Featuring: Captain America
Release: January 25, 1954
Cover: April 1954
10 cents
7 pages
| Previous | Next | |
|---|---|---|
| Young Men #24, Story B | Prelude | |
| Sgt. Fury #16 | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #65 |
No credits given. The GCD credits Don Rico and John Romita.
With a big sigh of relief, we come to the last Red Skull story from the pre-Marvel era. By my count he made 13 appearances, and we’ve read 11 of them, all to get ready for his triumphant return in 1965. That was more than I meant to read, but there was a particular reason for each choice.
Captain America and Red Skull, now a card-carrying Communist, battle one final time.
The story begins in the middle of the action, Red Skull trying to steal some atomic plans. His plot is foiled, but he escapes.
Captain America knows it’s only a matter of time before he strikes again, but months pass while they wait. Finally, Red Skull lures them into a trap. Old Nazi torture devices have been repurposed by Communist spies.
Will Captain America crack under torture?
As usual, the Red Skull dies in the end. Also as usual, Cap and Bucky just leave his body where it is and run off. Did they even check a pulse this time?
What did we learn by doing this Red Skull read-through? Red Skull was originally unmasked as American industrialist George Maxon, secretly working for the Nazis in exchange for personal power once he helped conquer America. His real name was never mentioned again.
He usually died at the end of a battle with Captain America. But the next adventure usually referred specifically the previous encounter, explaining why he didn’t die.
His appearance in Young Allies #1 didn’t fit well in this chain of deaths and revivals. Also, he seemed to be German in that comic. He would have a German accent in later comics as well.
At one point, he learned Captain America’s secret identity was Steve Rogers, but then that was never mentioned again.
In a tricky to reconcile moment, Red Skull meets Steve Rogers and does not recognize him as Captain America. Is this perhaps a different Red Skull? But then Red Skull was unmasked and Captain America did recognize him as the real Red Skull. Confusing.
After World War II, Red Skull became a common thief, and was really lame. His death this time seemed to stick, for we next saw him residing in Hell.
In the 1950s, Red Skull is working with the Communists, not dead. Yet he believed Captain America to be dead, without explaining why he thought that. This issue is the second and last battle in the 1950s. That brings us up to date to resume our normal reading in 1965.
Rating: ★½, 29/100
Characters:
- Captain America
- Bucky
- Red Skull
Story notes:
- Secret Service alerts Captain America to sabotage on North Shore Piers.
- Oxbridge Road at foot of Vulture Mountain; Cap there to receive vital intelligence information.
- Red Skull dies.
| Previous | Next | |
|---|---|---|
| Young Men #24, Story B | Prelude | |
| Sgt. Fury #16 | Reading order | Tales of Suspense #65 |
Is that John Romita? I knew he drew some of these Cap stories before he started looking like John Romita.
Your comment caught me off guard as I hadn’t meant to publish this yet. Still two Red Skull stories before his one. Oops. But yes, that is John Romita.
I quickly threw up the previous two posts, hopefully correcting my error with little harm.