Prison Reform!

To the surprise of everyone in the cell block, Captain America has been arrested and finds himself locked in a cell. This cell is occupied by a mobster named Thumper Morgan and a young man named Tony Zack. Morgan tries beating on the Avenger since Cap foiled his attempt to break out of prison years earlier.[1] However, Captain America is far from defenseless and is able to fight Morgan off. The hero is curious about how a young man like Tony ended up being in prison.

Zack explains that he came from a troubled home and joined a Bronx street gang. They got into a lot of illegal activities and ultimately Tony was caught robbing a safe. The judge presiding over his trail decided to make an example out of him and sentenced him to prison. While Captain America can empathize with the boy for having a rough life, as he grew up in poverty himself, Captain America tells him that it is no excuse to turn to a life of crime.[2] Thatcher calls Cap a chump and wants to take Tony under his wing so the boy can learn to be a better criminal when he gets out of the stir.

This confirms the fears that Warden Michaels has had about the prison system, that young men are going to jail and learning how to be better criminals by the more seasoned criminals, and part of the reason why Captain America has been asked to spend time locked up. That’s when Zack asks Cap why he is even in their cell to being with. Captain America explains that he has been locked up in the prison in order to try and escape.

As it turns out, the prison has been under a great deal of scrutiny ever since the previous warden foolishly installed a gate that was operated by voice command. When the inmates guessed the passcode, the guards narrowly prevented a full on prison break. Michaels was made the new warden and has been under intense pressure to prove that the the changes he made made it impossible for anyone to escape. To prove this, he has enlisted the aid of Captain America to try and break out of the prison as cover for his true activities to gather evidence to back support for prison reform. A press conference was held and a team of reporters have been invited to watch the security monitors to document Cap’s break out attempt. Overhearing all of this is Deacon, a man who was also involved in Thatcher’s previous break out attempt as he was cleaning the room at the time and he relays this back to Thatcher.

Eventually, the attacks on Captain America on the jail cease as Thatcher instructs the other cons to leave the Avenger alone in the hopes that they can take advantage of his breakout attempt. Sure enough, when Captain America does try breaking out, Thatcher and his goons try to take advantage of the situation. After preventing Tony Zack from participating, Captain America works with the guards to help quell the break out attempt. After the break out is stopped, Captain America pleads for leniency for those who tried to escape, saying that they wouldn’t have made the attempt had he not been involved. He also uses the opportunity to make a speech about prison reform that the reporters.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Thumper Morgan, Deacon

Continuity Notes

1. This story makes many references to Captain America stopping a prison escape led by Thumper Morgan and his buddy Deacon. This happened back in Tales of Suspense #62, which yes absolutely had a plot about them trying to steal Captain America’s shield to open a prison gate because fucking magnets but also the door could be opened if someone said the words “Captain America”. BTW, in case you’re wondering how much time passed between that story and this one, per the Sliding Timescale, it’s been about five years.

2. Steve Rogers grew up in Brooklyn during the Great Depression. After his father died his mother slaved away to support him. After she died, he also lived in poverty until he tried enlisting in the military and became Captain America. This was first explored in great detail in Captain America #255.