This issue of Captain America completes the third trilogy in the “Fighting Chance” arc that details Captain America’s deteriorating health as his super-soldier serum breaks down. Here, Cap-with-Pouches, Diamondback, and new hero Free Spirit (Cathy Webster) are fighting their way out of Baron Zemo’s castle, with the last issue ending with Cap barely escaping one of Zemo’s mushy robots when his muscle paralysis kicked in at just the wrong time (and I don’t mean the final page of the story).
The current issue opens on that scene…
…but Cap manages to get away using a concussion bomb from one of his many pouches. He heads off to find Diamondback, who is chasing Free Spirit, who is looking for Superia, the woman who gave her enhanced abilities (for her own nefarious purposes). Instead, she finds her hero and proceeds to unload her life story and her adoration. (To be fair, who among us would not do the same?)
Cap makes a plan to defeat another Putty Man, and is only slightly distracted when Free Spirit mentions Rachel.
“Did she… did she say anything about me?”
Cap calls Cathy “ma’am” but doesn’t like when she calls him “sir,” which is much more appropriate.
And like a knife through butter… or cheese. (With enough time and razor wire, they could set quite a trap for these softies.)
Meanwhile, Diamondback finds Superia, bound after being captured by Zemo (who thought she was conspiring with his wife against him). Superia lets Rachel know what she knows and takes the opportunity to suggest a way to “clear her record.”
Rachel doesn’t even have to consult with her new bestie Bernie Rosenthal to know that Superia’s suggestion makes no sense, especially with Cap’s impression of her on her mind.
Superia sounds just like Black Widow two issues ago when she casts doubt on Rachel’s future with Cap…
…and when Rachel argues that he’s made her a better person, Superia appeals to her goodness (and reveals that she’s known about Cap’s condition longer than anybody).
Back to the red-white-and-blue duo, they’ve managed to get captured by another “servitor,” as Zemo calls them—Free Spirit is despondent, and Cap doesn’t need to search his pouches to find an inspirational response.
He does, however, have Cathy grab another concussive device to free herself so she can find Rachel, putting the two of them above his own safety.
Free Spirit finds Superia just before Diamondback shows up; after Superia tells Rachel where to find Cap, Cathy questions Superia about her “treatment” while Rachel contemplates the possibility of having to rescue Cap again and alienating him even further.
As for Cap, he never actually broke free, giving Zemo one more chance to drown him in the vat of Adhesive X, his father’s invention. (Why does Zemo have his mask on again, you ask? His fake face started slipping off in the last issue—and it would be really embarrassing if it had been held on by Adhesive X.)
Cap lobs a handful of Adhesive X at Zemo, which gets in his eyes and forces him to remove his mask, which frightens the abducted children he and his wife considered their own.
Zemo tells the kids how Cap made him fall into a vat of Adhesive X back in issue #168, which he then re-enacts for their benefit, but the “bad man” tries to save him, even as his muscles lock up again.
Meanwhile, Superia gets a surprise assist against Free Spirit, followed by an even more surprising offer.
Will we (or Cap) see Rachel again? Time will tell (but we will see her note in the next issue).
Cap holds on to Zemo as long as he can, past the point of feeling anything in his arm, reluctant to let Zemo think he meant to kill him (in addition to his normal concern with letting anyone die, we would assume). But he eventually lets go, likely due to a shot from Baroness Zemo, who then follows her husband into the vat, right in front of the kids, leaving Cap to regret how the story ended. (He’ll have reason to feel better in the next issue, though.)
This same month, Avengers #380 calls even more attention to Cap’s condition, the narration really rubbing it in…
…and revealing that his fellow Avengers pick up on more than they’re letting on.
In Force Works #5, Cap touches base with Iron Man about War Machine, who joined an armed rebellion in the (fictional) African nation of Imaya and killed the deposed president, while Tony subtly relays his concern about his old friend (who shared his condition with Tony in Iron Man #303).
Finally, in the third issue of the Justice: Four Brothers miniseries, featuring New Warrior (and future Avenger) Vance Astrovik aka Justice, Cap summons him to Avengers Mansion, where once upon a time Vance unsuccessfully “auditioned” for the team…
…triggering the security system just like this.
After welcoming him in, Cap commiserates over Vance’s recent “legal problems”: accidentally killing his abusive father, for which he went to prison. Cap chooses this time to remember his own father—about whom almost nothing had been revealed at this point—which is of little solace to the younger hero.
Cap wisely switches gears to praising Vance for how far he’s come since first meeting him…
…but as much as Cap’s words mean to him, sharing his favorite toy likely means even more.
Vance shows skills he didn’t know he had, but of which Cap had no doubt.
After finishing the training session, Cap recommends some introspection for both of them…
…which may help account for Vance’s new mission to fight child abuse, the theme of the current miniseries. (And we will see him next in Avengers (vol. 3) #1, as he gets his wish at last.)
ISSUE DETAILS
Captain America (vol. 1) #433, November 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: Twilight’s Last Gleaming.
Avengers (vol. 1) #380, November 1994: Bob Harras (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks and colors), Bill Oakley (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Avengers Epic Collection: Taking A.I.M.
Force Works #5, November 1994, “Conflagration”: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (writers), Paul Ryan (pencils), Ray Garcia (inks), Joe Rosas (colors), Jack Morelli (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Avengers/Iron Man: Force Works.
Justice: Four Balance #3, November 1994: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Craig Brasfield (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Sarra Mossoff (colors), Pat Brosseau (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Not yet collected.
PREVIOUS ISSUE: Captain America #432 (October 1994)
NEXT ISSUE: Captain America #434 (December 1994)
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