These issues comprise the second half of Gerry Conway's short four-issue run, introducing Mr. Hyde and the Scorpion to these pages, wrapping up Captain America's brief career as a police officer, and introducing an important aspect of Cap's mighty shield. As issue #151 opens, we see who the mysterious speakers at the end of issue... Continue Reading →
Avengers #72 (January 1970)
With this issue, we catch up with what Rick Jones has been doing since we last saw him in Captain America #118, and also get a fright concerning Nick Fury. Last time Rick "saw" Cap, he was actually the Red Skull, who had used the Cosmic Cube to switch appearances with the Sentinel of Liberty,... Continue Reading →
Tales of Suspense #82-84 (October-December 1966)
This story introduces the Adaptoid, a creation of A.I.M.—the organization that also brought us the Cosmic Cube and evil beekeeper suits—that takes Captain America’s form but finds out that stunning good looks are not enough to be the Sentinel of Liberty. (But they do help.) As many early stories both in Tales of Suspense and... Continue Reading →
Tales of Suspense #72-74 (December 1965-February 1966)
After eight issues in World War II, we return to the present day, in which Cap battles against a plan the Red Skull launched twenty years ago—and we get the first appearance of Cap’s Kooky Quartet in his own book. Issue #72 begins with Cap telling Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch the story recounted... Continue Reading →
Avengers #17-18 (June-July 1965)
In these issues we see Captain America’s first two adventures leading the Kooky Quartet with Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch. Much of these early stories are spent laying out the three new members’ attitudes toward Cap and each other, as well as Cap testing out his new leadership role, tested for real for... Continue Reading →
Tales of Suspense #61 (January 1965)
This issue finds Captain America traveling to Vietnam to negotiate the release of a prisoner of war, the first time we see Cap in a contemporary military setting (even though he isn’t in combat). As many future Cap stories do, this one shows him repaying a debt to a former colleague—in this case, one that... Continue Reading →
Tales of Suspense #60, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #13, and Tales to Astonish #62 (December 1964)
More fighting! In this story, Baron Zemo sabotages Cap’s fitness exhibition by substituting his own henchmen for the sparring partners Cap expected to face—which Cap only realizes once they really put up a fight and start firing. This gives Cap a chance to cut lose, showing off his skills (and Kirby’s at the same time).... Continue Reading →
Avengers #6 (July 1964)
This issue introduces us to Baron Zemo (glimpsed merely in silhouette in Cap and Bucky’s death scene in Avengers #4), who is shocked to hear that Captain America is still alive—both because he thought he died along with his teenaged partner, and because he bears a slight grudge over Cap’s role in gluing Zemo’s hood... Continue Reading →