Captain America #100
The Monster Unmasked!
This story is continued from Tales of Suspense #99…
Prologue
In the not too distant past, Steve Rogers — aka Captain America — was trapped in ice since the end of World War II. Worshiped by a local Inuit tribe, Cap’s body was recovered by the Sub-Mariner who frightened off the natives. In a fit of rage, he grabs the frozen body of Captain America and tossed it into the ocean. There, Steve’s body began to thaw and he was rescued from the waters by the Avengers, who were hunting the Namor at the time. They quickly discovered that the man they rescued was Captain America, the living legend of World War II….[1]
Now
Captain America wakes up after reliving these memories of the past. He and the Black Panther are the prisoners of a man who appears to be Baron Zemo. Zemo orders his ally, Irma Kruhl, to kill the two heroes. What he doesn’t know is that “Irma” is actually SHIELD’s Agent Thirteen, who finds herself conflicted between her mission and her love of Captain America.[2] She intentionally aims over Cap’s head, missing him. The Baron then decides that they can hold off on killing Captain America and the Black Panther until after “Irma” hands over the locations to America’s missile bases. He takes her over to the panel that controls her death ray satellite. When he shuts down the satellite’s protective force field, Agent Thirteen activates the flame thrower hidden in her briefcase and destroys the control panel.
It’s only now that Zemo suddenly realizes that “Irma Kruehl” is actually a SHIELD double-agent. Before his guards can execute her, Captain America and the Black Panther spring into action. Agent Thirteen helps take down the guards, but Zemo is able to call for reinforcements before she has a chance to destroy this as well. Fleeing, the Black Panther takes the lead, since his enhanced senses will allow him to detect any ambushes before they can be sprung. This allows them to know that guards are rushing to corner them. Sealing the door behind them, Captain America holds off the guards while the Panther helps Agent Thirteen into a maintenance shaft. Captain America follows after them, providing cover fire to keep the soldiers from following them.
Baron Zemo orders his men to stand down, as the access tunnel will take them to the Destructron, an android he believes is indestructible. Sure enough, when Cap and his allies drop into the next room they are attacked by the Destructron. However, Cap discovers that the android controls were foolishly installed on its chest and renders it inert by smashing them. That’s when Zemo and his men rush in. Before the guards can open fire, Captain America grabs Zemo and reveals that he is an impostor by yanking off his hood.[3] The man who was posing as Baron Zemo reveals that he used to be Zemo’s pilot and usurped the identity after his death. In response, one of Zemo’s loyal followers fatally shoots the man who deceived them.
With the Zemo impostor dead, the Black Panther orders his troops to surrender, promising them a fair trial under Wakandan law. Without Baron Zemo to lead them, the soldiers surrender without further incident. With the force field around the death ray satellite down, Nick Fury has his agents blow it out of the sky. With the danger over, the Black Panther decides to accept Cap’s suggestion to join the Avengers.[4]
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Black Panther, Baron Zemo (Gruber), SHIELD (Sharon Carter (unidentified), Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan)
Continuity Notes
This prologue is a recounting Avengers #4 when the Avengers revived Captain America. As explained in Marvel Saga #12, the reason why Namor doesn’t recognize Cap frozen in ice is because he was also recently revived in the modern age (Sub-Mariner #1, Fantastic Four #4) and suffered gaps in his memory of his wartime exploits with Captain America.
The man posing as Baron Zemo is never identified by name here. The 1999 Avengers/Thunderbolts novel identifies him as Franz Gruber. Per Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Iron Man and Captain America confirm that this name is part of continuity. Agent Thirteen is also not identified by name here. Her name is revealed to be Sharon Carter in Captain America #103. Steve acts as though he doesn’t know her name at this point. This contradicts a later story in Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1 which shows that Steve knew Sharon’s real name following the events of Tales of Suspense #94. One could assume that he refers to her as Agent 13 here because they are on a mission together.
As detailed in Avengers #4, Captain America shattered a vat of Adhesive X causing it to spill on the real Baron Zemo’s head, making the mask struck on his head. The real Zemo died in battle against Captain America in Avengers #15.
The Black Panther would go on to join the Avengers in Avengers #51. Black Panther (vol. 3) #8 reveals that the Black Panther had ulterior motives for joining the Avengers.
Topical References
The Inuits in the flashback are referred to as Eskimo’s here. This is a dated term that is no longer in use and, to some, is considered racist.
