Captain America #107 (November 1968)

One of the appeals of Marvel's superheroes was what Stan Lee called "feet of clay". What he meant by that was for all the heroism, the heroes also were very human. They had flaws. They had issues. They had problems that putting on a colorful costume and punching someone else in another colorful costume could not magically fix. Among those heroes was one Steve Rogers, the original Captain America. Well, at least in publication order.

Steve Rogers was part of would be dubbed the "Greatest Generation", a veteran of World War II. After being revived from the ice by the Avengers, Captain America found himself in what seemed like a whole other universe. His partner Bucky Barnes was seemingly dead, leaving Cap haunted by what he felt was the greatest failure of his costumed career. And a brand-new villain would use that to try and bring down the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan. Let's take a look at Captain America #107!

The cover is a Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia piece. 

"If the Past Be Not Dead--"
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciler: Jack Kirby
Inker: Syd Shores
Colorist: Artie Simek
Editor: Stan Lee
Editor-in-Chief: Stan Lee

The story begins with Captain America in action. He's fighting strangely-garbed soldiers in an equally-bizarre-looking place, his mission unknown. The soldiers' firepower manages to overwhelm the good captain, his costume torn and body exhausted. He peeks up and sees a shocking sight, a sight that would send chills down any man's spine. 

His old partner, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, seemingly alive and crouched over his tombstone. Keep in mind, at this point, Steve Rogers believed his Nazi-punching partner was dead. He would not know for years that Bucky was actually alive all along and operating as the Winter Soldier. Anyway, "Bucky" here demands to know why Cap didn't save him. Over the years during and post-World War II, Cap had been able to save many lives, but not his. Steve then wakes up, screaming about how he has to suffer for it. Yup, our man Cap had a nightmare.

Cap fears he's losing his mind, and decides to talk to his new psychiatrist, an Austrian man named Johann Fennhoff, aka Dr. Faustus. He calls him, and the Doctor tells him to come visit him at his office that afternoon for a session.

In his office, Faustus uses a hidden control panel to reveal an equally hidden panel. A man dressed as a bellhop named Ferret appears. The two men are conspiring to literally drive the Star-Spangled Avenger insane. Ferret has been giving Cap special pills to make Cap have nightmares, under the guise of delivering a prescription. 

On the way to Faustus's office, Steve Rogers thinks about how he feels like a relic thanks to his being in the ice for so long. He spots a blonde woman he believes is his main squeeze Sharon. He runs after her only to see that it's not. 

A cop tries to help out, but Steve freaks out. He's convinced he's going mad. But the cop and the girl have a secret of their own.

Yeah, they're working for Faustus as part of his plan to drive Cap crazy. Cap arrives at Faustus's office. The not-so-good doctor tells Cap to talk about his nightmares. In one of them, he's back in WWII, and he's been captured by the Nazis. They want to know when the big D-Day invasion is going to hit. One of the Nazis taunts him by telling him they killed Bucky. Cap is horrified, and the nightmare ends with a Nazi unloading a gun in Cap's face. Faustus writes a prescription for some new meds for Cap. After the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan leaves, Faustus reveals a secret.

Yep, that was all set up by him, too. One of the actors he pays wonders why he doesn't just put a bullet in Rogers and end it there. That seems like the most practical way to get rid of the man. After all, Rogers is hardly bulletproof.

That's not Faustus's way, though. He likes messing with Rogers' head. And most of all, plausible deniability. People wouldn't assume that the man trying to help him with his mental issues is also the one who exacerbated them and pushed Cap to the breaking point. Later, Rogers is training with a fighting robot called a "Plastoid". His fighting skills are weakened because of his problems. Despite that, he's able to beat the robot. Ferret arrives with Faustus's new pills. Cap takes the new meds and retires for the night. The next day, he wakes up and makes a shocking discovery.

Yup, he seemingly has aged 50 years overnight. He turns around and also sees Bucky, telling him they got a mission. Cap comes along, despite his being now frail and elderly. Faustus and his men prepare a duplicate of the rocket that was believed to have killed Bucky back in the war. Cap tries to get himself and Bucky off the motorcycle to prevent history from repeating itself. But the rocket explodes, seemingly killing Bucky again.

Cap is left an incoherent babbling mess. Faustus and his men emerge, basking in their seeming triumph. It's also revealed Ferret was the one dressed up as Bucky. But then, Captain America has a surprise for the psycho psychologist.

Cap was faking it. He manages to deal with Faustus's men. Turns out Rogers was suspicious of Faustus's meds and sent them to SHIELD for analysis. Smart man. He also used some Hollywood make-up tricks to fool Ferret into thinking he had aged. A group of SHIELD men appear and put Faustus at gunpoint. And Cap finishes him off with a Mighty Punch.  

I liked this issue, despite my feeling that it didn't quite live up to its potential. Dr. Faustus is an interesting villain, and for the time, his way of attacking Captain America was rather unique. I can't help but feel if this story was done today, you could get some real psychological horror out of it. Having fought in World War II, it does make sense that Cap would have some residual trauma and issues from it. As such, it does make logical sense a psycho psychiatrist like Dr. Faustus to use those issues in an attempt to drive Cap to madness. 

I will admit, I did find it funny that Dr. Faustus went to such insane lengths to drive Cap crazy. Hiring actors, creating sets, it's almost as if Faustus secretly dreamed of being a film director, ha ha. While the writing I felt did not quite reach the potential the story had, Kirby's art is always welcome. It's dynamic, and my favorite sequence in the comic is the first nightmare, the one that starts the story. 

Dr. Faustus would make his debut here. While he himself is not a major Cap villain, he would have a major impact on the Marvel Universe in the future. He would use his knowledge of mind manipulation to turn William Burnside, aka the 1950s Captain America into a Neo-Nazi villain called the Grand Director. And most notably, for a time, he had an assistant named Karla Sofen, who would eventually become the villainess known as Moonstone, and the Thunderbolt called Meteorite. 

If you want to read this comic for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback Captain America Epic Collection Vol. 2: The Coming of...The Falcon. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!