Captain America #113: Review

May 1969

Stan Lee, Jim Steranko

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Story Name:

The Strange Death of Captain America

Review & Comments

Rating:

Captain America #113 Review by Peter Silvestro (February 15, 2010)

First appearance of Thor and the Vision in a Captain America title. In AVENGERS #107, Madame Hydra is revealed to have been taken over by the Space Phantom on page 14, panel 6. Really. Conclusion of a three-part story drawn by Jim Steranko.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Captain America #113 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Watching a television report on the death of Captain America, Madame Hydra rejoices in her great victory and celebrates by burning his Hydra dossier. She reflects on her origin as a European war orphan, her facial disfigurement, her joining of Hydra and rise through the ranks, and seizure of power in her sector through assassination of her superiors, while lamenting that she can never escape the tyranny of her mirror. Elsewhere, Rick Jones is still coming to terms with the loss of his friend and partner; meeting with the Avengers (Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, Hawkeye, and the Vision), he is unable to speak through grief. A short time later at a funeral parlor, a memorial service is held for Captain America, a dummy taking the place of his unrecovered body. Nick Fury delivers the final tribute, while a number of friends and coworkers, including Sharon Carter, mourn in silence. Fury and the Avengers remain behind in a vigil after the others have left and are exposed to a sleep gas trap set by Hydra. The captives are placed in coffins and loaded into waiting hearses. Rick Jones, who was unable to attend through grief, finally manages to bring himself to visit the chapel, arriving just in time to see the enemy driving off with the captive heroes. He follows them to a cemetery where they are planning to bury the heroes alive, but Rick is captured by a Hydra agent. Suddenly, a motorcycle roars onto the scene—Captain America lives! Cap and Rick battle the forces of Hydra, and at Cap’s orders, Rick fires a bullet into the motorcycle gas tank, igniting the explosive fuel and killing all the Hydra agents. The sole survivor, Madame Hydra, realizing her life is forfeit as the price of failure, launches hunter missiles at Cap and Rick. Cap pulls Rick into an open grave, the missiles pass overhead and return to their source, destroying the crypt where the villainess was hiding. Cap explains to Rick that his death was part of a scheme to convince the world that Captain America is not Steve Rogers, so he sent an inflatable decoy, dressed in his costume and a Steve mask into the hail of bullets. So now Captain America has a secret identity once more.

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