Now Begins the Nightmare!

The Red Skull has appeared in the hotel room that Captain America has rented out under an assumed alias.[1] The former Nazi was able to find his old foe because he has finally recovered the powerful Cosmic Cube, a device that allows him to alter reality on a whim. With the Cube, the Red Skull then turns Steve’s normal clothes into his Captain America costume. Captain America tries to attack his foe. However, despite his superior strength and reflexes, Cap is no match against the Cosmic Cube.

Realizing how futile the situation is, Steve decides to ask the Red Skull how he managed to recover the long-lost weapon. The Skull indulges this question and explains that he continued to search for the Cube after he lost it. Eventually, his network of spies learned of a volcanic eruption on an island in the Mediterranean. Not long after this, a poor villager came upon the Cosmic Cube and discovered what it can do. He then used it to make himself and his wife wealthy. To the Red Skull’s disgust, they then used the power of the Cube to help others. He quickly sent assassins to steal the Cosmic Cube in the middle of the night.[2] Once it was back in his grasp, the Red Skull showed the device to his Exiles. However, when they all wanted to share in the power of the Cube, the Red Skull used its power to temporarily transport General Ching to the furthest reaches of the universe. The return trip almost drives him mad and convinces the other Exiles to bow down to the Red Skull once more.[3] While the Red Skull is in the middle of telling his story, Captain America tries to charge him again. Unfortunately, the Skull is too fast and uses the Cube to send Cap to another dimension.

Meanwhile, Rick Jones has arrived at SHIELD headquarters looking for Captain America. Sharon Carter tells Rick that he hasn’t seen Cap since she refused to quit SHIELD for him. Rick is insulted when she appears to be more interested in a weapon’s test instead of Steve’s safety and storms out. However, Carter is trying to deny her concerns by refusing to think about the man she loves being in any kind of danger. Rick next goes to Avengers Mansion where he is allowed in by their butler, Jarvis. There he meets with Yellowjacket who hasn’t heard from Captain America either. That’s when Rick remembers his friends in the Teen Brigade and uses the Avengers computers to get into contact with them.[4] Unfortunately, Teen Brigade is not able to locate Captain America either, leaving Rick to think that his partner has abandoned him because he wasn’t good enough.

Rick couldn’t be further from the truth as, at that moment, Captain America is fighting for his life in an alien dimension. The Red Skull continues to use the power of the Cosmic Cube to toy with his foe. After getting swarmed by an army of lizard creatures, Cap is then shot across the universe where he is attacked by a tentacled creature. Then, to try and drive his enemy insane, the Red Skull shrinks Captain America in size and traps him in a glass bottle. The Skull eventually grows tired of this ploy and decides to take things a step further. Using the Cube to read Cap’s mind and learn about his love of Sharon Carter, the Skull comes up with his next idea. He uses the Cube to make himself and Captain America swap bodies.

Trapped in the Red Skull’s body, Captain America is horrified when the real Skull uses the Cosmic Cube to teleport Sharon Carter into the room. When he tries to explain to Sharon that the Skull swapped their bodies, she refuses to believe him.[5]

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Red Skull, Sharon Carter, Exiles (Baldini, Cadavus, General Ching, Gruning, Iron-Hand Hauptman, Krushki), Edwin Jarvis, Yellowjacket, Teen Brigade, SHIELD

Continuity Notes

1. At the time of this story, Steve Rogers had convinced the world that his civilian identity was nothing more than a cover, necessitating him to operate under an assumed alias, hence why he appears with brown hair here. See Captain America #111 and Avengers #107.

2. The Red Skull first wielded the Cosmic Cube in Tales of Suspense #79-81. What’s not explained here is how the Cube ended up in that volcano to begin with. After the Red Skull lost it, the Cosmic Cube was found by the Sub-Mariner who used it in Avengers #40. When the Avengers defeated Namor, the Cube ended up falling through a crack in the ground into Subterranea, the domain of the Mole Man. Unaware of what it was, the Mole Man discarded the Cosmic Cube after dismissing it as a children’s toy.

3. 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.

4. Rick formed Teen Brigade in Incredible Hulk #6 to help him and the Hulk. Later the group went on to provide support to the Avengers starting in Avengers #1 until the team phased out their reliance on the youths in issue #21.

5. This body swap remains the status quo until Captain America #119.

Topical References

• Teen Brigade is identified by Rick as a team of ham radio enthusiasts. This should be considered topical since ham radios aren’t a hobby that teens get into today. Per Avengers: The Origin #1-5, Teen Brigade are now hackers that use the internet.