explosives hit something, he was sure of that, but the footsteps coming closer proved otherwise.
The strange soldier approached, his bionic arm in tatters and the skin near it singed.
"I'm not killing you. I'm not killing anyone, not anymore. I don't know what this 'Overwatch' is, or where the hell I am. So do me a favor and put down the gun."
"Hrmph," Morrison began plucking out some of the bullets from his legs. If that soldier wanted to kill him, he would've been dead. "I'm taking it you're not from around here."
"Oh, you wouldn't believe."
WINNER: WINTER SOLDIER
Expert's Opinion
While Soldier: 76 was using technology far more advanced than Barnes, his use of prototypical weaponry made him severely lacking in range. Barns was also much more skilled in covert assassinations and 1v1 combat, and has shown more potent physical feats.