Captain America #153: Review

Sep 1972

Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema

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Story Name:

Captain America—Hero or Hoax?

Review & Comments

Rating:

Captain America #153 Review by Peter Silvestro (February 15, 2010)

Part one of a four-part story. Cap and the Falcon go to Cap’s hotel in full costume and Cap doesn’t care who sees them, though he still hides his identity from the landlord.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Captain America #153 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Captain America, Sharon and the Falcon return to Cap’s hotel to find a shadowy figure waiting for them. The flick of a light switch reveals an angry Nick Fury, demanding a showdown with Cap. Sharon and the Falcon leave, and she hurriedly calls Val. Fury, wearing a SHIELD action suit with solid steel arm, challenges Cap to a fight over Val. The two battle in the close confines of Steve’s room, with Fury tricking Cap into hurling his shield out a window. During the brawl, all of Fury’s bitterness, resentment, and jealousy, so long bottled up come out when suddenly, Val bursts in and convinces Fury that he’s the one she loves. The embarrassed Fury apologizes and leaves with Val, Cap pays off his landlord for the damages and Steve and Sharon leave on a long-awaited vacation to the Bahamas. At the station house, however, Steve Rogers’ partner Bob Courtney becomes suspicious of Steve’s frequent absences and decides to talk things over with the suspended Sgt. Muldoon. Later, as the Falcon patrols the streets of Harlem, he spies Leila cuddling with Rafe Michel and burns with jealousy. The following morning, as Sam, he confronts her and she denounces him as a traitor, since his hero Captain America has been beating up the brothers in Harlem lately. As the Falcon, Sam investigates, and discovers a man dressed as Cap beating up an innocent black man. He swings down and hits the fraud and demands answers. The fake has Cap’s voice and after a scuffle, Falcon unmasks his foe as…Steve Rogers. Distracted, he is clubbed from behind and turns to see Bucky Barnes. This Cap announces the comeback of the real Captain America and Bucky.

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