Captain America #299
The Bunker
Nomad, the Falcon, Bernie Rosenthal, and Arnie Roth have all been captured by the Red Skull and are prisoners in his home, Skull House. Having escaped their cell through ventilation shaft. Falcon wants to get them out as soon as possible before the Skull breaks their mind like he had done to the Falcon in the past, and to Arnie just recently.[1]
Elsewhere, Captain America wanders Skull House trying desperately to find his captured friends. Steve has just heard the Red Skull’s life story and realizes that his old enemy has finally gone completely mad. In one room he finds Nazi flags and a portrait of Adolf Hitler. Disgusted, he ignores the a faint voice calling out, thinking that it is an echo from a darker time. Little does Steve realize that what he was hearing was the mind of Adolf Hitler himself, whose mind is trapped in a faulty Cosmic Cube.[2] Racing down the hall, he witnesses a portrait of the Red Skull suddenly transform into a set of doors and goes inside.
This takes him into a lab where the Red Skull is waiting for him. With the door behind him disappearing, the Red Skull tells Steve that it is time for their final battle. Steve refuses to fight and orders the Red Skull to release his friends. However, the Red Skull is still dying and he intends to have the final battle he craves[3]. He then reveals that he injected Steve and himself with a poison that will kill them in only a few hours and encourages Steve to fight him. Instead, Captain America tries to break out of the room, but to no avail. The Red Skull tries to torment his enemy by showing him images of his prisoners, but is angered when he discovers that Bernie and the others have managed to escape. It is then time for Captain America to mock his enemy with laughter, telling the Skull that he will never win because Steve has something he’ll never have: Hope.
Elsewhere, Baron Zemo is watching Mother Superior on the security monitors. He has realized that she and the Red Skull were only using him and have only besmirched the memory of his father, the first Baron Zemo.[4] Having overheard him, Mother Superior phases into the room through the wall and attacks him. After hearing her father say Zemo was his true heir, she intends to kill him to prove to the Red Skull that she is the one worthy to carry on his legacy.
Meanwhile, in a New York hospital, Dave Cox is still in a coma after being brainwashed by the Red Skull.[5] His wife Julie remains by his side and prays that he will come out of it so that their family can be together again. While in Queens, Jesse Black Crow is drawn to his mirror as he is hearing the call of his ancestors. He is shown a vision of Captain America and the Red Skull and tires to understand what this message means.[6] While at Avengers Mansion, a team meeting is called after Bernie Rosenthal was kidnapped under their watch.[7] Going over all the evidence they conclude that the Red Skull is back and targeting Captain America and the team goes to work trying to track him down.
Back at Skull House, the Falcon and the others emerge from the ventilation system in the old church. There they stop to take a break and Arnie Roth finally snaps out of his catatonic state just in time to warn them that the Sisters of Sin are about to ambush them. While Falcon and Nomad deal with the Sisters, Bernie pulls Arnie out of the line of fire and heads to cover. The battle comes to an abrupt end when Mother Superior and Baron Zemo — still fighting one another — come phasing through the room. Having had enough of the battle, Mother Superior uses her mental powers to overload Baron Zemo’s mind, seemingly killing him in the process.[8] Pleased over her victory, Mother Superior intends to claim her rightful title and will kill her own father in order to earn his legacy.
Observing all of this through the security monitors, Captain America points out that his daughter has become exactly as he is, a creature motivated entirely of hate and tells him to surrender. Unwilling to give up the Red Skull then appears to set off explosives that destroy all of Skull House except for the room they are occupying.[9] This pushes Captain America too far and now finally admitting that he hates the Red Skull, the two men put on their masks and they lunge at each other to begin the final battle.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Red Skull, Nomad, Falcon, Sisters of Sin (Mother Superior, Sister Agony, Sister Death, Sister Dream, Sister Pleasure), Baron Zemo, Bernie Rosenthal, Arnie Roth, Dave Cox, Julie Cox, Black Crow, Avengers (Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision)
Continuity Notes
Sam Wilson is referring when the Red Skull used the Cosmic Cube to tamper with his mind. This was first revealed in Captain America #185-186 when the Skull claimed to have previously used the Cosmic Cube (circa issue #117) to turn Sam Wilson from a common crook into the ideal sidekick to Captain America. Sam has struggled with his identity since then, most recently in issues #276-278. However, years later, in All-New Captain America #3, the Red Skull’s daughter claimed that “Snap” Wilson was the fabrication and was created to make Sam doubt himself. This contradicts stories where others remember Sam’s life as “Snap”. Marvel has yet to explain this discrepancy, but I pose a theory here.
In the Marvel Universe, Adolf Hitler was killed by the Human Torch, as seen in Young Men #24. However, Hitler’s mind endured as the geneticist named Arnim Zola made it so his mind would be transferred to a clone body upon his death. For a time, Hitler posed as the Hate-Monger until his mind was trapped in a faulty Cosmic Cube by the Red Skull. See Super-Villain Team-Up #17 for all the details on that.
As revealed last issue, the suspended animation process that the Red Skull used to endure into the present (circa Tales of Suspense #79) has worn off and he is now rapidly aging. The Skull also had Captain America secretly drugged so that he would rapidly age as well. This was revealed in Captain America #296, he was secretly poisoned behind the scenes in the following issue.
Heinrich Zemo was the first Baron Zemo. He died battling Captain America in Avengers #15. Helmut has sought to avenge his father since Captain America #168, taking on the mantle of Baron Zemo in issue #275.
Dave Cox, a staunch pacifist, was kidnapped by Mother Superior and brainwashed into becoming the Slayer. Unable to bring himself to commit murder, Dave broke free of his mental conditioning but the process caused neurological damage that has left him in a coma ever since. See Captain America #293-294.
A footnote here reminds readers that Black Crow previously appeared in Captain America #292.
Captain America asked the Avengers to guard Bernie Rosenthal, but they were too late to stop her from being snatched by the Red Skull in Captain America #296.
Baron Zemo doesn’t actually die here. Avengers #275 reveals that he survived because Mother Superior did not do a thorough job at trying to destroy his mind. From there he went on to reform the Masters of Evil and lay siege to Avengers Mansion as seen in Avengers #273-277.
This is a trick as we’ll see next issue.
Topical References
This story states that World War II ended 40 years prior to this story. This should be considered a topical reference. The Sliding Timescale pushes the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward in time, causing the length of time between it and the end of World War II to expand over time.
