Critically injured in Latveria,
Steve Rogers, Captain America, clings to life in a stateside hospital. Tony
Stark pleads with a doctor to do everything they can to help him but she
explains time is the best bet now, considering Steve’s unique physiology. Sharon
Carter arrives and wordlessly walks to Steve’s bedside where Tony comforts her….
But Steve is in Hell, facing
Victor Von Doom who introduces his female companion Veratok, who, on request,
provides a tunic for the naked Steve. Doom explains that as Sorcerer Supreme, he
was able to create a silver cord linking his body and soul to another’s and he
chose Captain America. Cap punches Doom in his uncovered and unmarred face.
Veratok threatens him, revealing herself to be a demon with multiple legs
resembling human fingers with sharp nails and a mouth at the center; Steve
kicks her in the solar plexus. She seizes him by the throat but her hand burns
on contact and she recoils. Doom further explains that he is leading an
uprising against Mephisto, ruler of this land, and Cap will be the light to
guide them. Cap refuses, telling Doom to go to Hell….
Meanwhile, Mephisto is pondering
how to capture and torture Victor Von Doom when a lackey points out to him that
Captain America has just arrived….
Steve crosses a dismal landscape
under a red sky, mocked by a huge fly the entire way; he is seized by something
under the surface and fights his way free. He comes upon a man being tortured
by big and bloated demon called Azrofohn and beats up the brute, freeing the
man named Terry. Doom explains that he wants to give the inhabitants of Hell a
chance at redemption, a chance to control their own destinies….
Sharon tells Sam Wilson that her
and Steve’s most recent conversation was a quarrel and she doesn’t want to
think that could be their last one. Sam assures her Steve loves her….
As they cross an eerie landscape,
Veratok explains they are going to the Gray Valley to find Torvoz the Preacher
who also fights for redemption, seeking to overthrow Mephisto who runs Hell as
a dead end of fear and pain. Steve questions Doom’s role in this, seeing he was
a dictator on Earth. Doom asserts that he must overthrow Mephisto to return to
Earth but he wants to leave the place better than he found it….
Meanwhile, Mephisto dispatches a
demon called Frenza to capture Doom and bring him back alive. And to deal with
Steve Rogers, he is sending the Red Skull….
For the special marvelite in you