Captain America #449

Jun 27

Jun 27 Captain America #449

First Sign Chapter One: I’ll Take Manhattan

Captain America has brought Sharon Carter to the SHIELD helicarrier to find out why they cut her loose and led Steve to believe she had been dead for years.[1] Sharon, naturally upset over being abandoned by the spy agency, almost tosses one of their agents out of a window to get answers. Seeing that this is getting them nowhere, Steve decides to go all the way to the top and speak with Nick Fury in order to get answers. They are then met by Countessa Valentina de la Fontain who tells gives them the unfortunate news that Nick Fury is dead.[2] When Valentina insists that Sharon must be arrested and debriefed, Captain America demands to know if this is necessary. Since this is the only way they are going to get answers, both Steve and Sharon refuse to allow that to happen. They then send back down to the surface.[3]

The pair land on the Brooklyn Bridge where Steve suggests they go back to his headquarters to figure out their next move. Suddenly a massive barrier is erected around the island of Manhattan, separating Steve from Sharon and trapping him inside. With people in a panic, Cap tells them to remain calm. He gets them to focus on helping some EMTs transport a patient somewhere safe. Whatever has caused this barrier to appear has also cut off all forms of communications and deactivated everything mechanical on the island. That’s when Cap notes a traffic helicopter crash into the East River. Without a second thought, the Star-Spangled Avenger dives into the water to save the crew.

Handing the men to the Coast Guard, Steve swims to shore where he comes across a team of NYPD officers in a firefight with some strange men armed with high tech weapons that still work despite the dome. Captain America leaps in to help the officers and learns that these men represent a new Zodiac organization. Cap soon realizes that he is out gunned and tries to use his Avengers ID card to call for back up, only to realize that it also doesn’t work. Deciding to go to his teammates personally, Captain America leads his attackers on a merry chase across town to Avengers Mansion. There he is greeted by Jarvis who is surprised to see that Captain America is still alive. The butler tells Cap that most of the Avengers were away on a mission and are now trapped outside the city. The only one left is Thor, who is living in a nearby apartment building.

Captain America — still evading his would-be killers — thanks Jarvis for the info and makes his way to the condo that Thor is staying at. Smashing his way inside, Cap is surprised to see the thunder god is living with the Enchantress, his former enemy. When the Zodiac soldiers come crashing in, Cap tells Thor to summon up some lightning. That’s when the Thor reveals that he’s not a god anymore…[4]

… This story continues in Thor #496.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Sharon Carter, Thor, Zodiac, Edwin Jarvis, Enchantress, SHIELD (Countessa de la Fontaine)

Continuity Notes

Sharon Carter was believed to have died after being brainwashed into joining the Neo-Nazi group called National Force where she appeared to immolate herself as part of the organizations suicide pact, see Captain America #231-237. In reality, Sharon faked her death to go on a deep cover mission that she was was apparently cut loose by SHIELD. See Captain America #445-446 for the details on that.
At the time of this story, Nick Fury was believed to have been killed by the Punisher in Double Edge Omega #1. In reality, Fury was off on a secret solo mission, leaving a Life Model Decoy in his place to cover for his absence, this is what the Punisher killed. The real Fury ends up in a virtual reality simulation until Sharon — still looking for answers — finds and rescues him in Fury/Agent 13 #1-2.
There are multiple references in this story that state that Captain America was believed dead. This is because Steve was suffering from the deterioration of his Super-Soldier Serum since Captain America #425. It left him incapacitated by issue #443, when he went missing. The Avengers presumed him dead and even held a ceremonial funeral in his honor in issue #445, the same issue where he was revived by the Red Skull.
This takes place shortly after Thor was stripped of most of his godly powers by the WorldEngine. He was saved from death by the Enchantress and the two hooked up as a result, as seen in Thor #491-494. This will remain Thor’s status quo until he partially gets his powers back in Thor #500. He won’t be restored to his status quo until Avengers (vol. 2) #9.

Topical References

Cell phones in this story are depicted as having antennea hanging off them. These styles of phones are obsolete and their depiction here should be considered topical.