Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Fleeing the Avengers after their confrontation last issue, the Sub-Mariner seeks refuge in the Arctic, where he finds a tribe of Eskimos worshipping a human figure frozen in a block of ice. Namor chases off the Eskimos and hurls their idol into the sea where it drifts into the warm Gulf Stream and starts to melt. The thawed figure is picked up by the Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Giant-Man), who were searching for Namor in a submarine. They recognize their discovery as Captain America and are surprised to find he’s still alive. Cap awakens with a shock, and has to be subdued by the Avengers. When they doubt his identity, Cap demonstrates his superhuman agility and tells them his story: he and his partner Bucky Barnes were trying to stop a Nazi drone plane loaded with explosives, when the bomb went off, killing Bucky and hurling Cap into the ocean, where his body froze, keeping him alive and young to this day.
When they arrive at the New York docks, a mysterious flash turns the Avengers to stone, and Captain America, following shortly, does not know what happened to his rescuers. He wanders the streets marveling at the changes to the city, and a policeman directs him to a hotel, where Rick Jones finds him. Cap is stunned by Rick’s resemblance to the late Bucky, leading the junior Avenger to doubt Cap’s sanity. Investigating the Avengers’ disappearances leads to a mysterious photographer with an unusual camera who had been at the scene. Captain America bests the man’s henchmen and unmasks the photographer as an alien. This distant visitor reveals that his ship crashed into the depths of the ocean and that the Sub-Mariner would free it only if the alien would use his petrifying weapon against the Avengers. He then restores the Avengers to flesh-and-blood and they head to the ocean and free his ship. At this point, Namor and his followers attack and the heroes take action. Captain America stands back, though, to watch his new friends in action. When Rick is threatened, however, Cap leaps into the fray and rescues his new pal. The battle is interrupted by a massive underwater eruption and Namor, thinking it an earthquake, departs with his men, confident that the Avengers will not survive this disaster. The eruption though was the launching of the alien craft and all are safe.
The Avengers invite Cap to join the team and Cap accepts eagerly, but Rick Jones is concerned: how will the Hulk react when he learns he has been replaced?