X-Men '97's Winter Soldier Easter Egg Has Marvel Fans Excited

X-Men ’97 dropped a Winter Soldier Easter egg.

The most recent episode of the hit Disney+ show X-Men ’97, “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs,” featured a very subtle nod to one of the Captain America franchise’s most complicated characters, the Winter Soldier, also known as Bucky Barnes. The reference has Marvel fans excited about what’s to come for the remainder of the show’s second season and whether Bucky will make an appearance in some capacity.

In the newest X-Men ’97 season 2 episode, Wolverine assembles Morph and characters who used to be members of Weapon X and Team X. The team ventures into an abandoned building, so Logan can find the adamantium that was taken from him. However, things take a turn for the worse when they realize that the Brood were already inside the establishment.

While the group was in the building, they came across several DVDs with footage of the experiments that were being run on several mutants, including X-23, Fantomex, Ajax, Aurora, and Silver Fox. They also discovered a DVD that was labeled Winter Soldier. This specific homage excited several fans as Bucky has a long and very complicated history with Wolverine and the disturbing Weapon X program.

Avid comic book readers are hoping that this could mean that the Winter Soldier would show up at some point and open more doors for Wolverine’s growth as a character. It could also give X-Men ’97 even more material to pull inspiration from as the series has already taken many comic book plot points and transformed them into something new.

In Marvel Comics’ main Earth-616 continuity, Bucky and Wolverine have one of the darkest relationships in the universe. While under the control of the Soviet Department X as the Winter Soldier, Bucky was sent on a mission in 1946 to assassinate Logan’s pregnant wife, Itsu. Her death became a defining moment in Wolverine’s life.

However, their connection goes way beyond that tragedy. Before Wolverine was taken and experimented on by Weapon X, he and Bucky had both been a part of the same missions, including working with Team X. After Logan was taken by Weapon X and tortured, Bucky, who had his memory wiped, helped him escape.

Years later, after Captain America restores Bucky’s memories with the Cosmic Cube, Wolverine confronts him over the death of his wife. However, the two of them eventually set their differences aside for the greater good and have since become reluctant allies who have fought alongside each other.

X-Men ’97 season 2 releases new episodes every Wednesday at 3:00 AM ET and 12:00 AM ET on Disney+.