Captain America #373
Streets of Poison Part 2: After Blow
Captain America is investigating a warehouse where the new street drug called Ice is being produced. While inside, a young gang member detonates an explosive to destroy the building and all the evidence of the illegal operation. Watching from outside is Cap’s assistant John Jameson, who fears the worst. He calls Peggy Cater back at Avenges Headquarters and asks that she call in any Avengers that are available to help. Checking the Avengers computers, Peggy determines that the only person potentially available is the Black Widow and sends out the call for help.[1] Peggy also thinks to contact Diamondback at her home to inform her of the situation.
Rachel rushes to the scene as firefighters are putting out the blaze. There she finds John, who is not very optimistic because they haven’t found Cap’s body yet. The inferno is also witnessed by members of the gang who were involved in the drug operation, who decide to report this development to their boss.
Miraculously, Captain America appears and reveals he is still alive. He surprises Rachel when he gives her an open mouth kiss without warning. Apparently, he managed to leap out a window at the moment of the blast and was knocked clean into the building next door and was knocked out. Other than being covered in soot, Cap assures both John and Rachel that he is fine, in fact he feels better than ever and wants to go home and take a shower before continuing his war on drugs.[2] As the trio head back to Avengers Headquarters, they are unaware that they are being followed on the rooftops by the Black Widow.
Meanwhile, Bullseye has broken out of prison and has returned to the Kingpin’s office looking for work.[3] He terrorizes the mobster’s secretary until the Kingpin comes out and orders him to leave her alone. Once inside the office, Bullseye takes issue with Typhoid Mary being present and asks that they speak in private. The Kingpin agrees to take Bullseye back on for a job but orders him to clean himself up and get some dental work done since the assassin sacrificed his two front teeth to break out of prison.
Back at Avengers Headquarters, Cap has just gotten out of the shower and put on a fresh uniform. He is excited to get back out on the streets to find out who is making Ice. John points out that they don’t have a plan, prompting Steve to explain that they’ll make things up as they go along. Before they leave, Peggy informs Cap that she has managed to get Fabian Stankewicz into a drug rehabilitation clinic.[4] At that same moment, a crack house hidden away on 164th Street is blown up by a garbage truck filled with plastic explosives.
That evening, Bullseye is reporting for duty at the Fisk Building. The Kingpin tells him that their narcotics operations are being threatened by whoever is flooding the streets with Ice. Worse, whoever is responsible is also making an effort to find and destroy Fisk’s own drug labs. He wants Bullseye to go out and get someone to talk and find out who is encroaching on his territory and put a stop to it. Although Lester finds this beneath his talents, he agrees to take the job and leaves. As Bullseye exits the building, he is observed by the Black Widow from the rooftops.
By this time, Captain America and Diamondback have gone back to the scene of the Ice warehouse to stake it out and see who might come by. While they are passing time, Cap mentions how he is concerned that people might view the Super Soldier Serum in his veins as no different than a performance enhancing drug.[5] Diamondback admits that she hadn’t really thought of that and notes that Cap is acting strangely ever since he was caught in that explosion. That’s when John Jameson radios them and tells the pair that he has spotted someone entering the warehouse on the other side.[6]
Cap and Diamondback fly over the ruined building in a sky-cycle. Once overhead, Captain America leaps into the hole in the roof and tells Diamondback to circle above. Rachel is shocked by this sudden plan because she doesn’t know how to fly the cycle and it begins going out of control. As she struggles to understand the controls, the Black Widow hitches ar ride. Rachel, thinking this is an attack, instinctively attacks the Widow prompting a brawl between the two aboard the sky-cycle.[7] As the two women fight, the sky-cycle pitches downward sending them both splashing into the nearby river.[8]
Inside the building, Captain America spots Bullseye snooping around on the ground and tries to follow him from the rafters. Unfortunately, he clumsily kicks some debris down alerting the assassin to his presence. Since his cover has been blown, Captain America jumps down to the ground. There, Bullseye tosses his flashlight and a sharp spade at his opponent. Blinded by the flashlight, Cap instinctively raises his shield to block it, leaving him open for the incoming spade.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Bullseye, Diamondback, Kingpin, Typhoid Mary, John Jameson, Peggy Carter, Black Widow
Continuity Notes
Peggy pulls up a list of Avengers and the computer gives her a status of where each one is. Here are some facts about that:
Both Thor and Hercules are listed as being off world. At the time of this story the pair are off in the Black Galaxy witnessing the birth of a new Celestial. See Thor #419-424.
Quasar is also listed as being off world. He was off world defending the Strangers world from the Overmind as seen in Quasar #13-17.
She-Hulk’s whereabouts are unknown. This is because she has found herself on a dimension hopping adventure with Howard the Duck as seen in Sensational She-Hulk #14-17.
Vision and Sersi are listed as being on private business in Los Angeles and the French Riviera respectively. These outings are not tied to any particular story happening elsewhere. Likewise, Hellcat and Captain Marvel are listed as being in San Francisco and New Orleans respectively. These are the cities the pair live in and are not tied to a particular story.
Starfox is yet another Avenger who is off in space. Foxy’s is in the middle of an encounter with the Silver Surfer and Drax the Destroyer, as seen in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #37.
Moondragon is another character whose status is unknown to the Avengers at the time of this story. This is because Moondragon is posing as H.D. Steckley, an employee working at the security firm run by Wendell Vaughn, aka Quasar. This ruse runs from Quasar #11 to 22.
Cap’s odd behavior and sudden heightened energy is because he got a contact high from the exploding meth lab and is completely ripped on Ice. This will cause a prolonged affect that will make Cap more and more paranoid as time goes on necessitating a complete blood transfusion in Captain America #377.
Bullseye was incarcerated after being defeated by Daredevil in Daredevil #200. He broke out last issue.
Captain America discovered that Fabian had been taking Ice last issue and is one of his motivations to get the drug off the streets.
The Super Soldier Serum was administered to Steve Rogers back in 1941. The process required an injection, ingested drugs, and vita rays to transform him into Captain America. This story was first told in Captain America Comics #1 among many, many other tales.
Here, John Jameson refers to himself as “Carwolf”, this is a nod to the fact that John used to transform into the werewolf known as the Man-Wolf thanks to a strange stone he recovered while on a space mission to the moon. This first happened in Amazing Spider-Man #124. However, at the time of this story John had long been cured of this condition since Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #3.
Rachel recounts that the Black Widow is a former Russian spy that had defected. That happened a long time ago. See Avengers #30.
While fighting Diamondback, Black Widow tries to convince her that she is an Avenger, something Rachel doesn’t buy. Natasha has been an Avenger on-and-off over the years, being granted official membership in Avengers #111. At the time of this story she is on reserve status.
Topical References
Diamondback specifically refers to Natasha as a former Soviet spy. While would have been the case early on in Natasha’s career, its use here should be considered topical. This stems from the fact that at the time of this story Russia was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. After the fall of the USSR in 1991, all references to the Soviet Union in Marvel stories taking place in the Modern Age should be considered topical. Modern readers should substitute “Soviet” with “Russian”.
When Natasha tries to convince Diamondback that she is an Avenger, Rachel quips that if that were true, then she is Princess Di. This is a reference to Diana Spencer who at the time of this story was a member of the British Royal Family by marriage to Prince Charles. She was colloquially referred to as Princess or Lady Di for short by the general public. This should be considered a topical reference as Diana would later divorce Charles in 1996 due to her husband engaging in extramarital affairs. Diana died a year later in a car accident with her new boyfriend while trying to evade paparatzi’s.
Fists of Truth
Never accepting the fact that his friend John Walker died from an assassin’s bullet, Battlestar is has deduced that John is secretly the US Agent.[1] Confronting the Agent outside Avengers Compound in California, Battlestar has just finished reminding his friend of their shared past together. However, when he mentioned the death of John Walker’s parents, the US Agent denies that this is true and attacks Battlestar.[2] The pair are evenly matched and as they fight, US Agent insists that he’s not John Walker, but a man named Jack Daniels. To prove this, the US Agent removes his mask to show his real face to Battlestar. Lemar notes that US Agent does look slightly different, but notes that this could have been pulled off with plastic surgery.
This is when US Agent’s fellow Avengers, Iron Man and Wonder Man, arrive on the scene and offer him a hand. The battle comes to a quick end and Battlestar explains to them why he had come. Seeing that he can’t get through to John, Lemar cautions the Avengers that they are dealing with a ticking time bomb and leaves.
Hitting the road, Lemar gets a call from his brother Leon, who tells him that he just received a call from Ethan Thurm. Thurm was the agent who represented John and Lemar back when Walker was the Super-Patriot. Lemar reluctantly pays a visit to his former manager as he claims that he is aware of some national emergency that needs his attention. However, when Battlestar arrives at the cheap hotel where Ethan is hiding out, he learns that the promoter is actually afraid for his life because people are out to get him. Thurm insists that his life is in danger and his would be killers could attack at any moment. Ethan isn’t wrong as outside a trio of men with high tech weapons prepare to storm the room.
Recurring Characters
Battlestar, US Agent, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Ethan Thurm, Power Tools (Jackhammer, Buzzsaw, Drill, all unidentified)
Continuity Notes
John Walker and Lemar Hoskin’s first appeared on the scene as the Super-Patriot with Lamar being one of his Bold Urban Commandos in Captain America #323. John was later tapped to become the new Captain America after the government relinquished the title from Steve Rogers in Captain America #332-333. Lemar became his partner Bucky and later Battlestar in Captain America #341. When Steve Rogers reclaimed the Captain America title in Captain America #350, John was seemingly assassinated in the following issue. In reality, the Commission on Superhuman Activities had faked his death. They then brainwashed John to forget his past and become their new operative Jack Daniels, aka US Agent in Captain America #354. Not believing that John was dead, Lemar had been investigating this entire time.
During his time as Captain America, John Walker’s parents were killed by the Watchdogs, a homegrown terrorist organization in Captain America #345. Part of John’s brainwashing was the belief that his parents were still alive. John will rediscover the truth in Captain America #378.
Topical References
Battlestar is depicted driving a car that is some kind of 90s model luxury vehicle. I’m not that knowledgeable when it comes to cars of this vintage. What I do know is that this is supposed to look like a specific car from this era. It should be considered topical.
Lemar vehicle is also depicted having a car phone. With the advent of cell phones this technology has been obsolete since about 2008. Its use here should be considered topical.
