The Tiger and the Swine

After interfering with a kidnapping attempt, Steve Rogers has been captured by men from the South American nation of Rio de Muerte. Having shaken off the effects of the sleep gas, Steve overhears the two men taking. He learns that the nation is ruled by a dictator named Hector Santiago, who the locals refer to as the Swine due to his inhuman tortures. Using a SHIELD device to burn through his ropes, Steve attacks the two men, forcing the plane to crash.

Pulling himself from the wreckage, Steve manages to evade a group of soldiers searching the area with attack dogs. When it is safe to stop, Steve then changes into Captain America and begins wading through the jungle in the hopes of finding a town and a way back home.

In New York, Sam Wilson and Leila Taylor have come to check on Steve and find Sharon passed out on the floor. When Sharon is woken up, she has no memory of what happened or what happened to Steve. The clues all lead up to only one possibility: Steve Rogers has been kidnapped. While back in the jungles of South America, Captain America runs into a squad of soldiers led by the Swine himself. The Star-Spangled Avenger easily defeats the soldiers and then humiliates Hector Santiago by hanging him from a nearby tree branch. Furious over this insult, Santiago orders his men to continue hunting Captain America down. Meanwhile, Sam informs the SHIELD regional director about Steve’s kidnapping.[1] The director assures Sam that every resource is being used to find his missing friend. Feeling that this is not enough, Sam changes into the Falcon so he can search on his own.

By this time, Captain America has come across some of the slaves forced to toil for the Swine. The injustices on display horrify Captain America who frees the captives and vows to bring down Hector Santiago. Not far away, word about the Swine’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Captain America has spread around the area. Angered that this news is spreading among his prisoners, Hector begins ramping up the torture. His cousin, Donna Maria,[2] tells Hector that it the torture will not stop word from spreading and that she looks forward to seeing Captain America topple her cousin’s empire.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Falcon, The Swine, Sharon Carter, Leila Taylor, Donna Maria, SHIELD (Kurt Jacobson)

Continuity Notes

1. The regional director is unnamed here. The SHIELD profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #10 identifies him as Kurt Jacobson.

2. Donna Maria’s full name is not given here. Her last name is identified as Puentes in Captain America #350.