Captain America (vol. 5) #26
The Death of the Dream: Part 2
Sharon and the Contessa
Following the death of Captain America,[1] Countessa Valentina de la Fontain has reached out to Sharon Carter to talk about what happened.[2] Sharon doesn’t even know where to begin, so Valentina suggests she starts with the incident at SHIELD headquarters five days earlier.
Sharon had demanded to see Steve’s body following his death. This requests were blocked by Tony Stark, newly appointed Director of SHIELD. Eventually, she wore him down and he allowed her to see him. She was shocked by the sight. Steve’s body had become frail almost as though the Super Soldier Serum that made him Captain America left his body after his death.[3] She blames Stark for what happened and when he tries to tell her that this is weighing heavily on him as well she slaps him across the face.
Concluding her story, Sharon says that she resigned from SHIELD right then and there. Valentina cannot believe that she slapped Stark and asks what Fury thought about it. Sharon doesn’t know, because she hasn’t spoken with him recently but is certain he must know, since he seems to be able to know everything even while on the run.[4] When Val asks what Sharon plans on doing next, she says there’s nothing worth doing in a world without Steve Rogers.
The Wake
Sharon heads into a bar where a wake is being held for Captain America for those who knew him. There she meets up with Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, who is wishing he took his time getting there. Sharon thanks him for giving such a powerful eulogy during the funeral.[5] Sam tells her that she shouldn’t have quit SHIELD as Steve wouldn’t have wanted her to throw her career away. Sharon scolds Dum Dum Dugan for telling Sam,[6] and then explains that she couldn’t keep working for the spy agency now that Tony Stark is in charge.
That’s when Rick Jones approaches Sharon and Sam, and Sam takes it as his opportunity to leave. Jones fumbles through some conversation before telling Sharon that Steve really loved her. Sharon says she knows and it all starts to be too much for her to handle. Running to the bathroom to cry in private, Sharon curses Doctor Faustus for making her remember that she is the one who killed Steve.[7]
Meanwhile, Sam has changed into the Falcon and taken to the air. He needs to clear his mind and decides to stop by the public memorial that is being held in Captain America’s memory. He thinks Steve would be proud that people from both sides of the Super-Human Registration Act debate coming together to mourn.
The Other Side
The Red Skull and his daughter Sin are watching the live news coverage of the memorial. Sin is furious that the media hasn’t mentioned Crossbones, feeling that he should get credit for killing Captain America. The Skull assures her that people will know in due time and orders her to focus on her current task. She has chosen her team of subordinates and is ordered to proceed with the next phase of his plan.[8]
As the Skull leaves the room he is stopped by Doctor Faustus who reminds him that they are due for a session. When the Skull tries to assert his dominance, Faustus reminds him that his psychological skills are needed to keep the two minds warring inside the Skull’s new body in check.[9] They are interrupted by Arnim Zola, who wants to show off his progress with the device they got from Doctor Doom.[10] Zola is certain that he can reverse engineer the device for their purposes but warns it will take time since the device combines science and sorcery.
After putting Zola in his place, the Red Skull tells Faustus to join him as he has a meeting with the Secretary of the Treasury as Aleksander Lukin.
The Secret Wake
The Falcon has decided to check in on the outlaw New Avengers at their hideout. Luke Cage thanks Sam for giving a eulogy, glad that at least one of Steve’s real friends attended the funeral. Wilson says he couldn’t be a no show, although he makes a point of saying that he only registered under the SHRA because he was able to get jurisdiction over Harlem if SHIELD stayed out of his business. He figures the spy agency agree after everything that happened.
The others find it weird that Sam can deal with Tony Stark, but Sam reminds them that Tony wasn’t the one who killed Steve.[11] However, to Luke and the rest of the New Avengers, he is as guilty as the man who pulled the trigger. Spider-Man, who has watched the videos countless time, points out that Cap put himself in the line of fire so a cop wouldn’t get shot, and that he died a hero. That’s when Spider-Woman interrupts and asks if they are going to do the toast to Steve or not.[12] As they all raise a class, Falcon gets a call on his communicator and has to go.
How it Begins
James Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky, was sitting in a bar quietly mourning his friend. He wasn’t looking for trouble, it found him. The bar was playing the ongoing news coverage of Captain America’s death. While most of the patrons treated the occasion with the proper respect, one man said that it was a travesty that a traitor like Captain America was going to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
This angers James who confronts the man and dares him to say it again. While James knows that Steve would have debated this man James isn’t that cool headed and attacks him. This causes a brawl to break out. As the bartender calls the cops, James beat the living shit out of everyone. When the fight is over, all he can think of is how Steve would be ashamed of him right now and begins to cry. That’s when the Falcon arrives, having been tipped off by Nick Fury. He suggests that he and James take off before SHIELD Cape-Killers arrive to arrest him. James agrees but wants to pay his tab. That’s when he catches a clip of Tony Stark’s public statements on Steve’s death. Seeing this gives James an idea on how to avenge Steve: Kill Tony Stark.
Recurring Characters
Winter Soldier, Sharon Carter, Falcon, SHIELD (Tony Stark, “Dum Dum Dugan”, “Countessa de la Fontaine”), Rick Jones, Red Skull/Aleksander Lukin, Doctor Faustus, Arnim Zola, Captain America (corpse), Thing, Ms. Marvel, Wonder Man, Patriot, Hawkeye, New Avengers (Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Ronin, Iron Fist), Jessica Jones, Dani Cage, Night Nurse
Continuity Notes
Captain America was seemingly killed last issue. In reality, he has been displaced in time as part of the Red Skull’s convoluted plot to steal Steve’s body. See Captain America: Reborn #1-5.
This is not really Countessa de la Fontain, but a Skrull impostor that took her place. In fact she is the second such Skrull infiltrator who took her place. See Mighty Avengers #12 and Secret Invasion: Prologue #1. The “Countess” references how she and Sharon go way back. The real Countessa was in charge of SHIELD’s short-lived Femme Force from Captain America #144-148. Sharon was also a member of the special all-female group of agents.
If you don’t know Captain America’s origin by now go back and read Captain America Comics #1 or the countless other stories that retell it.
Nick Fury has been on the run since it was revealed that he led an unsanctioned mission in to Latveria, as detailed in Secret War #1-5. In reality, however, he is in hiding because he stumbled upon and is seeking to thwart a Skrull invasion of Earth. See Mighty Avengers #12 and Secret Invasion #1-8.
Captain America’s funeral and Sam’s eulogy were depicted in Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #5.
This isn’t Dum Dum Dugan either, but another Skrull sleeper agent, as revealed in Secret Invasion: Prologue #1.
It was revealed in Captain America (vol. 5) #22 that Faustus had been mentally manipulating Sharon to do the Red Skull’s bidding She ended up shooting Steve at point blank, something that went unseen in all the confusion. See issue #25 again.
Sin is putting together a new Serpent Squad, as we’ll see in Captain America (vol. 5) #28.
The Red Skull used the Cosmic Cube to jump into the body of Aleksander Lukin during a failed assassination attempt in Captain America (vol. 5) #1, something we learned in issue #14. The Skull and Lukin have been warring for control and are at the risk of both going mad. This will remain the status quo until Captain America (vol. 5) #42.
This is a time device that the Skull picked up from Doom in Captain America (vol. 5) #23.
Iron Fist mentions how he was locked away in the SHTRA Negative Zone prison. He was captured in Civil War #5 and was liberated in the following two issues.
This isn’t the real Spider-Woman either, but yet another Skrull spy. In fact, she is THE Skrull spy, Queen Veranke. This will be revealed in New Avengers #42. She switched places with the real Spider-Woman in Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1.
Topical References
Many of the TVs in this story are depicted as CRT models. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now an obsolete technology.
At the bar where Winter Soldier starts a brawl, the bartender is depicted as having a cellphone with a visible antenna to pick up signals. This should also be considered topical as it is now an obsolete technology.
The Initiative Reading Order
Civil War: The Initiative #1, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #13, 14, 15, 16, 17, Thunderbolts #112, 113, 114, 115, Omega Flight #1-5, Moon Knight (vol. 3) #13, Captain America (vol. 5) #26, 27, 28, 29, 30, New Avengers #27, 28, 29, 30, 31, New Warriors (vol. 4) #1-8, Black Panther (vol. 4) #27, 28, 29, 30, Iron Man: Agent of SHIELD #15, 16, 17, 18, Avengers: The Initiative #1, 2, 3, Fantastic Four #547, 548, 549, 550, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #6-11, Mighty Avengers #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sub-Mariner (vol. 2) #1-6, The Order (vol. 2) 1-4, Penance: Relentless #1, 2, 3, 4, 5