The second installment of the final trilogy in the “Fighting Chance” storyline—in which Captain America’s metabolism starts to break down completely due to his deteriorating super-soldier serum—finds our hero with young hero Cathy Webster, aka Free Spirit, in Arizona, facing the Serpent Society, which has been infiltrated by another young hero, Jack Flag (né Harrison).
After several pages of Jack—the “weenie” referred to below—goes through the Society’s initiation process, Cap and Free Spirit leave Castle Zemo in Mexico, where our hero has been putting the young woman through her paces (before telling her about his health problems). As we saw in the last issue, he was thoroughly impressed by her stamina and perseverance, and as we see here, by her character as well.
While Zack gets his flirt on with Cathy, Cap checks his electronic mail, hoping for a message from Rachel—who left him a “Dear Steve” letter we saw in the last issue—but instead sees a notice about Serpent Society activity in Arizona (sent by you-know-who).
On the way, Cap thinks about Rachel and the strange way she left (unaware that she agreed to work with the villain Superia for six months in exchange for a cure for Cap’s condition, as revealed in issue #433).
As we saw in the last issue, Doctor Kincaid let Hank Pym in on Cap’s secret, breaking the promise he made, but Hank wisely argues that saving Cap’s life is more important.
It seems everyone has trouble keeping a secret: As Cap prepares to infiltrate the Serpent Society’s compound, he reminds Cathy not to tell anybody, but she is very tempted to let Zack in on the news. (Note also Cap’s awareness that he shouldn’t exert himself, although it does little good.)
Cap’s feeling pretty good as he approaches, until he gets jumped from behind…
…by Jack Flag, who mocks Cap’s “combat armor” before quietly letting him know he’s on his side and that he sent the emergency message. He then “pretends” to take Cap down, which only Cap knows is not entirely faked.
Did Free Spirit blab to Zack? Yes, she did, although she too had her reasons—and now she’s determined to show Cap what he means to her. (You know, I mention Mother Teresa as a frequent moral exemplar in my book, but I never considered Michael Stipe…)
While Jack is worried that Cap is making Jack’s victory look too easy, Cap is remaining mindful of his new limitations, and tells Jack to seal the deal so the other serpents will take him into their lair.
King Cobra lets Mr. Hyde—who got involved during Jack’s bid to infiltrate the Society in the last issue—play with Cap like an action figure, making Jack wonder what he should do (and how much danger Cap’s really in).
He doesn’t have to wonder after one of the Serpents, Coachwhip, seems to rebel—but it’s actually Free Spirit, who defeated her and used her look to sneak in. Meanwhile, King Cobra hits the flush button…
…and he and Hyde jump in to take care of Cap at the end of the drainpipe, while Free Spirit and Jack Flag face off against the rest of the Serpent Society.
Come back for the next issue, which opens with a splash page of Cap falling out of said drainpipe—which unfortunately is the high point for our long-suffering hero.
ISSUE DETAILS
Captain America (vol. 1) #435, January 1995: 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.
PREVIOUS ISSUE: Captain America #434 (December 1994)
ALSO THIS MONTH: Tales of Suspense #1, Avengers #382 and Marvel Double Feature #382, and Namor the Sub-Mariner #58 (January 1995)
NEXT ISSUE: Captain America #436, Force Works #8, and Fantastic Force #4 (February 1995)
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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