Things Fall Apart

As the Red Skull’s ultimate revenge against Captain America is becoming fully realized, his friends and allies are being targeted one after another. In Harlem, the most recent is Captain America’s former partner, the Falcon. Ambushed by the Sisters of Sin, the high-flying hero tries his best to defend himself but is outnumbered and taken prisoner.

While in Brooklyn Heights, the Wasp and Starfox have arrived at the apartment of Bernie Rosenthal, Steve Rogers’ girlfriend, to protect her. Unfortunately, they are too late and Bernie has been kidnapped. The only clue as to who is responsible comes in the shape of a skull burned onto one of the walls. The two head back to Avengers Mansion to figure out what happened.

At Skull House, Captain America, Nomad, and Cap’s old friend Arnie Roth are all prisoners of the Red Skull. As Steve tries to comfort his old friend, it turns out that this is yet another robot of Arnie created by Baron Zemo and the Red Skull to further torment him. That’s when the barriers trapping them lift away, giving Steve and Jack full access to the mansion. As they look around they come upon the body of Horst Lederer, one of the Red Skull’s assistants. However, Steve can’t understand how Horst got so old since he was one of the Nazis who ended up in suspended animation with the Red Skull near the end of World War II.[1] That’s when a mirror suddenly appears before Captain America and he sees that he too has visibly aged. This causes Nomad to start remembering a nightmare he had and while he knows it has something to do with the plot against them, there is a mental block stopping him from recalling what it all means.[2] Cap assures his partner that they can stop their enemies as they are only human.

Observing this from the monitors in his private room, the Red Skull boasts that his victory is at hand. When he sends Mother Superior to carry out the next phase of his plane alone as he has other plans for Baron Zemo.

Meanwhile, Captain America and Nomad find themselves in a perfect reproduction of the type of cafes that were popular in Germany before World War II. They are greeted by another robot of Arnie Roth, this one dressed up in a frilly costume with blush, a means of insulting his homosexuality. Sat at a table, Steve and Jack notice that all of the patrons look exactly like Arnie. That’s when Sister Pleasure begins putting on a music number on the stage, causing Nomad to finally remember that she had brainwashed him earlier in order to make him slip a drug into all of Steve’s beverages. This is the what has been causing Steve to start rapidly aging. However, when Jack tries to lunge at Sister Pleasure the lights go dark and Nomad is plucked away in the darkness. Cap soon finds himself trapped in a glass cylinder and is forced to watch as Arnie Roth is force to humiliate himself on stage.

Seeing his friend in agony as he tries to fight his mental conditioning, Steve uses his shield to break free from his prison. However, he appears to be too late as the strain has caused Arnie to collapse dead on the floor. This reminds Steve of the loss of his old partner, Bucky, and he vows then and there that the Skull will not take another life.[3] That’s when he is ambushed by Mother Superior who reveals to Cap that she is actually the Red Skull’s daughter. This comes as a shock to Steve, who realizes that the is just as much a victim of the Red Skull as he is and tries to reason with her. Superior refuses to listen to Steve’s “lies” and after revealing that she has Nomad, Falcon, Bernie and Arnie prisoners she stabs him in the back of the neck with a knock out dart.

Mother Superior believes that Captain America is finished but her father has other plans. He intends to turn Steve Rogers over to Baron Zemo, who is now wearing his father’s old costume and is eager to finally avenge his family.[4]

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Red Skull, Nomad, Falcon, Sisters of Sin (Mother Superior, Sister Agony, Sister Death, Sister Dream, Sister Pleasure), Baron Zemo, Arnie Roth, Wasp, Starfox, Horst Lederer (corpse)

Continuity Notes

1. The Red Skull and Horst Lederer ended up in the deep sleep in Tales of Suspense #79. How he grew so old is explained next issue when the Red Skull reveals that the process that kept them young and vital had begun to wear off.

2. Nomad has been brainwashed into administering a drug that that would cause Steve to rapidly age after being brainwashed by Sister Pleasure in Captain America #288. His nightmare happened in Captain America #290.

3. At the time of this story, Steve believes that Bucky died in 1945 in the same accident that put him in suspended animation, per Avengers #4. In reality, Bucky survived and was transformed into the Winter Soldier, an assassin used by the Russian government. Cap won’t learn the truth until years later in Captain America (vol. 5) #14.

4. Helmut Zemo’s father, Heinrich, was one of Captain America’s many foes during the War. Heinrich died in battle against Captain America back in Avengers #15. Helmut has been trying to avenge his father since Captain America #168.