Captain America #379
Moonstruck
Steve Rogers is out for a jog in Central Park with Wendell Vaugh, aka Quasar, and John Jameson.[1] It is interrupted by a call from Peggy Carter who tells Steve that there is a superhuman incident going on at the nearby courthouse. Using his Quantum Bands, Quasar airlifts himself and Steve to that location, picking up their stashed costumes along the way.
When Captain America and Quasar arrive on the scene it is just as a superhuman dressed in Count Nefaria’s old costume comes smashing out of the courthouse with Karla Sofen — aka Moonstone — as his hostage. This new foe, called Nefarius, is able to fend off the two Avengers with powers similar to that of Nefaria. As Nefarius flees with Sofen, Cap can’t help but find him familiar somehow.
The pair give Nefarius chase but have to stop to save civilians when their foe shatters the side of a building, causing debris to fall to the ground. This gives Nefarius time to escape from sight. However, Quasar has used his bands to scan the villain’s energy signature and will detect it when he uses his powers again. It’s then that Captain America finally recognizes who Nefarius is. He’s actually Lloyd Bloch, the original Moonstone, and wonders what he wants with the new one and how he got his new powers.[2]
Meanwhile, Nefarius ducks into a church in Lower Manhattan so he can have a little chat with Sofen. He reminds her how, after his defeat at Captain America’s hand, she used her psychological skills to trick him into giving up the Moonstone — the source of his powers — to use as her own.[3] Bloch spent the convening years a psychological wreck and was institutionalized. During his time in the institution he met a fellow patient who had rediscovered the process that gave Count Nefaria his power a number of years back.[4] When they were both sane and released, Lloyd had this man rebuild the machine and use it to give him his new set of powers. Now calling himself Nefarius, Bloch has now come after Soften to take back the power she originally stole from him.
However, Karla Sofen is just as manipulative as she was back when Bloch first encountered her. She uses a combination of psychology and seduction to convince Bloch to romance her instead of killing her. However, she suggests that he love her as Moonstone instead and uses her powers to reshape her clothing into her usual costume.
When she does so, Karla sets off the energy detectors in Quasar’s Quantum Bands. Even though this is a different signature than the one they have been keeping an eye out, both Cap and Quasar agree to go and check it out. When they arrive outside the church, Steve has Wendell form a barrier of quantum energy around the structure to keep the coming battle contained for the sake of any innocent people who might get sucked into the conflict.
They catch Nefarius as he is trying to use his eye beams to destroy the shackles that prevent Moonstone from using her full powers. They are then ambushed by the two Avengers, while Quasar tackles with Nefarius in the air, Captain America quickly subdues Moonstone and knocks her out. Unfortunately, Nefarius is able to knock out Quasar as well and manages to overpower Captain America and take Moonstone back. Recovering from Captain America’s blow, Moonstone finally gets her shackles off and unleashes a powerful energy blast into Nefarius’ face, incapacitating him. However, when the brute falls down, Karla finds herself pinned under his body. When Cap gets up close he orders her to surrender, threatening to toss his shield if she makes any sudden moves. Calculating the situation, Karla decides to surrender as she can’t be sure that she will be able to miss if she tried blasting Captain America.
With the two villains defeated, Quasar seals them in a containment bubble to transport them to the Vault. Before they leave, Captain America asks Karla why she was kissing Nefarius when they ambushed them. Moonstone explains that she did what she had to do in order to survive. Sending the two villains away, Cap quips that it is nice to meet someone with standards.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Nefarius, Moonstone, Quasar, John Jameson, Peggy Carter
Continuity Notes
Quasar makes a comment about Steve not having his Super Soldier Serum here. Steve had to have it pumped out of system when it became tainted following a meth lab explosion. See Captain America #372-378. This doesn’t completely remove the serum from his body, which will begin replenishing itself in Captain America #384.
Captain America fought the original Moonstone in Captain America #170 and 175. We’ll get into what’s going on here as we continue along…
Karla stole the Moonstone from Lloyd back in Incredible Hulk #229.
This is the same process that gave Nefaria his power in Avengers #165-166.
Topical References
Captain America’s Avengers ID card is depicted as being signed by President George HW Bush. This should be considered a topical reference as he was President from 1989 to 1993. He subsequently died in 2018.
The Warning
At Collette’s Fashion Boutique in the Upper East Side, Rachel Leighton — aka Diamondback — gets a strange note. It warns her that she is being watched and in danger and tells her to leave town.[1] When her boss Maggie asks what’s wrong, Rachel crumples up the letter and tells her its is nothing but a bad prank.
She decides to go on her lunch break and tries to keep an eye out for anyone who might be watching her. Unfortunately, the city is too busy for her to notice anything out of the ordinary. She is indeed being watched from a window in the building across the street. Becoming paranoid, Rachel wonders who she can call for help. She decides to call her friend Tanya Sealy — aka Black Mamba — but ends up getting her voice mail. Fearing that Tanya’s line might be tapped, Rachel hangs up without leaving a message.
Rachel then goes to the local gym to blow off steam by working out. As she works on her abs, she runs through a list of all the enemies that she made in recent history to try and figure out who might be after her. However, she can’t make up her mind which one it could be and finds this even so frustrating.[2] She decides to bite the bullet and call Captain America for help. Calling Avengers Headquarters, she gets in touch with Peggy Carter who tells her that Cap is off on a mission but will be back later. Rachel decides to head to the Avengers for protection while she waits. However, as she arrives outside the service entrance someone knocks her out and hauls her into the back of a limo which then speeds off…
Recurring Characters
Diamondback, Black Racer, Peggy Cater
Continuity Notes
Diamondback was being spied upon by Boomslang back in Captain America #372. The Serpent Society has been keeping tabs on her to find out if she has betrayed them to Captain America. Rachel was a founding member in Captain America #310, but left the group. She had drifted away from the group following the events of Captain America #344 as she was growing attracted to Captain America and wanted to go straight. The pair have been officially dating since issue #371. We get confirmation that it is the Serpent Society after her next issue.
Diamondback names off a number of villains who she has clashed with in the past:
Viper: Formerly known as Madame Hydra, Diamondback interfered with her plot to usurp control of the Serpent Society in Captain America #342-344.
Baron Zemo: Rachel assisted Captain America in preventing Zemo from recovering the Bloodstone and using it to resurrect his father. See Captain America #357-362. FYI, Zemo’s dad was killed in battle against Captain America years earlier in Avengers #15.
Crossbones: Aka Brock Rumlow, the Red Skull’s right hand man. As youths, Rachel was raped by Rumlow and her brothers were killed by him, as will be revealed in Captain America #400. She would later clash with Rumlow and recognize who he really is when she can Cap encountered him in Madripoor in Captain America #363-364.
