Captain America #425 (March 1994)

In this issue, Captain America finally learns the cause of the weakness he been experiencing the last few issues, which becomes a major concern in his life going forward (as reflected in his appearances this month in Avengers, Iron Man, and Daredevil). As his future as the Sentinel of Liberty comes into doubt, Cap has to reconsider his purpose in life—while he continues to fight the enemies and threats that remind him why he does this in the first place.

But we actually start with this guy—not John Walker, who was the original Super-Patriot before he took over as Captain America and then became USAgent, but someone else entirely, who gets a shiny new toy from the Tinkerer.

Meanwhile (and elsewhere), our hero reflects on his worsening physical condition while dealing with three teenage android ninja turtles, and his first guess is that it’s his fault (of course).

Either the lads had some bad pizza, or some unseen force did something to them… such as Dr. Keith Kincaid, the Avengers’ physician, who has some bad news for Cap.

It would seem the super-soldier serum has passed its expiration date, over 50 years after it was administered (and four years after a complete blood replacement got rid of most of it anyway).

Kincaid thinks that Cap’s punishing level of activity is tearing down his body more quickly than the serum can repair it, so he asks that the Living Legend of World War II just take it easy, kick back, and relax… or keep being Cap for another year until his muscles completely fail. (Any guesses which he’ll do?)

Kincaid offers to call up his Medical Avengers, but Cap isn’t having it—nor does he want anyone to know (absent a notarized permission slip).

He can’t hide his distress from his girlfriend Rachel, aka Diamondback, who is initially (and understandably) focused on the fact that she killed her foe Snapdragon in issue #413, which she told Cap about in the last issue. To his credit, he tells her about his condition…

…and then asks what she thinks he should do, both showing a level of emotional intimacy that has been a long time coming.

(He could easily have said “being Cap is all I do,” because he has ignored most other aspects of his life, but we’ll give him a pass during this difficult time.)

Rachel convinces him to spend some quiet time with her while they think through his situation, but duty calls, as it always does.

Luckily, Steve doesn’t have to exert himself much to stop the kid, but the real blow comes from the ensuing conversation about comics and heroes.

He sees a Captain America comic—maybe an issue he worked on back in the day—and tries to use the hero portrayed in it as an moral example. (Gee, what a thought!) Unfortunately, the kid is just a speculator (who will soon learn a different lesson).

But it gets worse, as the comics seller reveals his preference for more brutal heroes (and the kid has some choice parting words)…

…both of which make Steve feel even more useless than his physical condition already does. (Of course, we know he’s wrong—neither my book nor this blog would exist if he were!)

Before he can dwell too much on this, Peggy Carter notifies him that a Cap imposter has been soiling his good name, beating up thugs in a bar and then disrupting a high-profile political fundraising dinner before fighting the Porcupine (who actually died in issue #315). Cap decides to hold a public press conference to draw out the parties responsible, but Rachel is concerned with him overexerting himself (and points out the muscle ready to handle any threats). He makes clear that the disruptive Cap is an imposter, and mentions past attempts to ruin his reputation (one of which launched the first Secret Empire storyline in issue #170), before some unexpected guests arrive…

…the original Masters of Evil (from Avengers #6) who, like the Porcupine, are also all supposed to be dead.

Cap disobeys doctor’s and girlfriend’s orders by leaping into action, but no one can understand why—because the Masters of Evil are just an illusion that only Cap can “see.”

Who should arrive to save the day but the new Super-Patriot, who seems to have caught the true culprit, Mirage, a two-bit Mysterio who was killed by the Scourge in issue #320. (Notice a theme here?)

Naturally, Super-Patriot claims to be Cap’s successor, and Cap is torn whether to try to explain all this to the reporters or go after him—but Rachel solves that problem for him (although Super-Patriot gets away).

Mirage gets away too: As Black Widow dragged him into Avengers HQ, he mysteriously transformed into the Purple Man and commanded her to let him go. As you might have guessed, the Purple Man was also dead at this point, leading the world’s greatest red-white-and-blue detective to conclude that someone has the power to impersonate and replicate the abilities of dead supervillains—as is confirmed by “Dex” and the mysterious Super-Patriot below. Also, Cap opens up to Rachel some more, revealing his frustration is building quickly… and we’re only one issue in!

Come back for the next issue as Cap is visited by a couple old friends (who are very much alive)!

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ISSUE DETAILS

Captain America (vol. 1) #425, March 1994: Mark Gruenwald (writer), Dave Hoover (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), George Roussos (colors), Joe Rosen (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)

Collected in: Captain America Epic Collection: Fighting Chance.

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PREVIOUS ISSUE: Captain America #424 (February 1994)

ALSO THIS MONTH: Captain America: The Medusa Effect #1, Iron Man #302, Daredevil #326, and Avengers #372, Darkhawk #37, and Warlock and the Infinity Watch #26 (March 1994)

NEXT ISSUES: Captain America #426-427 (April-May 1994)