American Psycho, Part 2

Moments after Captain America was pronounced dead, he shocks the surgeons operating on him when he suddenly bolts upright, alive after all![1] He is soon joined by SHIELD Agent Alisande Morales who says that Sam is a big boy who can look after himself. However, the situation is pretty grim after his asset, the so-called Anti-Cap murdered the royal family of Baud Olan. This is particularly troubling since the United States relies on their trade partnership with the Middle Eastern nation.

They race to the Wakandan Embassy where they meet with Omoro, the head of security. He is unhappy with how the Anti-Cap situation turned out and warns Steve that if the United States doesn’t deal with this soon, the nations of Africa — including Wakanda — will have to act. He provides them with the means to track the transponder on Falcon’s wings.[2]

The signal leads them Hiyardeh in Baud Olan. In order to search for Falcon unimpeded both Cap and Alisande disguise themselves as local men. As they fly over the town they see that Anti-Cap has been leaving graffiti in the places he has hit. When they zero in on the transponder’s location, Captain America is unsurprised to see it tired around the neck of a goat. This is Anti-Cap’s way of rubbing his face in what he is doing. Moments later, some armed men who know who they really are order Cap and Morales to follow them. They are taken to an ambulance where Admiral Jimmy Westbrook of the Office of Naval Intelligence is waiting for them with Prince Omar, the last survivor of the Baud Olan royal family. Jimmy figures that Anti-Cap has come to assassinate Omar to end the royal line. When Westbrook offers to work together, Steve refuses to work with him since the result will be Anti-Cap’s death and Sam being thrown in prison.

Cap returns to the United States in the hopes that the Falcon will turn up. Six weeks go by and when Joe Robertson of the Daily Bugle comes to check in on Steve, he learns that there has been no word. Joe updates Steve on Leila Taylor’s expose on the whole Anti-Cap affair and Congress is going to hang Jimmy Westbrook out to dry. He also did some digging around to figure out what Sam did with hush money he blackmailed out of a US Senator. He had been using it to fund a community center in Brooklyn. Robertson admits that he knows the Falcon a lot better than he knows Cap and thinks that Steve should trust him to do the right thing. Cap then wonders if what Westbrook called his “liberal ideals” were wrong. Joe disagrees, saying that not doing the right thing is a sin against your fellow man and one needs to keep fighting the good fight. The last thing Joe has to tell is that Leila’s notes mentioned a doctor in France who is recorded buying the elements needed to produce AVX, the drug that Anti-Cap needs to sustain his super soldier status.[3]

Captain America travels to France and saves the doctor from being held hostage by Anti-Cap. The two men then end up fighting all across the city not just in physical combat but also a war of words and ideologies. The whole time, Cap wants to know where the Falcon is, but Anti-Cap won’t talk. As their brawl spills into a nearby subway terminal, Redwing — Falcon’s bird — joins the fight. Eventually, Anti-Cap ends up sweating out all the AVX in his system, reducing him to an ordinary man. Steve tells him to surrender, but Anti-Cap chooses death over dishonor and puts himself in front of an arriving subway train, seemingly ending his life in the process.[4]

With the battle over, Captain America follows Redwing as the bird leads him to a nearby cemetery. There he lands onto the arm of a homeless Frenchman who calls him Belvedere. After asking Captain America if he is ok, the man and his falcon leave. Steve then looks for Sam only to find his discarded costume, leaving him to wonder what has become of his partner.[5]

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Falcon, Anti-Cap, Alisande Morales, Joe Robertson, Omoro, Jimmy Westbrook, Redwing

Continuity Notes

1. Captain America was shot last issue and they did one of those “he’s dead!” fake outs.

2. Falcon’s wings were designed by the Black Panther, King of Wakanda, as seen in Captain America #170.

3. Leila Taylor was investigating the connection between the US Navy and the Rivas Cartel. This led to discovering the rogue Anti-Cap and uncovering a conspiracy to enslave and use MODOK as a weapon. This was all covered throughout every issue of this series.

4. As of this writing (March, 2024), Anti-Cap remains among the deceased.

5. The Falcon turns up alive and well and no worse for wear in Avengers: Finale #1.

Topical References

• This story states that the United States gets 60% of its fuel exports from Baud Olan. While this is a fictional place being used as a stand in for a real world one (*cough cough Saudi Arabia cough couch *) what will eventually become topical here is the need for fossil fuels as the world shifts to green energy instead. Not sure how you could recontextualize this story when that happens. Use your imagination I guess?

• Joe Robertson quips that “Pepsi used to cost a nickle”, since this is a historical fact it would not be considered topical.

• Anti-Cap states that it has been about 60 years since World War II. This measurement of time is relative to the date of publication (2004) and will change over time due to the Sliding Timescale.

Translations

Some of the dialogue in this story is presented in French with no translation:

• “La vous etes Belvedere! je commencais a m'inquieter! Est-ce que vous etes tour le droit?” = “There you are, Belvedere! I was starting to worry! Are you turn right?”