Captain America #141
The Unholy Alliance
They Grey Gargoyle is seeking to steal Element X, a powerful material that could threaten the whole world, Captain America races from SHIELD headquarters to stop the villain. Since his partner, the Falcon, was tracking the Gargoyle, Cap hopes to pick up the trail. Back aboard the SHIELD helicarrier, Sharon Carter worries about the threat the Grey Gargoyle poses to the world. Director Nick Fury hopes Cap can stop him otherwise the world is doomed.
Soon, Captain America arrives outside the Grey Gargoyle’s warehouse hideout. There he spots the Falcon, who has been turned into living stone statue by their enemy. Worse, Falcon has been enslaved by the Gargoyle and he attacks his partner. However, it seems as though Sam Wilson’s will power is able to fight off the Gargoyle’s influence in the end. Loading Sam onto his motorcycle, Captain America then signals the SHIELD helicarrier to pick them up. Once aboard, Steve has Sam turned over to SHIELD doctors to try and cure his condition.
However, as it turns out, the Falcon was only pretending to be free of the Grey Gargoyle’s control and, once left, alone brings his master aboard the ship. As it turns out this was all part of a plan to seize the helicarrier and use it to reach the secret lab where Element X is being held. As Captain America, Sharon, and Nick Fury battle both the Falcon and Grey Gargoyle, the helicarrier gets closer and closer to the secret lab. After the Gargoyle turns the doors to the control room to stone, Nick Fury has no choice but to order a complete evacuation and sets the helicarrier to self-destruct. Unfortunately, during the evacuation, Fury and Sharon are both turned into stone by the Grey Gargoyle. Since there is no way for him to carry them both safely to an escape pod, Captain America instead tricks his foe into touching the computer that controls the self-destruct sequence.
While this gamble pays off, the SHIELD helicarrier is still at risk of being destroyed due to the fact that the proper clearance codes have not been sent to the lab and the soldiers stationed there have begun opening fire on the ship. While Captain America gets the petrified Nick Fury and Sharon Carter to one of the helicarrier’s floating life-rafts, the Grey Gargoyle sends the Falcon to stop him. During the fight the Falcon begins to change back to normal since it has been an hour since he was exposed to the formula that turned him into a stone slave of the Grey Gargoyle. Although they manage to fly off in the life-raft, the Gray Gargoyle manages to escape the destruction of the SHIELD helicarrier due to his natural gliding ability. Cap and the Falcon then watch in horror as their foe breaches the secret lab, putting the villain closer to Element X and world domination.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Falcon, Grey Gargoyle, SHIELD (Nick Fury, Sharon Carter)
Topical References
The computers in the SHIELD helicarrier are depicted as having reel-to-reel tape for memory storage. This should be considered a topical reference as this technology is incredibly obsolete.
