1) I’m so confused about Bucky’s brainwashing, because he remembers everything so clearly. There’s no confusion at all, and yet, he couldn’t really stop his actions at all? I get he’s a victim of torture, but I don’t get how just a few words can make him go robotic even though in his mind he can remember, so it wasn’t like his mind was actually wiped unaware. Otherwise, he wouldn’t remember everything in such painful detail. So, why couldn’t he stop any of it? (c)

kindnesssalways:

Hi Anon! Yeah, I get what you mean: Marvel’s been vague about Bucky’s conditioning under HYDRA, which can make his actions difficult to understand: was he brainwashed, or mind-controlled? FWIW, here’s my interpretation of Bucky’s conditioning in Civil War:

First HYDRA brainwashed Bucky, likely through torture and psychological means, to make Bucky believe that what he was doing was right. We know this because of Pierce’s words: ‘Your work has been a gift to mankind’, ‘[we’re] giving the world the freedom it deserves’, etc. Since HYDRA was Bucky’s entire life, doing their work was the ‘right thing’ because Bucky didn’t see the aftermath of his actions; he only saw how HYDRA reacted to them. He complied, they were happy, so the event was Good. Brainwashing is a scary thing.

Next, fear was a huge part of Bucky’s brainwashing, to take any choice away: if Bucky didn’t do what HYDRA asked, they would likely kill him (or worse). It’s directly shown in the scene where Bucky’s handler puts a gun to his head and tells Bucky to get him out of the cage of SuperSoldiers, no matter what. It leaves him no option but to follow their demands.

I’m assuming that both of these elements will be explored if Marvel ever decides to venture into Natasha’s storyline, because they were likely brainwashed with the same method. It’s not foolproof, but it’s very, very effective, and more importantly, the individual is still their self: it just forcibly alters their perceptions. Bucky knows something about the situation is wrong, but he doesn’t quite know why, because he’s doing what is asked of him.  

[Continued under the cut – SPOILERS ahead!]

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