Captain America #337
The Long Road Back
Since quitting as Captain America, Steve Rogers has been out of contact with his friends for months.[1] Concerned about Steve’s well being Demolition Man, the Falcon, Nomad, and Vagabond have gone out to find their missing friend. They find Steve’s van stuck in a pit in the middle of a road in Washington State. Examining the damage, they deduce that this incident happened recently and decide that he must be somewhere nearby. After D-Man uses his enhanced strength to toss Steve’s van out of the pit, they decide the best option is to wait for their friend to come back.[2]
Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, a quartet of snake-themed villains — Copperhead, Fer-De-Lance, Black Racer, and Puff Adder — break into the vault room at one of the city’s many casinos. Using their snake-themed powers, they are easily able to kill the guards, take hostages, and gain access to the vault.
Back in Washington State, Steve’s allies continue to wait for his return. To pass the time, they discuss what Steve should do next. Nomad is willing to give his identity back to Steve, since he was the first Nomad a few years back.[3] The Falcon wants to support whatever fight Steve takes to the government to win back the right to be Captain America, and D-Man vows to fund Steve’s crusade with the fortune he made as a professional wrestler. That’s when Steve finally arrives and tells his friends about his encounter with Brother Nature.[4] Steve is ready to get back into action, but won’t fight the government over his Captain America identity. Still wanting to fight crime, this leaves Cap with a dilemma of coming up with a new identity since he cannot resume his former identity or take on one that dresses him in red, white, and blue. Demolition Man has already thought of this and has created a new black costume for Steve to wear.
At that moment, back in Las Vegas, the four serpents try to escape with their haul but have tripped off a silent alarm. With the police surrounding the building, Copperhead and his allies retreat up to the casino’s penthouse where they begin issuing demands to the authorities. This situation is reported on Steve’s Captain America hotline and, suspecting that this might be the Serpent Society, wants to go to Vegas and stop the crooks.[5] D-Man hires a private jet and a limo to get them to the scene of the stand-off in a few short hours. There, Steve puts on his new costume which is similar in appearance to his old Captain America uniform but legally distinct because it is mostly black and has different markings. Needing a name, Steve settles on simply being called the Captain. However, when they try to offer their aid to the authorities, they are rejected because Steve can’t show them his Avengers ID as he hasn’t updated it since losing his Captain America identity.
Rather than do nothing, the Captain has Falcon fly himself and their allies up to the penthouse for a sneak attack. As Vagabond has not had any formal training yet, Cap orders her to stay behind. While the Captain, Nomad, and D-Man deal with the four serpent villains, Falcon begins rescuing the hostages. During the fight, the Captain finds himself missing his shield in battle and makes a note to do something about that as soon as possible. Ultimately, they defeat the serpents — which is exactly what the villains were hoping to accomplish.[6] However, the authorities aren’t happy with the Captian’s interference and threaten to bring him and his allies in. Although Nomad suggests that they make a run for it, Steve grapples with the idea because it would be against the law and wonders how far he is willing to cross the line to get the job done.
Recurring Characters
Steve Rogers, Falcon, Nomad, Vagabond, Demolition Man, Puff Adder, Copperhead, Black Racer, Fer-de-Lance, Brother Nature, Redwing
Continuity Notes
Steve was forced to quit as Captain America when he refused to work for the government again in Captain America #332. John Walker took over in the following issue. This will remain the status quo until Captain America #350.
D-Man puts some strain on his heart trying to lift Steve’s van out of the pit. He has had heart troubles ever since the Power Broker tried jacking up his powers even more. See Captain America #330-331 for the details.
When Steve discovered that the President of the United States was secretly the leader of the Secret Empire, he gave up being Captain America for a while. He took on the Nomad identity for a brief period of time until the Red Skull murdered his successor. See Captain America #170-183. Jack Monroe took on the Nomad identity when he and Steve fought Viper in Captain America #282-283.
Steve clashed with Brother Nature last issue, in case I needed to tell you that.
Readers are reminded here that Steve previously fought the Serpent Society in Captain America #’s 310, 313, 315 and 319.
As we’ll learn later, these four serpent themed villains are all attempting to infiltrate the Serpent Society so that their leader, the Viper, can usurp control of the organization. See Captain America #338, and 342-344.
