Captain America #410
Diamonds Are For Vengeance
Captain America and the Falcon have come to the Rocky Mountains to rescue Diamondback from the clutches of the Red Skull.[1] The trail has led them to a medical facility down mountain from the Red Skull’s hideout. They spring their ambush on Crossbones and Jack O’Lantern before they can set up a suitable trap for the heroes. As the four men fight it out, a scientist is giving Diamondback a blood transfusion from Captain America’s blood stolen for the Red Skull, to test and see if it is viable for use.[2] With the battle raging outside, the doctor calls for reinforcements. Soon, Mother Night and Blackwing arrive from the Red Skull’s chalet to lend a hand.
Elsewhere, in a cavern deep below Central Park, Dennis Dunphy — aka Demolition Man — has been wandering around in a daze when he suddenly comes upon a shanty town of some kind.[3] This is Zerotown, created by a collective of homeless men and women who call themselves the Night People. Seeing the unspeaking stranger as a threat, the Night People swarm him and take him to their leader, Brother Wonderful, for questioning.[4] When Dennis is unable to talk, Brother Wonderful presumes that he is refusing and vows that he will speak before they are done with him.
Back in the Rockies, the battle between Captain America, the Flacon, Jack O’Lantern, and Crossbones rages on. When the helicopter carrying Mother Night and Blackwing arrives on the scene, Cap’s pilot Moonhunter tries to engage their ship. In order to get him off their tail, Mother Night deploys the Fourth Sleeper robot to deal with him. As this is happening, Crossbones manages to rip away Captain America’s shield and use it against Cap.
Meanwhile, Diamondback wakes up reinvigorated by the Super-Soldier Serum now coursing through her veins. She breaks free from her bonds and races outside. There, she sees that Crossbones has Cap dangling over a cliff. Fighting her way through Mother Night to get to him, Rachel loops a garrot around Crossbone’s neck and starts choking him. She fully intends on killing him after the weeks he kept her in captivity and tortured her. Steve tries to climb up and stop her but looses his grip and ends up falling down the side of the mountain. Luckily, Falcon has just defeated Jack O’Lantern and is able to dive down and rescue his friend.
At that same moment, Moonhunter manages to knock the Sleeper off the wing of his plane by flying in close to the helicopter that brought Mother Night and the others to the scene. The Sleeper is knocked loose by the chopper’s rotor blade. However, this causes the ship to crash into the nearby building causing a massive explosion. A piece of shrapnel flies out of the blast and ends up embedding itself in Crossbones’ back. When Cap is safely on the ground, he smothers the flames on Crossbones’ back and then races into the burning building to save any survivors trapped inside. Soon, the Skeleton Crew are all taken prisoner aboard Cap’s ship to be taken to the Vault. Diamondback figures that Steve will be mad at him for trying to kill Crossbones. However, Cap holds her close, deciding that this is no time for a lecture in morality. He tells her that he is just glad that she is safe as he was afraid he had lost her forever.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Falcon, Diamondback, Moonhunter, Demolition Man, Skeleton Crew (Crossbones, Jack O’Lantern, Blackwing, Mother Night, Fourth Sleeper), Night People
Continuity Notes
Diamondback was kidnapped by Crossbones back in Captain America #395 and has been a captive of the Skull since issue #407.
After getting caught in a meth lab explosion, Captain America needed a full blood transfusion to get the tainted blood out of his system. The drug laced blood was then filtered so the Super Soldier Serum could be returned to his body. However, Cap opted not to undergo another transfusion as he wanted to prove that it was the man, not the serum that made him Captain America, as seen in Captain America #372-378. This proved to be a moot point as it was later revealed that trace amounts of the serum still remained in his system and was replenishing itself, as revealed in issue #384. Diamondback stole the blood from Avengers Headquarters in issue #405.
Dunphy’s mind has been suffering from selective amnesia after a prolonged dip in the Arctic Ocean between Captain America #349 and 400. He ended up in this underground tunnel after getting attacked by one of the Magus’ doppelgangers created during the Infinity War in Captain America #408-409.
The Night People originally lived on Zero Street in New York City, as seen in Captain America #201-204 and Marvel Team-Up #52. It’s later explained in Captain America #418 that they were forced underground when their neighborhood underwent gentrification and they were pushed out by the wealthy people who moved into the area.
Topical References
When listing off the different character traits that he doesn’t like, Crossbones states that Cap has a “Dudley Doright attitude”. Dudly Doright was a feature character on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show which originally ran from 1960 to 1963. Dudley was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and was played as a dimwitted but infallibly altruistic Mounty who frequently saved his beloved Nell from the evil Snidely Whiplash. Although there was a movie made about the character in 1999, it is not quite the cultural touchstone it used to be and its reference here should be considered topical.
