Captain America #144: Review

Dec 1971

Gary Friedrich, Gray Morrow

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Story Name:

Hydra Over All!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Captain America #144 Review by Peter Silvestro (February 15, 2010)

Additional art by Gray Morrow. The Falcon adopts his more familiar red-and-white costume in this issue. First appearance of the Femme Force. First appearance of Contessa Valentina 'Val' de Allegro Fontaine in this title. In addition to President Richard M. Nixon being a character, there is a cameo by Vice-President Spiro Agnew.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Captain America #144 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

A meeting of the terrorist group Hydra is broken up by the crashing arrival of Captain America and Nick Fury leading a team of SHIELD agents with flying jet packs. The heroes, especially Cap, make short work of the gang. At this point we learn this is an exercise being staged for President Nixon and officials from the Department of Defense. Fury has a surprise for the Commander-in-Chief: the debut of SHIELD’s new Femme Force, led by Agent 13, coasting in on rocket sleds to mop up the remnants of the villains (actually Life Model Decoys). Nixon promises to consider an appropriation for increased funding of SHIELD’s projects and signs off. The big demonstration over, Fury grants Sharon her long-overdue vacation and she and Steve start making plans. Later Steve agonizes over his split with the Falcon: he recalls how he eavesdropped on the conversation between Sam and the radical Leila, the couple’s attraction for one another frustrated by their variant political beliefs and her demand that he join her cause. After she walked out, Cap went in to apologize for last issue’s rift and found his partner in a combative mood, upset about his encounter with Leila and questioning his stands. Sam donned a new Falcon costume and told Cap he was going to defend his people without the help of a white hero. Just then Sam’s nephew Jody burst in and was shocked to see the two superheroes in the social work office. Overcoming his surprise, he told them that his friend Ted Clarkson, a drug addict, was being held prisoner by a pair of pushers. The Falcon raced to the scene and prevented the crooks from killing the boy with an overdose. Falcon turned the thugs over to the police and announced to the watching crowd that he had split from Captain America and was ready to be the black people’s champion. The watching Cap was glad for his ex-partner’s success but back in the present he wonders why the incident keeps coming back to him.

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