I realize that I'm a bit after the fact with this, but what do you think of Bucky Barnes becoming the new Captain America after Steve was "killed?" Was it really appropriate for a man who spent his entire adult life killing for the Soviet Union to don the stars and stripes, even if he had been brainwashed, and a comrade of Rogers before the Cold War? Should this decision have been left up to Stark?

I think that Tony Stark acted shamelessly by passing the mantle on to Bucky (no doubt with the intent that he be registered and working for him, which pretty much spits on Steve Rogers' memory). The entire Buckycap era was caused by the bizarre mess that was Civil War.

If it were up to me, Cap's most stalwart companions over the years (with the possible exception of Stark) would have gathered together and decided that the best way to continue the work of Captain America would be in their own way, rather than trying to fill the shoes of the departed. There would be no second Captain America.

Also, do you think the Pro-Reg forces' actions are forgivable? Do you wish it was retconned?

Should have kept it that way and make Stark an anti hero/villain or something. Now it looks like all was done for the shock and the sales.

It sure does. Steve, Stark, and Thor are working together again as if nothing happened.

I feel that Bucky Barnes took the mantle of Captain America because the writers were under the mistaken impression that Cap could become a legacy character. That's the out of comics reason in my opinion.

In comics, Stark nominates Bucky as Cap because he feels it will be a seamless transition. Both Steve and Barnes are men out of time, both of them have similar allegiances and formative experiences. What they should of done out of comics was demonstrate Bucky's differences from Rogers instead of his similarities, in order to make the change more interesting.

Bucky Barnes' character beat is one of free will; he's constantly attempting to prove that he's his own man. So it would follow that if he's going to superhero, he would assume his own mantle, free of Steve Rogers, who might have been well-meaning but definitely had an idea about how Bucky Barnes should operate once he was free of Soviet programming. This is demonstrated thoroughly in the Captain America arcs before his death, when Bucky's interactions with him are minimal and strictly business.

Instead, he takes this pretty loaded title, which is thrust upon him rather suddenly, covers his ears and dons more leather, then calls it a day.

Becoming Captain America was framed as a sort of conclusion to the Winter Soldier's redemption arc, but it's just more ripples of the PIS induced by the Civil War, and Brubaker's wish fulfillment that frequently hounds Bucky's characterization.