August 1944: at the Liberation of Paris, the Red Skull watches from his hiding place, observing the jubilation of the America army led by Captain America with disgust, and determines that, however long it takes, he will bring the American empire crashing down.
Today we see his plans coming to fruition: his pawn, Senator Gordon Wright, announces that he is running for President as part of the new Third Wing party, having positioned himself as a hero by negotiating an end to the financial crisis with Kronas Corp (also a tool of the Nazi villain). The Skull and Dr Faustus watch the news reports with satisfaction as Arnim Zola moves ahead on the next step: another Captain America. On the SHIELD Helicarrier, Tony Stark calms the Falcon, who believes Tony went behind his back to create a new Cap while denying that he was planning to do so. Tony explains about Steve’s final letter and suggests Falcon aid Bucky Barnes in learning the ropes as Cap. Elsewhere, as Bucky trains in his loft, he receives a visit from a ticked-off Clint (Hawkeye) Barton who, after a little sparring, warns the new hero that he will be watching to see that Bucky does not tarnish what Steve stood for. After an ominous dream in which Cap confronts him, throwing his past as the Winter Soldier in his face, Bucky discovers the Falcon in his apartment. Rather than fighting, Falcon suggests they work together to rescue Sharon Carter from the villains. Sharon, meanwhile, pretending to still be under Faustus’ hypnotic influence, sneaks into Zola’s lab to investigate the Steve Rogers she saw there. She finds the man on a slab and awakens him: he isn’t Steve…yet he insists he is…and he doesn’t know her….