Captain America #318
Justice is Served!
Death Adder is flying a Serpent Saucer over New York City to deliver Princess Python to the Circus of Crime after the Serpent Society successfully held her for ransom.[1] Unfortunately, the ship suffers engine failure and he is forced to crash land in the South Bronx. Unable to contact his comrades, Death Adder flags down a taxi cab to finish the trip. However, the cab driver shoots him in the stomach with an explosive round. The cab driver is actually the Scourge of the Underworld in disguise. Proclaiming that justice is served, he strips off his disguise and leaves Death Adder’s body to be found by the authorities.[2]
That morning, at Avengers Mansion, Hercules and the Sub-Mariner help Captain America move his things into one of the spare rooms. The Wasp comes by and admits that she is happy Steve has moved back into the mansion. However, Cap doesn’t intend on being around much since he expects to be on the road a lot answering requests for help on his new hotline. That’s when representatives from the Wakanda Design Group arrive to deliver the specially modified van that Steve intends to use on his long road trips across America. After giving his new ride a once over, Steve hops in and hits the road looking forward to traveling America and seeing what the country has to offer.
Several states away, the criminal named Bluestreak arrives at the Bar With No Name, a secret drinking establishment that caters exclusively to costumed criminals. The bartender tells him that someone at one of the booths wants to talk with him. This man is Gary Gilbert, formerly the costumed criminal known as Firebrand.[3] Gilbert has been following the murder of various supervillains over the past few months and has deduced that they were all carried out by a single individual who is targeting their kind.[4] In response, he is trying to gather a group of villains to help deal with this threat. Unfortunately, Bluestreak declines to join this cause because he is not a team player and departs.
That same evening, Steve Rogers is driving along a deserted stretch of road in the Appalachian Mountains. He decides to take this opportunity to test out some of the features of his new van. With the flip of a switch he causes the paint job of the vehicle to change from blue to red in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, a police car goes speeding by, prompting Steve to follow after it see if there is something Captain America can help with. When he finally catches up, the squad car has been forced off the road. He races down to the overturned vehicle and helps the officers get out before the fuel tank explodes and then calls for help.
Five minutes later, Steve pulls over at a rest stop and bumps into Bluestreak as he is exiting the public restroom. Recognizing him from their last encounter, Steve confronts him about the police chase.[5] Bluestreak uses his wrist mountain laser to break free from Steve’s grasp and races back into the restroom to change into his Bluestreak costume. When he emerges moments later he finds Captain America waiting for him outside. However, Bluestreak tries to make an escape on his rocket-powered rollerskates.
Captain America gives chase on his motorcycle — conveniently stored in his van. After Cap successfully avoids a number of traps, Bluestreak decides to fake him out. Rounding a sharp turn, Bluestreak makes it look as though he flew over the guardrail and down a cliff, sacrificing one of his skates and his helmet to sell the deception. Sure enough, Captain America stops and begins venturing down to see if Bluestreak is still alive. The villain then tries to steal Cap’s motorcycle, but luckily the Avenger had enough sense to take out the key. With no other option, Bluestreak thumbs a ride on a passing big rig. His bit of good luck proves to be fatal as the trucker who picked him up turns out to be the Scourge of the Underworld. Shooting his passenger with an explosive round, Scourge once again pronounces that justice has been served.[6]
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Scourge of the Underworld, Blue Streak, Death Adder, Princess Python, Firebrand, Avengers (Wasp, Hercules, Sub-Mariner)
Continuity Notes
Princess Python ran afoul of the Serpent Society after she betrayed them to Captain America during their hunt for MODOK in Captain America #313.
Death Adder will remain dead for many years until he (and other Scourge victims) are resurrected by the Hood in Punisher (vol. 8) #6.
A footnote here reminds readers that Firebrand has been around since Iron Man #27.
Gary Gilbert has a number of newspaper clippings about many of the Scourge victims. They include: Miracle Man (Thing #24), The Enforcer (Iron Man #194), The Melter (Avengers #263), Titania (Thing #33), and the Wraith (Amazing Spider-Man #278). Other Scourge victims at this time include the Hate-Monger (Secret Wars II #2), Megatak (Thor #358), Phone Ranger (Marvel Age Annual #1), Basilisk (Fantastic Four #289), Hammer and Anvil (Marvel Fanfare #29), and the Human Fly (Amazing Spider-Man #276).
A footnote here reminds readers that Captain America first encountered Bluestreak back in Captain America #217. At the time, he was a mole within SHIELD’s Super-Agents working for the evil Corporation.
Bluestreak is another Scourge victim who will later be resurrected in Punisher (vol. 8) #6.
Topical References
While making small talk, Scourge claims to have driven celebrities like newscaster Walter Cronkite, musician Ringo Starr, and actress Mariel Hemmingway. These namedrops should be considered topical, especially in the case of Cronkite who died in 2009.
Captain America’s van is identified as a Chevy model vehicle. This should be considered a topical reference as Chevy is a real world business.
The narrative states that the Bar With No Name has been in operation for “almost a decade”. As this story takes place during the 6th year of the Modern Age this seems to suggest that its operations pre-date the formation of the Fantastic Four. Considering that there are heroes who existed prior to the birth of the FF, the idea that the BWNN would pre-exist as well seems incredibly likely.
Steve is depicted using a car phone to call for help. This technology was made obsolete by cell phones and its use here should be considered topical.
