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Captain America #430

Aug 1994
Mark Gruenwald, Dave Hoover

Captain America #430 cover

Story Name:

Cop Out


Synopsis

Captain America #430 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

In the stalemate at Damon Dran’s mansion in New Orleans, Americop refuses to surrender his weapon, even though it means the deaths of hostages Rachel (Diamondback) Leighton and Zack Moonhunter. When Captain America tries to intervene, the armored vigilante treats him as another criminal and fires, hitting his shield. As the two conflicting heroes clash, Dran’s men throw gas grenades, subduing Cap though Diamondback makes her escape through the hole Americop broke in the wall. The vigilante fires point blank at the sinister Dran and discovers why he is called the Indestructible Man; Americop then collapses from the gas. Outside, as Rachel evades the searchers, she finds Cap’s Sky-Cycle and uses the radio to call the Avengers for help….

Later, Cap and Americop awaken in chains in Damon Dran’s dungeon. The Cop is unmasked but no one recognizes him; he freely relates his background: he was Bart Gallows, Houston policeman, who became frustrated with the uncertain workings of the legal system and decided to mete out his own brand of justice. Dran in turn freely admits to trafficking in stolen children and anything else that turns a profit. After torture the two are left alone, and Americop exerts his strength and breaks his chains. Declining to release Cap he locates a cache of military weapons and lays siege to the house. After pinning down the henchmen with gunfire, Americop guns down Dran but the man is unharmed after taking an entire clip of bullets in the head and chest. Meanwhile, Rachel, hiding in the bayou, has been found by Black Widow, and they head back to the house to rescue Cap. After Cap and Zack are released, Cap orders Rachel and Zack to search for the missing children while he and the Widow go after the villains. They find Dran and Golddigger attempting to escape by helicopter and Americop preparing to fire. Cap hurls his shield to stop the vigilante killer but because of his weakened muscles the throw falls short. Americop shoots down the copter and Cap vows to track him down and bring him to justice. Americop is not impressed. It turns out that Golddigger (because she was only on the rope ladder) and Dran (because he is the Indestructible Man) survived the explosion. No children were found in the mansion but enough other illegal goods were there to send Dran to jail. As Cap leaves he is overwhelmed by his own incompetence, unable to serve as a hero anymore….


 

Review / Commentaries


Captain America #430 Review by (April 15, 2017)
Comments: “Fighting Chance, Book 6.” Americop’s only subsequent appearance (to date—2017) is in THUNDERBOLTS: DESPERATE MEASURES (July 2007) where his brain is fried by Penance; an organization inspired by his look was introduced in CAPTAIN AMERICA: SAM WILSON #9. Final appearance (as of early 2017) of Damon Dran, Kono, and Golddigger. The final page is an advertisement for the collected edition of “Streets of Poison.”

Review: We learn Americop's background but it is just the usual “Dirty Harry” frustration with the intricacies of the law, “noble notions turned inside out” as Cap says. The real star of the show is Diamondback who turns out to be quite resourceful when all hell breaks loose. But Cap is bothered about having to be rescued; this malady is weighing on his mind as well as his muscles, feeling he has failed, and despairing about the future. A small scale James Bond climax takes care of Damon Dran and his flunkies; he was a pretty good villain. The missing children subplot will continue in the next trilogy—without Americop who will be forgotten for a few decades, revived by Nick Spencer in 2016 as a private police agency, and no more human than the first guy.


> Captain America comic book info and issue index

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Characters

Listed in alphabetical order. All stories.

Black Widow
Black Widow

(Natasha Romanoff)
Captain America
Captain America

(Steven Rogers)
Diamondback
Diamondback

(Rachel Leighton)
Plus: Moonhunter, Americop (Bartholomew Gallows), Damon Dran, Golddigger (Angela Golden), Kono.

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