The Red Skull and his Skeleton Crew are
prisoners of the German government which seeks to prosecute and
execute the Skull to exorcise the nation of its Nazi past. As the
trial starts, Machinesmith manages to free himself and the others;
the villains take the judge and prosecutor hostage. The Red Skull
presents his defense: that he is not the original but an American
citizen who has adopted the identity of the now-deceased villain and
it would be unjust to hold him responsible for the famous one’s
crimes. At that moment, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor burst in
through the ceiling; Cap announces that as the villains are American
citizens, it is up to American courts to try them. The Avengers
quickly subdue the baddies, load them into their jet and take off. As
the jet wings its way toward the USA, the truth is revealed: the
Avengers are bioplastoid duplicates created by Arnim Zola and the
plane itself is Doughboy. The Red Skull and his minions are free....
At Avengers Mansion, the real Captain
America is wrapping up the previous adventure and Asp and Black Mamba
go off with Paladin. Diamondback stays behind and confesses to Steve
that she is frightened of the hero life and wants to retire; Cap
comforts her. Meanwhile, Bernie Rosenthal shows up to visit Steve and
Jarvis discreetly sends her away. Cap receives a call from Hauptmann
Deutschland asking if he returned safely with the Red Skull; when Cap
professes ignorance, he knows he has been fooled. Cap follows up on
the enigmatic call by heading to Washington to check up on the Skull.
Arriving at the Skull's corporate HQ, he encounters Hauptmann
Deutschland, who assumes Cap is the duplicate. After a stalemated
battle, Haup runs off, crashing through the window to the Red Skull's
office. There the two heroes are surprised to find the Red Skull
dead, a bullet in his head, and written on the wall above, “Justice
is served”....