Synopsis / Summary / Plot
The masked Steve Rogers hears the smuggler sneaking up on him and breaks the axe (and his gun in the process), so has to pummel the crooks into submission with his fists. Questioning one of them he learns they were to deliver the stolen goods to a group of Bundists in Woodbridge the next night. The next day at Camp Lehigh, Steve overhears camp follower Bucky Barnes being threatened by the motor pool guys after reneging on a deal to supply cheap cigarettes. When Steve appears, Bucky quickly talks himself out of trouble and takes off. That night in Woodbridge, a masked Steve finds the Bundists preparing to depart with a large cache of stole goods. His attempts to intercept the truck lead to a chase, gunfight and explosion. The next morning, the camp is abuzz with talk of a masked vigilante stopping saboteurs; Steve, on the other hand is chewed out by Sergeant Duffy for missing bed check. At this point Steve is summoned to a car outside where he is surprised to find Cindy Glass ready to escort him to a secret meeting. Fearing that he is about to get in trouble for his extracurricular activities, he is surprised when General Phillips and Colonel Fletcher introduce him to the Army’s Director of Information Emil Gruber. Based on Steve’s drawing of a patriotic costume, the Army has decided to make him a symbol of the nation’s values for public consumption. His first mission though will be to protect military prosecutor Captain Fein from a Nazi assassination attempt. That night the Captain’s car is ambushed but Captain America arrives on the scene and defeats the kidnappers, spotting the Captain’s driver—his former co-candidate for the project Gil Hodge—as a traitor. In the days that follow headlines are full of stories of the new national hero capturing spies and saboteurs and greeting foreign dignitaries…but in Berlin, the Red Skull orders Agent X to proceed with the next step in his plan. The following day as they are on their way to the first attempt to recreate Operation: Rebirth, the car carrying Colonel Fletcher and Cindy Glass is intercepted by the Red Skull’s three deadly henchmen who kill the guards and abduct the two officers. Against orders, Captain America heads off to find them; his first stop: the prison where he forces Hodge to reveal the location of the Nazi hideout. In the villains’ clutches, Fletcher is forced to listen to the sounds of Cindy being tortured to persuade him to reveal the missing factor in the rebirth process. Fletcher manages to break his bonds a fight his way past the Nazis. He reaches a diner where he phones General Phillips for aid but the call is interrupted by the sound of Blitzkrieg’s electrical discharge….