The Man Behind the Mask!

Captain America has convinced the world that Steve Rogers is dead, thus making his identity a secret again.[1] He has done this to ensure that the lives of those he cares about — Sharon Carter and Rick Jones — will be safer. However, this has come at a great price as — now more than ever — Steve Rogers is suffering from a loss of identity. He then realizes that he has been walking to Avengers Mansion and decides not to go to them for help, not willing to risk revealing his true identity to them again. Inside, the Avengers are discussing the return of Captain America, when they notice a man standing outside suddenly turning around and walking away. The Black Panther has studied Captain America’s movements and confirms what they suspect, that the mystery man outside is none other than the Star-Spangled Avenger. They wonder why he would walk away, but they all agree to respect their teammate’s right to privacy.

Steve decides that he needs to talk to Nick Fury. After ducking into an alley to change into Captain America he then goes to the barbershop that operates as a front for SHIELD. Once he enters the underground SHIELD headquarters, Cap demands to be allowed to see Sharon Carter. Unfortunately, Nick Fury tells Steve that Sharon is on a mission and that they just received word from her in the field. While Fury is loading up the recording, Captain America spends time catching up with his new partner, Rick Jones. When the recording finally plays, they learn that Sharon — unaware that Captain America was still alive — threw herself into her current investigation into Advanced Idea Mechanics. She has decided to try and arrest them all on their own since she no longer has the will to live. Captain America is horrified to hear that Sharon is in danger and orders Fury to tell him everything about Sharon’s mission.

At the AIM hideout, Sharon Carter decides to charge in an attempt to arrest the operatives. They refuse to surrender and a firefight ensues. Between her SHIELD training and weapons hidden in her gloves, Sharon proves to be more trouble than the AIM operatives bargained for. In response, they activate their robot — the Living Stiletto — and order it to eliminate her. That’s when Captain America and Bucky arrive to rescue her. The trio works together to try and stop the robot. Eventually, Captain America discovers the robot’s weak point is around its neck and tosses his shield at the robot’s throat, destroying it.

With the battle over, Sharon hugs Captain America, pleased to see that he is alive after all. That’s when Nick Fury and his agents arrive to take the AIM operatives into custody. This is when Captain America, afraid for Sharon’s safety, asks her to consider resigning as an agent of SHIELD. Unfortunately, Sharon refuses to give up her job, even if it means driving a wedge between the two of them. Hurt by this rejection, Cap storms off telling her that he’ll never ask her to quit again. Heading off on his own, Steve ducks into a public restroom to change out of his costume. When the coast is clear he then uses make-up and hair dye to make himself look different so nobody recognizes him as Steve Rogers. He then tries to find a hotel to stay for the night. However, without identification, he quickly discovers that the only place he can stay is at a run-down roach motel that forces you to pay in cash upfront, draining the last of his money.

Up in his room, Steve laments over how badly his life is going when suddenly some force knocks him out of his chair. That’s when the Red Skull — who has finally found the Cosmic Cube — appears in his room in order to get revenge.[2]

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, AIM, SHIELD (Sharon Carter, Nick Fury), Avengers (Yellowjacket, Wasp, Goliath, Black Panther, Vision)

Continuity Notes

1. Captain America used a latex mask with his features to convince the world that Steve Rogers was a phony identity when he faked his death in Captain America #111. In reality, this flimsy scheme was helped along by the Space Phantom who used a device to erase everyone’s memory of Captain America’s secret identity, see Avengers #107. His identity will remain a secret until Captain America (vol.4) #3.

Topical References

• The cheap hotel that Captain America ends up staying in charges $10 a week. Even adjusting for inflation (making it $71.67 in 2021 money) should be considered topical. Even the cheapest most roach-infested hotel in New York City would be charging you a lot more to stay there a week these days. I did a half-assed Google search and you’d be lucky to find a place that charges less than $74 per night.

• The Red Skull first used the Cosmic Cube in Tales of Suspense #79-81, and ultimately it ended up lost at sea. He explains how he recovered this powerful weapon next issue.