Featuring: Captain America
Release: December 20, 1940
Cover: March 1941
10 cents
By: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
16 pages
We just read the modern retelling of the first two stories from Captain America Comics #1. We’ll soon read the modern retelling of the fourth story. These modern retellings will skip the third story, so we may as well read it now.
There’s also a text story, and stories featuring Tuk and Hurricane, but I’m not incentivized to read those at present.
This story is most notable for introducing us to the Sergeant overseeing Private Rogers at Camp Lehigh. The Sergeant is never impressed by the bumbling private, and will often give him a hard time. We will learn in issue 4 that his name is Sgt. Duffy.
The villain in this story is a Nazi spy named Rathcone. He plans out his strategies with pieces on a chessboard and communicates his strategies to his agents, all of whom have numbers, but some of whom also have nicknames like the Strangler. These plans involve assassinating a number of high ranking American military officials.
We see Bucky reading Marvel Comics.
The Strangler confronts Bucky in his tent. Did they somehow deduce his secret, that Bucky Barnes is really the hero codenamed Bucky? The Strangler doesn’t need to attack Bucky directly, as Bucky is so easily lured into a trap.
Sigh. They always are.
Captain America rescues Bucky and defeats the Nazis.
Rating: ★★½, 46/100
I read this story in Golden Age Captain America Omnibus vol. 1. You can also find it in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Captain America vol. 1. Or on Kindle.
Characters
- Captain America/Private Steve Rogers
- Rathcone
- Herr Kamelon
- Number 15
- Number 3
- Admiral Perkins
- Bucky/Bucky Barnes
- Herr Stranger/Number 13
- General Ellsworth
- Sergeant at Camp Lehigh
- Major Fields
Story notes:
- Spy kills Admiral Perkins, then killed by fellow agent.
- Number 13 kills General Ellsworth.
- Bucky goes to deserted house on Peek street, leaves behind note for Steve.
