Captain America #355
Missing Person
On Avengers Island, Captain America is going over all the open his open files and realizes that he has a lot on his plate right now.[1] His work is interrupted when he is informed by Peggy Carter that he has a call from Raymond Sikorski. Sikorski informs him that John Walker is still alive and they are reinstating him as their new operatives, the US Agent. However, they have given him Steve all black costume and shield and ask for him to give them permission to use it in exchange for giving him full rights to the Captain America identity, costume, and weapons. Amused, Steve accepts their offer.[2] Steve then gets a call from his ex, Bernie Rosenthal. She is worried about her younger sister, Nancy, who went missing after an argument with their parents.[3] Although Steve has a lot on his plate, he agrees to do whatever he can to try and find Bernie’s sister.
Meanwhile, Battlestar is still investigating the alleged death of his friend John Walker. Convinced that he is still alive, Lamar breaks into Fort Meade in Maryland. There he is swarmed by Guardsmen who quickly take him into to see Val Cooper, the head of the Commission on Superhuman Affairs. Battlestar demands to know what happened to John and she admits to him that they faked John’s death and reinstated him as a new operative called the US Agent. However, she can’t tell him anymore because the information is classified and says that the best he can do is wait for John to reach out and contact him instead.
Back at Avengers Island, Steve is investigating Nancy’s disappearance and discovers that teenagers all over the area have gone missing, including some associated with members of his Stars and Stripes hacker team. Deciding to go undercover as a teenager, Steve realizes that he can’t pull that off without some extra help. Checking the Avengers files he pulls up their profile on the Eternal named Sersi. Reading about her ability to rearrange matter he is convinced that she will be able to help him out with this problem. Steve soon visits Sersi at her apartment in the city and explains his situation to her. She agrees to use her power to transform him into a teenager with a failsafe in place that will cause him to revert back to his proper age within 48 hours. The molecular rearrangement works, however this also strips Steve of the Super-Soldier Serum, leaving him as scrawny and weak as he was when he was about 15 years old.
Later that day, Battlestar begins trying to figure out his next move. Realizing that he doesn’t know anyone else in the superhero community, he decides to look up the Falcon since he is the only other African-American hero he knows how to reach. He arrives at Sam Wilson’s office just as Sam is being attacked by Coachwhip and Rock Python of the Serpent Society, who are trying to steal Sam’s costume for some reason. Battlestar’s sudden arrival on the scene distracts the two villains long enough for Sam to duck into the washroom and change into the Falcon. Although Puff Adder joins the fight, the Falcon and Battlestar are able to defeat their attackers. In the aftermath of the battle, Falcon asks Lamar why he came by and learns how the novice hero is trying to network within the superhero community.
Meanwhile, Steve Rogers arrives at the Port Authority and tries his best to look like a bewildered runaway. On the street he is noticed by two teenage girls who peg him for a runaway and offer to bring him to a nearby youth shelter. After being signed in under the false name of Roger, Steve reminds himself to keep an eye out for Nancy Rosenthal. The two girls who brought him in begin smoking as he settles in and the smoke begins to make him feel dizzy. Trying to escape, one of the girls tackles “Roger” to stop him from getting away before he is completely knocked out. Before he passes out, Steve finds something familiar about their voices. When Steve finally wakes up, he finds himself on the bus heading into the country. All of the other passengers are all teenagers, leaving him to wonder what’s going on. That’s when he notices that one of the girls has prosthetic hands and realizes that the reason some of these girls are familiar is because they are the de-aged Sisters of Sin and wonders what is really going on.[4]
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Sisters of Sin (Sin, Raunch, Slash, Hoodwink), Battlestar, Falcon, Serpent Society (Coachwhip, Puff Adder, Rock Python), Valerie Cooper, Sersi, Redwing, Guardsmen, Bernie Rosenthal (voice only)
Continuity Notes
Each of the computer monitors at Cap’s work station is focused on an individual or group that Cap’s currently looking in on. They are:
The Soviet Super Soldiers who are listed as recuperating after an attempt on their lives by the Supreme Soviets. See Captain America #352-353.
The Black Knight is listed as stable. The Knight’s body has been slowly transforming into a living blade ever since the blood curse on his Ebony Blade was unleashed in Avengers #293. He will suffer through this condition until he is cured in Black Knight (vol. 2) #1-4.
Machinesmith: Is stated as being in custody. That’s not entirely true. Captain America believes he recovered the Machinesmith’s mind in a robotic head last issue. However it’s still very much free and working for the Red Skull. See Captain America #368 for all the deets.
Starfox is also listed as recuperating. He is recovering from injuries sustained during the Avengers recent battle with Super Nova in Avengers #301-303.
The Scourge of the Underworld: Has been at large ever since he killed John Walker’s alleged assassin in Captain America #354. He’ll pop up again in Captain America #358-362.
Sidewinder is also at large: The villain was last seen in Captain America #345, offering Steve’s allies an escape from government custody in repayment for them saving his life earlier in Captain America #341-342. He’ll turn up again in Uncanny X-Men Annual #13.
Flag-Smasher: Last seen in Captain America #348-349 when he needed to be rescued by his own terrorist organization, ULTIMATUM. He’ll appear again in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #8-9.
The Red Skull: Resurfaced in Captain America #350, revealing he was behind Steve Rogers’ recent identity troubles from Captain America #332 until that point. The Skull is currently operating behind the scenes to obtain the Bloodstone fragments. See Captain America #358-364.
The whole John Walker thing is quite complicated. Let’s break it down:
Back in Captain America #332, the government gave Steve Rogers an ultimatum: Work for them or give up being Captain America. Steve chose the latter. John Walker was selected as his successor in the following issue.
In Captain America #337, Steve was given a new costume by his friend D-Man which was similar to his original only in black, red, and white. Operating as simply “The Captain”, Steve was also given a Vibranium shield by the Black Panther in issue #342.
Obviously, John Walker botched the job as Captain America and the title, costume, and original shield were given back to Steve in issue #350. John’s death was faked so they could reinvent him as the US Agent in issue #351-354.
Here it is mentioned that John was placed on the Avengers west coast team. This happened in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #44.
Steve reflects on his relationship with Bernie Rosenthal:
He recounts the first time they met while they both lived in the same apartment building. This was in Captain America #248. They started dating almost immediately after.
How Bernie figured out his secret identity. That was in Captain America #275.
That Bernie later proposed to him. That was in Captain America #292.
She was later one of the people the Red Skull and Mother Superior kidnapped during the events of Captain America #293-300.
Lastly, he recounts how they separated when Bernie decided to study law out of state. This happened in Captain America #316-317, effectively killing their relationship.
Steve previously met Bernie’s sister Nancy in Captain America #289.
The Sisters of Sin were operatives of the Red Skull, including his own daughter. As explained in Captain America #298, the Red Skull used a device to age them to adulthood. They were reverted back to their proper ages in Captain America #301.
Topical References
Captain America’s computer set up on Avengers Island features a lot of CRT computer monitors. It’s pretty dated and should be considered topical.
