Captain America #140
In the Grip of the Grey Gargoyle!
Going undercover as a police officer, Captain America been searching for seven missing police officers and Reverend Garcia, a community leader. The search has brought him to a stone cutter’s yard where he finds all of the missing men have been turned into stone. This was caused by the Grey Gargoyle, who tries to ambush Cap after he makes this discovery. Knowing that the villain’s touch can turn people into stone, Captain America tries to avoid the Gargoyle’s touch. Still, despite his caution, the Gargoyle manages to turn Cap’s shield into stone.
Not far away, the Falcon is out looking for his missing partner. Coming across Steve’s police uniform in an alley, Sam quickly deduces what his partner has been up to and continues his search. When the Falcon arrives on the scene, the Grey Gargoyle makes his escape by tossing the statue of Reverend Garcia. While Cap and Falcon are busy catching it, their foe takes off. Not long after this, the captured officers revert back to a human form as the Gargoyle’s ability to turn people into stone only lasts for an hour. Having sent off his pet Redwing to follow the Gargoyle, the Falcon heads off to track him down. Captain America stays behind and resumes his cover as rookie cop, Steve Rogers. When the police arrive, he fills in the commissioner on what went down.[1] Also arriving on the scene is Sergeant Brian Muldoon. Muldoon is surprised to learn that the new rookie is close with the commissioner, but this only convinces him to ride Rogers even harder.
As the Falcon closes in on the Grey Gargoyle, the villain has returned to his hideout where he rages over his defeat at the hands of Captain America. He recalls how, when he was a scientist in Paris, he was always ordered to constantly produce for the company. Under immense pressure he accidentally spilled a new formula on his hand causing it to turn into stone. It’s when he discovered that his hand could transform his entire body into stone on top of the ability to turn anything he touches into stone as well. That’s when Paul Duval used his power to for crime as the Grey Gargoyle, leading to battles against both Thor and Iron Man.[2]
The Gargoyle’s thoughts are interrupted when he is ambushed from behind by the Falcon. In the ensuing battle, the villain throws Falcon onto a table where he was developing a new formula. Getting doused in these chemicals, the Falcon is suddenly turned into animated stone just like the Gargoyle himself. As it was mixed with a tranquilizer, the Grey Gargoyle was able to mentally control him. After turning Redwing into stone as well, the villain details how he is going to use the Falcon to help steal Element X as part of a plan to take over the world.
Meanwhile, Steve Rogers arrives at Sam Wilson’s office looking for his partner. There he meets a woman named Leila who has been trying to convince Wilson to give up his social work and become an activist.[3] She is less than enthusiastic to see that one of Sam’s friends is a white cop. Unable to get through to her, Steve goes into Sam’s office and finds it deserted. Fearing his partner is in trouble, Steve changes into Captain America and searches the neighborhood on his motorcycle. When this turns up no leads, Steve signals the SHIELD helicarrier and is pulled aboard the massive vessel via a tractor-beam. There, he is greeted by Sharon Carter who is happy to see him. The two make up for the first time since Steve broke up with her.[4] When he checks to see if Nick Fury knows where Falcon is, Fury has other concerns. He tells Cap about the danger posed by Element X and SHIELD’s plan to shoot the samples into space. It’s here that Cap learns that Element X cannot affect stone and realizes what the Grey Gargoyle’s latest scheme is all about.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Falcon, Grey Gargoyle, SHIELD (Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Sharon Carter), Leila Taylor, Brain Muldoon, Reverend Garcia, Commissioner Feingold (unnamed)
Continuity Notes
The Commissioner is not mentioned by name here. Defenders #34 identifies his last name as Feingold.
The Grey Gargoyle’s origins are adapted from Journey into Mystery #107. He battled Thor a second time in Journey into Mystery #113 and fought Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #95-96.
Leila’s last name is unrevealed here. It’s identified as Taylor in Captain America #188.
Steve and Sharon had been broken up since Captain America #124.
Topical References
Here, the Grey Gargoyle refers to himself as a “post-war” scientist, meaning World War II. This should be considered a topical reference. The Sliding Timescale has pushed the Modern Age forward enough that it would be impossible for someone with a normal life span in their relative prime (like the Gargoyle) to have been considered a “post-war” anything.