Triumph of the Will

Moments ago, Sharon Carter witnessed Captain America kill the Cosmic Cube powered Red Skull before jumping into a time portal to stop Korvac from escaping with its power.[1] Suddenly, there is a flash of light as time rewinds itself to the moment before the Red Skull was fallen.

Posing as the Watcher once more, Korvac watches as history repeats itself with a huge smile on his face because he believes Captain America is in a no win situation and he’ll be able to abscond to the future with the Red Skull’s stolen power again.

However, this time, Captain America turns his photonic sword into a bo staff at the last minute and strikes his foe. When the Red Skull knocks Captain America aside, Korvac drops his disguise. Both he and Sharon are outraged that Cap didn’t kill the Skull as he is going to be able to pull all the information from Galactus’ ship and achieve ultimate power. Captain America quickly explains how when he previously killed the Skull, Korvac stole the power and used it to enslave the people of the future and how he spent decades fighting to free those people. He then reveals that, during this time, he also thought of a solution to cheat the Red Skull out of his power without having to take a life. He points out that their success all hinges on Korvac doing the right thing, pointing out that he has been cowardly in not confronting the Skull directly.

Taking offense to this, Korvac teleports them aboard the space ship in orbit and suggests that they use it to flee the galaxy to avoid the Red Skull’s wrath. When Captain America refuses to run, Korvac threatens to destroy him. Steve calls his bluff, telling him that Korvac hasn’t destroyed him already because he knows that Captain America is the only one who can stop the Red Skull. Korvac does back down and agrees to follow Cap’s lead… for now.

On Earth, the Red Skull’s power increases as he obtains more and more knowledge from the data link he has established with Galactus’ ship. He flexes his power by reaching out and becoming one with the planet itself. He revels in his new found power until he suddenly senses that something is amiss.

Back aboard the ship, Captain America has found what he has been looking for: A beam of energy that is in the center of the ship. Before Korvac can inquire what the plan is, the Red Skull appears and uses his powers to spread his atoms across six dimensions.[2] Thinking that Captain America has found the ship’s datacore he decides to amuse himself by using his powers to enthrall Sharon Carter and make her attack Cap. As the two struggle, Steve manages to break through Sharon’s mind control by telling her that he still loves her.[3] This distraction allows the Red Skull to get close to what he thinks is the data core. However, when he steps inside he realizes that Captain America tricked him. Rather than the data center that he was hoping to but rather the anti-mater core that powers the ship. As the Red Skull begins to be disintegrated the Cosmic Cube energies inside begin overloading the ship.

As the place is coming down around them, Captain America takes a gamble and reaches into the anti-mater core and briefly touches the Cosmic Cube once it is revealed and uses it to teleport himself and Sharon back to Earth just seconds before the ship explodes. Back on Earth, Cap hopes that the Red Skull was smart enough to do the same.[4] When Steve tries to tell Sharon what he meant about still loving her, he turns around and discovers that she has taken off while he wasn’t looking.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Red Skull, Korvac, Sharon Carter

Continuity Notes

1. Captain America killed the Red Skull in Captain America (vol. 3) #19 and went after Korvac in the future in the following issue. Korvac’s rewinding of time should create a divergent reality, one where Cap kills the Red Skull. However, as of this writing (August, 2022) Marvel has yet to give that divergance reality designation.

2. Although technically alive here, Korvac is not seen again (other than one of the time displaced foes fought in JLA/Avengers #3) until Avengers Academy #11-12. It took him that long to reassemble himself.

3. Steve and Sharon’s relationship has been complicated. They had an on-again-off-again romance since they first met back in Tales of Suspense #75. This came to an abrupt end when Sharon appeared to die in Captain America #237. In reality, Sharon faked her death in order to go on a deep cover mission for SHIELD. Per Fury/Agent 13 #2, Nick Fury believed she died on that mission and pulled out all other SHIELD agents. Sharon assumed that the spy agency cut her loose and she was being left to fend for herself. She would only return to Captain America’s life in Captain America #445. Their relationship has been combative ever since as Sharon’s experiences hardened her.

4. The Red Skull did indeed teleport himself safely, as we’ll learn in X-Men Annual 1999.

Topical References

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline. This should be considered a topical reference as these buildings were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. They have since been replaced with the Freedom Tower.