Nov 1982
Yesterday’s Shadows!
by J. M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck, John Beatty
Captain America visits SHIELD‘s Manhattan HQ to get an update since he last saw his childhood friend Arnold Roth in Captain America (1968) 270. He has a brief chat with SHIELD agent Gail Runciter, whom he last saw in Captain America (1968) 268. He apologizes for his rudeness during their first meeting. SHIELD has the purple goop remains of the creature that has some weird connection with Arnie’s friend Michael. Vermin, whom Cap battled in Captain America (1968) 272, is also in SHIELD custody. Everything seems to be under control when Cap leaves.
Baron Zemo and Arnim Zola start to put Zemo’s plan into action. He wants revenge on Captain America, the man who he blames for his father’s death.
Bernie Rosenthal helps to plan a rally to counter the one planned by a group of neo-Nazis. This happens in the aftermath of the desecration of Temple Beth-Ohr. Everyone in Anna Kappelbaum’s building is planning to attend except Steve Rogers. He thinks the desecration of the temple is a random act of vandalism . Rabbi Kessler tries to explain that these sorts of incidents are on the rise but Steve isn’t convinced. Bernie is disappointed with his decision.
Sam Wilson formally launches his bid to represent Harlem in the U. S. House of Representatives. He takes a question from Williams, a reporter from the Daily Bugle, who asks him about the time he was put on trial, when he was known as Snap Wilson. Sam loses his cool and the press conference is ended abruptly by his campaign manager, Carol Davis. Williams is in the company of Daily Bugle photographer Peter Parker.
Steve has a change of heart about attending the counter rally later in the day. It happens after he disgustedly leaves Bennett Advertising, a potential employer’s office, after he hears the man mouthing off about Jews.
Steve meets up with Bernie and the others at Robert Moses State Park in Long Island. The neo-Nazi rally turns out to be considerably smaller than he expected it to be. The counter rally is led by Sammy Bernstein, of the Jewish Protection Organization. He is Bernie’s ex-husband, a fact which shocks not just Steve but also the others from the building. The counter-rally dwarfs the neo-Nazi rally. Members of the JPO start throwing bottles at the neo-Nazis.
Baron Zemo and Arnim Zola are watching the events at the rally. Zemo sets part of his plan into motion as the rally gets more violent. He presses a button and the purple goop at SHIELD HQ comes back to life and takes a humanoid shape. It resists all efforts to stop it and on its way out of the building it grabs Vermin, who is more than happy to be free, and Michael, Arnie’s friend.
The crowd at Robert Moses State Park gets whipped up into a frenzy. Fist fights break out. Steve changes into uniform and breaks up the fighting. He is disgusted by both groups. While he is addressing the crowd Bernie recognizes his voice. The issue ends with Bernie in shock, reeling at the realization that Steve Rogers is Captain America.
Thoughts
I think Michael isn’t human, he just thinks he is. He is actually a creation of Arnim Zola. I don’t know this for sure but based on what I know about Zola and his creations from his earliest appearances during Jack Kirby’s run on Captain America in the 1970s. I think that is a logical conclusion. This story is Arnim Zola’s third appearance. He first appeared during Jack Kirby’s aforementioned 1970s run in Captain America (1968) 208-212 which I read in 2013 and talked about briefly on Episode 1 of Dave Talks Comics. His second appearance was in Super-Villain Team-Up 16 and 17 which I have not read.
Why is the name Jewish Protection Organization in quotes? Was Marvel worried about getting sued? I checked the original issue and it looks exactly the same there.
On the whole this is a very fun read. I’m not sure I appreciated it for what it was when I first read it over 35 years ago. Today I love it. I can see how J. M. DeMatteis is laying the ground work for future conflicts. This is the next to last issue that I got as part of my subscription to Captain America when I was a kid.
Letters to the Living Legend
Letters responding to Captain America 271, some positive and some negative.
Cap Annual 5? I think that’s a typo. Captain America Annual 6 came out in 1982.
The new corner box art, which debuted with this issue, was drawn by Mike Zeck and John Beatty. The cover logo changed to one that is not new but had only been used twice before on Captain America Comics 1 (Mar 1941) and Captain America 255 (Mar 1981).
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