Captain America #172
Believe it or Not: The Banshee!
Moonstone has just defeated Captain America and the Falcon in battle. However, before he can murder them, he is stopped by Quentin Harderman. The slick ad-executive tells Moonstone to bring them to Central Park and call the authorities and the media so they can capitalize on Captain America’s capture.[1] When Moonstone arrives with the two heroes, the “Sanitation Squad” — a team of mercenaries working for Harderman — are waiting. Leaving Cap and Falcon with them, Moonstone heads off to contact the authorities. While he is gone, the pair come to and easily escape the Sanitation Squad. When Moonstone comes back and realizes what happened while he was gone, he is furious.
Retreating back to Sam Wilson’s office, Captain America suddenly remembers how Moonstone bragged about his powers coming from a moon rock. This is a vital clue as the only university that had such a stone on display was down in the state of Tennessee. However, due to the fact that Cap is a wanted fugitive, the pair are forced to hitchhike to the city of Nashville in order to begin their investigation.
When they arrive, they accidentally bump into the mutant outlaw known as Banshee.[2] Seeing Captain America’s costume under Steve’s overcoat, Banshee assumes that they are trying to capture him. Captain America and the Falcon are ill-prepared for Banshee’s sonic screams which constantly put the pair on the defensive. That’s when Cyclops, field leader of the X-Men, arrives on the scene and drives Banshee off. He, Captain America, and the Falcon are then pulled away from the scene by Marvel Girl’s telekinetic powers. There they meet Professor X, the leader of the X-Men, who tells Captain America that the Banshee attacked them out of paranoia because somebody has been hunting mutants and asks for Captain America’s help, explaining that the organization hunting his people is the same one that has been trying to discredit Captain America.[3]
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Falcon, Secret Empire (Moonstone, Quentin Harderman), Banshee, X-Men (Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl), Redwing
Continuity Notes
Captain America has been subject to smear campaigns since Captain America #163. More recently, he was framed for the murder of the Tumbler in issue #169. It is later revealed next issue that Harderman and Moonstone are working for the Secret Empire.
A footnote here reminds readers that Banshee was last seen in X-Men #60.
This story takes place during a period in which the X-Men series was underperforming and was reduced to reprints. As such, this story tries to explain the absence of the X-Men from the Marvel Universe by having them make intermittent appearances in other books and also setting up this mutant kidnapping plot. The first hints that mutants were being kidnapped was detailed in Avengers #111 and Shanna the She-Devil #5.
