Captain America #256
The Ghosts of Greymoore Castle
Following the defeat of Baron Blood, Captain America decides to take advantage of the fact that he is in the United Kingdom to visit some of the sites he hasn’t seen since World War II. His wanderings take him back to Greymoor Castle. He thinks back to he first came back to the mansion during the war…
At the time, his unit was deployed to England where they were stationed near Dover River. He remembers how his partner, Bucky, wanted to join Steve and the unit on marches in the area. However, Steve made him stay behind. Later, when the base was attacked, Bucky changed into costume to investigate and was captured by Nazi operatives.[1]
Entering the castle, Steve sees that it is no in ruins. As he wanders around he is unaware that he is now being followed by a suit of armor that has seemingly come to life. Seeing portraits of the castle’s former occupants — Cedric Rawlings and his sister Celia — Cap recalls how Cedric had betrayed his country by allying himself with the Nazis. Having invented the powerful Z-Rays — which could shrink anything bathed in its rays — Cedric was working on utilizing its power to fuel the German’s new V-2 Rockets as part of a secret attack on England.
Cap’s thoughts are interrupted when he is attacked by the suit of armor, which comes at him with a mace. The hero evades the attack but the rotting floorboards beneath his feet break causing him to fall into the Z-Ray pit. Blocking their rays with his shield, Cap manages to grab a rope and swing to safety. Unfortunately, he lands hard and knocks himself out. Rather than kill the intruder, the man in the suit of armor picks up Captain America and carries him deeper into the castle. When Cap wakes up, the man in the suit demands that he drink a glass of wine in order to prove that he is not one of the ghosts that now haunts the castle. The hero complies and the knight is convinced that he is not a ghost. Removing his helmet, the knight reveals that he is none other than Cedric Rawlings. Having survived their last encounter — but horribly disfigured — he explains that he has been haunted by ghosts ever since their last encounter back in 1941.[2]
When they hear a loud crash, Captain America promises to go looking for the source. Although he doesn’t believe it is a ghost, Cap is prepared for anything, particularly after his recent brush with the vampire, Baron Blood. The intruder turns out to be a man who is snooping around. Captain America narrowly avoids being crushed by a toppled stone gargoyle and deflects acid filled discs that are thrown at him. Cornering the intruder, Captain America discovers that it is his old foe, the Demon Druid.[3] Admitting that he has been an utter failure for his entire career, the Druid explains that he has come to Greymoor Castle because of rumors that the castle holds an ancient Druid text within its walls.
In the ensuing battle, Captain America is almost knocked into the Z-Ray pit for the second time that evening. However, before the Demon Druid can knock him into the pit, he is tackled by Cedric Rawlings who knocks the villain into the pit. As he falls to his doom, the Z-Rays make the Demon Druid begin to shrink until he disappears from sight.[4] In the aftermath of the battle, Cedric thanks Captain America for helping deal with the intruder. It’s then that Captain America recalls how the Druid struck a hollow sounding rock during their fight and discovers that it is actually a secret compartment that hid the very book that his enemy was looking for. Cap tells Cedric that he will bring the book with him back to America where one of his fellow Avengers can figure out what they should do with it.[5]
Recurring Characters
Captain America, The Druid, Cedric Rawlings
Continuity Notes
The whole Greymoor Castle affair was chronicled in Tales of Suspense #69-71.
Due to the Sliding Timescale it will become exceedingly impossible for Cedric to have survived all the years since 1941 and still be alive in the Modern Age. To date, Marvel has not provided an official explanation. See below.
Cap and the Druid recount their last battle. That took place in Captain America #187-188.
This is not the end of the Demon Druid, he will resurface again in Captain America #402-408.
Captain America is referring to the Scarlet Witch and the narrative states says that what happens to the book is a story for another time. The book ends up in Wanda’s possession in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1.
Topical References
When Captain America thinks back to his first battle at Greymoor Castle the flashback shows a roll back of years starting with 1980. The intent here is that the present day takes place in 1980. This should be considered a topical reference due to the Sliding Timescale.
Likewise, references to World War II as happening forty years prior to this story should also be considered topical. The Sliding Timescale makes it so that the gulf of time between the end of World War II and the start of the Modern Age will widen with time. If you like math, I go into how that works here.
How Could Cedric Rawlings Survive Until the Modern Age?
As stated above, the Sliding Timescale will make this an impossibility without some kind of method to slow, retard, or stop the aging process. Marvel as of this writing (November, 2021) has not provided an explanation as to how he could have survived.
However, there are two elements in this story which could be used as an explanation. This story states that Greymoor Castle is the site of arcane Druidic artifacts, on top of that there are the unknowable qualities of the Z-Ray to take into account. Perhaps one or a combination of both kept Cedric vital enough to still be alive at the time of this story. Dude survived his entire castle getting blown up in 1941, there has to be some sort of supernatural or super-scientific explanation behind all of that.
