American Dreamers Part 2: Favors Paid in Blood

At his family home in New Jersey, Giscard Epurer goes over documents he received from a client with in the United States government. She has procured information for her that proves to him that Senator Bart Ingrid needs to be stopped. That’s when Jack Monroe, aka Nomad, comes crashing in and attacks Giscard. The two trade blows for a bit until Jack overpowers Epurer and demands to know why he sent the assassin named Zaran after him.

Giscard explains that he wasn’t the one who hired an assassin and says that the document on the floor will explain who did.[1] Jack takes a look and learns that the paperwork is regarding a third party candidate’s desire to enlist Bart Ingrid as his Vice Presidential candidate in the next election. Giscard then asks Jack if he remembers Bart Ingrid, the boy whose life Monroe had ruined.

The following morning, in Washington, DC, Jack Norris has been called into the SHIELD field office at the Capitol Building. He has come to ask his supervisor who is responsible for closing the Norman File. She doesn’t understand why he is investigating this since it has nothing to do with his current assignment. However, Jack says that the diversion of SHIELD funds to a questionable source is indeed part of his investigation. She tells Jack that if he has proof of this he needs to report it to the appropriate parties. Norris refuses to do anything of the sort, claiming that those are the same people misappropriating the money. His supervisor dismisses this as another one of the wild conspiracy theories that Jack likes to think are everywhere. Norris decides to leave to make some calls promising to come back when he has proof that this isn’t part of his wild imagination. Outside he finds psychologist Andrea Sterman waiting for him. Although she is no closer to finding out who wants to kill Jack Monroe either, she has tracked down someone who can at least explain to them why.

Meanwhile, Jack Monroe is telling Giscard Epurer everything he can remember about his past with Bart Ingrid. The two of them grew up in the town of Clutier, Iowa in the 1940s. By 1949, their hometown was prospering in post World War II America. At the time, Jack and his friends all bullied Ingrid, making fun of the fact that his last name by calling him Ingrid Bergman. Jack recalls how one day he beat up Ingrid on his way home from school and remembers how Bart ran home crowing and how he vowed that one day he would make them all pay.[2] He also remembers how, shortly after this, that Jack’s own parents were outed as Nazi sympathizers. An FBI investigation into the matter also discovered that many of the families in Clutier were involved, including the Ingrids.

While most of the country soon forgot about this as it preceded the McCarthy era communist witch-hunts, Bart Ingrid never forgot. In the years since, he has sought political power while also secretly funding a Neo-Nazi organization in his old home town. The group are accelerationists who hope to instigate a race war in order to prove their supremacy over all other races they view as inferior. Jack dismisses this as fantasy, but Giscard assures him it is very real and he already has an operative on the inside preparing a means for Nomad to get in and dismantle the organization before Ingrid can attain the political power to kick off his mad scheme. When Jack asks why he would do that, Giscard brings him to a nursery where he is keeping Bucky and tells him that his operative is the little girl’s mother.[3]

At that same moment, Bucky’s mother has convinced the members of Ingrid’s militia in Clutier, Iowa, that she wants to become a member. They bring her down to their compound outside of town where she is shown around. She learns that this is a highly organized group that is training its recruits in the use of weapons and military tactics. Their camp is growing and soon they have the capacity to train up to five hundred people. She is then introduced to the drill sergeant on the compound. He reveals to her that they won’t be giving her combat training. In fact, the only use women have to them is for being breeding machines so they can create new potential soldiers. The men decide to have their first go and surround Bucky’s mom. However, before anything can happen they are ordered to stand down by 88, a hulk of a man who wants first dibs at raping her. Seeing this titanic individual, she realizes that she’ll never see her daughter again.

A few days later, Nomad arrives in Clutier for the first time since his family was torn apart. Not a whole lot has changed since he first left adn he realizes that what he is about to do will ruin the lives of so many children here. Even though he hates having to do this, he has no choice. He goes into the local diner and orders a coffee, sitting down next to Jill Coltrain, his long lost sister. When she notices and recognizes who is sitting next time him, Jill is so shocked that she drops her coffee on the floor.[4]

Back in Washington, DC, Andrea Sterman and Jack Norris have gone to a fancy restaurant to meet up with their informant. This man turns out to be Giscard Epurer who hands them a class photo taken in 1948. He points out two people in the picture: Jack Monroe and Bart Ingrid, giving the pair everything they needed to know. Meanwhile, FBI agent Vernon Hatchway is going through the FBI files to find out the same thing that Andrea and Norris just found out. Going through the file giving a kill order on Jack Monroe, Vernon is shocked to discover that he is the agent who will be tapped to eliminate Nomad!

Recurring Characters

Nomad, 88, Bucky, Bucky’s mother, Giscard Epurer, Andrea Sterman, Jack Norris, Vernon Hatchway, Bart Ingrid, Jill Coltrain

Continuity Notes

1. Senator Bart Ingrid was the one who hired Zaran to go after Jack in Nomad (vol. 2) #18. Zaran made his move last issue and after being defeated named Giscard Epurer instead. This was likely done because Epurer was nosing around Ingrid’s affairs since issue #15.

2. Here, Giscard recounts how Jack only recently got his full memories back, citing government conditioning that made him forget. This is all kind of long and complicated. Let’s break it down:

   • Jack’s parents were arrested for being Nazi sympathizers and he was put in a foster home as a result. See Nomad #4 and (vol. 2) #18-19.

   • As a teen, Monroe befriended William Burnside a man who rediscovered the Super Soldier Formula and aspired to become the Captain America of the 1950s. Injecting themselves with the formula, both William and Jack (as Cap and Bucky respectively) fought crime for a while. However, the formula was imperfect and it caused them to become paranoids and increasingly violent to the point where the government put them suspended animation until they were thawed out in the present day as seen in Captain America #155.

   • The pair were then defeated by Steve Rogers, the original Captain America in Captain America #153-156. Jack was then turned over to the government for treatment and reconditioning. He was eventually released in Captain America #281.

3. Giscard recruited Bucky’s mother into his scheme in Nomad (vol. 2) #20. She succeeded in infiltrating Ingrid’s organization last issue. This woman is never identified by name and as of this writing (October, 2022) she has yet to be identified.

4. What’s unexplained in this story is how Jill Coltrain and Bart Ingrid — who grew up with Jack in the 1940s — could only appear to be middle aged in this story. This is due to the Sliding Timescale that widens the gulf of time between the 1940s and the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe. As time progresses it becomes increasingly impossible to explain their longevity without some kind means of extending their natural life span. As of this writing (in October, 2022) Marvel has yet to provide an explanation. I posit a theory on how this might be possible in my summary for Nomad (vol. 2) #15.

Topical References

• When commenting on if he holds back in a fight, Jack tells Giscard that he isn’t sure whose health insurance will cover what expenses. Epurer retorts by saying “Hillary would thank you for your thoughtful considerations.” This is in reference to Hillary Clinton who, at the time of this story, was First Lady of the United States. One of her duties was to champion the Clinton administration health care plan of 1993. If you’re American and are still paying for medicine then you probably know that this attempt at creating socialized health care in America was killed in the Senate because America can’t have nice things. As you might guess, this reference should be considered topical.

• Giscard’s documents states that the organization known as United We Stand and it’s leader, Ross Perot, are looking to enlist Bart Ingrid as their Vice Presidential Candidate in the 1996 election. United We Stand was the citizen action organization formed by Texas businessman Ross Perot that was formed after he lost the 1992 US election as a third party candidate. Capturing 18.9% of the popular vote he sought to boost his popularity. It was eventually renamed the Reform Party of the United States of America in 1995 and would run third party candidates in state and federal elections. In the 96 election they only managed to get 8.4% and since then have barely managed to get more than 1%. Perot died in 2019. All references to the ‘96 election, United We Stand, and Ross Perot should be considered topical for obvious reasons.

• Jack Norris’ supervisor compares him to James Bond. Bond is a fictional British spy who has been featured in a number of stories written by author Ian Flemming and about a billion movies at the time of this writing. This reference wouldn’t necessarily be considered topical since the name James Bond has become synonymous with spy craft.

• When Epurer outlines Bart Ingram’s accelerationist plot, Nomad finds it hard to believe and tells him to sell his story to Geraldo. Jack is referring to “journalist” Geraldo Rivera. At the time Geraldo was best known for his daytime talk show Geraldo. It was a pioneer in what was referred to as “trash TV”, sensationalized shlock that appealed to the lowest common denominator. It was perhaps best known for a 1988 TV special where he had the bright idea to put racists and anti-facist activists on the same show. It devolved into a brawl and Geraldo famously had his nose broken in the scuffle.