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Captain America #338: Review

Feb 1988
Mark Gruenwald, Kieron Dwyer

Story Name:

Power Struggle

Review & Comments

Rating:
4.5 stars

Captain America #338 Review by (April 5, 2013)
Review: For the first time we see the two Captains in action in the same issue and the contrast is quite instructive. John Walker is brash and violent; Steve Rogers is careful and thoughtful. Walker stops the villain by reckless use of violence; Steve allows the bad guy to go free to save a life. While most comic book readers, inured to violence by the grim ‘n’ gritty 90s, would probably consider Steve an overscrupulous wuss, note that Walker is the one having second thoughts about his course of action. A hero who respects life is one to be admired—and Cap hasn’t changed, though John Walker has, with later writers making him more of an insensitive blockhead. I like Cap better.

Comments: Part seven of The Captain saga which will run until issue #350. The saga of Professor Power is summarized from MARVEL TEAM-UP #117-118, CAPTAIN AMERICA #268, and DEFENDERS #106, 126-130. He was resurrected by transferring his mind back to his original body in WEST COAST AVENGERS ANNUAL #7.




 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Captain America #338 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

The new Captain America and Bucky are battling…Roman soldiers? They are assaulting the castle stronghold of the villainous Professor Power; the baddie has recently escaped from SHIELD detention and traced to this one of his former hideouts; Cap and Bucky are assigned to bring him back. After defeating the guards, the heroes then enter the castle where they are confronted by Mandroids who gas them into unconsciousness….

Meanwhile in Las Vegas, The Captain (Steve Rogers) and his partners Falcon, Nomad, and D-Man find themselves in prison, in a cell across the hall from the four serpent-themed criminals they stopped from robbing a casino (last issue). The good guys are being held for interfering in police activity and Nomad want them to bust out but he is overruled. As they are bickering, Sidewinder of the Serpent Society teleports in and starts removing his compatriots to freedom. Cap has D-Man bend the bars and attempt to stop the escape. When Sidewinder returns for Fer-de-Lance, the last of the crooks, Cap leaps on him and the villain teleports away. Seeing he cannot shake the hero, Sidewinder returns to the cell and seizes Fer-de-Lance by the neck, threatening to kill her if Cap does not release him. Steve, unwilling to risk anyone’s life but his own, relents and the villains vanish. The guards enter and the heroes attempt to explain but the authorities are not buying it….

As the Mandroids approach the unconscious Cap and Bucky for the kill, the two heroes reveal they were faking and swing into action, taking out their metallic foes. They head upstairs where they discover a secret lab where scientists are attempting to revive the catatonic Professor Power. As they watch, they are seized by a giant who gives them a hard time. Pooling their wits, Cap and Bucky leap to the colossus’ shoulder and work together to squeeze off his windpipe, knocking him out. They pursue the fleeing villains who are boarding a small rocket to jet to safety. Cap hurls his shield and causes the craft to crash. He searches through the wreckage until he finds Professor Power, but the villain, now semi-lucid, lets off an energy blast that takes Cap by surprise. Cap flies into a rage and beats the villain to death. As Bucky catches up to him, he tries to console Cap that he did what he had to—but John Walker knows the real Captain America would have found a better way….



Kieron Dwyer
Tom Morgan
Gregory Wright
Ron Frenz (Cover Penciler)
Joe Sinnott (Cover Inker)
? (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Captain America
Captain America

(Steve Rogers)
Falcon
Falcon

(Sam Wilson)

Plus: Black Racer, Bucky (Lemar Hoskins), Captain America (John Walker), Copperhead, D-Man (Demolition Man), Fer-de-Lance, Nomad (Jack Monroe), Professor Power, Puff Adder, Sidewinder.

> Captain America: Book info and issue index

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