A Traitor Stalks Among Us!

While the other Avengers have gone off to follow a lead on the missing Quicksilver, the Vision has opted to remain behind and brood over his humanity, or lack thereof. That’s when Captain America arrives, but his news of a second Captain America can wait as he notices that only the Vision is present.[1] The Vision is in the middle of explaining his romantic problems when Rick Jones come barging in. Rick is still upset over the Avengers sidelining him recently and has come to show them that he doesn’t need them anymore. Clashing his arm-bands together he shows that he can swap places with Captain Marvel once more.[2]

Seeing Rick’s transformation causes Captain America to scream in agony as once hidden memories are suddenly unlocked in his mind. These memories are from back when Rick had taken over the Bucky identity and became Captain America’s full time sidekick and follows their battle against Madame Hydra. Apparently, after foiling her attempt to assassinate the Avengers, Cap and Rick were ambushed by a second team of Hydra agents.[3] Telling Rick and the Vision what he just saw, Captain America can hardly believe it, neither can Rick as he has no memory of those events.

Meanwhile, the Black Panther, Hawkeye and Iron Man have followed the Scarlet Witch to Alphabet City. They have come to investigate the disappearance of locals hoping it will lead to clues to the whereabouts of Quicksilver.[3] They discover a hidden tunnel when Hawkeye literally falls through the rotted boards covering it. However, when the others go down looking for the archer, he refuses to answer their calls.

At that same time, Captain America has returned to Drearcliff Cemetery to look for clues that might support these strange memories that just surfaced. Thinking back to his battle against Madame Hydra, Cap suddenly screams in pain as more memories begin to appear in his mind. The Hydra agents had fled the battle in the cemetery, prompting Cap and Rick to follow after them. They are led to the ruins of a building which covered a secret underground complex. They try to take an elevator to the lower levels only to discover it is a trap when the walls start closing in. Bracing himself against the walls, Cap bought Rick enough time to rip open the elevator’s control panel to shut down the trap. Entering the next room, the pair then confronted Madame Hydra’s replacement, the new Supreme Hydra. The memories stop here, and Cap races off to the Lower East Side to search for the existence of this hideout.

Elsewhere, the Black Panther has found Hawkeye in the underground hideout they just uncovered. However, the archer tries to stab T’Challa with his arrows. The Panther can’t understand why Hawkeye isn’t using his bow, but easily defeats him as the others arrive. Suddenly, the lights go out for a moment and Hawkeye begins acting like he didn’t just attack his teammate. That’s when Iron Man attacks them and once he is subdued the lights go out again for a moment. That’s when the Black Panther suddenly starts attacking them. This time, Iron Man takes down the attacker and the lights go out again. When they come on again, everyone is back to normal and Iron Man suddenly realizes that they are being attacked by. Before Iron Man can reveal his identity, the Space Phantom beats him to the punch by revealing himself.[5] The Space Phantom reveals that he has been plotting against the Avengers for years before activating a device that immobilizes the three heroes.[6] The Phantom then introduces the captive Avengers to his ally, the Grim Reaper.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, the Vision), Rick Jones, Captain Marvel, Hydra (flashback), Space Phantom, Grim Reaper

Continuity Notes

1. This second Captain America is William Burnside, the Captain America of the 1950s. He resurfaced in Captain America #153-156.

2. Rick was originally bonded to Mar-Vell back in Captain Marvel #17. The pair were separated and then forced to merge again during the Kree/Skrull War that took place from Avengers #89-97. Rick only recently discovered this in Captain Marvel #22, after the team refused to allow him to join them on their mission to stop the Sentinels in Avengers #103.

3. Rick had a brief stint as Bucky from Captain America #110 through 115. The battle against Hydra here follows the events of Captain America #113.

4. Quicksilver went missing during the Avengers battle with the Sentinels in Avengers #102-104. What they don’t know is that Pietro was injured and later rescued by Crystal of the Inhumans, as seen in Fantastic Four #131. They will not learn of his fate until he contacts them in Avengers #110.

5. The Avengers recount how the Avengers fought the Space Phantom early on in their career. That happened in Avengers #2.

6. The Space Phantom states here that he is attacking the Avengers to get revenge. However, Avengers Forever #8 reveals that this is actually part of a long-running scheme by Immortus to manipulate the Avengers. The Space Phantom is actually being used to strengthen the romantic feelings between the Scarlet Witch and the Vision. TL;DR version: Immortus is trying to prevent Wanda from getting knocked up by a man and having children because she is a nexus being. Also revealed in that issue is that the Space Phantom is not actually an alien, but a being from Limbo.