Captain America #103
The Weakest Link!
Following their battle against the Fourth Sleeper, Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter go out for an evening of dinner and dancing.[1] However, their date is cut short when agents of the Red Skull gas Steve and kidnap Sharon. They abscond with the Carter woman back to Exile Island. The Red Skull is pleased that the kidnapping has gone off without a hitch as he views SHIELD’s Agent Thirteen as Captain America’s Achilles heel.
The Red Skull is then escorted by Gruning to a meeting with the rest of the Exiles. The Skull’s allies are growing restless and look forward to getting revenge against Captain America.[2][3] In order to pass the time, the Red Skull entertains them by having two of their slaves fight to the death. At first, they refuse to fight until the Skull threatens to trigger a device to cause them excruciating pain.
Soon, thanks to Sharon’s tracking device, Captain America is flown out the Sargasso Sea where Exile Island is located. With a SHIELD-constructed breathing apparatus, Cap leaps into the waters and fights his way through the bed of “killer kelp” that protects the island. He uses charges to blast free, attracting the attention of the guards who come out on a boat. Captain America ambushes the men and pilots the boat to shore, dodging the mortar fire from the Exile’s base. Bailing out, Captain America sends the boat on a collision course with the barrier wall, allowing him to get inside. Fighting his way through the guards, Captain America is briefly distracted when the Red Skull makes an appearance, allowing one of his men to knock Cap out from behind. While Steve Rogers is unconscious, the Red Skull palces a piece of “nuclear tape” on the back of his next. With his remote detonator, the Red Skull is confident that Captain America will now be his slave.
Captain America is then tossed in a glass cell next to Sharon Carter. Returning to the other Exiles, the Red Skull begins planning how they will divvy up the world after they conquer it. This leads to in-fighting between the Exiles. While they are distracted, Sharon uses the devices hidden under her fingernails to break herself and Captain America free from their cell. They then fight their way out to the island’s airstrip. There, Captain America briefly clashes with the Red Skull while Sharon fires up one of the jets. Cap and Sharon then escape from Exile Island. The Red Skull is unconcerned since the nuclear tape is still on the back of Captain America’s next and with his detonator, he can eliminate his enemy anywhere.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Sharon Carter, Red Skull, Exiles (Baldini, Cadavus, General Ching, Gruning, Iron-Hand Hauptman, Krushki), SHIELD
Continuity Notes
In this opening scene, Steve finally refers to Agent 13 by her real name, Sharon Carter. This is the first publication to reveal her name. However, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1 will reveal that Steve actually learned her real name earlier, circa Tales of Suspense #94. One could assume that this opening scene if the first time that Steve has been able to say her real name out loud since all their times together were out in the field.
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.