Patriotism

1945[1]

Captain America has been called to the White House to meet with President Harry Truman. With the war quickly coming to an end, the President has decided to go ahead with plans to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He has called Cap in to get him to support the move. However, Steve Rogers declines to do so as he thinks that slaughtering countless Japanese civilians in order to spare the lives of American soldiers and bring a fast end to the war to be horrific. When the President tries to swear him to secrecy, Captain America decides to make the public know what’s really going on and storms out.

Present in the meeting are General Thaddeus Ross and Nick Fury. They make assurances to the President that they can make this go away so they can move forward with their plans without losing the support of the American people…

Now

Nick Fury is telling this all to Steve Rogers who just learned that he is really Captain America and that his current life was all a lie manufactured to make him think he was just an ordinary guy.[2] Fury explains that for years they kept Steve under wraps by making him forget the past and due to the fact that the Super-Soldier Serum kept him from aging, SHIELD had to make adjustments and create new identities to keep his true memories in check.[3] At first Steve believes that these are all lies, then becomes angry that his opinion was being silenced. Fury tries to explain that things were different back then because America was still at war. Still, he offers Steve to become Captain America again. Steve accepts the offer, but only if there are some major changes.

They are then teleported aboard the SHIELD helicarrier where Steve is introduced to agents Sharon Carter and Dum Dum Dugan. After introductions are made, Steve is sent to the locker room to put on his Captain America uniform on for the first time in decades. Fury can’t help but admit that Steve makes it work. He then informs Rogers that he is going to spearhead a new initiative being organized by SHIELD called the Avengers.[4]

Meanwhile, at the church headquarters of the Neo-Nazi group called the World Party, the Red Skull is furious that his operative Alexander — aka Master Man — was unable to stop Captain America from being reactivated. The Skull is uninterested in the subterfuge and political aspirations that Alexander has in mind and decides that it is time to attack Captain America directly. For this operation, the Red Skull is sending in his most loyal soldier, the mercenary known as Crossbones. Alexander takes issue with this as he was created to destroy Captain America, however the Red Skull insists on his plan since he screwed things up so badly.

Later, Captain America goes to Arlington National Cemetery to pay his respects to Abraham Wilson.[5] Also there is Abraham’s son, Sam Wilson who blames Cap for the death of his father and punches him in the face. Steve takes it and listens as Sam tells him how his father abandoned everything just to track down and return Captain America’s shield. Steve is about to apologize when he is suddenly ambushed and knocked out by Crossbones.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Sam Wilson, SHIELD (Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Sharon Carter), World Party (Red Skull, Master Man, Crossbones), General Ross

Continuity Notes

1. Going to get this out of the way off the top: Nearly everyone in this story, the exceptions being Captain America and Sam Wilson, are constructs created by Franklin Richards to populate the Earth in this pocket dimension. This is all explained in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4.

2. This is explored a little more deeply in Captain America (vol. 2) #7. However, this Nick Fury is later revealed to be a Life Model Decoy that went rogue and took over the real Fury’s place as revealed in issue #10-11. When the real Nick Fury speaks with Cap in issue #12, he states that not everything that was told to him were true. This is all a moot point since all “past events” are just false memories anyway to sell the idea that this pocket dimension has existed longer than it really has, see Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4 (again).

3. Fury rhymes off the various other jobs that Steve Rogers has allegedly had over the years. Most are actual jobs that Steve or other Captain Americas have held in the Prime Marvel Universe at one point or another:

   • School teacher: This was a job actually held by William Burnside when he operated as Captain America in the 1950s. See Young Men #24-27, Men’s Adventures #26-28, and Captain America Comics #76-78.

   • Policeman: Steve Rogers briefly had a job in the NYPD when he was trying to establish his civilian identity in the Modern Age. See Captain America #139 through 159.

   • Steelworker: This is the only profession that Steve or any other Captain America held prior to this story.

   • Commercial artist: Steve was a commercial artist from Captain America #237 to 308.

4. This is alluding to the fact that Cap is to be a founding member and team leader for the Heroes Reborn version of the Avengers. The events of Avengers (vol. 2) #1-3 and Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #3 all take place between page 13 and 14 of this story.

5. Abraham was the guy who woke Steve up back in issue #1 and died returning his shield. Abraham is not really Sam’s father since Wilson comes from the Prime Marvel Universe and Abraham is just a construct created by Franklin. His real parents are actually Paul and Darlene Wilson as detailed in Captain America #277/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #4.

Topical References

• This story states that World War II ended 50 years prior to this story. This should be considered a topical reference due to the Sliding Timescale. As the Modern Age is pushed forward in time, the gulf of years between the end of World War II and the start of the Age of Heroes will continue to grow.