Captain America #171
Bust-Out!
Captain America has been arrested for murder and as he awaits trial an armed militia attempt to break him free, claiming to be his supporters. Captain America now finds himself in a precarious situation: He needs to be free in order to clear his name, but escaping from jail will only convince people that he’s guilty.[1] As Captain America refuses their offer, police officers arrive to investigate the blast. When the armed men prepare to attack the cops, Captain America tries to fight them. The Star-Spangled Avenger is subdued with knock out gas. He comes to a short while later and overhears how these militia — called the Clean-Up Crew — are actually in league with the Committee to Regain America’s Principals, the organization that has been tarnishing his good name in the media. Captain America launches a surprise attack on the group. He then demands to know information on their hideout on Penn Street, but the lone member of the group left standing passes out in fright when questioned by Cap.
Meanwhile, in the African nation of Lagos, the Falcon and Black Panther have come to investigate the disappearance of his girlfriend, Leila.[2] They find another one of the Black Panther’s informants and he tells her that Leila was kidnapped by the exiled American mobster known as Stoneface.[3] The pair then attack Stoneface’s hideout in an attempt to save Leila. Unfortunately, the Falcon hasn’t had much practice with his newly constructed glider wings and ends up cashing into T’Challa in the middle of battle. The two heroes are then taken prisoner and Stoneface tosses them over a cliff. Thankfully, Falcon is able to work his wings in free-fall and saves himself and the Black Panther. They then ambush Stoneface and his men and save Leila.
With their rescue mission complete, the Black Panther then flies Falcon and Leila back to America. There, Falcon heads off to show Cap his new wings. However, when he arrives at the office where he works as a social worker, Falcon finds Iron Man waiting for him.[4] The Avenger warns Falcon how Captain America has been accused of murder and is now a wanted fugitive. Falcon decide to track Cap down and luckily, his pet hawk Redwing arrives to show him the way. When Sam finally finds Steve, he is staking out 1701 Penn Street, where Quentin Harderman operates his ad agency. Cap is happy to see his partner and quickly gets him up to speed on how he is being framed for murder. The pair are then ambushed by Moonstone, who quickly takes down the Falcon as he is still learning how to use his wings. The villain then grabs Cap from behind and laser blasts the hero into unconsciousness.[5]
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Falcon, Secret Empire (Moonstone, Stoneface, Quentin Harderman), Black Panther, Iron Man, Redwing
Continuity Notes
Captain America is accused of murdering the Tumbler in Captain America #169. In reality, it was Moonstone, as part of a conspiracy to discredit Captain America for the Secret Empire. The Empire’s involvement in proceedings is not revealed until Captain America #173.
Leila’s last name is not given here. It’s identified as Taylor in Captain America #188.
Falcon recounts how he took down Stoneface’s criminal empire. This was in Captain America #134.
Captain America has been living out of Sam Wilson’s office since he was evicted in Captain America #166.
Moonstone’s real name is not given here. Captain America #379 identifies him as Lloyd Bloch. (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #7 and Deluxe Edition #9 misidentifies him as Byron Becton. The Nefarius entry in Captain America: America’s Avenger #1 clarifies that the Becton name was an alias)
Topical References
Moonstone makes a reference to Hank Williams during his battle with Captain America and the Falcon. It wouldn’t be a topical reference since Williams died in 1953, and was already established as a country music legend when this comic was published in 1974. It would only be considered topical if the comment suggested that Williams is still alive and active in the music industry, which it does not.
