Nightshade is Deadlier the Second Time Around

At SHIELD headquarters, Captain America and the Falcon have discovered that all the male members of the agency are under the control of Nightshade. The only ones unaffected for some reason are Captain America, the Falcon, and SHIELD agent Valentina de la Fontaine. Since the two heroes are surprised to see her alive after she seemingly committed suicide during their last encounter, Nightshade decides to tell them how she survived.

At the time, she was trying out for membership in the Yellow Claw’s organization by using a formula to turn people into werewolves to destroy Captain America. When SHIELD arrived to break up her operations, Nightshade threw herself over the side of her prison headquarters with her creations leaping after her. While her werewolves fell to their deaths, Nightshade used a trap door to an underwater tunnel to escape.[1]

When Captain America and the Falcon try to attack her, she orders the SHIELD agents to defend her. The pair find their work cut out for them due to the fact that Sam Wilson had just recently snapped out of a catatonic state and into his Snap Wilson persona and no longer remembers his time as Captain America’s partner.[2] While everyone is distracted, Valentina breaks free from the SHIELD agents restraining her and runs off to the records room to see if there are any files on Nightshade that can help break her control over the SHIELD agents.

As the battle continues, Falcon’s memories and training under Captain America being to return. That’s when Nightshade unleashes SHIELD’s Wild Bill Robot against them.[3] Through his report with Redwing, Falcon is able to locate the robot’s weak-point allowing Captain America to destroy it with his shield. When the SHIELD agents under Nightshade’s control renew their attack, Sam beings struggling with the duality of his mind. Luckily, Valentina has found a way to beat Nightshade from her SHIELD file and uses the intercom to order Cap and Falcon to lure the enslaved SHIELD agents into the solarium. There, the Countess opens the skylight and the sunlight neutralizes Nightshade’s control over her colleagues.

Nightshade tries to make her escape but is blocked by Captain America who refuses her offer to work together. With the immediate danger over, Sam Wilson is coming to grips with the realities of his time as Snap Wilson. He realizes that he will have to stand trial for his past crimes and it could result in him spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Falcon, Nightshade, SHIELD (Countess de la Fontaine, Eric Koenig, Jeff Cochren), Redwing

Continuity Notes

1. Nightshade’s previous battle with Captain America and the Falcon happened in Captain America #164.

2. In Captain America #186, the Red Skull claimed that Sam Wilson was once a drug dealer nicknamed Snap and that he used the Cosmic Cube to brainwash Sam into the ideal partner for Captain America. It’s later revealed that Snap Wilson is actually a fabrication, per All-New Captain America #3. The issue is far more complex than that, click here for more details.

3. A footnote here reminds readers that the Wild Bill Robot was last seen in Strange Tales #142.