Captain America #372
Streets of Poison Part 1: Sold on Ice
Captain America is on patrol on his sky-cycle and decides to pay a visit to Diamondback to see if she wants to join him on this beautiful evening. As he approaches her apartment, he spots Boomslang of the Serpent Society on the roof of the building across the street spying on Rachel’s apartment.[1] Cap gives him chase but when Boomslang runs down an alleyway he runs into a local street gang and gets shot for trespassing on their turf. Cap comes to the villain’s aid and takes down the gang members then calls the police. Boomslang is rushed to a hospital where doctors give him a 50/50 chance of survival.[2] Disturbed by the violence he encountered this evening, Cap then returns to Avengers Headquarters.
There he is greeted by Michael O’Brien, a member of the Avengers Crew. He expresses his concern about their resident tech-head, Fabian Stankewicz, who has been acting strangely the past few days. Cap heads down to the lab where he finds the place in disarray. Fabien is looking rough after not sleeping for days and has lost a great deal of weight. Stankewicz is convinced that the base has been bugged by the Masters of Evil and is in a state of panic. Thinking Fabian has been working too hard, Steve suggests that he take some time to rest, prompting the inventor to accuse him of being an impostor. Cap restrains him until the young man calms down and then asks Fabian if he’s on something.
Stankewicz admits that he started taking a new designer drug called Ice to deal with the pressures of working for the Avengers. At first, he was given a boost of energy and was able to work around the clock but as time went on he became more and more dependent on the drug and started getting paranoid. After revealing the truth, Fabian pleads with Cap not to kick him out of the Avengers because it is the only thing he has got going for him. Steve decides that he wont do that as long as Fabian enters a treatment program and kicks his addiction, telling the young man that the Avengers need to be role models. That’s when Fabian points out that Cap got his powers from a drug. Although this bothers Steve, he tells Fabian that the Super Soldier Serum is different.[3]
A few hours later, two Ice dealers named Lowlife and Chuckie check out the scene of the shooting earlier that night. They figure that this is why Tone-Def and the rest of the gang haven’t reported back to them. They then decide to jimmy open a nearby door looking for the drugs and cash they were waiting on. However, they are caught by a woman in a costume, who demands to know what they are doing. Lowlife and Chuckie lie, saying that they are just curious lookie-loos and are told to scram.[4]
Back at Avengers Headquarters, Captain America is bothered by his earlier conversation with Fabian. Not only because it was pointed out to him that the serum that turned him into Captain America could also be considered a narcotic, but because up until now he hasn’t really done much about the illegal drug trade in the city. He decides to change that right away and begins looking up the data law enforcement has on Ice. The new designer drug appears to be a derivative of methamphetamine. Leaning how addictive Ice is and how much illegal money is made from it and the violence it creates convinces Cap to do something about it.
Meanwhile, at a prison upstate, the assassin known as Bullseye sits cross legged in his cell.[5] It has been constructed in a way that he cannot fashion any weapons inside his cell and guards are under strict orders not to get close to him unless he has been tranquilized. Suddenly, Bullseye gets up and runs into the wall of his cell, smashing his nose bloody. This prompts the guards stationed outside to rush in without thinking to check on their prisoner. When one guard rolls Bullseye over, the master assassin spits one of his dislodged teeth into the guard’s eye. He then grabs for his gun and kills the other guard with it. He then uses the surviving guard as a hostage.
While at Avengers Headquarters, Captain America is still working on getting Fabian Stankewicz into rehab. In the meantime, he has decided to do what he can to get Ice off the street and asks Fabian who he got the drug from. He learns about a dealer named Kid Gloves and where he sells. Going incognito with John Jameson, Cap finds Kid Gloves in Queens and yanks him into a van. The young dealer fears for his life because he believes that the man who kidnapped him is the Punisher. Cap decides to use this to his advantage and gets Kid Gloves to out his supplier, another youth named Low Life. From him, Cap and John learn where Ice is being made in the city.
When they arrive at the Ice factor in Lower Manhattan, Steve changes into Captain America and exits the van to scope the place out. This surprises Kid Gloves and Lowlife who were certain he was the Punisher. That’s when John turns around and claims he’s the Punisher and that he and Captain America are now working together.
Meanwhile, Captain America crashes into the warehouse through a window to see who he draws out. He is greeted by another punk calling himself Napalm who has rigged the place to explode in the event that their operation is compromised. Before Cap can stop him, Napalm flips the detonator switch causing a massive explosion.[6]
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Bullseye, Fabian Stankewicz, Michael O’Brien, John Jameson, Boomslang, Diamondback (presumably)
Continuity Notes
The reason why Boomslang is spying on Diamondback is to gather evidence to prove that she has betrayed the Serpent Society by dating Captain America. We’ll learn this in Captain America #380.
Boomslang will pull through and will be seen again in Captain America #411.
Technically speaking, Cap didn’t get super-powers. The Super-Soldier Serum only boosted his body to the peak of human perfection. That said, it was more than just a drug but a combination of intravenous and oral drugs as well as exposure to vita rays. See Captain America Comics #1, among many, many other retellings of Cap’s origins.
The woman here is obscured in shadow and her identity is never clarified. Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Captain America suggests that it is probably Diamondback given her later involvement in this story arc. I have no reason to doubt that.
Bullseye has been incarcerated since Daredevil #200. However, the Marvel Chronology Project also lists a number of appearances between that issue and this one. Notably a flashback stories in Daredevil (vol. 2) #111, Daredevil #500, and Marvel 1985 #4. I’m inclined to disagree with this assessment. My opinion is that perhaps only Marvel 1985 #4 takes place during the time Bullseye was in prison. I have presented my case here.
Cap obviously survives this blast, but the explosion will have grave repercussions on Cap for some time. Immediately afterwards he experiences a contact high caused by the explosion requiring a full blood transfusion in issue #377.
Topical References
Boomslang sings lyrics from Young MC’s “Bust a Move” while Kid Gloves sings “This Beat is Technotronic” by Technotronic. Both songs were popular at the time this story was published. Their references here should be considered topical.
Agent Provocateur
Trying to find his friend John Walker, Battlestar — aka Lamar Hoskins — has been investigating the US Agent at Avengers Compound and is convinced that it is his old friend. When the Agent leaves the compound on a sky-cycle, Battlestar uses a sniper rifle to shoot it out of the sky. As expected, US Agent lands the craft and attacks. However, he has no idea who Battlestar is and what he wants.
Lamar reminds John how they go way back, serving in the military together where they became fast friends. After their hitch, the John had tried to become America’s newest super-hero the Super-Patriot with Lamar being on his team of BUCKies. They had a chance at the big leagues when the government chose John to replace the original Captain America. Lamar joined him as the new Bucky and later Battlestar. Eventually, the powers that be decided to restore the original Cap and during the handing off ceremony, John was apparently gunned down by an assassin. Lamar thought the whole thing was fishy and correctly deduced that John was not really dead and has spent this entire time trying to find him.
Hearing all of this US Agent denies any knowledge of any of this. When Lamar tries to remind John about his family, particularly that his parents are dead, US Agent lashes out, claiming that his parents are still alive. Lamar can’t figure out why John is acting this way and wonders what the government had done to him.[1]
Recurring Characters
Battlestar, US Agent
Continuity Notes
Battlestar goes into some of his past adventures with John Walker:
John and Lamar’s military service prior to becoming costumed super-heroes was chronicled in Captain America #333.
John’s career as Super-Patriot ran from Captain America #323 to 332.
John became Captain America from Captain America #333 to 350. During this time Lamar went from being Bucky to Battlestar in issue #341 due to the fact that the name “Bucky” had racist connotations.
During his time as Captain America, John’s parents were murdered by the terrorist organization known as the Watchdogs in Captain America #345.
Although John was seemingly killed by an assassin’s bullet in Captain America #350. This was actually faked by the US government. They then brainwashed John and gave him the identity of US Agent in Captain America #354. Since then, John has been affiliated with the Avengers West Coast since West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #44.
Suspecting that John’s death was staged, Lamar has been investigating it since Captain America #351.
John will eventually have his brainwashing reversed in Captain America #380.
Topical References
Here, Lamar states that John’s brother Mike fought in the Vietnam War. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale. One could presume that Mike Walker served in the Sin-Conflict like many other characters who have had topical military service in the past (the Punisher, Ben Grimm, Reed Richards, etc.)
