Despite the cover, this annual is less about Flag-Smasher and more about the responsibility of the press to investigate the misdeeds of the powerful (to whom Flag-Smasher is little more than an unwitting tool), similar to films like All the President’s Men and Spotlight. Captain America himself plays a secondary role here, encouraging the Daily Bugle reporters to continue their investigation even when it appears their lives are in danger and giving some of his patented speeches.
The issue starts with a break-in at the United Nations on the part of several men and Flag-Smasher, who spray-paints some anti-nationalist slogans on the wall before losing control and killing a security guard. Most of them flee before the police arrive, but one of the other men, Ken Bradley, is arrested for the murder.
After writing about the incident for the Daily Bugle, two reporters named Sid Franken and Dan Davis discover their notes are missing… but they would never guess who wanted to see them.
Interesting to learn that Avengers Priority Clearance allows members to access journalists’ notes, which could possibly reveal their sources.
It turns out Cap recognized Flag-Smasher’s worldview in the graffiti and wanted to know more. I’m sure he just had to ask—and for all we know he did, but J.J. wanted to make a big thing about it.
Cap goes to his quiet place and puts together what he’s learned (somehow skipping Flag-Smasher’s apparent death in X-Man #35 after his appearance in Marvel Team-Up #3, but before his “return to the states” in X-Men Unlimited #22).
Wanda wisely declines to remind Cap how much those things cost.
Cap starts investigating the arrested man and his connections to Roxxon Oil while the journalists do the same, during which time they briefly discuss the Star-Spangled Avenger who is also the Living Legend of World War II to the older set.
When Calvin Halderman, the president of Roxxon Oil and the man behind the U.N. break-in, sends Flag-Smasher to kill Bradley during a prison transport, someone is there to greet his old foe…
Flag-Smasher is too out of it to recognize anybody, his brain having been damaged by the fall in Marvel Team-Up #3 and then made worse when Halderman drugged him to make him a rabid killer (which also accounts for the grey skin, do not adjust your television set). After Flag-Smasher sets off some propane tanks and then loses it even more, Cap recognizes something’s wrong and extends a hand in sympathy…
…but soon has to devote his focus to saving those trapped in the fire, even the inmates who might have committed vicious crimes but whose lives are no less worth saving. (It would be interesting to see what he would do if he could not save everybody and had to consider prioritizing those with “cleaner slates,” a question he side-stepped back in Captain America #325.)
The next day, Cap pays a visit to Franken and questions his bland and vague story on the events. Franken argues they reported on all they could, given the lack of verifiable sources, but when he wonders why they’re even working on the Roxxon connections, Cap reminds him of the importance of diligent journalists in the face of increasing corporate influence over the media.
Franken remarks “easy to you to say” (and confuses “affect” and “effect”) before outlining the Bugle’s theory of the story. Cap urges his to keep pushing before making a joke that lands poorly given Franken’s valid complaints.
Cap’s words inspire Franken and Davis to question Halderman, who laughs them out of his office after telling them governments and borders no longer exist (sound familiar?) and corporations are all that matter any more. Things look up when Bradley asks to talk to them, assuming he doesn’t have long to live…
…unaware that his guardian angel is in the room.
After they report what Bradley said to Jameson, Robbie Robertson helps them convince Jameson to run the story, despite the legal risks, and to his credit he agrees.
Cap sees the results of his pep talk the next morning…
…but after Bradley is killed in prison, Roxxon sues the Bugle, and Jameson has to play defense, although he stands by the story.
Cap checks in with Franken to tell him the obvious, but the reporter remains disappointed that Cap refuses to go on the record with him…
…with grows increasingly odd as he keeps lecturing Franken about the importance of the truth and tells him about Flag-Smasher and the threat he poses.
I wish the issue had explored why Cap won’t go on the record with what he knows. It would clearly serve the cause of truth and justice, helping to bring wrongdoers to account, and is different from taking sides in a political dispute (where both sides can have a valid point and he doesn’t want to reveal any bias). Perhaps he’s hesitant to rely on his privileged position as an Avenger, but it wouldn’t be for his benefit—again, it would promote justice. (There are issues with masked superheroes providing legal testimony without verifying their identity, which have been explored in Daredevil’s stories, but that’s a significantly different context.)
Regardless, the information Cap gave Bradley “on background” convinced Jameson to press on with the story. Halderman does send Flag-Smasher to the Bugle, but Cap is there to meet him, and after a long fight Cap takes him out with some crafty shieldwork.
In the end, Franken and Davis expose Halderman on the front page and he resigns (with a comfortable severance package). Cap checks in one last time with Franken, who has only become more cynical about the world after this adventure, which gives Cap one more chance to stress how important journalism is in a world of corruption.
Cap tells Franken above that he doesn’t drink while on duty, but as we see in a page from the same year’s Wolverine Annual below, this also extends to Ben Grimm’s legendary poker games, during which he nurses a ginger ale. (Maybe he’s on stand-by with the Avengers?)
ISSUE DETAILS
Captain America (vol. 3) Annual 1999: Joe Casey (writer), Pablo Raimondi (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Matt Hicks and Marie Javins (colors), Paul Tutrone and Sharpefont (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Captain America: Heroes Return–The Complete Collection Vol. 2.
Wolverine (vol. 2) Annual 1999, “Beer Run”: Marc Andreyko (writer), Leonardo Manco (pencils, inks, and colors), Mike Heisler and Revenge Graphics (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Wolverine Epic Collection: Blood Debt.
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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