An unexpected visitor is doing acrobatics on the scaffolding
surrounding the renovated Statue of Liberty; he startles the guards by making
the impossible leap from the scaffold to the sea and swims away….
Meanwhile, Captain America
is on his jetcycle heading back from his European adventure (issues #321-322)
when he is suddenly flanked by two unidentified craft. Cap leaps into action
and smashes his way into the cockpit of one only to find they are SHIELD ships
sent to escort him to their HQ. Cap arrives to find himself questioned by
Jasper Sitwell about this mission against ULTIMATUM. Sitwell says that Cap’s
killing of the terrorist has created an international incident and the only way
to fix it is for Cap to become an official agent of SHIELD. An irritated Cap
says he’ll think about it….
The late-night visitor is revealed to be Super-Patriot (John
Walker), a new hero seeking the spotlight. With his agent Ethan Thurm they are
planning big things; they decline to stop and help an old lady being mugged as
it wouldn’t be flashy enough to make the headlines….
As Steve Rogers, Cap stops by Avengers
Mansion, declining a party offer
from Dane (Black Knight) Whitman and Hercules. Elsewhere we see that Bernie
Rosenthal is worried about Steve’s new problem…. The next day Steve comes
across a rally for Super-Patriot and, curious, he stops to listen.
Super-Patriot makes a big speech ridiculing Captain America’s
use of guns and offers himself as the new champion of the nation. In the middle
of the speech, he is attacked on stage by three bad guys defending Cap calling
themselves the Buckies—Bold Urban Commandos. Steve looks for an opportunity to
slip away and don his costume but Super-Patriot easily vanquishes his foes all
the while making a spiel about constitutional rights and patriotism. He hands
them over to the police….
Later, as John Walker and Ethan Thurm are eating at a fancy
restaurant, Steve, disguised by sunglasses, sits down with them and reveals
that he knows the Buckies and the arresting officers were all hired as part of
the show. He asks the new hero not to try any more publicity stunts that could
endanger lives. Walker challenges
Cap to a fight but the hero declines, leading Walker
to lose his temper. On the way home, Steve is attacked by the Buckies and he
fights them off but discovers they are much stronger than he could have
expected. Now Cap knows what to tell SHIELD….
The next day Captain America
goes on television to explain his actions in Europe, how
he regrets having to kill for his country, and asks the public to forgive him.
At home John Walker and Ethan Thurm are watching and are impressed with Cap’s
P.R. man while waiting for their next opportunity….