These three issues represent Mark Waid’s swansong (for now) as writer on Captain America (although he does provide the plot for issue #23). His run began with the first volume’s issue #444 (only to be interrupted by Heroes Reborn), and other than assorted contributions to anniversary issues and collections—and the terrific Man Out of Time miniseries from 2011—he will not be seen on this title again until 2017’s Captain America #695. Fittingly, this three-part tale restores a bit of status quo before Waid leaves, while still advancing the stories of Cap, Sharon Carter, and Connie Ferrari.
But it is another character entirely that we see as issue #20 opens, with a particular emphasis on his vibranium shield, which is acting peculiar…
…and does in fact explode. (We’ll return to this point soon, which has nothing to do with Walker.)
The story then turns to a romantic dinner—well, as romantic as it can be with a kid lawyer at the table.
(Is he alluding to Bucky above, and maybe Rick Jones—or even Rikki Barnes, to whatever extent he remembers her?)
After Javier leaves the grown-ups to grown-up business, Steve asks about some pictures on Connie’s wall…
…and learns that she has an issue with the U.S. military’s stance, formal and informal, toward homosexuality. This obviously gives Captain America pause and leads him to reconsider telling her about his other life, despite his ambiguous official status—and then she asks about “the other woman,” which may or may not be a welcome change of topic.
That ends their evening on a down note, but never fear, this aspect of the story is just beginning. Meanwhile, we the readers learn that Sharon is actually in Turkey, “drinking herself to death” (her own words) and making random men very sorry to have approached her (especially if their names happen to be Steve).
But Cap is unaware of this and goes to SHIELD looking for answers, telling Dugan he’s worried that he “messed with her mind” to disguise (poorly) the fact that he misses her. Dum Dum recommends Cap leave her be when things start blowing up nearby…
…namely, Mandroid suits of armor that not only contain vibranium (wink wink) but also people whom Cap immediately tries to free.
(Note the comment about the shortcoming of his current energy shield. Something’s building here, methinks.)
Things get worse when the helicarrier’s power core, which contains you-know-that, also starts to explode—and with an agent inside, paralyzed with fear. Again, Cap does not hesitate to jump into the breach, despite Dum Dum’s warnings, giving him all the explanation he needs.
After some amazing heroics, to which his current shield is no help, Cap throws his glove down to the agent to use the shield to protect him, and they both finally escape, only to receive a call from Tony who has all the answers.
Issue #21 opens with a Marvel-DC softball game, featuring Kurt Busiek and George Pérez (from Avengers) as well as umpire Peter David (who recently passed away after a very long illness).
Cap is forced to interrupted the game when he has to clear the field ahead of a crashing quinjet, which contains vibranium. (What doesn’t contain vibranium these days, one wonders.) Lucky for Hank Pym, Cap is able to pull him out of the wreckage before it explodes.
Things are no less exciting back at the mansion, where Hawkeye keeps crates of the stuff for some reason…
…and Cap chooses to get it over worth with a bit of planned demolition, relying on his shield to control the blast (and acknowledges that it probably did better than his old one would have).
Speaking of which, Cap next meets with Tony to discuss his original shield, which Tony returned to him in pieces in issue #15. He explains that a tiny flaw was introduced into the shield when Cap reconstructed it with sheer force of will during the Secret Wars, a flaw which eventually set off a chain reaction—a “vibrational cancer”—in all the world’s vibranium, which explains the explosions. What’s more, the effect is not only spreading but also growing, and threatens the massive vibranium mountain in Wakanda, which could level the entire country.
Cap is concerned about current relations with Wakanda’s king, but Tony is more worried about what Cap will think about his proposed solution.
In issue #22, Cap flies to Wakanda with his taped-up shield and sets it up in Tony’s machine to intercept the “vibrational cancer” and negate it before it reaches the vibranium mountain, telling himself that it’s a heroic ending for a good friend.
He soon finds himself and the machine attacked by Klaw, to whom vibranium is like kryptonite (which is actually said by one of his prison guards, confirming once again the existence of DC Comics in the Marvel Universe). Klaw wants the vibranium to be destroyed—and also relishes the thought of the destruction of his old foe’s homeland—and after he demolishes Tony’s machine, Cap loses it (understandably, given the stakes).
As the “vibrational cancer” approaches, it powers up Klaw, who prepares to demolish the vibranium mountain himself. For his part, Cap grabs his old shield and prepares to repel Klaw as best they can, even it means the end for both of them.
Cap and his once-mighty shield withstand the brunt of the Barbie movie promotion Klaw’s sonic self…
…only to find the universe has deigned to smile on them this day, perhaps as a reward for all their past sacrifices.
And it’s back.
I really don’t either, but it had to be done, and both Tony’s explanation for the shield’s collapse and the way it was restored are tied to continuity and “comic book science,” as Professor America explains below, so I’m fine with it.
After the shield shatters Klaw into millions—sorry, Mr. Sagan, billions—of pieces, Cap is confident he’ll return someday, but for now…
…all is right with the world (thanks to Mr. Waid).
(For those of us elders who associate this phrase with a premature presidential declaration, keep in mind this didn’t occur until 2003.)
Finally, Black Panther #12 serves as a sort of epilogue to our tale, as the king of Wakanda alerts his subjects to Klaw’s return, only to receive an update from Captain America himself…
…who greets his old friend in a most surprising way.
Ignoring the fella with the gun (Sergeant Francis Tork, from Falcon #3-4), Cap demands to know who the T’Chimposter is, but he says “talk to the hand,” not “shoot the hand.”
The “Black Panther” turns out to be Achebe, the usurper of the throne (and the man behind the riot in issue #8) who has been gradually going mad (hence the puppet). But at least he tells Cap and Not-Nomad where the real Panther is…
…and Cap respects him enough to let him handle what seems like a very precarious situation.
This respect keeps Cap calm after T’Challa’s apparent death, reassuring his companions that their king made his choice, but the mourning is short-lived when he bounces back, good as ever.
“That T’Challa!” <canned laughter>
ISSUE DETAILS
Captain America (vol. 3) #20, August 1999, “Danger in the Air”: Mark Waid (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Jesse Delperdang (inks), Gregory Wright (colors), Todd Klein (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Captain America (vol. 3) #21, September 1999, “Soundquake!”: Mark Waid (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Jesse Delperdang (inks), Gregory Wright (colors), Todd Klein (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Captain America (vol. 3) #22, October 1999, “Sacrifice Play”: Mark Waid (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Jesse Delperdang (inks), Gregory Wright (colors), Todd Klein (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Captain America: Heroes Return–The Complete Collection Vol. 2.
Black Panther (vol. 3) #12, October 1999: Christopher Priest (writer), Mark Bright (pencils), Nelson DeCastro (inks), Chris Sotomayor (colors), Liz Agraphiotis (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection Vol. 1.
PREVIOUS ISSUE: Captain America #19 (July 1999)
ALSO THESE MONTHS: Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #12 (August 1999), Avengers #19-20 and #0 (August-September 1999), Avengers Forever #9-11 (August-October 1999), Galactus the Devourer #1-2 (September-October 1999), and Avengers #21 (October 1999)
NEXT ISSUE: Captain America #23 (November 1999)
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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