Captain America (Steve Rogers) finds himself once again trapped in the ice, watching helplessly as Namor, the Sub-Mariner, drives off the Inuit worshippers and hurls the block of ice into the sea….
Today, Namor meets with Reed Richards in the Arctic to raise Cap’s coffin from the ocean floor. As they look inside, Cap’s body vanishes before their eyes. He calls Hank Pym who fills him in on the problem in New York: Sharon Carter wants to turn herself in to Norman Osborn to prevent the murder of Bucky….
Sharon Carter is wracked with guilt, worried that Bucky will be killed and that the damage she caused to the Red Skull’s machine is responsible for Steve’s loss. Steve, meanwhile, is reliving the Kree-Skrull War, fighting alongside the Avengers and wondering if he will witness the death of Captain Marvel once again. He decides to try to get a message to his friends from that day far in his past by burying deep in Vision’s memory banks….
The new Captain America, Bucky Barnes, is the prisoner of Osborn’s Thunderbolts—Ghost, Scourge, Paladin, Ant-Man—who are returning him to base by jet, when the Falcon crashes through the window. Ant-Man, who has been having second thoughts about his involvement with the gang, frees Cap and the two heroes mop up the villains and heads for home. All is going well—except that Sharon can’t be found….
As the news breaks that Sharon Carter has turned herself in to HAMMER, the Red Skull is sought out by Sin and Crossbones, who bring him and artificial head so that he can regain some semblance of normality for their trip to Latveria….