Captain America (Steve Rogers) watches right-wing pundit Knox Jennings on TV, ranting
against Cap and Cap Network as bogus patriots, wondering if Hate-Monger is
behind it….
Winter Soldier
and Arielle Agbayani (Campus Captain America introduced in issue #4) go to Colorado Springs
where Captain Jeremy Merrick has found his front door defaced with anti-Cap graffiti.
Jeremy sees this as evidence of Hate-Monger’s vendetta against him….
U.S. Agent, having interrogated Sin, has discovered the villains’ plan: they are
using Knox Jennings’ TV broadcasts to build an audience then hypnotize them
with Cap’s shield to turn the nation into violent fanatics. Walker has the coordinates
of the broadcast. Meanwhile, Speed Demon, angry at having been brainwashed by
the baddies, confronts the imprisoned Sin, who clobbers him and escapes. The
other Caps, alerted to her breakout, arrive to hear her make a nasty
anti-America speech and then jump out of the window to land on a fast-moving
truck….
Steve
Cap calls Bucky and they pick up Jeremy’s daughter from school and hasten to
California for safety….
Captain America Sam Wilson flies reconnaissance over the island that the broadcast is
coming from while Steve Cap and U.S. Agent gain the island by stealth. They
enter the lighthouse—which explodes….
Back
at the base, Jeremy realizes that the coordinates were bogus and it was a trap.
They send out a call for reinforcements….
Steve
Cap, Sam Cap, and U.S. Agent wake up to learn they are prisoners of the bad
guys: Hate-Monger, Warrior Woman, and Sin. Hate-Monger explains his nefarious
plan to brainwash the country into evil. Warrior Woman demonstrates the
hypnotic power of Cap’s shield by trying to drive Steve Cap insane with it. But
then Bucky (wearing his Captain America uniform) and Arielle parachute onto the
real island HQ leading the reinforcements from the Captain Network and defeat
the baddies with Jeremy absorbing Hate-Monger back into a miniature cage. Steve
is reunited with his shield. They realize Hate-Monger’s broadcast is about to
go live so Steve invites the Network to send a message. Aaron Fischer (from
issue #1) takes the lead in introducing themselves to the nation as the one who’ve
“got your back….”
Weeks
later, Steve is at the Smithsonian exhibit looking at his shield displayed on
the wall with many others when a little boy recognizes him as Captain America.
Steve replies that the boy could also be Captain America, just like everyone
there….