“Where is Captain America?” is the question that leads off Mark Waid and Ron Garney’s first run on this title, following Mark Gruenwald’s 137-issue run that ended last month. The conclusion of that issue will be recapped below, so for now I’ll just say that this issue is more of a tribute to Captain America, similar to issue #112 (following his first “death”), and by the end of the issue we know little more about his fate than we do at the beginning. (If you were expecting Cap to reappear hale and hearty, you’ll just have to wait.)
Longtime Marvel editor Tom Brevoort had this to say about the issue on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its publication on August 17, 1995:
CAPTAIN AMERICA #444 introduced the creative team of Mark Waid and Ron Garney for the start of a abortive run that made a big impact at the time, but which was undone by the HEROES REBORN deal that saw a number of titles farmed out to Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld to create. This was also the first time in more than a decade that somebody other than Mark Gruenwald was writing the series. Mark’s run had ended with a multi-issue storyline in which Cap was facing his final hours and did eventually perish. Rather than bringing him back immediately, Waid and Garney instead picked up the ball where it lay, crafting an issue in which the title character doesn’t appear at all, but his presence is felt throughout. The issue is a real statement of intent, even though the run proper didn’t really begin to pick up steam until the next issue, when Cap himself made his inevitable comeback. Garney was head-and-shoulders just a way better and more dynamic artist than most of those who’d toiled on the title for the preceding years—he gave the book a vitality it had been lacking. And Waid was in his prime, evidencing an elemental understanding of the character that was totally different from what Gruenwald had been doing yet which was cut from the same cloth. After a long stretch where the ascendence of the Spidey and X titles and the rise of Image had made the Star-Spangled Avenger seem a bit passe to the readers of that era, Waid and Garney made the title one that readers were hungry to pay attention to again.
The issue opens with an extreme close-up on Quicksilver, promising that “he” will be here…
…followed by a double-page in which federal crisis negotiator James McElroy tells the Avengers that armored terrorists are holding the U.S. president, his Secret Service detail, and a reporter in the Jefferson Memorial, and are demanding to see Captain America or they’ll blow themselves and their hostages up.
Quicksilver impulsively rushes in and rescues one of the hostages but ignites his captor at the same time, a detail that McElroy left out. The terrorists reiterate their demands, leading McElroy to ask the wrong question at the wrong time…
…inspiring the predictable reaction from the Avengers and an answer from the Black Widow.
McElroy doesn’t let up, though, asking where Cap is. Pietro continues to cover, but Natasha shares the end of the last issue instead.
Crystal helpfully establishes the timeline for us before McElroy flips out, only to calmed by Hank Pym of all people, using one of Cap’s guiding principles before remembering the day the early Avengers pulled Cap out of the ice, just the first time he cheated death. (Note the parallelism between the classic scene revisited below and the last panel in the page above.)
Sorry, Detective, but they’re hardly done reminiscing (though not of all of it is meant for your ears). While Natasha bemoans the fact that the team have not only lost their friend but also their tactician, Pietro disputes that he’s gone at all. He reminds his teammates how he led the Kooky Quartet starting with Avengers #16 against all odds, and he believes Cap will perform another “miracle” if he’s still alive.
The police decide to send in an imposter Cap with a sloppily painted shield, but the terrorists are not fooled. (The foot below belongs to Deathcry, who rushed the imposter away after he was shot.) McElroy takes his frustration out on the guy who’s not there, and sticks his foot in his mouth again…
…and Hercules, appropriately, corrects him, arguing that the gods themselves compare themselves to Captain America, shown below against the background of his battle with the Red Skull from Tales of Suspense #81. (And don’t forget what Mjolnir thinks!)
McElroy is finally impressed, after which Black Widow leads the team in a last-ditch attempt in Cap’s honor.
The Avengers rescue the hostages and defeat the terrorists without getting close enough to them to trigger the explosives—but the interior and roof of the Jefferson Memorial have seen better days, which does not escape notice. Even worse, Pietro finally resigns himself to Cap’s death before he is ambushed by one of the terrorists…
…who is incapacitated by a mighty shield, but it was merely the imposter shield thrown by McElroy, invoking Cap’s belief that “there’s always a way,” and making the team feel that the real thing is with them in spirit.
After the emergency is over, the crowd demands to know why Captain America didn’t show up, and Natasha decides they should know the truth rather than make wild assumptions that could soil Cap’s good name.
As Natasha finishes, we see two shadowy figures watching the live broadcast and learn that they were responsible for the attack, designed to reveal to the public the “truth” about Captain America…
…but about that “truth”: As Sportin’ Life sang in Porgy and Bess, it ain’t necessarily so.
Well I certainly hope so!
All will be revealed in the next issue, including the identity of the two people above. (The color of the taller one’s dialogue should be a clue.)
ISSUE DETAILS
Captain America (vol. 1) #444, October 1995: Mark Waid (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Mike Sellers (inks), John Kalisz and Mailbu Color (colors), John Costanza (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Captain America Epic Collection: Man without a Country.
PREVIOUS ISSUE: Captain America #443 (September 1995)
ALSO THIS MONTH: Avengers/Ultraforce #1 and Ultraforce/Avengers #1 and Skrull Kill Krew #2 (October 1995)
NEXT ISSUE: Captain America #445 (November 1995)
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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