Captain America #450-451 (April-May 1996)

These two issues comprise the first half of the “Man without a Country” storyline, the first time  in years that our hero has found himself on the wrong side of the United States government. At the end of the first “Secret Empire” storyline, Steve Rogers resigned the Captain America identity out of disgust with his elected leaders who had conspired against the country, and during the era of “The Captain,” he quit rather than submit to government control (secretly engineered by the Red Skull). This time, though, it will not be Steve’s decision, as we shall soon see—and the consequences go much farther than giving up his identity, as the title of the storyline suggests.

Issue #450 opens with Sharon scoping out Steve’s apartment, considering (despite earlier protestations) a future with him while examining photos of his recent relationships since she was proclaimed dead in issue #237.

It’s actually a group of government agents, who she assumes are after her and whom she fairly easily evades. After she’s gone, they reveal they had no idea who she was, but when the occupant of the apartment shows up, they know they’ve got their man… and he is shocked to learn why.

It also seems they do not who he really is; even though this is a time when Cap kept his other identity secret, one would assume government agents would know who Steve Rogers was. But not these agents, apparently.

They deliver Cap to the White House, where President Bill Clinton—whom we last saw as a pallbearer in Cap’s funeral—dismisses them and removes Cap’s handcuffs before getting down to business.

Cap respectfully asks how the president of the United States could suspect him of treason, but it is another man who answers: General Ulysses R. Chapman, who eulogized Cap at his funeral but was later witness to Cap’s subsequent adventure alongside the Red Skull.

That adventure included this event from issue #446, which Cap tries to explain, citing the urgency of the situation and the threat only he was aware of. Chapman didn’t believe him at the time, and now Clinton doubts Cap’s explanation of how he was cured…

…and Cap’s reliance on rogue ex-SHIELD agent Sharon Carter for back-up doesn’t help.

Then the president shows him the news reports of his disappearance and presumed death, which makes Cap suspicious of the events of issue #444 as well (which he must have heard about later). Cap defends his temporary alliance with the Red Skull… but there’s more.

Clinton goes on to explain that Machinesmith, a known ally of the Red Skull, somehow acquired secret information about the Argus anti-aircraft cannon—crucial information that the president himself entrusted to Cap and only Cap—and has used it to finish the weapon in the eastern European (fictional) country of Moldavia, who used it to shoot down two American jets, provoking a war.

Clinton suspects Cap traded the secrets to the Red Skull in exchange for the blood transfusion, which Cap denies, but the president is now concerned with other sensitive information Cap has, so he deliberates over what to do. In the meantime, Cap goes over everything in his head, assuming the Skull set all this up before he “died” and regretting what went down between him and Coleman during the Kübekult episode. (And unbeknownst to him, someone is watching.)

Back in the Oval Office, the president gives Cap his decision and rationale…

…and clarifies exactly what this means for the man who represents the basic principles of America itself.

With the president ashamed to look, Cap silently and solemnly accepts his orders, stands at attention and salutes the flag, and then turns and leaves.

Before Steve Rogers boards the flight for London, General Chapman emphasizes the imperative for soldiers to follow orders—as he unsuccessfully argued in issue #446—before Rogers clarifies his lack of military status (even before today) and reminds the general that he’s loyal to nothing but the dream.

After landing in London, Steve is jumped by a black-clad figure who turns out to be Sharon, who had to make “her own way” overseas to join her former partner in the fight to reclaim his name.

Issue #451 opens with a “greatest hits” collage from past issues—my loyal readers doubtlessly recognize them all—narrated by Sharon…

…which starkly contrasts with the depressing scene below.

Sharon tries to snap him out of his ennui… by bringing him a new outfit.

Honestly, I like this better than either his Nomad or “the Captain” duds, and the ties hanging from the back of his mask give him a swashbuckling, rebellious look. Sharon also gets to play quartermaster, loading Steve up with gear, including his first “energy shield.”

The two make their way to Moldavia with some “new” documents, including a new name for Steve—a fine reference, given that Nathan Hale was a celebrated spy for the American colonies during the Revolutionary War, but he was also captured and executed by the British, so maybe not a good omen.

Sharon remembers that the Red Skull had Machinesmith do something near Steve’s body before the blood transfusion which he didn’t let her see, and together they conclude that Machinesmith could have entered Steve’s brain to get the information about the weapon. After they are attacked on the train by some of Machinesmith’s thugs, they run on foot to a nearby U.S. Air Force base close to Moldavia, where the former Captain America once again finds himself fighting American soldiers, however reluctantly (while Sharon tries to lighten the mood).

Cap turns the tables and blames Sharon for bringing him to the dark side and “inspiring” him to steal an F-15 jet and fly it into Moldavia to find Machinesmith and the Argus weapon by drawing its anti-aircraft fire.

But it worked, albeit maybe a little too well.

Is General Chapman available for another eulogy? We’ll see if he needs to in the next issue.

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ISSUE DETAILS

Captain America (vol. 1) #450, April 1996: Mark Waid (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Scott Koblish (inks), John Kalisz and Mailbu Color (colors), John Costanza (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)

Captain America (vol. 1) #451, May 1996: Mark Waid (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Scott Koblish (inks), John Kalisz and Mailbu Color (colors), John Costanza (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)

Both collected in: Captain America Epic Collection: Man without a Country, Captain America: Man without a Country, and Captain America: Operation Rebirth (hardcover).

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PREVIOUS ISSUE: Captain America #449, Avengers #396, Iron Man #326, and Thor #496 (March 1996)

ALSO THESE MONTHS: DC Versus Marvel #3-4 (April-May 1996)

NEXT ISSUES: Captain America #452-453 (June-July 1996)