Accept No Substitutes

Captain America has been summoned to Washinton, DC by the President of the United States. As he leaps over the fence outside the White House, Cap is suddenly disorientated by a strange sensation and some glowing lights. Once he lands on the White House lawn, Secret Service Agents arrive to apprehend him. When he gives them his authorization code, they have no idea what he is talking about and begin opening fire upon him. As a puzzled Captain America runs circles around them and heads to the White House, he wonders why they keep referring to him as an “Ultra”.[1]

When Captain America leaps in through a window into the Oval Offices, he is even more surprised when the President doesn’t even recognize him. When Cap explains that he was summoned to help with a terrorist threat, the President insists that he has no idea who he is and that he called someone else to deal with the terrorists. This turns out to be the resident hero known as Prime who comes barging in to defend the President from this intruder. Prime carries Captain America back outside where the two fight to a stand-still because Prime is reaching the end of his Prime Body cycle. As the two argue with one another,[2] Captain America keeps referring to himself as superhero instead of an “Ultra”, making Prime realize that Cap must come from the same reality as Spider-Man, whom he has met before.[3] That he is in a different reality makes sense to Cap, who admits that this place seems familiar to him, but he isn’t entirely sure why.[4]

By this time, the President has run out of patience and tells Prime and Captain America that he doesn’t care who stops the secret project that is being conducted without his authorization. Prime then flies Cap to the location of the project, at the Roswell Building. There they are attacked by a second Prime, this one wearing the American flag like a cape. This 2nd Prime is also joined by another patriotic themed hero calling himself Liberty. The two are there to protect this secret project.

The ensuing battle is observed from inside the facility by a government agent named Shoat. Shoat has been working on a secret project to create new Ultras and refuses to let the government shut him down no matter what. He has spent months researching other dimensions since the appearance of the Black Knight on their world.[5] It was through this research that he discovered a third reality with an America where heroes have powers from both realities.[6] There he found an alternate version of Prime still going through his “bad boy” phase.[7] Shoat also found manner of crooked government types willing to work together for their own nefarious goals. They agreed swapping out the altruistic version of people on one world with evil ones from the reality they discovered. The icing on the cake was the discovery of a that world’s version of the President, who rather than becoming the President of that world, became a crooked government fixer who was more than willing to replace his counterpart to help Shoat achieve his goals.

Meanwhile, the battle rages on upstairs and Prime recognizes Liberty’s voice as a soldier he encountered when he was a prisoner of Colonel Roderick Samuels.[7] Soon the good Prime and Captain America are beaten into submission. However, Liberty stops the evil Prime before he can kill Captain America. This allows his good counterpart to recover, rescue Cap and escape. However, by this time Prime’s Ultra body is breaking down and when they arrive at his home it completely disintegrates into green goop. It’s here that Captain America learns that Prime is actually a teenage boy named Kevin Green. As Kevin goes inside to clean up, he tells Cap to keep himself busy by talking to his mother.

Back at the White House, Shoat has his version of the President take the place of his counterpart in this reality. Liberty takes issue with this plan, but Shoat reminds him of all the effort his program put into turning him from an ordinary soldier into Liberty. He insists that Liberty continue going along with their plan because it is what’s best for the country.

Later, Kevin Green is finally cleaned up and goes downstairs to hear Captain America telling her about his life and that he comes from another reality.[9] With Kevin certain he can generate a new Prime body, the two decide to go back and stop the impostor Prime and whatever he is planning. Kevin also thinks he knows a way his mother can help them out, by driving them back to the White House.

There, the President’s daughter insists on seeing her father, unaware that he has been swapped out by a counterpart from another reality. She is even more confused when Prime and her father act like they don’t even know her. That’s when the real Prime and Captain America come crashing in through a skylight. The battle is a short lived one as Liberty turns on his handlers to help the real heroes. Ultimately, the battle comes to an end when Prime splatters his counterpart’s Prime Body. Moments later, the evil Kevin Green and evil president and Shoat (a double from this parallel world as well) are suddenly shunted back to their home dimension.

With the battle over, the real President thanks Liberty for his help and offers him a chance to continue working for his government. That’s when Captain America feels a tingle that suggests that he is being returned to his own reality. He commends Liberty and Prime for their work before fading away himself. While outside, Shoat — who actually sneaked away in all the confusion — intentionally scars his face as “proof” he was replaced by his counterpart so he can continue plotting his revenge against Prime.[10]

Recurring Characters

Prime, Captain America, Ruth Green, Liberty

Continuity Notes

1. If you haven’t figured it out, Captain America crossed over into the Ultraverse. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Realities #1, the Ultraverse exists in Reality-93060.

2. Here, Prime humble brags how he is good friends with the President’s daughter. They established a friendship in Prime #6.

3. At this point, Prime has encountered Spider-Man twice in Prime (vol. 2) #∞ and Ultraforce/Spider-Man #1A-1B.

4. Captain America vaguely remembers thing because he and Prime previously met as well during a crossover between Ultraforce and the Avengers. However, in the aftermath of the battle everyone was made to forget the encounter. See Ultraforce/Avengers: Prelude #1, Avengers/Ultraforce #1, and Ultraforce/Avengers #1.

5. The Black Knight left Earth-616 in Avengers #375 and ended up in the Ultraverse in Ultraforce #8. He will remain in this reality until Ultraverse Unlimited #2.

6. This fragmented amalgam world was created by the cosmic entity known as Nemesis in Ultraforce/Avengers #1. Ultraforce (vol. 2) #∞, revealed that that piecemeal world still existed following the defeat of Nemesis. The Unoffical Appendix classified that world as Earth-32659. However, as of this writing (January, 2023), Marvel has yet to officially accept that number and it could be subject to change at a later date.

7. In the mainline Ultraverse continuity, Prime had adopted a “bad boy” appearance starting in Prime #10 until he goes back to his more traditional look in Prime Annual #1.

8. This is another reference to Prime #10. Since Prime #5, Samuels wanted to make Prime as a soldier in his military. His obsession led to his death in issue #10.

9. Cap recounts how he was frozen in ice for decades until he was freed by the Avengers. See Avengers #4.

10. Shoat won’t really get his revenge, only proving to be an occasional annoyance to Prime as we’ll see in Prime (vol. 2) #9 and 13.

Topical References

• The President of the United States in this story is depicted as Bill Clinton, and his daughter as Chelsea Clinton. Clinton was the President at the time this comic was published. This should be considered a topical reference as Clinton’s Presidency lasted from 1993 to 2001.