Captain America #449, Avengers #396, Iron Man #326, and Thor #496 (March 1996)

These four issues compromise the “First Sign” crossover that was meant to fully bring the “Avengers Prime” back into the team after they were all brought into the aftermath of “The Crossing.” (Why is the Iron Man cover missing above? Cap ain’t on it, of course!) Fair warning: Most of the interesting material with Captain America occurs in his own title and Thor, so our coverage of the story withers in the last two issues—but you can always use the links at the end of the post to read it for yourselves.

Captain America #449 begins with Sharon trying to extract some information from the fella in the suit…

…to which Cap takes umbrage. (I’ve characterized such behavior as torture in my books on Batman and Daredevil, the masters of the technique, and even Cap loosens his strict position against it in later years, as I discuss in my book on him.)

Here, Cap doesn’t only stay stop—he intervenes, and not without a touch of drama.

Together, Cap and Sharon remind us why they’re in the SHIELD helicarrier: to get information regarding their abandonment of Sharon in the field (explained in issue #446) and why they let believe Cap believe she was dead since issue #237.

Cap wants to go to the source, but as the Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine says, he is… unavailable.

(Again, with the drama.)

But this is not Cap’s first rodeo, and when the Contessa says “no one comes back the dead,” Cap and Sharon have an effective silent exchange of glances. (‘Nuff said!)

(It will certainly surprise you to know that Nick Fury is actually very much alive, despite being “killed” by the Punisher in Double Edge: Omega #1, and Sharon will learn the hows and whys starting in Fury/Agent #13 #1.)

When the Contessa asks Sharon to come with her, voluntarily or otherwise, Sharon makes her preference clear, but Cap stands his (their?) ground, and they leave without incident.

It is only after they reach the ground that the real “First Sign” story begins, as Manhattan is trapped inside a mysterious and impenetrable force bubble which has somehow negated all power sources within it. (Despite the confusing visual and inner monologue below, Cap is inside the bubble.)

Cap immediately takes command of the situation, directing paramedics and helping them to get an injured man to the hospital, while another crisis erupts.

He immediately dives into the East River after the fallen chopper, his face displaying 100% focus and determination…

…and he successfully breaks through the windshield and rescues the two men aboard before swimming back to the city to save more lives.

Before he can, though, he runs into soldiers affiliated with Zodiac (but not this Zodiac), who explain how they redirected the city’s power into the forcefield (so they can take over the world, of course, Pinkie). With no way to contact the Avengers, Cap has to make his way to the mansion, but finds the Zodiac “soldiers” everywhere. He wisely realizes that getting to the mansion and defeating their plan is more important than fighting them one at a time, as much as he wants to do the latter.

When he gets to the mansion, Jarvis tells him no one’s home but there are a couple stray Avengers in town, before Cap kicks him back inside and heads back uptown to find a friend.

Once he finds the building he’s looking for, Cap jumps over the side, counting the floors as he falls, and when he gets to the right floor he uses a flagpole to make his entrance.

But maybe he’s in the wrong place? Thor is shirtless, apparently sounds different, and Amora (aka the Enchantress), whom Cap is surprised to see at all, is not in her usual Asgardian outfit. (Maybe Zodiac took some people’s clothes too?)

Speaking of “the chase,” several Zodiac members followed Cap to Amora’s apartment, where Cap assumes Thor would unleash the storm on them… but verily, Thor hath gone through it himself lately.

As if that weren’t bad enough, in Thor #496 Cap’s shock extends to his friend’s divinity. (Both the Odinson and Amora found themselves mortal—but still good-looking—in the previous issue.)

After the Enchantress’s home security system—massive guns mounted in the walls, firing nonlethal ammunition—subdues the intruders, she plans to interrogate them, and both Cap and Thor are concerned about exactly how she plans to do this. (Didn’t Cap just have this discussion with Sharon? What a day…)

She quickly comes back with information, and a perfectly reasonable explanation for how she got it.

Once alone, Cap asks Thor about Amora, but he barely has a chance to explain before noticing the chaos in the city—and realizing that a shield is a good thing for a newly mortal man to have.

Of course you remember Cap lifting Mjolnir, so now see Thor wield the shield!

Of course, the hammer does something the shield does not…

…unless you know the right way to throw it. (Not that Cap would rub it in—exactly the opposite, naturally.)

Up the side of another building they go—neither of them seeming very “mortal”—until the shield is reclaimed.

Well, he did throw the gunman on the fourth-floor balcony to the ground, so maybe they won’t anymore? (All joking aside, he did do that… I hope they’re super-powered in some way.)

It seems that Thor notices the difference in Cap’s demeanor as well—”wait, was I supposed to catch that guy?”—but rather than dwell on it, he takes it upon himself to step up and be the back-up Cap needs.

Cap brings up Amora again, which puts Thor in a reflective mood, but once again the cries for help take precedence as our heroes leap into action without hesitation.

As they save lives in the burning city on the way to the subway station, Thor reflects instead on how well they work together, silent despite the pain they’re both in.

When they come across looters, Cap has had it, expressing his disgust and impatience in plain terms that Thor nonetheless invests with nobility.

And the looters can’t even get his name right.

Cap urges the looters to use their Miranda rights, while Thor shows that, for a mortal, he’s quite a god (and then accepts a tasty beverage).

Eventually they find assistance and cover from some young people who have taken it upon themselves to protect their neighborhood, given their unique advantage in this particular situation that a certain Man without Fear could corroborate.

If Cap and Thor aren’t humbled enough by the students’ heroism, they surely are by their unawareness of their Avenger-ness.

We next see our heroes in Iron Man #326, most of which focuses on “Teen Tony,” recently brought into the modern day by the Avengers, only to be nearly killed by his older self and saved only by the latter’s chest-plate (granted to the boy after the adult sacrificed himself to save the world). Tony finds Cap and Thor in the subway station they were seeking—Thor apparently having picked up a snazzy outfit somewhere along the way.

When Cap notices Tony, he commands him to leave, but no matter his age, Tony Stark does not do what he is told…

…no matter how much he admires the one doing the telling.

More Avengers arrive (including a recently transformed Wasp), and Tony shows his heroic impulse as he realizes that only he can provide the power necessary to open a hole in the force bubble surrounding the city.

Tony puts his plan into action in Avengers #396, to the surprise of both Cap and Thor (once again shirtless, for those keeping track)…

…and earning him a mild rebuke from the Sentinel of Liberty, but not until after his plan works, letting more Avengers into the city while throngs of citizens flee.

They find the Zodiac base station at a place that makes Cap even more angry…

…which helps drive him to lead his team to defeat the Zodiac hordes.

Cap returns to the Avengers title with issue #399; meanwhile, his life takes a momentous turn in issue #450 of his own title, starting a five-part story that closes out the first volume of Captain America just in time for Onsl… umm… onward and upward!

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ISSUE DETAILS

Captain America (vol. 1) #449, March 1996: Mark Waid (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Scott Koblish, Denis Rodier, and Sandu Florea (inks), John Kalisz and Mailbu Color (colors), Michael Higgins (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)

Thor (vol. 1) #496, March 1996: William Messner-Leobs (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (pencils and inks), Marie Javins (colors), Jon Babcock (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)

Iron Man (vol. 1) #326, March 1996: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Jim Cheung, Hector Collazo, and Steve Ellis (pencils), Mark McKenna, Andy Lanning, and Steve Moncuse (inks), John Kalisz (colors), Phil Felix (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)

Avengers (vol. 1) #396, March 1996: Terry Kavanagh (writers), John Statema (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Frank Lopez and Malibu Color (colors), Bill Oakley and Michael Higgins (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)

All collected in: Captain America Epic Collection: Man without a Country, Thor Epic Collection: Worldengine, and Avengers/Iron Man: First Sign. (The Iron Man and Avengers issues are also collected in Iron Man Epic Collection: Age of Innocence.)

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PREVIOUS ISSUES: Captain America #448 (February 1996); Avengers #395, Avengers: Timeslide #1, Iron Man #325, and Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man (February 1996)

ALSO THIS MONTH: Prime/Captain America #1 and DC Versus Marvel #2 (March 1996)

NEXT ISSUES: Captain America #450-451 (April-May 1996); Avengers #399-400 (June-July 1996)