Steve Rogers is called to a late night meeting with Nick Fury at a penny arcade. While waiting, he tries out a fortune-telling machine and receives the ominous message, “Tomorrow you live, tonight I die!” At this point Hydra agents attack him and Steve realizes it was all a trap, made possible by his lack of a secret identity. Switching into his Captain America gear he defeats his foes and heads off to make sure Rick Jones is safe….
Later at Hydra headquarters, Madame Hydra orders the execution of the agent who failed in his mission to kill Captain America….
Cap’s training of Rick to take Bucky’s place hits a snag, as Rick is quickly losing confidence in his ability to fill his predecessor’s boots. When a session becomes too difficult, a discouraged Rick decides to take a nap. Thus, later, when a message for Cap is slipped under the door, Cap is gone so Rick opens it and is assaulted by a drug causing him to hallucinate about a menacing Bucky. Two Hydra agents burst in and, realizing they’ve hit the wrong target, take Rick as hostage. Cap returns just in time to intercept the kidnappers. One of the villains manages to drive away with Rick, pausing to gun down his partner to prevent him talking to the authorities. While a captive at Hydra HQ, Rick overhears Madame Hydra theorizing that Cap will return to the arcade for clues and ordering her men to set a trap there. Rick manages to escape and heads out to warn his partner….
When Cap arrives at the now-closed arcade, he is attacked by the Mankiller, an armored robot. The fight carries on up to the building’s roof where Cap ends the fight by pressing his shield against his enemy’s chest, causing the miniature missiles therein to explode, destroying the robot. Seeing the building surrounded by Hydra agents and hearing Rick’s warning, Cap leaps from the roof right into a hail of enemy bullets and falls into the river. The police, looking for his body, recover Cap’s bullet-riddled mask and shirt, plus a puzzling item: a mask resembling Steve Rogers. The question now is: who was the real Captain America?
> Captain America (1968 series) comic book info and issue index
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Review: That’s more like it: A classic Steranko cover and then the opening page of pure Steranko, a montage of images giving the flavor of a setting, this time a street arcade, as we jump into the story. And his distinctive page layouts take over this issue too. Cap continues to try to train Rick to be the new Bucky and it isn’t working as Rick just learns how he will never measure up. And then there’s the psychedelic hallucination that stands high in Steranko’s portfolio, followed up by another double page action scene. There’s the nice battle scene with the robot, and the final page with the gallery of reactions to Cap’s apparent death. One of Steranko’s finest hours.
Comments: Part two of a three-part story drawn by Jim Steranko. Sole appearance of the Mankiller robot.
