Captain America #288
Mazes!
The Future
Captain America has been brought to the future timeline of the cyborg mercenary known as Deathlok.[1] Godwulf, the man who brought Cap to the future, then shows the hero the ruined city of New York to give him an idea of the state of the world in this dystopian future.
He explains that, ten years ago, the age of heroes ended when Roxxon’s Nth Command used dimensional projection devices to banish Earth’s heroes into deadly alternate realities to die. With no opposition, Roxxon eventually consolidated power and eventually attempted to seize control of the United States. This caused endless years of war as various parts of the United States government — namely the CIA and military — fragmented and took control of key areas.
Eventually, the war spread across the globe until things got so chaotic when a strike on the United States was made by another country, nobody was entirely sure who was responsible. Currently, the military has wrested control of the country, but Godwulf isn’t sure what the rest of the world is like. However, military rule is the least of their problems as there is an even greater threat posed by a man named Hellinger.
However, before they can discuss Hellinger, they arrive at the hideout of the resistance. There, Captain America is introduced to its members: The quivery voiced Sage, the dashing Swashbuckler, the massive Gentle Sam, the diminutive Big Man, and Godwulf’s woman, Iron Butterfly. With introductions out of the way, Cap is brought to the central computer where Godwulf pulls up their file on Hellinger. He was once known as Harlan Ryker, a former member of the Brand Corporation whose obsession with cybernetics led to him creating a new robotic body for himself. Now he is poised to wipe out all humanity so he can replace them with a race of alpha-mechs powerful killing machines that Hellinger has come to call Homo-Ascendant, a new race of sentient life to replace the old. Little does Godwulf know is that Hellinger is spying on them and is hearing everything they say.
Concluding his story, Godwulf then explains that he had send Deathlok into the past in order to hide him from Hellinger for a short period of time, but someone in the past usurped his plans and for a time, Deathlok was lost to them until Godwulf was able to find Luther Manning’s clone and sent him into the past to retrieve Deathlok.[2] Godwulf concludes by saying that Deathlok is important to be their symbol against the tyranny of Hellinger. However, the cyborg doesn’t buy the idea but Captain America manages to convince him to fight by giving an impassioned speech about how Deathlok is America in this timeline and that by defeating Hellinger he can be finally free to regain his humanity.
As Captain America and his new allies rally together for the final battle, Hellinger loses his temper and smashes his spy monitor. However, despite this turn of events he is confident that he will win the war.
The Past
Barnie Rosenthal is still at her parents house on Long Island, waiting for her boyfriend Steve Rogers to show up. He was supposed to meet her family until business as Captain America pulled him away. She has had to make up an excuse for him because Steve’s secret identity and fears that this has made a bad first impression with her family. Seeing her sister deep in though, Nancy Rosenthal can tell that Bernie really cares for Steve and tries to help her get her mind off her worries.
While in Manhattan, Nomad has just saved a young woman named Scarlet from some muggers. Finding himself taken away by Scarlet’s beauty, Nomad finds himself sitting in Central Park for hours telling her all about his life. When the couple finally kiss, Nomad suddenly screams in agony and enters a trance like state so Scarlet can give him some important orders.[3]
The Future
Hellinger is preparing for the final battle against Deathlok and his followers. He has stationed a number of his alpha-mechs across the globe to trigger nuclear bombs that will wipe out all of humanity, thus allowing him to make his mad ambitions come true.
That’s when the alarms begin going off, warning Hellinger that Deathlok and his followers are attacking on flying battle crafts. Combining their talents, Deathlok, Captain America, and Godwulf’s band of misfits manage to fight their way through the aerial defense drones and enter Hellinger’s fortress.
There, they fall through a trap door into a booby-trapped maze that slowly cuts down Godwulf’s followers two at a time. Soon only Deathlok and Captain America are the only ones uncaptured. They manage to get into the central control room where they are confronted by the massive cybernetic form of Hellinger himself. To their surprise, Hellinger has the ability to take control of Deathlok’s own cybernetics and uses him to attack Captain America. With Cap down, Hellinger believes that he has attained final victory, however Deathlok’s recent encounter with his clone had touched his mind in a way that the Deathlok is able to fight off Hellinger’s control. He blasts Hellinger to bits and destroys his master computer, thus saving the world. After freeing his allies, Captain America and the others congratulate Deathlok for his hard won victory.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Deathlok, Nomad, Godwulf, Hellinger, Roxxon’s Nth Command, Bernie Rosenthal, Nancy Rosenthal, Iron Butterfly, Sister Pleasure (unidentified)
Continuity Notes
Deathlok’s future timeline, based on this index’s assessment, is some 10 years in the future of the present day featured in this story. Deathlok’s timeline was originally the future of the Prime Marvel Universe (Earth-616) until it is diverged following the events of Captain America #289. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005, Deathlok’s timeline has been designated to Reality-7484.
Godwulf displaced Deathlok in time during the events of Astonishing Tales #35, Marvel Spotlight #33 and he was plucked further out of time by Mentallo in Marvel Two-in-One #27. Deathlok’s clone was created in Astonishing Tales #33, it was sent back in time to retrieve Deathlok in Captain America #286-287 and sacrificed its life in order to do so.
It’s later revealed that this woman is Sister Pleasure, one of the Red Skull’s Sisters of Sin and that she is brainwashing Nomad as part of a complex revenge scheme against Captain America. This is all explained in Captain America #296. The Red Skull’s latest scheme is chronicled in Captain America #293-300.
Topical References
This story states that the present day takes place in the year 1983 and that Deathlok’s future is in the 1990s. These dates should be considered topical as the Sliding Timescale bumps the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward in time so that it is not fixed to any particular date. As a result, in our opinion, Deathlok’s future must also operate on a Sliding Timescale. This is explained in more detail here.
Bernie Rosenthal is depicted driving an 80s model Volkswagen Beetle.
Errattum
In this story, it is stated that the future is in the year 1993, when in the previous two issue it was said to be taking place in 1991. It’s all apples and oranges since these dates are topical but it bears pointing out.
