Brothers and Keepers, Part 5: Brothers

Captain America (Steve Rogers) and the Falcon (Sam Wilson) uncovered a conspiracy between the US Navy and Damocles Rivas to try and control MODOK, the killer cyborg created by Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). This had backfired when MODOK instead took control of them, swapping bodies with Damocles whenever he wanted. With the body of Rivas now dead, both minds are trapped in the same body. Seeking to commit suicide, Damocles Rivas teleports MODOK’s body (along with Captain America) to Singapore where the Hulk (Bruce Banner) is on the rampage.[1]

The Falcon (Sam Wilson), who is leaving Riva’s compound in New Jersey, informs Steve via radio that the situation is far more grave than they imagined. The MODOK virus that was created to try to control him — which they infected him with only moments earlier — has mutated. If MODOK dies, then the virus will spread and wipe out the entire human race. Sam is on his way to shut down Riva’s computer system as they speak. Seeing how clash between MODOK and the Hulk has attracted the local military, Steve tells Sam to hurry!

Captain America then tries to reason with Damocles Rivas who is at war with MODOK’s mind. Rivas doesn’t want to go on living in this hideous form or to be taken back to the United States and made a bio-weapon. MODOK himself also refuses any such fate and decides to make his final stand here, against the Hulk, who is more than willing to brawl. While Captain America evades blows from the Hulk, the Falcon meets up with SHIELD Agent Alisande Morales. They begin searching for the device that allows MODOK to transport himself anywhere in the world. Eventually, Agent Morales tries smashing a redundant com-port hoping that this is the disguised transmitter.

Meanwhile, the battle in Singapore takes an unexpected tern when Damocles uses a mental blast to isolate Bruce Banner’s persona, putting him in control of the Hulk. Rivas says that they are running out of time and Banner’s expertise might be the only thing that can save them all. With Sam and Alisande ready to send them back, Cap tells them to give him fifteen minutes. In the meantime, he tells them to uplink with Hank Pym’s lab. While they wait, Alisande questions Sam’s latest bad-boy streak and wonder how recruiting Anti-Cap, stealing money from the Rivas, and blackmailing a senator is all going to sit with Steve.[2] Sam takes this to mean that Morales is romantically interested in Cap and tells her it’s not going to happen. That’s when Alisande surprises Sam by kissing him instead. She then cheekily says she isn’t the only complicated person. The two then start making out since they have time to spare.

Eventually, Captain America, MODOK/Damocles, and Captain America reach the Federal Health Plaza in Singapore. There, Banner connects with Hank Pym and Reed Richards to pool their expertise in coming up with a means of curing the virus inside MODOK. While they come up with something that might theoretically work, they can’t know without rigorous tests. Unfortunately, they don’t have seven years and billions of dollars to do proper research. That’s when the local military comes barging in with guns blazing. This sudden ambush causes MODOK to seize control of his body, killing the video feeds of Richards and Pym. He also causes the Hulk to revert back to his bestial self and the brute resumes his rampage.

Steve then sends a panicked call to Sam and tells him to teleport them back to the Rivas compound. Scrambling to get dressed, Morales and Sam do as they are told. This allows them to hold MODOK in stasis. After re-establishing the connection with Reed and Hank, they say there there is no way to be certain if the cure they whipped up will work or not. Steve also finds himself conflicted because he promised to try and save Damocles any way possible. The decision to use the cure is taken away from them when Falcon’s pet, Redwing, suddenly swoops down and swats the vials out of Cap’s hands, smashing them on the ground. Falcon tells Steve to thank him later and flies off. Steve admits that he doesn’t know what he is going to do about Sam.[3]

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Falcon, MODOK/Damocles Rivas, Hulk, Alisande Morales, Mister Fantastic, Yellowjacket

Continuity Notes

1. If this doesn’t encapsulate the last 11 issues, I don’t know how else to spell it out. Maybe go and read them or my index entries, hmm?

2. Throughout this series, Sam Wilson has been seemingly reverting back to his “Snap” Wilson persona. Why and what that means is quite complicated so here we go again:

   • When Captain America first met the Falcon in Captain America #117, he appeared to be the ideal crime fighting partner.

   • Sometime after this, in Captain America #186, the Red Skull revealed that Sam Wilson used to be a street hustler nicknamed “Snap” and that he used the Cosmic Cube to make Wilson a sleeper agent to use against Captain America.

   • In reality, as we’ll learn a few years after this story is that “Snap” Wilson was actually a fabrication created by the Red Skull. He was using racist gaslighting to make Sam question his identity on top of using him as a pawn. This was all revealed in All-New Captain America #3.

   • Steve is suggesting that he and Sam’s minds have been played with by the Scarlet Witch due to the fact that she had recently gone mad. See Captain America and the Falcon #5-7 and Avengers #500-503. This was also suggested in the Falcon profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4, however has yet to be independently verified or confirmed.

3. While Captain America vows to somehow save Damocles and cure this virus what exactly happened is unclear. When MODOK appears again in Cable & Deadpool #11, he appears back to his old self and continues to appear that way from here on. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #7 has a profile on MODOK that leaves it open ended as well, stating that either the mind of Damocles Rivas was purged or subdued. But it does state that the Hulk’s cure actually worked so….? Needless to say, time of this writing (March, 2024) a clear explanation has yet to be made.

Topical References

• When discussing MODOK’s ability to transmit himself electronically to any point in the world, Sam quips that they need to “shut down his AOL”. America Online (aka AOL) was once the most prominent internet service provider in the United States. For the longest time, AOL was used as a proprietary eponym for a time. However, AOL fell out of prominence in the 20 years since this comic was published, making this a topical reference since AOL is a real world business.

• Falcon is said to have stolen 30 million dollars and Banner would need 15 billion to complete his research. These amounts should be considered relative to the date of publication and would be much more in present day money due to inflation.