Captain America #102
The Sleeper Strikes
Steve Rogers has been brought to shore by the coast guard. Once he arrives home he reads the news about the Fourth Sleeper’s path of destruction. That’s when he is visited by Nick Fury, who wants to plan their next course of action. He also informs Cap that Agent Thirteen has been led to believe Steve is dead to keep her away from this mission.[1] Luckily, Captain America managed to steal the Sleeper’s crystal key from the Red Skull.
At that moment, the Skull — who also survived near-drowning — is being flown to a new hideout by his minions. This is the island of the Exiles, which was established by the Red Skull before the end of World War II. Submerging in the ocean and making it past the “killer kelp” they soon arrive on Exile Island in the middle of the Sargasso Sea.
Back on the mainland, Captain America has just finished being outfitted with SHIELD equipment for his mission. Once he leaves the US Naval Hospital, assassins attempt to ambush him. He is outnumbered but he is saved by Agent Thirteen, who knew Steve survived and insists on joining him on his mission. Both Cap and Nick Fury try to convince her that it is too dangerous, but she refuses to stand down.
Meanwhile, the Sleeper has been tracked to the site of a smelter. The military manages to get the facility evacuated before the Sleeper destroys it from its position below the surface. With the facility destroyed, the Sleeper begins moving to the next target. At that same moment, Agent Thirteen and Captain America follow the Sleeper’s trail in a helicopter. They are soon ambushed by the Red Skull’s Hover Troops. With their chopper blown up, Cap and Agent Thirteen parachute to the ground where they battle the Hover Troops on the ground. They make short work of their attacker’s thanks to the weapons provided to them by SHIELD.
They soon reach the site of the Sleeper’s most recent attack. There, they discover that their proximity to one another causes the crystal key to start vibrating. This causes the Sleeper to rise from the surface and begin attacking them. The powerful robot shrugs of their attacks, but they quickly discover that the robot is being affected by their emotions, which are being channeled through the crystal key. Agent Thirteen’s fears for Steve’s safety cause an outpour of emotion that damages the Sleeper’s internals systems to start malfunction. Suddenly, the robot begins rapidly decreasing its density until the robot fades away to nothingness.
Watching this victory with the other Exiles, Red Skull is furious that Captain America succeeded again, but vows that while he lives he will devote his life to destroying his accursed enemy.[2][3]
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Red Skull, Sharon Carter (unidentified), Nick Fury, Sleeper, Exiles (Baldini, Gruning, Cadavus, Iron-Hand Hauptmann, Krushki, General Chang — all unidentified)
Continuity Notes
Agent Thirteen is not referred to by name here. She is finally revealed to be Sharon Carter next issue. 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 Steve is referring to her as Agent 13 because they are on a mission together.
The Exiles are all unidentified. They will all be partially named when they appear again next issue. Their full names are revealed elsewhere as detailed below:
Franz Cadavus, Eric Gruning and Jurgen Hauptmann’s full names are revealed in Marvel Atlas #1 in the Germany entry.
Angelo Baldini, Ivan Krushki and Jun Chang’s full names are revealed in the Exiles entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4.
The same Handbook issue also identifies one of Red Skull’s minion’s full name as Gottfried Rothman.
Per Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Captain America, it is unexplained how the Exiles managed to remain relatively youthful in the years between World War II and this story. A number of Nazis had access to technology that could slow the aging process or put themselves in suspended animation. Presumably, a similar method was used by the Exiles.
Topical References
It is stated that World War II ended 25 years prior to this story. This should be considered a topical reference. This is because the Sliding Timescale keeps pushing the Modern Age forward so the length of time between the end of the war and the present gets longer. For the math on all that, go here.
