The Death of Captain America Act 2 - The Burden of Dreams: Part 5

The Falcon (aka Sam Wilson) has been searching for Sharon Carter ever since she was taken from New York City by Doctor Faustus.[1] Using his mental connection to birds, he is able to pick up the trail at an abandoned mental health facility. According to the birds that live in the area, Faustus was seen clearing the place out in quite the hurry.

He reports this back to SHIELD Director, Tony Stark. Unfortunately, there is not much the spy agency can do right now as all American operations have been put on hold after some brainwashed agents opened fire on protestors in Washington.[2] While his hands are tied, Tony tells Sam to keep him in the loop and get help from the Black Widow as she’ll know what to do.

With SHIELD out of commission and a large number of the National Guard overseas, Senator Gordon Right, head of the Defense Appropriations Committee, has announced that they will be contracting out to Kane-Myers Securities in order to maintain peace in Washington, DC. What people don’t know is that Senator Gordon Wright is working with Doctor Faustus. The criminal psychologist commends Wright on a job well done and tells him that he will be rewarded when the New America becomes a reality.

At that moment, the new Captain America (James “Bucky” Barnes) is out observing the crowd of protestors outside the Capitol Building. He reports back to the Black Widow that the scene is incredibly hostile and could turn into a riot at any moment. Sensing a lack of sympathy, Natasha reminds him that the current financial crisis has people scared. The Widow has hacked into observation satellites to have a better look at the crowd as they suspect that the Red Skull is going to instigate more violence between the protestors and the authorities. James is briefly interrupted by a young woman handing out free bottles of water. Without giving it much thought, he politely declines the offer. That’s when Natasha informs James that Kane-Myers Securities is a little known subsidiary of the Kronas Corporatin, which is controlled by Aleksander Lunkin, aka the Red Skull.[3] While they don’t know what the real goal here is, it can’t be good. That’s when Bucky gets a look at one of the discarded water bottles. It was manufactured by RockyWater a division of Kronas Corporation. James quickly deduces that the crowd has been drugged in order to guarantee a riot.

Meanwhile, Vlad Morovin — the new CEO of Kronas — is answering questions with his government contact. When they bring up the accusations that Aleksander Lukin faked his death, Morovin says that it outrageous.[4] Once the call is done, “Vlad” vanished because he is merely a holographic puppet being controlled by Lukin himself. Aleksander is frustrated as the Red Skull has made a mess of his plans to destroy America for his own agenda. The Red Skull scoffs at this, reminding him that their end goals are the same and it shouldn’t matter how they reach that destination.

Back in Washington, the crowd starts to get violent, as intended, prompting the Kane-Myer operatives to respond back. James doesn’t know what he can do to stop the violence but knows that if Steve Rogers was in his position he’d try something. Barnes then slips into a nearby alley and changes into Captain America. The new Cap charges into battle and does his best to take down the private security guards before any of the protestors are seriously hurt or killed. After using his shield to protect some of the protestors from being shot, James can’t help but be amazed at how good he is getting at wielding Captain America’s trademark weapon.

As the battle rages, Doctor Faustus returns to the Red Skull’s hideout to provide an update. The Skull is pleased with the work he has done inciting riots, something that Faustus finds child’s play. This is good news to the Skull, who tells Faustus that he will be spending closer attention to their prisoner, Sharon Carter.

Meanwhile, the Black Widow is able to discover what the riots are supposed to be covering up as she detects a helicopter landing on the roof of the Senate Building. Captain America races there. Crashing in through the window he runs into Sin and her new Serpent Squad — King Cobra, Viper, and the Eel — who are more than pleased to test their skills against the new Captain America.

Back in Upstate New York, Sharon Carter wakes up to find herself strapped to her bed. This is so Arnim Zola can examine her uninterrupted. The voice in her head reminds her that she works for them now and that she couldn’t keep their pregnancy a secret from the forever.[5]

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Black Widow, Sharon Carter, Falcon, Tony Stark, Serpent Squad (Sin, Viper, Eel, King Cobra), Doctor Faustus, Red Skull/Aleksander Lukin, Arnim Zola, Gordon Wright, Redwing

Continuity Notes

1. Doctor Faustus has brainwashed Sharon into going along with the Red Skull’s plan back in Captain America (vol. 5) #22. To date, she was used to make the “fatal” shots that seemingly killed Steve Rogers in issue #25. In reality, Steve has been time displaced as part of a complex plot by the Red Skull who is trying to steal his body. See Captain America: Reborn #1-5.

2. This was more of Doctor Faustus’ handywork, as we saw last issue.

3. At the time of this story, the Red Skull’s mind is trapped in the body of Aleksander Lukin, see Captain America (vol. 5) #1 and 14. This will remain the status quo until issue #42.

4. Lukin/the Red Skull did fake their death in Captain America (vol. 5) #33 in order to cause turmoil in the stock market, leading to the protests which began last issue.

5. Sharon discovered that she was pregnant in Captain America (vol. 5) #30. She’ll never carry it to term as the fetus will be killed when Sin stabs her in the stomach in issue #40.

Topical References

• When reporting on Senator Wright’s hiring of Kane-Myer Securities, the news anchor states that this is the first time a private firm has been hired to protect US soil. While this remains true as I write this in March, 2023, I’m going to say this is a topical reference. Never say never, especially when we’re talking about the United States.

• Senator Wright is depicted as having a computer with a CRT monitor in his office. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now an obsolete technology.

Errors

• On the bottle of water Kronas is misspelled Kronos.