Mission: Destroy the Femme Force!

On a flight to Las Vegas to dismantle a Hydra hideout, Captain America and SHIELD’s Femme Force are boarded by the same terrorists they have been charged to stop. In the ensuing battle, Sharon Carter is blasted by an enemy weapon. Assuming that she was killed, Captain America lunges at the shooter and is about to strangle him to death. He is stopped by Femme Force’s second in command, Countess de la Fontaine, who slaps Cap across the face. The Star-Spangled Avenger is horrified by how close he got to crossing the line. With the plane out of control, Cap and the Countess work together and fight their way to the cockpit. There they take out the Hydra agents who have set the plane on a collision course with a nearby mountain. By this time, Eric Koenig — SHIELD’s resident pilot — has recovered and pulls the plane out of freefall.

With the Hydra agents subdued, Captain America puts in a call to Nellis Airforce Base to scramble a response team. It’s at this point that the Countess checks on Sharon and discovers that she is still alive but needs immediate medical attention. When they land at the base, the commanding officer tells Captain America that Nick Fury wants to speak with him immediately. However, Cap refuses to do so as he intends on going with Sharon to the hospital. Before leaving, Steve puts the Countess in charge and has her brief Fury in his place. Observing all of this through spy devices, the Supreme Hydra is furious that his minions failed their mission to capture Captain America and Sharon Carter. He then reports back to the man who is helping fund Hydra’s operations. This man refuses to hear the Supreme Hydra’s excuses or the details of his back-up plan and orders him to get the job done.[1]

Back on the east coast, the Falcon has answered Nick Fury’s summons. After being shown footage of one of Captain America’s battles with the Red Skull, Fury tries to convince the Falcon that Captain America still needs him as a partner and may still be in danger. The Falcon, however, finds himself conflicted between the loyalty he has for his former partner and his pledge to fight crime for his people in Harlem.[2] Fury points out that the threat of Hydra affects everyone, including the African-American community. Seeing that Fury can’t understand his point of view as he is white, the Falcon storms out.

Meanwhile, Sharon Carter is deemed to be in stable condition. With nothing to do about her situation, Steve Rogers goes out for dinner with the Countess. There, Femme Force’s second-in-command tries to get him to open up about himself, but he assures her that he isn’t that interest. At that same moment, Hydra agents enter the hospital and kidnap Sharon and leave a note for Captain America. It asks for Cap to meet with them in two hours alone. Furious that Sharon was kidnapped under his nose, Cap agrees to the terms and rides out to the rendezvous point on a stretch of deserted Nevada highway. Although Cap heads out alone, the Countess and the rest of Femme Force follow him from the air by jetpack. When Cap is abducted by a Hydra ship and taken to their headquarters, the Countess springs her surprise attack.

Although the Supreme Hydra threatens to electrocute the unconscious Sharon Cater, Cap leads the counter attack. Observing this scene from afar, the mysterious man bankrolling Hydra is disappointed with this recent failure and his finger begins to hover over the button that will cause the Hydra base to self-destruct and kill everyone inside.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Falcon, Hydra (Richard Fisk), SHIELD (Nick Fury, Eric Koenig, Sharon Carter, Countess de la Fontaine)

Continuity Notes

1. The identity of the Supreme Hydra and his bankroller are not revealed until next issue, who identifies them as the Richard Fisk and his father, the Kingpin.

2. The Falcon acted as Captain America’s crime-fighting partner between issues #133-143. He recently cut ties to focus on helping out the black community in Harlem.

Topical References

• The SHIELD aircraft in this story is identified as a Boeing 707. These aircraft were commonly used between 1957 and 1978. This should be considered a topical reference as most of these aircraft have been retired and the few that are left are not used for passenger transport.

• When Nick Fury shows the Falcon footage of Captain America battling the Red Skull, it’s depicted as being played on a film projector. This should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.

• One of the Hydra agents comments a battle with Femme Force is equivalent to a day at a Jack Lalanne gym. Jack Lalanne was a famous fitness guru active from 1936 to 2009. Lalanne died in 2011. He opened a number of health clubs that are still in operation today. However, reference to Lalanne and his clubs should be considered topical because he is a real life person and I had to explain to you who he actually was.