Captain America #160
Enter: Solarr!
Captain America and the Falcon are attempting to stop an armored car robbery by a group of costumed crooks. Despite the fact that these men are heavily armed, Captain America easily trounces them with his newly gained super-human strength.[1] Because Captain America does everything on his own, the Falcon begins to feel useless around his partner and takes off when Cap tries to reassure Falcon that he is needed.[2]
Feeling that he has nothing going for his life, Falcon returns to Harlem where he spots Leila — the woman he’s had romantic interest in for a while — spending time with Rafe Michael, another local activists.[3] Deciding to be more active in his romantic endeavors, Falcon interrupts their date. Leila is more interested in hanging out with the Falcon and the pair swing off, much to the chagrin of Rafe, who vows to get even with Falcon. Taking Leila up to a nearby rooftop, the Falcon admits that he is having some problems and she agrees to listen.
Meanwhile, a brand new villain calling himself Solarr walks into the New York Stock Exchange. He demands a large sum of money and when he is refused, uses his solar powers to kill people with extreme heat. When the guards are summoned they too are killed by the maniac. Needing to recharge, Solarr goes outside where the suns rays give replenish his strength. Solarr then begins using his power to indiscriminately slaughter people on the street. As he commits wholesale murder, Solarr thinks back to how he got his powers. A few months earlier, Solarr was simply Silas King, whose van broke down in the middle of the desert while on a drive across the country. Figuring he would walk to get help, he wandered for days under the brutal desert sun surviving on tiny water pools and cactus fruit. He ended up passing out on the outskirts of a nearby town and woke up in the hospital. There, Silas King discovered that he could generate blasts of heat from his hands.[4]
Solarr’s reflection and murder spree are soon interrupted by the sudden arrival of Captain America. Solarr is unprepared for Captain America’s newfound strength. During the ensuing battle, Solarr manages to stagger Captain America momentarily but has to stop and recharge his powers. As the battle rages on, the Falcon arrives on the scene and when the crowd points out that Cap can handle this on his own, a dejected Falcon is forced to agree. Ultimately, Captain America manages to defeat Solarr by dousing him in all-weather paint, which deflects the suns rays and renders the killer powerless.
As the police take Solarr away, Cap spots the Falcon in the crowd as he leaves and tries to follow after his partner. Along the way, he passes by Sharon Carter’s apartment and reminds himself that he also has to apologize to her after leaving her out of his recent battle against the Cowled Commander. Little does Captain America know is that Sharon has packed up her things and is leaving town. Before she leaves, she puts a note up on her apartment door for him saying that she is leaving for good and asks him not to go looking for her.[5]
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Falcon, Solarr, Leila Taylor, Sharon Carter, Rafe Michel, Redwing
Continuity Notes
When Captain America was exposed to the Viper’s venom it interacted with the Super-Soldier Serum in his body endowing him with super-human strength. He also mentions his recent battle with the Cowled Commander and his Crime Wave. This all happened in Captain America #157-159. Cap’s super-human strength will endure until about Captain America #218.
Falcon mentions how Captain America trained him to become the Falcon. That was in Captain America #118.
Leila’s last name is not identified in this story. It is revealed to be Taylor in Captain America #188.
This story leaves the source of Solarr’s powers up to interpretation. Per the Solarr profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10, Silas King was a latent mutant whose powers only manifested due to his ordeal in the desert. Whereas mutants get their powers at puberty, latent mutants are late bloomers and only gain their power due to some kind of external trauma.
Sharon’s departure is due to the fact that she can no longer keep secret that she is a relative of Peggy Carter, Captain America’s long lost love from World War II. See Captain America #161-162.
Topical References
Captain America quips that he watches All in the Family just like everyone else. All in the Family was a sitcom that was at the height of its popularity when this comic was published in 1973. The series was best remembered for tackling difficult subjects. It ran from 1971 until 1979. I should not have to explain why this is a topical reference.
I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think the New York Stock Exchange actually has physical money anymore since most business transactions are done digitally. If I’m correct, one could presume that Solarr was denied because the NYSE doesn’t have any money. This would still work since he gives up on getting money and jumps straight to murdering people.
Solarr is depicted driving a VW Microbus. This could be considered a topical reference. However, on the other hand, since he is depicted as a hippie, maybe he drove a vintage microbus around.
Captain America says he better “make like George Blanda”, Blanda was a NFL football player from 1949 until 1975. This is especially a topical reference since Blanda died in 2010.
