Captain America #258
Blockbuster!
Steve Rogers has taken his neighbor, Bernie Rosenthal, out for some ballroom dancing. While they dance, Steve can’t help to think about how he was last in this venue in the 1940s and how much time has passed since then. Bernie notices this and asks if he is ok. He tells her that he is just reminiscing on the past and she decides not to pry. The pair continue their romantic evening out which includes dinner at a fancy French restaurant and a handsome cab ride through Central Park.
Meanwhile, not far away from the apartment building Steve and Bernie live in, a man breaks into a nearby building. Going down into the boiler room he begins sloshing around gasoline in order to burn the place to the ground . The building is rent locked and the owner wants it burned down to collect on the insurance and then build a new luxury building and make money off the increased rent.
By this time, Steve and Bernie have returned home and are about to sit down for a cup of late night coffee. That’s when the building across the street explodes into flame. Steve tells Bernie to call the fire department while he runs across the street to see what he can do to help. Rogers runs upstairs where he changes into Captain America and crosses over from the rooftops to gain access to the upper floors of the apartment building. He then wakes up the sleeping tenants and helps them get to a safe exit. While he is doing so, one of the occupants tells him that there is an elderly couple with disabilities that live down on the third floor. Without a second though, Captain America races downstairs to rescue them.
Moments later, firefighters arrive on the scene including Mike Farrel, who lives in the same building as Steve. Bernie races outside and asks Mike if she’s seen Steve but he tells her that he hasn’t and that he needs to focus on rescuing the people still trapped inside the building.
Meanwhile, Captain America comes crashing into the apartment owned by the elderly couple. He protects them from falling debris until the firefighters can get a rescue ladder up to the window. After the tenants are removed, Captain America is stunned by some falling debris. A firefighter named Sam Douglas races in and helps get Captain America out of the burning building. Tragically, Sam gets caught in the backdraft moments after Cap is carried to safety. Soon the fire is put out and Sam’s body is pulled out of the rubble. As Captain America is being treated for smoke inhalation, he learns about the firefighter’s death and how the fire appears to have been deliberately set. The Avenger refuses to go to the hospital for further treatment because he wants to find out who started the fire and bring them to justice.
The man responsible is a professional arsonist who calls himself the Blockbuster.[2] As the news about the fire plays on the TV at a local bar, he meets with his client and gloats over his handiwork. His client is worried that Captain America has involved himself in the case, but the Blockbuster promises to deal with the Avenger, for the right price.
Later that evening, Mike Farrel has returned home and discovers that his neighbors — Steve Rogers, Bernie Rosenthal, Anna Kappelbaum, and Josh Cooper — have prepared a meal for him after such an exhausting and tragic day. Mike breaks down over the death of his colleague, something that Steve can relate with, telling him that he saw the woman he loved get burned alive.[1] Hearing this, Bernie feels bad for Steve and his loss. That’s when Mike goes from sadness to anger, telling his neighbors that the fire was a deliberate act of arson and tells them how this is an all too common thing happening in New York as greedy land owners with rent locked properties seek to increase their wealth with little or no care for the lives they endanger.
As the police step up patrols to look out for the arsonist, Captain America begins his own search on the rooftops. There he is ambushed by Blockbuster who has arrived in a suit of armor equipped with a flame thrower. During the course of the battle, Captain America is knocked into a warehouse along the shore, which Blockbuster promptly sets ablaze.[3] Blockbuster enters the burning building to finish Captain America off. Braving the smoke and heat, Cap allows Blockbuster to grab him in a bear hug. Thinking that his opponent helpless, Blockbuster leaves himself open when Captain America uses his shield to shatter his suits exposed battery pack. Unable to support the weight of his armor, Blockbuster collapses to the ground. Freeing his enemy, Captain America carries Blockbuster outside as Mike Farrel and his fire team arrive on the scene.
Recovering from the smoke, Blockbuster refuses to surrender and pull a gun. However, before he can shoot Captain America, Mike sprays him with a firehose disarming him. The police soon arrive and take Blockbuster into custody. Learning that this man led to his colleagues death, Mike demands answers but a detective tells him to calm down as they will take it from here. Although Cap and Mike want the arsonist punished, the detective informs him that they just name a plea deal with Blockbuster. He promised to give them the names of his employers in order to avoid jail time, telling the two men that they are more interested in catching the bigger fish. Although this leaves a sour taste in Captain America’s mouth, days later when the news that the arson ring has been busted he is able to sleep easier knowing that justice prevailed at least in some way.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Blockbuster, Bernie Rosenthal, Josh Cooper, Mike Farrel, Anna Kupplebaum
Continuity Notes
Steve is referring to Sharon Carter, who seemingly immolated herself in Captain America #237. In reality, she faked her death in order to go deep under cover on a mission for SHIELD. She will turn up alive again in Captain America #444.
Blockbuster is never addressed by his real name in this story, which is kind of silly but it’s comics, y’know? Anyway, his name is identified as Fredric Woolrich in the Super-Patriot profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #11.
Here, Blockbuster recounts how he got his arson gear from Justin Hammer. A footnote here tells readers to check out Iron Man #127 for more details on who he is. Hammer is a businessman who uses his resources to equip super-villains with their high tech weapons.
Topical References
In this story, Steve Rogers takes Bernie Rosenthal to the Roseland Ballroom. This historic building first opened in 1922 and managed to remain in operation for decades until it closed its doors in 2014. It was subsequently torn down to make way for a luxury condo. Which is kind of ironic when you consider the subject matter of this story. That said, reference to the Roseland Ballroom in this story should be considered topical. One could assume that Steve and Bernie are attending a fictional ballroom that is still in operation in Marvel’s version of New York City.
There are multiple references indicating that World War II happened 40 years prior to this story and that a woman that Steve danced with back in the 40s would be in her 60s. Both of these references. The Sliding Timescale pushes the Modern Age forward in time so that the gulf of time since the end of World War II will continue to grow with the passage of time. Go here for more on that.
The TV in the bar where Blockbuster finalizes his deal is depicted as having an old CRT television with knobs and dials. If you’ve read enough of my summaries then you know why this is topical.
The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered topical because the buildings were destroyed in a terror attack on September 11, 2001 and have since been replaced by the Freedom Tower.
