A Gulf so Wide

Now

Steve Rogers has been pulled away from his personal life once more to fight in a never ending war as Captain America. Along with SHIELD agents Sharon Carter, Dum Dum Dugan, and Carmon Klein, he has come to a secret facility run by Advance Idea Mechanics and shut them down for good. He thinks back to how he got in the middle of this….

Earlier

Steve had convinced Connie to finally visit her brother’s grave at Arlington Cemetery in Washington, DC. As she pays her respects, Rogers has two things on his mind: The first that Connie’s brother David might not be dead after all, according to Nick Fury.[1] The other is that there is no grave present for his old wartime partner, Bucky Barnes.[2] This somber occasion was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Sharon and Cameron. Klein played a distraction to Connie so Sharon could talk to Steve about the lead she had on AIM. Not only did their director survive the destruction of their last base, but SHIELD also had learned that they AIM had been stocking up on cloning material in order to recreate Protocide.[3]

Before Steve could tell Connie he had to go, she got a call from Chet Madden, one of her clients. Chet explained to her that the government got a warrant for his arrest and wants help fighting it. Connie agreed to help and that she would be taking the next flight to Iowa. As she left, Steve hoped that Madden wasn’t up to something illegal. Connie retorted that she is merely protecting her client’s rights as a US citizen.

Now

As he finishes his recollection, Steve is once again remembered how Bucky has received no commendation for the sacrifice he made for his country. This angers him to the point where he finds the strength to rip an AIM battle mech in half with his bare hands.

With this section of the base now clear, Cap and his SHIELD allies press forward. Down the next hall, Cap takes out the automated defenses with a single throw of his shield. Once they reach the middle of the hall, the floor suddenly melts between their feet. They are then dumped in what appears to be Hell with Mephisto presiding over them. However, Cap doesn’t buy the idea that Mephisto would work with Advance Idea Mechanics. He then quickly deduces that this is a holographic projection created by Cache, AIM’s walking artificial intelligence.[4] Realizing that he can fool his enemy, Cache drops the illusion, but has made himself intangible, making him impossible to hit. However, the AI is quickly defeated when Cameron uses his latest invention — a device that absorbs and traps digital signatures.[5]

That when AIM’s director smashed up through the floor from the lower levels in a suit of Mandroid armor. Captain America manages to leap on and grab hold before the director can flee. Slamming his shield into the suit’s primary battery, Cap risks electrocution to shut the suit down. After it crashes, Steve removes the Mandroid armor helmet and is shocked by who is wearing the armor. That’s when Connie Ferrari and two federal agents arrive on the scene. As it turns out, the director of AIM is Chet Madden. Not realizing that Captain America is secretly her boyfriend, Connie orders him to get his hands off her client.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, SHIELD (Sharon Carter, Dum Dum Dugan, Cameron Klein), Connie Ferrari, AIM (Cache, Chet Madden), (flashback) Bucky

Continuity Notes

1. David Ferrari is a SHIELD agent and sister to Connie Ferrari, who is dating Stever Rogers at the time of this story. In Captain America (vol. 3) #20, we learned that Connie believes that her brother died after enlisting to the military and dying in a hazing ritual gone wrong. This was actually a cover story. In Captain America (vol. 3) #35-36 that he was secretly a SHIELD agent. After using an a bioweapon called the Omega Compound to destroy the enemy while on a mission, he was believed dead for years. However, he faked his death and has been secretly operating as the Answer and plotting to take over the world. See Captain America (vol. 3) #41-43.

2. Bucky Barnes seemingly died in 1945 when he was caught in a drone explosion, as per Avengers #4. Cap believed he was dead for years. In reality, Bucky is still alive, having had his body recovered by the Russians he has spent the years since the war operating as an assassin called the Winter Soldier. See Captain America (vol. 5) #14 for the details.

3. Protocide had received the Super Soldier Serum before Cap did in 1940 and died. The government covered it up and stashed his body in a storage facility. It was recently recovered by AIM who revived Protocide and turned him into their assassin. Steve believed both AIM’s director and Protocide died during their last encounter. See Captain America (vol. 3) #28, 35, Annual 2000 and 37-38.

4. Captain America previously experienced Cache’s realistic holograms in Captain America (vol. 3) #33-34. Mention is also made of how Cache recently escaped SHIELD custody. That was in Captain America Annual 2000.

5. Here, Steve tells Cameron that his grandfather would be proud of him. Stanely Klein, Cameron’s grandfather passed away in Captain America (vol. 3) #32.

Topical References

• Connie Ferrari’s cell phone is depicted as having a visible antenna to pick up signals. This should be considered a topical reference as this style of cell phone has long since become obsolete.

Errors

• When talking about Bucky’s death, Captain America incorrectly blames the Red Skull for his death. As we all know from Avengers #4 and the billion times Steve has referenced it otherwise, Baron Zemo was responsible for Bucky’s death.