Captain America #20 (August 1999)

Since the 4th of July was this week, I thought I would take a look at a comic starring a character that is supposed to embody what the Unites States is supposed to be: Captain America! 

Over his many decades of adventures, Steve Rogers has generally been able to count on one thing to have his back: His iconic round shield. Composed of a unique vibranium-iron alloy, this shield is for intents and purposes, indestructible. However, just because something seems indestructible, doesn't mean it actually is. Like many characters, Rogers has undergone his fair share of status quo changes, and yes, some of them involve the mighty shield. 

The comic we're looking at today is part of Mark Waid's run on the character, where his shield got mysteriously shattered, and was forced to use one made of energy for the time being. But it turned out the shattering was part of a bigger problem. We'll see a bit of it here. This is Captain America #20!

The cover is an Andy Kubert piece. It depicts Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter standing with their backs to each other over what looks like a large version of Cap's shield that's been shattered. It's a neat cover, and it shows the state of Steve and Sharon's relationship at the time. 

"Danger in the Air"
Writer: Mark Waid
Penciler: Andy Kubert
Inker: Jesse Delperdang
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

The story begins at Fort Colan in Colorado. This Army base is where the US Military is examining, and reverse-engineering technology and weaponry confiscated from the organization of super-scientists known as Advanced Idea Mechanics, or A.I.M. And the beekeepers are none too happy with that idea.

"We want our guzzlenonkers back!" 

Luckily for the base, it was someone watching their backs...but not quite who you think.

"Yeah, I'm Batman."

It's not Steve Rogers, but John Walker, aka the USAgent. If you watched Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Thunderbolts, you may be aware of this man. He had gotten a tip about this siege, and despite his mission at the time was to capture the Thunderbolts (as established in Thunderbolts #23), he wanted to take care of this. Not to mention it was an opportunity to test out his new shield. His new shield looks just like Rogers's iconic round shield, only with one major difference: Rogers' shield is composed of a Vibranium/iron allow. John's new shield is pure Vibranium. 

In case you're not aware, vibranium is an alien metal with wild properties, but its main thing is absorbing blows. It's why Cap's shield is basically indestructible. Logically, since USAgent's shield is similar, it should be just about as unbreakable, right?

Yeah. An AIM soldier blasts at the Agent. The shield seemingly takes the blast well, but then it starts to, well...vibrate. Which it's not supposed to do. Remember, vibranium absorbs impacts.

Uh oh indeed. Walker's shield then explodes. 

Eh, he'll be fine. Walker's a tough dude. Let's go look in on something more pleasant, shall we? Not to mention that this is Steve Rogers' book. What's he up to? Well, he's enjoying a nice bit of dinner. But he's not having a dinner for one, no. He's enjoying a dinner with his then-squeeze Connie Ferrari and her assistant Javier Ramirez. Ramirez leaves quickly, leaving Connie and Steve for some...alone time.

It doesn't turn out quite like one would think. Steve notices a photo on the wall.

"They said they ran out of color film. I think they lied to me."

Connie tells Steve that was her brother David. Steve would like to meet him, but that's not possible. You see, growing up, the Ferrari siblings' father was very much a Great Santini-type. He pressed David into joining the armed forces. David was miserable about it, and Connie implies that David was possibly LGBTQ+. He ended up dying due to a hazing incident. Connie has issues with military men as a result. This puts a bit of a hamper on things for Steve. You see, at this time, his identity as Cap wasn't public, and even though at this time he wasn't an enlisted man, he's still former US Army. Yeah.

Thankfully, Connie changes the subject. She remembers back in issue #15, Steve was talking to a blonde woman. That was Sharon Carter. She's Steve's ex, but he tells Connie they were former...co-workers. She vanished after he told her he loved her, and now he's worried about it. He admits he's not sure if he means it. He still feels he should go find her. Connie's all like "if it'll make you feel better, go ahead." He then leaves. Connie worries that she let a winner like Steve get away. But he shoots a glance at her, and she's feeling triumphant.

So, where is Sharon Carter, anyway? Well, she's in Turkey. As in, the country of Turkey, not the food.

All things considered, she'd rather be in Paris.

A man comes up to her to talk. He claims to be American, here to survey oil fields. Does Turkey have oil fields? 

Anyway, he introduces himself as Steve, and that sets Sharon off. As in, she tosses him across the bar.

Over at SHIELD's Manhattan headquarters, Cap is discussing his issues with Sharon with Dum Dum Dugan. Dugan encourages him to not worry about Sharon. If she doesn't want to be found, she won't be. However, the conversation is interrupted by an explosion. The two go to check it out, and find carnage. No, not the Spider-Man and Venom villain.

"We had just two payments left on those!"

The Mandroid armors are mysteriously exploding, injuring the agents inside. Cap rescues an agent that's trapped in the suit, and he notices that the Mandroid suits in storage are blowing up as well. Dugan reports a bigger problem: in the headquarters' power core.

"I told you bubblegum doesn't fix everything!"

Parts of the core are erupting like firecrackers. Most of the crew made it out, except for one man. He froze up in panic. Steve throws on a radiation suit and goes to rescue him. Steve works to rescue the man, but it's complicated by his new shield. You see, at this time, Steve was using an energy shield. His classic round shield was shattered. The energy shield cannot ricochet like the old shield, so he can't use it to turn on the failsafe from a distance.

Thankfully, Steve has another plan. He is the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan, after all. Using some acrobatics, Steve reaches the failsafe switch and turns it on. He's able to get himself and the scared man out of there in one piece.

The crisis is over, but Dugan is still left baffled about what is going on here.

Cap then gets a call from Tony Stark, aka the Invincible Iron Man. He's figured out why Cap's shield is in pieces...and because of it, America, if not the world, is sitting on a gigantic bomb.

I enjoyed this comic. There was plenty of action, but the highlight of the comic to me was the scene with Captain America and Connie Ferrari. It's clear Steve is trying to move on, but he's still carrying a bit of a torch for Sharon Carter. Which is not surprising. Carter was his first major love, after all. And he likely feels terrible because she's been through...a lot. Also, I did get a chuckle out of John Walker getting blown up. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2013 trade paperback Captain America: Land of the Free. Thanks for reading this blog entry!