This issue continues the latest three-part story within the larger “Fighting Chance” arc chronicling Captain America’s physical deterioration. In the last issue, Cap dragged Diamondback (who was trying to break things off with him) to Baron Zemo’s castle in search of the abducted children whom the Americop was searching for in the last storyline. There, as we see in opening splash page below, they discovered (a) Baron Zemo with a whole face, (b) sitting next to his wife, (c) in matching outfits (weird), and (d) in front of them were the missing children, who had suffered one of the worst cases of ideological grooming ever.
They turned these poor kids into Iron Man fans!!!
This is followed by the double-page spread below…
…and if we zoom in on the most relevant parts, we see Cap silently express revulsion, not at what the kids say but what they’re holding. (This image also reminds us of the gear that Fabian made for him in the last issue while Cap was running around with Daredevil.)
All those pouches do not simply represent awesome 90s style—they also give Cap a utility belt with all the fun toys he could ever want.
Cap confronts Zemo about the children, whom the villain claims he rescued from abuse in the name of “family values,” which Cap quickly rejects.
Zemo has one of the children argue his case directly to Cap, and it’s difficult to tell if she’s telling the truth or saying what Zemo trained her to—while Cap has a spell of weakness brought on by adrenaline (as explained by Doctor Kincaid in the last issue).
For the sake of argument, Cap accepts that Zemo may actually be father-of-the-year, but this does not excuse abduction. Zemo prefers to call it “rescue” and accuses Cap of simply hating the Zemos—or is it “Zemoes”?—before triggering a trap door under Cap’s feet.
Cap curses himself for literally falling for Zemo’s trap, while Diamondback, whom Cap pushed out of the room earlier, searches the castle and runs into—again, literally—one of Zemo’s mushy robots.
More of the robots search the pit for Cap, but he is cleverly hiding, taking up precious energy that he then wisely conserves by using more of Fabian’s gadgets.
It’s interesting that he thinks that it’s fighting his instincts, rather than simply fighting, that drains his energy more, recognizing that forcing himself to hold back might be almost as much of a drain on his resources as fighting would be.
Cap continues to fight strategically, and reveals that the gun at his side—which Zemo questioned in the last issue—is not what it seems.
And lest his mighty shield feel neglected, he still uses it too.
Zemo watches from afar and notices that Cap is not himself. (If he noticed, why hasn’t anyone else?)
“Plasti-Man,” seriously? No imagination. (Cap calls them “Putty-Men” later and he wasn’t even trying.)
Nearby, we find Cathy Webster, the young woman introduced in the last issue, who is pursuing “Professor Wentworth,” the woman who enhanced her physical abilities while brainwashing her to lash out at men, leading her to become Free Spirit—sorry, the Free Spirit.
Speaking of “Wentworth,” she is currently asking the Baroness Zemo about her first appearance, which she obviously read in “Spider-Man: Fear Itself #1“—not to be confused with “Fear Itself: Spider-Man #1“—but Zemo simply laughs it off as a gag. (“I can’t believe anyone bought that!”)
Free Spirit finally meets one of our regular cast after she gets into the castle to find Rachel at the center of the Tootsie Roll Pop, and then learns she’s with Captain America.
Speaking of whom, our hero finds himself in a similar position to Rachel—that is, humiliated in several ways—after one of the Putty-Men gets the drop on him (literally).
Once again, he thinks strategically, conserving his limited strength for the optimum time. (This old dog can learn new tricks, it would seem.)
Zemo prods Cap about Rachel, but in actuality he is expressing his anger at his wife, whom he suspects of betraying him with the help of “Wentworth.”
In the spirit of a Bond villain, Zemo tells Cap that he will soon be “embalmed” in Adhesive X—his father’s invention, introduced in Avengers #6, which is really only good for sticking a Zemo’s mask to his face. So Cap appeals to Franz, the Putty-Man within whose embrace he currently resides, and encourages him to embrace his autonomy instead (to no avail).
Meanwhile, Rachel and Cathy find a person of interest and realize who she really is. (You may remember her from such epic tales as “The Superia Strategem,” which began in issue #387.)
On the final page, Cap is learning why Spider-Man and Daredevil like swinging around New York City so much, but apparently the adrenaline rush is too much for him, and his muscles lock up at the same time the Putty-Men make like Voltron.
ISSUE DETAILS
Captain America (vol. 1) #432, October 1994: Mark Gruenwald (writer), Dario Carrasco (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), George Roussos (colors), Joe Rosen (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Captain America Epic Collection: Twilight’s Last Gleaming.
PREVIOUS ISSUE: Captain America #431, Avengers #378, and The Incredible Hulk #421 (September 1994)
NEXT ISSUE: Captain America #433, Avengers #380, Force Works #5, and Justice: Four Balance #3 (November 1994)
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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