Under attack at sea by Moonstone and
Blackbird, Paladin rescues Captain America from drowning and is able
to shoot down Moonstone; Cap revives just in time to seize Blackbird
by the foot. She pulls him through the air until he is able to choke
her into unconsciousness. The two heroes restrain their captives
until John Jameson repairs their raft. A Quinjet arrives, piloted by
the Vision and picks them up. Jameson is told to stay behind (and he
resents it) as Cap and Paladin head out on a Skycycle to find out why
they were attacked….
Meanwhile on the S.S. Superia,
Snapdragon was observed throwing someone overboard and Diamondback
has been missed by her friends. Ion is dispatched to search in the
ship’s wake; she finds Diamond’s waterlogged body and returns to
the ship where they try to resuscitate the unresponsive woman. When
Diamond recovers and realizes that she had been dead, she tells her
pals, Black Mamba and Asp, that she is not cut out for the costumed
adventurer‘s life and wants nothing more to do with super-people….
By this time, Cap and Paladin have
caught up to the Superia and boarded stealthily. They are in time to
witness the Pageant of Power as each of the lady villains aboard
demonstrates their special abilities for the crowd. Impala
demonstrates spear-throwing and Screaming Mimi flattens the audience
with a shriek; when Ferocia takes the stage, her enhanced sense of
smell detects the presence of Cap and Paladin and suddenly the two
heroes see the entire crowd of dozens of dangerous women come after
them….
2. “Kidnaped” 3/5
Writer: Mark Gruenwald. Pencils: Larry
Alexander. Inks: Bud LaRosa. Colors: Kevin Tinsley.
Synopsis: A manacled Red Skull awakens
in captivity in a secret base outside Berlin. His captor introduces
himself as Hauptmann Deutschland, a German superhero whose mission is
to eliminate the Red Skull as a means of purging the nation of its
Nazi past (and the Skull still counts even though he is now a
nihilist). The Hauptmann explains that the Skull will be tried and
executed. Meanwhile, the Skeleton Crew is following the homing device
the Skull wore and they are on their way to free their master—unaware
that they are heading into a trap set by Hauptmann Deutschland to
catch them all….
Characters: Blitzkrieger, Crossbones,
Hauptmann Deutschland, Machinesmith, Mother Night, Red Skull,
Skeleton Crew