Captain America #454
Sanctuary
Sharon Carter has come to the nation of Tap-Kwai, where she meets with an old associate, a military official named Hong Fan. She has come to offer him a gold coin that the Machinesmith encoded with all of Captain America’s government secrets.[1]
However, she only wants to deal with Tap-Kwai’s ruler, a mysterious hacker known only as X12. Although Hong Fan denies the existence of X12, the hacker makes his presence known as he is very interested in cutting a deal with Carter for the data in her hands. Sharon agrees to sell it to him in exchange for a high commission in his country’s army and sanctuary from the United States.
X12 agrees and asks Sharon to hand over the coin. She moves forward, but also reaches for a knife in her back pocket, as she really plans on assassinating the hacker. X12 is also planning a double-cross as one of his men behind her has pulled a gun. He is about to shoot Carter in the back of the head when suddenly, Captain America comes crashing into the bar on a motorcycle. Cap has tracked Sharon down all the way from Moldavia and has come to rescue her. Fighting through X12 and his men, he grabs Sharon and rides away. They are chased out to the nearby river. However, Captain America has stashed a jet ski below the waters in order to make a clean getaway.
Sharon is unhappy with Steve’s rescue mission, prompting him to chide her about making up her mind, reminding her that she was originally upset with him for not looking for her when she was believed to be dead.[2]
Once they reach the countryside, Sharon decides to show Steve why she came here and why she was motivated to eliminate X12. She takes him to a nearby prison camp and shows him the cell she was held prisoner for eight months after SHIELD cut her loose.[3] She thinks about the time she spent in this cell and wonders if she might not belong here after all, considering everything that happened. Steve tells her that she is wrong and that a true sanctuary is all in the mind. Sharon still thinks she can track down and eliminate X12, but when she tries to leave she notices that Steve is remaining behind to free the prisoners from the camp. As enemy forces arrive on the scene, Captain America leads them away from the attack. Sharon, realizing she no longer has any other options, grudgingly joins Cap even though she thinks it is all pointless and he’s just going to get them all killed.
However, Steve has called in SHIELD who arrive in their helicarrier and fight off enemy forces just long enough to rescue all the prisoners. Needing to go before an international incident, Steve tries to convince Sharon to come with him. However, she still is unhappy with the way SHEILD abandoned her and wants to find her own way. She then reveals that the coin she was offering X12 was a fake and gives Steve the real one, which she had hidden in her boot this entire time.
Sharon is glad Steve came back for her this time and leans in to kiss him, but stops herself. Instead she gives him a solute. Hopping on the SHIELD tractor beam, Steve returns it to her as he is carried up in to the helicarrier.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Sharon Carter, SHIELD
Continuity Notes
The Machinesmith stole these secrets from Steve Rogers’ mind when he was being revived by the Red Skull in Captain America #445. He later used the data to try and cause a nuclear war that would wipe out all life on Earth, as seen in Captain America #450-453.
Sharon Carter faked her death in Captain America #237 in order to go on a deep cover mission for SHIELD. She was cut loos mid-operation and left to fend for herself for years until she re-entered Captain America’s life in issue #445.
It’s later explained in Fury/Agent 13 #2 that Nick Fury pulled SHIELD out of Sharon’s mission because he believed she had died.
Topical References
When Steve is giving her life advice, Sharon mockingly calls him “Dr. Brothers”. This is a reference to renown American psychologist Joyce Brothers. She is best known to her 40 years writing columns on psychology in Good Housekeeping. The reference to her here should be considered topical as Brothers died in 2013.
