Fire

Concerned for her brother’s safety, Rikki Barnes has fashioned a makeshift costume and broken into the headquarters of the Neo-Nazi group known as the World Party. Snooping around she discovers that the organization has a highly trained militia that is armed to the teeth. She overhears some of the soldiers talking about how they recently caught Captain America, a surprise to her as she believed the wartime hero to have been dead for years.[1]

She is soon caught by her brother John and his friend Lug who recently joined up with the group. Despite the fact that Rikki is his sister, John intends to turn her over to Alexander, the leader of the movement. Realizing that she can’t get through to her brother, Rikki makes a run for it but ends up running into the Red Skull, who is not amused that they have another intruder.

Down in the basement, Captain America and Sam Wilson are being held prisoner. Steve apologizes to Sam for everything that has happened, but Wilson — still embittered that his father sacrificed his life to revive Cap — tells him it doesn’t matter.[2] Sam has a very negative opinion of Captain America since his father abandoned his family for him many years earlier. Steve assures that once they get out of this prison, he will make everything right. Their conversation is interrupted when the Red Skull. He mocks them both — Cap for his ideals, and Sam because he is black — telling them that America is doomed to failure. Seeing that the Red Skull is carrying his shield, Cap demands he take it off right away. Instead, the Skull mocks the American Dream, saying that the Aryan ideals are superior and that Captain America — a white man with blond hair and blue eyes — exemplifies this ideal. This pushes Cap over the edge and he is able to snap free from his chains through sheer strength.

Cap then trounces both the Red Skull and Crossbones and recovers his shield.[3] He then frees Sam who thanks him and tells Cap to call him Falcon because all of his friends do. That’s when Master Man comes into the room with some guards. Alexander has decided to take this opportunity to eliminate the Red Skull so that he can pursue his own agendas for the World Party. When Falcon tries to attack Master Man, his guards open fire riddling him with bullets.

Elsewhere, Rikki Barnes wakes up to the sound of her brother and Lug laughing at her. She quickly realizes that she has been tied to one of the nuclear missiles that the World Party have hidden in their hideout. She pleads with them to let her go but they refuse. That’s when the countdown sequence kicks in, announcing that the missiles are about to launch.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Sam Wilson, Rikki Barnes, World Party (Red Skull, Master Man, Crossbones), John Barnes, Lug

Continuity Notes

1. In the Heroes Reborn timeline, Captain America was allegedly put on ice after disagreeing with President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. He has spent “years” in assumed identities with no memories of his past until he was recently reactivated. See Captain America (vol. 2) #1, 3, and 7. However, Nick Fury would later state in issue #12 that not all of these facts were true. It’s a moot point however, since all memories of the “past” are false ones planted there by Franklin Richards to sell the illusion that this pocket dimension has existed longer than it actually has, as explained in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4.

2. 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.

3. From here, Crossbones will appear next in Heroes Reborn: Rebel #1. He is transformed into a skeletal monstrosity by gamma radiation.

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.

Supplement Material

• This issue also features a pin-up of Rikki Barnes as Bucky.