Out of Time: Part 1

Some time ago along the Russian/Kazakhstan Border…[1]

The Red Skull is meeting with Aleksander Lukin, a Russian exile, to make an arms deal. Their meeting is interrupted when Lukin’s men have captured the most recent Red Guardian. Lukin excuses himself for a moment so he can deal with this situation. The Red Guardian weakly tries to tell Lukin that he is under arrest for treason against Russia. However, Aleksander sees himself as the only remnant of the true Russia and doesn’t recognize the current government. He then shoots the Red Guardian in the head, killing him.[2]

With that sordid business out of the way, Lukin takes the Skull to see the weapons he is selling. They are all experimental weapons taken from the KGB during the collapse of the Soviet Union by Lukin’s mentor, Vasily Karpov. The Red Skull wonders what Karpov would think about him selling of these treasures to the highest bidder. Lukin knows that his predecessor would have wanted him to do what he needed to do to restore the former Soviet Union. However, Aleksander isn’t selling everything and shows off one of those treasures. It is a man with a cybernetic arm kept in suspended animation. The Red Skull instantly recognizes who the man is and wants to purchase him.[3] Lukin is willing to part with it in exchange for the Cosmic Cube. The Skull tells Lukin that he does not have one in his possession, and even then, he would never willingly give up such a powerful weapon.[4]

New York City, the Present

The Red Skull has required a Cosmic Cube by recovering and putting together the fused remains of past cubes.[5] The completed device, however, is not at full power. In order to restore it to its former glory, the Red Skull has planted massive bombs in Paris, London, and Manhattan set to go off at midnight. The death and destruction caused by these explosions will fuel the Cosmic Cube and restore it to its former glory. He has chosen this time because Captain America — his eternal enemy — is at his lowest following the disbandment of the Avengers.[6]

Meanwhile, Steve Rogers is going through a exercise routine in the middle of a visit from his ex-girlfriend,[7] Sharon Carter. She has come to check up on him after everything that has happened. Steve insists that he is fine, but Sharon can tell that he is dealing with a lot of anger. When he asks why she is so invested, she informs him that she has been assigned as his personal SHIELD liaison and keeping an eye on his mental health are part of her job now. She has been reading recent reports and while SHIELD isn’t concerned yet, she is. She relates to an incident where Captain America responded to a terrorist situation where a dirty bomb was planted on a subway train heading for Coney Island. Not only did Steve deal with the terrorists with more force than usual, he threatened to make one of them stay on board to die in the explosion if he didn’t disarm the bomb right away.

When Steve doesn’t understand what he did wrong, she points out that the terrorist helicopter could have crashed in a populated area instead of the East River. She also points out the serious injuries he inflicted on the perpetrators, including the two who died falling from the train. One of them landed on a mini-van passing by, injuring four innocent civilians. She notices that Captain America has been getting more violent and brutal ever since the Red Skull escaped captivity recently.[8] Steve admits that he is haunted by dreams where he is in the middle of the Black Forests of Germany and its still World War II. He is surrounded by the dead and wounded he couldn’t save, including his former partner Bucky. It bothers him that he still dreams about 1944, even after all these years, but he assures Sharon that he’s fine and only been having a bad month.

Sharon decides to let the issue go for the time and as she leaves, she tells Steve to contact her if he ever needs someone to talk to. As she goes, he tells her to inform Fury that his new home is working great. He also asks if SHIELD ever found out who the terrorists were that he took down the week before. Sharon say that they are from an arm of Advanced Idea Mechanics that they thought was long defunct. There is also no word on where the Red Skull might be. As Sharon leaves, Steve mutters to himself how he’ll capture the Red Skull yet. Little does he know that a passerby is the Red Skull in disguise. He is amused that Steve Rogers thinks his new high tech home keeps him safe. The Skull is confident that he could put a bullet between Rogers’ eyes any time he wants. However, this would be too merciful a death for the Red Skull, who wants to make his old enemy suffer first.

When the Red Skull returns to his own apartment he gets a call from Aleksander Lukin. Lukin’s informants have advised him that the Red Skull has gotten ahold of another Cosmic Cube. The Skull confirms this, but explains that it is not at full power. However, when it is soon brought to full strength there is nothing that Lukin can offer him in exchange for it. Aleksander is sorry that the Red Skull feels that way. When the Skull asks if that was a threat, he is shot in the back. The shooter then steps out of the shadows and picks up the Cosmic Cube and the Skull’s cell phone. He confirms his mission was a success and that the Red Skull is dead.[9]

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Sharon Carter, Aleksander Lukin, Red Skull, Winter Soldier (unidentified), AID (flashback) Red Guardian

Continuity Notes

1. The narrative of this story states that this prologue takes place five years prior to the main story. However, per the Official Marvel Index: Captain America the Red Skull’s appearance here takes place between X-Men Annual 1999 and Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #23. Per the Sliding Timecsale, this would make the length of time actually less than a year. See below for a more detailed explanation.

2. Aleksander Lukin asks this Red Guardian if he knows what became of his predacessor. It’s unclear which Red Guardian that Lukin is referring to as there have been many. They are:

   • Aleksey Lebedov is the earliest recorded Red Guardian (time of this writing, Feb. 2023) who served during World War II. He first appeared in Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #1. According to Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #4, Lebedov was killed in the 1950s.

   • He was succeeded by Alexi Shostakov, who first appeared in Avengers #43. Although believed to have been dead for years, he has since resurfaced in Daredevil (vol. 2) #64 and will take up the Red Guardian mantle again in Black Widow (vol. 8) #4.

   • Tania Belinskaya took over in Defenders #35. She later allowed herself to be transformed into a radioactive being (later calling herself Starlight) and currently lives with the Presence. See Defenders #54-55.

   • Josef Petkus was the next in the line of Red Guardians, first appearing in Captain America #352. He has been operating as the Steel Guardian since Iron Man (vol. 3) #9.

   • Next was Krassno Granitsky, who took on the mantle in Maverick (vol. 2) #10. He was last seen in issue #12 of that series. His fate is unknown.

   • The Red Guardian, despite what a poorly researched crowd sourced website might tell you, is a different individual from any other Red Guardian past or present. As of this writing (Feb. 2023) his identity remains unrevealed. Any website that says this is Krassno Granitsky is wrong as this is not supported in the Official Index or Marvel Atlas #1, which are the only two sources that mention Granitsky after his final appearance.

3. This is Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, as we’ll learn in Captain America (vol. 5) #11. For years everyone believed he died in an explosion, per Avengers #4.

4. The Red Skull is technically lying here. He has the power of the Cosmic Cube trapped within his body after he was blasted with its power in Captain America #448. The Skull will finally be stripped of this power in Captain America (vol. 3) #48.

5. There have been a number of Cosmic Cubes created on Earth. Here’s a tally and their states as of this writing:

   • The first Cosmic Cube was created by Advanced Idea Mechanics in Tales of Suspense #79. This Cube actually endured long enough to gain self-awareness. It transformed into Kubik in Captain America Annual #7 and left Earth to learn the secrets of the universe.

   • The second Cube was created by the Red Skull himself in Super-Villain Team-Up #16, however it was imperfect. It was used to trap the mind of Adolf Hitler within it (in issue #17 of that series). That Cube was brought to full power by the Kube Kult, but were ultimately stopped by the Red Skull and Captain America in Captain America #444-448. Its power ended up infused in the Red Skull’s body, as I explained above.

   • A third Cube was created by AIM in Avengers #386. To date, it’s state is unrevealed. It was last seen in Avengers #388.

   • Creating a Cosmic Cube is incredibly difficult, and it’s not impossible to consider that other unrecorded attempts were made, perhaps explaining where all these broken shards came from.

6. The Red Skull is referring to when the Scarlet Witch went mad and decimated her entire team. This led to the destruction of Avengers Mansion, the deaths of Jack of Hearts, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, and the Vision, and the disbandment of the team. See Avengers #500-503.

7. Steve and Sharon practically fell in love from the moment they first met in Tales of Suspense #75. They had been on-and-off for years. Presently, they have been “off again” since Captain America (vol. 3) #50. They will get back together again in Captain America (vol. 5) #16.

8. The Red Skull had just recently been incarcerated after a failed attempt on Captain America’s life in Captain America (vol. 4) #29-32.

9. This is not the end of the Red Skull. He cheats death by transferring his mind into the Cosmic Cube. Once in the possession of Aleksander Lukin, the Skull transfers his consciousness into Lukin’s body, something that will be revealed in Captain America (vol. 5) #14. His killer is identified as the Winter Soldier in Captain America (vol. 5) #6.

Topical References

• As stated above, the prologue to this story is stated as happening five years prior to the main story. However, per the Official Index, this is actually a measure of time between publications as opposed to in-universe. This is because this prologue takes place between Red Skull appearances that were published in 1999, while this story was published in 2005. Per the Sliding Timescale, it is a little under a year in-universe.

• The Red Guardian states that he is working under the authority of President Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin was the President of Russia between 1991 and 1999. This should be considered a topical reference as not only does he no longer rule the country, he died in 2007.

• Any reference to the Soviet Union collapsing in the recent past should be be considered topical. The USSR fell in 1991 and was still relatively current when this story was published.

• The Red Skull’s cell phone is depicted as a model with physical buttons to push and an antenna to pick up signals. This should be considered topical as this style of phone is now obsolete.