Captain America #341

Nov 5

Nov 5 Captain America #341

Break-In

After stopping a break out at the Vault super prison caused by Iron Man, Steve Rogers waits for Tony Stark in his own apartment. When Tony finally arrives, with a date, he realizes that Steve means business and sends the girl away so they can talk.[1] Rogers has come to return the Adamantium shield that Tony made for him to replace the one he lost when he gave up being Captain America.[2] He has also come to bring Tony in to answer for rendering the Vault’s Guardsman armor inoperatable.

Tony refuses to surrender and tosses the shield back to Steve in order to retreat into another room and change into Iron Man. Even though he is greatly outmatched due to Iron Man’s armor, the Captain fights him none-the-less.[3] While Steve believes that Tony is doing more hard than good, Tony believes that his actions are for the greater good as it will prevent innocent people being harmed by those misusing his technology.

When it becomes clear that he is not going to get through to Steve, Tony incapacitates him with the high-density beam built into his chest plate. Tony tells Steve there there is no way he can stop him and rather than hurt his friend he is going to leave and go someplace where Rogers can’t find him. However, he promises that once he is finished his mission he will gladly face the consequences of his actions. As Iron Man flees the scene, Steve realizes that he can’t go after Tony because of his other obligations and decides to give Tony an opportunity to redeem himself.

Recurring Characters

The Captain, Iron Man

Continuity Notes

At the time of this story, Iron Man has been on a crusade to brick every piece of unauthorized Startech being used by heroes and villains alike. See Iron Man #225-231.
The US government gave Steve an ultimatum: Work for the government or give up being Captain America. Steve chose the latter and had to give up his costume and shield. See Captain America #332. Tony made the Adamantium shield in Captain America #339 as a way of indebting Steve to him in the hopes he wouldn’t interfere with the above mentioned mission.
This clash between Captain America and Iron Man is reflected on years later in Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War #1, which takes place during the Civil War event.

Topical References

Tony tells his date to pour him a Perrier. This should be considered topical as Perrier is a real world product.

Free Speech

The Comission for Superhuman Affairs is about to hold a press conference to introduce the world to their new Captain America. Before the big reveal, John Walker checks on his partner, Lamar Hoskins and is surprised to see him wearing a brand new uniform. When John asks why he has made this change, Lamar tells him about a conversation he had with a guard at the Vault earlier that week. A fellow African-American, the guard was happy to see his people being represented in the superhero community, but took issue with Lamar adopting the identity of Bucky, the original Captain America’s wartime sidekick. He points out that Bucky was a young white kid who died decades ago. Also, he points out that the word “Buck” is an offensive term used to describe a Black person who knows his place and that as a representative of the Black community, he has to set a better example.[1]

Taking this to heart, Lamar went to his handlers to change his costumed identity. They approved the idea and allowed Lamar to create a new costumed identity for himself. Now decked out in his new costume, Lamar has decided to go by the name Battlestar. John likes this new look and the two soon go out to the press conference which is being held out front of the Washington Monument. The government explains to the press that the original Captain America has retired and John introduces himself as the new Captain America. However, they do not go into the real situation that resulted in this change, giving a sugar coated version of events.[2]

The press conference are interrupted by two other costumed individuals calling themselves Left-Winger and Right-Winger. John and Lamar instantly recognize them as their old friends, Hector and Jerome, whom they had to cut out of their lives since John took on the Captain America identity.[3] Before they can be stopped, Right-Winger reveals to the audience that Captain America is really John Walker of Custer’s Grove, Georgia. Cap and Battlestar then attack the two Wingers before they can air anymore dirt about their past.

The fight is quick, but ultimately the pair are subdued and taken away by the Secret Service. Still angry at being cut out of John and Lamar’s new job, Jerome and Hector vow to expose Lamar’s secret identity as well. John is upset that his public debut was a public relations nightmare, but Lamar is confident the public won’t hold it against them. John can only hope that his friend is right.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Battlestar, Right-Winger, Left-Winger

Continuity Notes

Here, the original Bucky is stated to be dead. At the time of this story, it is generally believed that Bucky died on the mission that put Captain America in suspended animation until the Modern Age, as per Avengers #4. In reality, Bucky survived, was recovered by the Russians, and transformed into an assassin called the Winter Soldier. This will not be discovered until many years later in Captain America (vol. 5) #14.
After Steve was out as Captain America, the Commission chose John Walker — previously Super-Patriot — to be his successor. See Captain America #333.
Lamar, Jerome, and Hector were originally part of Super-Patriot’s team of Buckies, which stood for Bold Urban Commandos. While trying to boost Super-Patriot’s public profile, they prosed as militant fans of the original Captain America and engaged in violent and intimidating behavior to smear Cap’s good name. When John was tapped to be the new Captain America, he tried to get all of his old friends in with him, but Hector and Jerome did not pass a government security check. See Captain America #323, 327, and 333 for details.

Topical References

It is stated that Bucky died 40 years prior to this story. This should be considered a topical reference due to the Sliding Timescale. This scale bumps the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward in time, making the length of years between the end of World War II and the start of the Modern Age grow longer.

In Our Midst

Sidewinder has called a meeting of the Serpent Society at their headquarters to welcome their new recruits: Copperhead, Blackracer, Fur-de-Lance, and Puff-Adder.[1] He takes the opportunity to explain to the new comers how this group operates like a trade union of super-villains, with perks and benefits. Concluding the meeting, Sidewinder tells the newbies that they will receive their first assignments in the morning and pairs off members of his team to bring the new members to their private quarters.

Diamondback escorts Fer-de-Lance to her room and the two appear to hit it off quite nicely. However, once Diamondback is gone, Fer-de-Lance activates a homing signal allowing her leader, the Viper, to teleport into the room. Once she materializes, Viper demands a full status report.

They soon go to Black Mamba’s room where they knock her out as she is getting ready for a romantic evening with her leader, Sidewinder. Viper disguises herself as Black Mamba to get into Sidewinders room and get close enough to bite him with her new fangs which are laced with snake venom. Although she succeeds, Sidewinder is able to get away with his teleportation cloak. He appears in Diamondback’s room and warns her of the coup that is going on. Rachel quickly gets some anti-venom for him that each member keeps in their medicine cabinets. That’s when Puff-Adder comes crashing through the door to capture them both. Luckily, Sidewinder is strong enough to teleport himself and Diamondback to the security monitor room.

There, Diamondback sees that their headquarters is being invaded by other snake themed villains brought in by Viper. With her teammates either begin captured or turning on one another, and with Sidewider needing immediate medical attention, Diamondback decides to call the only person she knows she can absolutely trust: Captain America.

Recurring Characters

Serpent Society (Sidewinder, Anaconda, Asp, Black Mamba, Blackracer, Bushmaster, Cobra, Copperhead, Cottonmouth, Diamondback, Fur-de-Lance, Puff-Adder, Rattler), Viper, Coachwhip, Boomslang