Captain America #161
… If He Loseth His Soul!
Captain America’s newfound super-human strength has driven a wedge in his partnership with the Falcon as Sam Wilson now feels like a fifth wheel.[1] Exhausted after a long night of searching, Steve decides to stop at Sharon Carter’s apartment for some coffee. There he finds a note from Sharon saying she has left town for good and asking him not to come looking for her.[2] Entering the apartment only confirms that she has vanished without a trace. Going to SHIELD headquarters, Captain America hopes that Nick Fury might have information on her, but this is another dead end.[3]
Captain America then gets his old motorcycle out of SHIELD storage to continue his search.[4] Recalling how Sharon had access to a lot of money, Steve realizes that this is going to be a difficult search because she could have gone anywhere.[5] Cap eventually rides into Harlem where he spots the Falcon being attacked by Rafe Michael and his gang. Rafe is furious that Falcon has been making time with Leila, a local activist both men are interested in.[6] Cap watches from the sidelines as the Falcon takes down all the gang members and sends Rafe packing. Leila is impressed by Falcon’s ability to fight off the gang. That’s when Cap makes his presence known and makes an impassioned plea for their continued partnership, saying that their differences are what make them unique and they should continue to work together through understanding. Falcon points out that Cap is grossly simplifying the complexities of their relationship but decides to give it another shot. This angers Leila at first, who is against the idea of Falcon being Captain America’s new “Bucky”, but when he asks her to try supporting his decisions for once, she decides to give it a chance. Although Captain America is glad that he has Sam back on his side, this still leaves so many unanswered questions about Sharon.
At that moment, in a massive New England castle, Sharon Carter wakes up in a strange bedroom with no memory of how she got there. Unaware that she is being monitored by cameras, she tries to leave the room but discovers the door is locked. That’s when she is greeted by Doctor Johann Wolfgang who tells Sharon that she was in a car accident and that she has been admitted to a mental health facility. This was done by her parents, Harrison and Amanda Carter who are also there to greet her. Realizing where she is, Sharon asks if this is the same hospital where she is being kept and her parents confirm this. The person they are referring to is a woman who sits alone in a black dress and veil in one of the upper chambers of the castle.[7] Little does anyone know is that this facility is being run by the sinister Doctor Faustus, who intends to use this woman as a pawn in his scheme to destroy Captain America.
Meanwhile, Captain America has used his connections to learn Sharon rented a car and drove it to the town of Derby, Connecticut. Cap and Falcon ride there on motorcycle where they are ambushed by armed mercenaries in the employ of Doctor Faustus. Falcon is knocked out when a grenade blows up his motorcycle, distracting Captain America long enough for one of the mercs to sneak up behind him and knock him out from behind.
Back at the Lost Souls mental health facility, Sharon has picked the lock to her room and heads up to see the woman in black. She is caught snooping around by Doctor Faustus and Doctor Wolfgang who use drugs to knock her out. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the courtyard with Captain America and the Falcon, the latter changed into a World War II era military uniform. Suddenly, they are attacked by an army of men dressed like Nazi soldiers. As they try to make sense of this strange situation, Doctor Faustus and his patient in the black veil watch from the tower above. Faustus is confident that the ensuing battle will spell the end of Captain America.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Falcon, Doctor Faustus, SHIELD (Nick Fury, Sharon Carter) Leila Taylor, Peggy Carter (unidentified), Amanda Carter, Harrison Carter, Rafe Michel
Continuity Notes
Captain America gained super-human strength after Viper’s venom interacted with the Super Soldier Serum in his body in Captain America #157. He will retain this enhanced strength until issue #218.
It’s explained next issue that Sharon was trying to call off their relationship because she could no longer hide the fact that she is a relative of Peggy Carter, the woman Cap loved during World War II.
Captain America is attacked by a pair of SHIELD agents here who still think he is a person non-grata with SHIELD. Cap was on the outs after Nick Fury thought Steve was cockblocking him. See Captain America #149-153 for the whole stupid ordeal.
Captain America purchased this motorcycle back in Captain America #128 and it has been left in SHIELD storage since issue #141.
Sharon paid for their recent trip to the Bahamas with a huge wad of cash, as seen in Captain America #153.
Leila’s last name isn’t given here. It’s identified as Taylor in Captain America #188.
This woman is Peggy Carter, a relative who was also Captain America’s lover during World War II as we’ll learn next issue.
Topical References
Leila once again called Falcon an “Uncle Tom” here. This is a disparaging term used to describe an African-American who is compliant to the white establishment. It’s a phrase coined from the racist piece of garbage literature called Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which is as biogted and awful as you’d expect a story from the 1800s as being.
This story refers to the facility holding Peggy Carter as an insane asylum. Which was a popular term for facilities that cared for people who were mentally ill. This is an incredibly dated term that has a lot of negative stigma associated with it. The accepted term now is mental health facility.
Captain America states that Sharon rented a car through the Hertz rent-a-car agency. This should be considered topical since this is a real-world business.
