The Way of the Flesh

In order to cheat death, electronics magnate Eric Cameron stole a SHIELD Master Matrix to build a new body for himself using Life Model Decoy technology. After the theft of the Matrix, Captain America tracked down the thieves but was too late to stop Cameron from transplanting his brain into his new body. Unfortunately, the Matrix was damaged in transport and rather than emerging with the body of an Adonis, Eric Cameron was transformed into a misshapen monstrosity. Blaming his son Brady for what happened, Eric — now calling himself Adonis — tries to kill his heir. Luckily, Captain America is there to stop him.

Adonis flees the scene and runs for cover in a nearby forest. There, he becomes upset when he finally sees his reflection in a lake. Attacking his reflection, the deformed LMD body sinks into the waters and is lost in the muck. An hour later, Captain America uses a police helicopter to follow the Adonis’ path of destruction and when they come upon the lake, Cap figures that the madman sank to the bottom and is no longer a threat. However, moments after they leave, Adonis emerges from the lake very much alive.

The following morning, Captain America goes on his daily exercise routine before returning home to get breakfast before his interview. Discovering his sink is full of dirty dishes, he decides to see if his neighbor, Josh Cooper, will cook up the breakfast he owes instead. Seeing that he too has a sink full of dishes they both decide to go out for lunch. However, before they leave they are invited into the apartment of their landlord who offers to make them a home cooked meal instead. Soon, Steve arrives at his interview at the Plumber Ad Agency with the hard-to-please publisher.[1] However, when Steve notices that Mr. Plumber has a family history in the military and they talk about how a Plumber fought on the beaches of Normandy in 1944.[2]

As Steve Rogers and his new boss go off for lunch, Adonis sneaks onto a transport truck in Ithica heading to New York City. Arriving by nightfall, the deranged Adonis shambles into Central Park where he attacks some muggers before going on another rampage. Hearing reports about the attack on the radio, Steve puts aside his work to go out as Captain America.

He confronts Adonis on the streets but finds himself on the defensive, protecting innocent bystanders on the street from the monster’s rampage. The fight takes them near where they are dredging a lake near 59th Street. In the ensuing battle, a lamp post is knocked into the water, electrifying it. When Cap knocks Adonis into a nearby bulldozer, the blow knocks the transmission into neutral causing it and Adonis to slide back into the lake where the monster is electrocuted to death. Although the battle is over, Captain America regrets his foe’s demise, as that is no way for a man to die, even a misshapen creature like Adonis.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Adonis, Josh Cooper, Anna Kapplebaum

Continuity Notes

1. Steve recounts how his last gig was with Cynthia Kramer doing artwork for Tough Magazine. Steve landed that less than stellar gig in Captain America #241.

2. This story states that Mr. Plumber himself served in World War II. This will become increasingly impossible due to the Sliding Timescale pushing the Modern Age forward in time. It would seem unlikely that Plumber could have served in World War II and be vital enough (or even alive) to run an advertising agency in the Modern Age. See below for more on that.

Topical References

• Steve suggests that he and Josh go to McDonalds for breakfast. Although McDonalds is immortal and probably never die, it is still a real world business and as such its reference here should be considered topical.

Mr. Plumber’s Military Service

In this story, the owner of the Plumber Ad Agency states that he served in World War II and saw action on the beaches of Normandy in 1944. He also jokes about how his commanding officer — named Sawyer — could have threatened to put him on the Howling Commandos. This is possibly Sam Sawyer, who oversaw the formation of Nick Fury’s commando unit.

As I’ve stated above, due to the Sliding Timescale, it becomes increasingly impossible for Plumber to have served in World War II and still be young enough to run be running a business and soon it will become impossible for him to be alive since living World War II vets (at the time of this writing in November 2021) are in their twilight years and don’t have a whole lot of life yet.

Marvel has yet to provide an explanation but it seems unlikely they would for a one off character who appears in one issue and is never seen again.

Usually, for a more important character, some kind of plot contrivance is made up wherein they undergo some kind of process that slows, pauses, or outright stops the aging process. However, this seems incredibly unlikely for such an insignificant character like Mr. Plumber.

Since Steve and Plumber bond over a military unit from World War II, I think the simplest solution is that rather than Plumber fighting in WWII, a related family member did instead. The idea that Plumber would be proud of an ancestor that served during the War. Modern readers could assume that he is a World War II buff and knew a lot about his family service record.