The cover is pretty cool. A Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod piece, it depicts Cap's empty cowl, surrounded by faces. It cleverly incorporates Captain America's masthead logo to ask one question: "Who will be the next Captain America?" Most of the faces are of people whom Steve has encountered and known over the years, like Tony Stark and Sam Wilson. You can also see a (badly-disguised) Hulk and Thing. Funny enough, the two women on the cover were Marvel staffers at the time. The dark-haired one was "Liltin'" Laura Hitchcock, who was assistant editor of the Star Comics line. And the blonde was "Devastating" Dawn Geiger, a designer for the Marvel Bullpen. And naturally, there's a Stan Lee cameo. Lee had been making cameos cool for decades. Rest in peace, Stan The Man.
"The Replacement"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Tom Morgan
Inker: Dave Hunt
Letterers: Ken Lopez, Bill Oakley
Colorist: Ken Feduniewicz
Editor: Don Daley
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter.
The story begins with Steve Rogers' Captain America uniform and shield.
The Commission on Superhuman Activities is furious. How dare that All-American Ingrate say 'no'? The government made him what he was! The Commission is left to wonder what to do next. A military man suggests court-martialing Rogers, but Henry Peter Gyrich points out that that may not be possible as Rogers is technically no longer in the military. They can sanction him though, basically force him to not operate as Captain America anymore.
Gyrich also suggests that the Avengers be forced to terminate Rogers' membership, or else they'll be forbidden to operate on U.S. soil. That's shot down as the Avengers would help people out anyway, and turning them into outlaws may not be the best of ideas. Valerie Cooper would rather discuss options to replace Rogers. There were two attempts: Nuke and G.I. Max. However, both ended in disaster. You may remember nuke from my review of Daredevil #233. G.I. Max was a super-soldier that was forty times stronger than a normal human. But he was likely not forty times more durable, as he ended up getting accidentally shot and killed by a superior officer in Captain America #331.
Yup, that was a whoopsie there. They suggest recruiting Jack Monroe, who was the second Nomad. However, Monroe would not likely be willing to don the costume and shield. Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon is also rejected as it's feared that America is not ready for a Black Captain America yet. This was in 1987. People flipped out over Sam becoming Cap in 2015! Yeah, not ready for a Black Cap indeed.
The Commission then decides that they need someone truly new to take up the job. Valerie may just have the man for it: One John Walker, the Super-Patriot. Remember him from last issue? Sure you do. We join him recapping the events of last issue on a talk show.
After the interview, Walker is approached by a pair of G-Men. They want to speak to him. Ethan Thurm, John's manager, says he should come along. After all, it's his job to manage Walker's business affairs. Public appearances, and the like. However, he's not on the guest list. Walker meets with Valerie Cooper, and we get to learn more about the his life pre-Super-Patriot.
John Walker was a Southern boy. Hailing from the fictional town Custer's Grove, Georgia, John was the son of farmers. Considering it's Georgia we're talking about here, they likely farmed pecans (Georgia is famous for those), but also likely soybeans, corn, peanuts, or blueberries. He had an older sister and an older brother named Mike.
Mike served his country as a chopper pilot during the Vietnam War (remember, this is 1987). Sadly, Michael Walker would be killed in combat in the summer of 1974. John wanted to live up to his brother's memory and joined the service. It was not said here which branch he served in, but it would be later established he served at Fort Bragg, which means he was likely an Army man. Since it was peacetime, John never really got a chance to be the hero that he saw his brother as.
After he served his hitch, a friend from the service recommended him to the Power Broker, a mysterious man who could make men into supermen. John signed up and gained superhuman strength from him in the process. John was in debt to the Broker now (superpowers do not come for free), so he had planned to join the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation to work off the debt.
Oh hi, Captain Lou! The UCWF was a promotion for superhuman pro wrestlers. It was there he met Ethan Thurm. Thurm had a better idea for him. Thurm made Walker into a new hero for the 1980s: The Super-Patriot. As the Super-Patriot, Walker toured the country, holding rallies and doing community service projects. He wants to know what this is all about. Valerie Cooper shows him Captain America's mighty shield. She explains that Rogers was stripped of his shield and uniform for refusing to serve his country.
Yeah, Cooper's lying. Remember, Rogers quit. She basically tells him, "Mr. Walker, we need a new Captain America, and we want you to be him." Walker is amused by this, as he's been rather outspoken regarding his beliefs that Steve Rogers is old news. He is willing to take the job (Walker feels a good patriot always answers the country's call to action), but he's reluctant to give up the Super-Patriot moniker as he's invested plenty of time and work into it. Not to mention that there's money in it. Thurm got financial backers behind him. Ultimately, Walker accepts. What's Ethan's reaction?
After recovering from the shock, the business-minded Thurm sees an opportunity. The government needs a Captain America? Fine, but they'll have to agree to some demands. Like health insurance for John (with Ethan being the beneficiary of course), a release option, his friends as backup Caps, and for Ethan himself? Put on the federal payroll and a nice big office. Purely for Walker's benefit, of course.
Walker then goes out for a jog. As he's jogging, his brain is working. He doubts Val Cooper will agree with all of Ethan's demands, and he wondered why Rogers gave up being Cap. He realizes, "Hey, I can just ask him!" At the time, Steve Rogers had a hotline people could call if they needed his help. So, Walker calls him up. He wants to talk to Steve at the Lincoln Memorial. Wednesday Night. Midnight. When the time comes, Rogers doesn't show. A disappointed Walker gets ready to leave, but then he gets seemingly ambushed.
Looks like Steve Rogers showed up...for a fight. Not really. You see, this man was one of the Bold Urban Commandoes, or BUCkies. Get it? Bucky? They were fellow enhanced men who worked with Walker, staging fights with him. Think a mix of pro wrestling with superheroing. They want to know if it's true that Walker's been tapped to be the new Captain America. And he confirms it.
A couple of days later, Walker meets the Commission on Superhuman Activities, and he accepts the job offer...and gives them Thurm's list of demands. Cooper then takes him to try on the uniform.
Gotta admit, Walker doesn't look half bad in the suit. Cooper then tells him it's time to start training...and he gets introduced to his sparring partners.
You may know Pyro, Blob, and Avalanche from being members of the Brotherhood of Mutants in the X-Men comics. Heck, you may be familiar with Blob and Avalanche being Brotherhood members from the X-Men: Evolution cartoon series. Pyro in the cartoon as well, but not in the Brotherhood. However, at this time in the comic books, they had been made into government agents by their leader Mystique in exchange for full pardons. They use their powers to give Walker a whuppin', the point being to get Walker to understand the usefulness of Cap's shield. He's also got a further quiz going...after he studies footage of Cap in action.
That night, Walker announces to his friends and Thurm that he has got the job, and they're looking into Thurm's demands. Three days later, Walker is brought before the commission. They've looked into his requests, and they say Walker's going to have to drop Thurm as his manager, as well as two of his BUCkie partners. It's likely due to their background checks revealing some possible past criminal activity. Walker is asked if he has any issue with it, and after some thought...he tells the Commission that he's good with that.
This issue was pretty darn good. I like the fact that Gruenwald in this issue makes an effort to try and distinguish Walker from Rogers. In contrast to Steve being a Depression-era New Yorker, John is a Southern farm boy. Steve is seasoned and experienced, and John is a young eager hero. Basically, he's Steve's opposite, and that'll make his attempt to be the new Cap rather interesting. I also really liked the "battle" with Freedom Force. If you're going to be Captain America, you're going to face superpowered threats. Good thing Walker has super-strength...
Tom Morgan's art is rather...interesting. It has a bit of a cartoony vibe about it. It does do a very competent job of storytelling, and the faces are rather expressive. I like very much.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Captain America: The Captain. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourself, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear your mask! Join me next time, when we meet up with Wonder Woman as she continues her twelve labors...
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