Captain America #271
The Mystery of X
Steve Rogers and Bernie Rosenthal have decided to spend the night in watching Bernie’s favorite program on TV, professional wrestling. This comes as a surprise to Steve, and he instantly sees how Bernie revels in the drama of the sport.
That evening’s broadcast begins with the announcer interviewing King Arthur, a wrestler who retired due to injury. He has been training a newcomer named Jumpin’ Jack Flash, and brags about how he turned down working with the Olympics so he can elevate the sport of professional wrestling on his own terms. He is confident that Jumpin’ Jack will succeed in a match against his opponent, the mysterious Mister X.
As the match begins, Steve tries his best to try and enjoy this senseless entertainment, which is a stark contrast to his experiences as Captain America during World War II. However, the match ends in tragedy when Mister X executes the flying drop kick called the Flying Four Flusher. This turns out to be a deadly move as it causes Jack to snap his neck on the ropes. As everyone is shocked by this turn of events, Mister X flees the arena before he can be arrested. King Arthur is enraged that X murdered one of his best wrestlers and vows to bring him to justice.
Witnessing a murder on live television deeply upsets Bernie who asks Steve if he could leave her alone for a bit while she processes what happened. Steve is disturbed by what happened and decides to do what he can as Captain America to bring Mister X to justice.
The next day, Captain America goes to the local police station to offer his assistance and happens by as King Arthur is being interviewed by a detective. As it turns out, King Arthur got a call from Mister X, who claims he was framed. However, he has challenged King Arthur to a match and promises to turn himself in if he loses the fight. Since Arthur is in no condition to wrestle due to his injury, Captain America agrees to fight in his place and they then go about arranging the fight.
Later that afternoon, Steve Rogers is returning to his apartment in Brooklyn when he saves a woman from getting hit by a speeding car. It turns out to be Bernie, who has been in such a fog since witnessing Jack’s murder on TV that she wasn’t paying attention to the road. Steve sees the depth in which Bernie has been affected by the killing that he promises to himself that he will win the match in the hopes it will snap Bernie out of her funk.
Later, Captain America steps in the ring and easily defeats Mister X in the ring. Upon his defeat, X is unmasked and he is revealed to be Ray Deacon. Years earlier Deacon was accused of being the Midnight Slasher a serial killer that was on the loose at the time. However, after five years in prison, the real killer was caught and Deacon was released. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done to his reputation and dropped out of sight.
It appears to be an open and shut case, but something about it doesn’t feel right to Steve Rogers and he finds himself obsessing over the situation rather than focusing on his work as a freelance artist. He decides to investigate things further, but first stops to arrange a flower delivery for Bernie. Then using his credentials as a freelance artist, Steve meets with King Arthur and tries to get access to the wrestling league’s archives so he can use it as a reference for an assignment. Arthur tells him that no such archive exists, however when Steve heads out he bumps into the league’s announcer who shows him that such an archive does exist. As he reviews recordings of past matches, Steve wonders why King Arthur lied to him. However, when he reviews the footage of Mister X’s fights with Jumpin’ Jack and Captain America, Rogers notices that the fighting styles are different.
When Steve takes this to King Arthur, he is restrained by some thugs in his office. Arthur reveals that he posed as Mister X and murdered Jumpin’ Jack. As it turns out, Arthur has been peddling steroids that are so powerful that Arthur regained his mobility. When Jack found out that Arthur’s wresters were doping up, he threatened to expose it, prompting Arthur to kill him to keep it quiet. In order to eliminate Steve Rogers as well, King Arthur and his men dump Steve down the building incinerator. Steve manages to escape and changes into Captain America. Confronting King Arthur again, the Avenger defeats him and his men and turns them over to the police. Soon, Ray Deacon is released from jail and he thanks Captain America for clearing his name.
Meanwhile, Steve’s flower delivery shows up at Bernie’s apartment and she is so touched by the sentiment that she is able to move past her grief.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Bernie Rosenthal
Topical References
The TVs in this story are depicted as CRT’s with dials, knobs, and antenna. This is, of course, topical.
The wrestling leagues archives are depicted as being stored on video cassettes that need to be played on what I’m guessing is an old Beta Max player. Another anachronistic technology that should be considered topical.
