America Lost: Part 2

Now

Sharon Carter arrives at a secluded location where a private funeral ceremony is to be held. Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan are already there waiting for the rest of the guests to show up. Sharon things that this should have been a public affair, but Fury and Dugan point out that Captain America was a private guy and would have wanted a more low key affair as he lived a private life.[1]

Louisiana, Four Days, Eighteen Hours Ago

With the help of Iron Man, Captain America and his SHIELD allies Nick Fury and Sharon Carter have finally managed to locate the SHIELD helicarrier, which has been in hiding since it was stolen by the Red Skull.[2] It has been hiding at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, after the Skull had it converted the massive craft to become submersible. While Sharon Carter monitors things from the air in one of SHIELD’s flying cars, Iron Man helps track things back at Avengers Mansion. By detecting the emissions and waste given off by the massive ship, Captain America is able to locate it relatively easily.

When trying to enter through a exhaust vent, Cap is discovered by some of the Red Skull’s minions who try to ambush him from behind. He stops one by cutting their oxygen hose. Steve then sacrifices his own rebreather to knock out the other. This also lessens his load, making him more capable of swiming against the exhaust vent currents.

Four Days, Seventeen Hours Ago

Nick Fury has come to the small town of Stonewater, Louisiana, which has been torched by an angry mob. Seeing the destruction reminds him of the London Blitzes of World War II. He is suddenly attacked by three Black men. Fury is able to disarm the men and then demands to know what’s going on. The men thought that Fury was part of the white mob that burned down their community. They tell him about a man named Adam Hauser who has manage to rile up the town’s white population and convince them to burn down the Black neighborhoods.

That’s when the angry mob arrives and seeing Fury talking to African-Americans, he is called out as a race traitor and attacked. Fury tries to fight his way through the mob but is quickly swarmed. He he then dropped to his knees after getting hit over the head with a metal bar. As Nick tries to recover from this blow, Hauser himself makes an appearance and shoves Fury over off a cliff.[3]

Four Day, Fifteen Hours Ago

Captain America finds his way inside the SHIELD helicarrier only to discover that it is mostly empty. Suddenly the entire craft shifts as it begins to rise from the water. As Cap tries to keep his balance in check he spots soldiers running by.

On the surface, Sharon Carter continues circling the area. When Iron Man detects that the helicarrier is rising to the surface, he tells her to rescue Steve. Sharon, however, wants to give Rogers a few more minutes more time to regain control of the ship.

Inside, Captain America ambushes the Red Skull’s goons and beats them all into submission. In the next room, he finds the Red Skull who invites his old friend in to sit and watch America’s destruction over a glass of sherry. When Cap throws his shield at his nemesis, it bounces harmlessly off a force field that protects the Skull. The Nazi war criminal tells Captain America his master scheme: How he is going to use America’s own racial hatred to make the country destroy itself. He gloats that it will be the country’s own weaknesses that will bring about its downfall. When Captain America vows to stop the Red Skull, the villain pushes a button that opens a trap door that sends the hero hurtling to the ground.

Now

Sharon Cater is starting to get impatient and wonders when the funeral service is going to start. That’s when an Avengers Quinjet arrives on the scene and its members — Thor, Iron Man, the Wasp, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Triathlon — emerge from within so they can pay their final respects to the deceased.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, SHIELD (Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Sharon Carter), Red Skull, Hate-Monger, Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision, Warbird, Triathlon)

Continuity Notes

1. In issue #48 we learn that this is a funeral being held for Bucky, Captain America’s wartime partner. At the time of this story, everyone believes Bucky died in 1945 as per Avengers #4. The coffin here is empty and is mostly ceremonial. This funeral is being put on because Steve noticed that Buck didn’t have a gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery when he visited it in Captain America (vol. 3) #39. What nobody realizes is that Bucky’s still alive, as we’ll learn in Captain America (vol. 5) #14.

2. The SHIELD helicarrier was stolen by the Red Skull in X-Men (vol. 2) #91/Annual 1999. It will remain in his possession until it is recovered in issue #48.

3. The Red Skull’s ally is revealed to be the Hate-Monger in Captain America (vol. 3) #47.