Captain America (vol. 4) #29

Feb 10

Feb 10 Captain America (vol. 4) #29

Super-Patriot: Part 1

Captain America is in the middle of a battle with Mister Hyde. Although the villain is much more powerful than he is, Steve defeats Hyde by knocking him off a building. The force of the fall takes all the fight out of Hyde and he is turned over to the police.

When he heads home he finds his ex-girlfriend Diamondback waiting on his stoop. She decided to look him up as they hadn’t talked in a while. Since Steve was only planning on watching his favorite move (1942’s Yankee Doodle Dandy) he invites her inside. When they get in, Rachel mentions how they made a great couple, and Steve doesn’t disagree.[1]

Their evening is interrupted when Nick Fury appears outside Steve’s window. He wants Captain America for a mission and invites Diamondback to tag along if she wants. The two are then flown up to SHEILD’s new Sub-Carrier for a mission briefing. Fury wants them to rescue Senator Richard Winslow, the favored candidate for the next election, from Hydra. Steve accepts the mission and he and Diamondback head to the island off the Florida coast where the terrorists are hiding out. Once they are gone, the man posing as Nick Fury turns off his holographic disguise. A figure then steps out of the shadows and asks if Rogers suspects anything amiss. The Fury impostor, a rogue SHIELD agent named Mike Nolan, is certain that they have fooled the hero.

Flying down to the island with SHIELD issue jetpacks, Captain America and Diamondback evade Hydra’s surface-to-air artillery. Smashing their way inside the base they fight their way through the hordes of Hydra and rescue the Senator. After returning him to the Sub-Carrier, Cap and Diamondback head to the private quarters to get some sleep on the flight back to New York. Senator Winslow asks Agent Nolan if they have any clue what’s really going on. Mike doesn’t think so as long as the Senator learns to keep his mouth shut because he got what he wanted, being rescued by Captain America is certain to boost his popularity.

Later, Nolan resumes his Nick Fury disguise when dropping Captain America and Diamondback off in New York City. She is about to invite herself back over to Steve’s to watch a movie when he suddenly gets a white alert from Avengers and has to rush off and see what’s going on.[2] Once she is sure Captain America is gone, Rachel heads back up to her apartment. There, Nolan’s co-conspirator — the Red Skull — asks how it went. When she reports that she is going to be seeing Steve again soon he is pleased as everything is going according to plan!

Recurring Characters

Captain America, “Diamondback”, Mister Hyde, Red Skull, Hydra, Mike Nolan, Spider-Man, Moon Knight

Continuity Notes

Attracted to Captain America, Diamondback went straight so the two could date. Their relationship lasted from Captain America #371 to 433. She left Steve to work as Superia’s bodyguard in exchange for a cure for Steve’s deteriorating Super Soldier Serum (something that had been affecting him since Captain America #425). However, Steve was cured independently in issue #445 and the two never reconnected. The woman here is not the real Diamondback but a sophisticated Life Model Decoy, as we’ll learn in Captain America (vol. 4) #32.
This alert would be the attack on Avengers Mansion caused by the insane Scarlet Witch. See Avengers #500-503.

Topical References

The scene where Steve Rogers goes to a video store to rent a copy of the film Yankee Doodle Dandy on DVD. This whole scene will end up becoming topical since even independently owned video stores are starting to die out as streaming services increase their back catalogue. You can rent this movie digitally right now as you’re reading this. DVDs, while still around, are slowly being crowded out by streaming (again) as well as superior formats such as Blu-Ray and UHDs. The only thing that isn’t topical about this is Yankee Doodle Dandy, Steve likes the movie because it was released in 1942 and he probably watched it when it was brand new.
The fake Nick Fury states here that Senator Richard Winslow is slated as the favorite to run for President in 2008. The year in question should be considered topical as it is relative to the date of publication.
Fake Fury also states that Hydra’s new headquarters is located near an island that is owned by actor Marlon Brando. The island, known as Tetiaroa, was owned by Brando until his death in 2004. Since then it has become a high end resort. Time of this writing you can stay there if you got an extra 12 to 18k burning a hole in your pocket. References to Brando’s ownership of said island should be considered topical.