1935: After his talk with the Kraken
(last issue), young Steven Rogers has become a model student at the
Hydra school. Dr Fenhoff is favorably impressed and chooses Steve to
lead the orientation for new students. This makes a group of German
students jealous so they plot revenge....
In the present, Steve Rogers is Captain
America and he is plotting with Dr. Eric Solveig to assassinate the
Red Skull and return Hydra to its former glory, a tall order since
the villain has the telepathic abilities of the late Professor X....
The Red Skull rouses his Hydra troops
to invade Sokovia, in a (falsely) humanitarian effort to drive out
the country's brutal dictator General Kamil Novoty. While this
invasion is hailed by the Sokovians and the world community, SHIELD
is warning the world that Hydra cannot be trusted. The captured
General Novoty is brought before the Red Skull, who surprises the
dictator with the revelation that The Skull is planning to let Novoty
defeat Hydra on the battlefield and drive them out of Sokovia. Why?
Because then SHIELD will come to support Novoty and then the Red
Skull will spring his trap on SHIELD....
Captain America and the Black Widow
undertake a rescue mission for SHIELD, freeing Sokovian resistance
leader Alois Denz from prison. After the success of this raid, Maria
Hill tells Natasha that Denz will be the cover for SHIELD's battle
against Hydra in the country (and revealing to the readers that she
is falling for the Red Skull's ruse)....
1935: Steve is beaten by his bullying
classmates in the school barn when a new student arrives to take down
the bad kids; he introduces himself as “Helmut”....
Cap tells the skeptical Solveig that
they have a powerful ally in their plot against the Red Skull...Baron
Helmut Zemo....