This annual sees Captain America and Iron Man team up to face some familiar foes, as seen on the cover above, ending up in one of their classic disagreements and previewing arguments they will make during the Civil War in a few years’ time.
The issue opens with the two heroes arrive on an island, already at each others’ throats about something, when they are attacked by A.I.M. agents. We see a glimpse of their mutual grievance at the end of the battle below before Tony flashes back to how this all started…
…as seen below, narrated by Tony, who admires Cap’s cool demeanor under pressure while he struggles against A.I.M. and Mentallo.
Mentallo brags that A.I.M. magnified his psychic powers so that he’s linked into every person on the planet, but he didn’t account for the psychic blockers worn by Tony, who is at home recuperating at the time for injuries incurred in his own title. He invades Mentallo’s mindspace and defeated him, but not before Mentallo got access to Tony’s mind and discovered his secret identity. Tony eventually defeats Mentallo in his mindspace, causing his physical form to collapse while fighting Cap, leaving him in the state we see below.
Here’s the kicker: After defeating Mentallo, Tony took advantage of his psychic link to the world to erase knowledge of his secret identity from anyone who might have it. This explains Cap’s anger with Tony in the present time, which we see in Cap’s thoughts below…
…which began when Tony gathered many of the Avengers to restore their memory of his true identity (before too many of their memories of knowing it were lost forever).
We see above that Cap is upset not just with what Tony did, but with how satisfied with himself he seemed to be, with no apparent awareness of the moral line he crossed.
When he gets a chance to speak with Tony in private, Cap lays out in detail exactly where that line is, arguing that Tony violated the privacy of six billion people by messing with their minds and thoughts. The Utilitarian Iron Man, of course, defends what he did by arguing 1) it made him feel better and 2) it enables him to do more good, all while 3) not “hurting anyone.”
Cap brings up Tony’s behavior during “Armor Wars,” another time that he “placed his secrets above the rights of others” (very well said). Tony again argues that lives were saved, then brings up a case of Cap’s identity being restored in the past, even though it wasn’t Cap’s doing.
Tony reacts badly to Cap making an argument based on principle rather than consequences, and when Cap asks “what if Mentally had better motives,” Tony dodges the question and whines about life not being fair. Cap admits to himself that part of his anger stems from Tony having been inside his head, which is an admirable realization (if not particularly relevant, given all the disinterested reasons Cap has to be angry).
Their debate session is interrupted by the alarm about a possible A.I.M. base on an island, which brings us to the present time as Cap and Tony explore the island, discovering not an A.I.M. base but something related to Tony’s past. Essentially, it involves a process designed for Stark Enterprises that could give strength and vitality to “the severely weak and infirm,” while also folding their consciousnesses into a hivemind—the aspect that led Tony to cancel the project back in the day. Nevertheless, Tony is impressed by Zenith, the society the independently-funded project eventually led to, although Cap remains troubled by the loss of individuality and freedom it involved.
Unfortunately, Zenith’s independent financing ended up being from A.I.M., who used its people to help power Mentallo’s global mind control device, which Iron Man and Cap defeated earlier. But before long, A.I.M., led by MODOK, attacks again through the minds of the people of Zenith. Despite their disagreement, Cap is still worried about Tony’s health, which Tony continues to struggle against to save lives.
Things ramp up when MODOK takes the form of the collected psychic power of Zenith, and when he has Captain America in his grasp, MODOK hears two words he did not expect to hear from Cap’s mouth.
It was just a feint (despite Cap’s well-known antipathy for subterfuge), which allows him to use his new shield’s unique properties to short out MODOK’s energy form.
Cap and Iron Man manage to defeat MODOK and A.I.M. for now, but the Zenith leader informs them of a larger A.I.M. threat on its way that threatens to kill some of their people and enslave the rest. Our heroes struggle to find a solution that doesn’t endanger the technology that keeps the people of Zenith alive: Tony foolishly offers to fight A.I.M. in his dilapidated condition, but Cap has a better idea, which depends on Tony being smarter than he used to be.
Essentially, Tony proposes to revert the people of Zenith to normal, which makes them useless for A.I.M.’s purposes and saves their lives, but at the cost of eliminating what makes them special—and the way of life they chose.
Once Tony collapses, Cap is left to make the choice whether to save the lives of Zenith from A.I.M. by restoring them to normal, or respect their autonomy and liberty to live as they choose, but leave them to the whims of A.I.M. This is, of course, similar in spirit to the choice Tony made when he erased his secret identity from the minds of the world (albeit without the self-serving aspect).
We have to assume Cap chose to save lives at the cost of their choice (and also strike a blow against A.I.M., a significant consideration as well). This is perfectly reasonable, as there can be no autonomy in death (or as a slave to A.I.M.), so while he frustrated one particular choice of theirs (albeit a significant one), he left their powers of autonomous choice intent going forward.
Nonetheless, deciding against autonomy and liberty nonetheless leaves him more sympathetic to the thinking behind Tony’s earlier actions (even if he still disagrees with them).
(Nice while it lasts, at least!)
ISSUE DETAILS
Iron Man/Captain America Annual 1998: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern (plot), Mark Waid (script), Patrick Zircher (pencils), Randy Emberlin (inks), Tom Smith (colors), Richards Starkings and Comicraft (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Captain America: Heroes Return–The Complete Collection Vol. 1 and Iron Man: Heroes Return — The Complete Collection Vol. 1.
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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