Captain America #303
Double Dare!
Captain America and Nomad return home following their battle with Machete and Zaran. They are greeted by Bernie Rosenthal, Steve’s fiancée, and she learns how the two mercenaries stole Captain America’s shield. He tells her not to worry, as he is confident he’ll get the shield back one way or the other. Steve decides that they can continue the search in the morning, and heads off to bed. Nomad, however, is still blames himself for the shield being stolen in the first place and vows to do better in the future or else he might as well quit.
The next morning, at Stane International, Doctor Myron MacLean is being forced to recreate the alloy he invented to make Captain America’s shield in the first place. This is a huge task for the scientist who admits that he invented the indestructible metal by accident and has no idea how to recreate the process.[1] That’s when Batroc, Zaran, and Machete arrive with Captain America’s shield. After Obadiah Stane pays Batroc’s Brigade for their work, MacLean’s handler, a man named Arons, hands him the shield and orders him to examine it and unlock its secrets. Batroc is pleased with the money they made selling the shield and suggests that they go out and celebrate.
Meanwhile, Steve Rogers is working hard playing catch up with his assignments as a freelance commercial artist, as his recent battle with the Red Skull put him a week behind.[2] Quickly finishing up his work, Steve dumps it into his portfolio and heads out to hand in his assignment. On the way, he bumps into his neighbor Josh Cooper who he hasn’t seen in a while. When Josh suggests they hang out, Steve takes a raincheque since he is busy that night. Jack Monroe also returns home and Steve tells him that once he gets back from work they’ll resume their search for his missing shield.
Three hours later, Captain America and Nomad are out on patrol trying to pick up the lead on Batroc’s Brigade. The pair decide that they can cover more ground by splitting up, however Cap realizes that something is on Nomad’s mind and decides to bring it up later. Nomad, meanwhile, is determined to make up for losing Cap’s shield by finding it first and decides to go back to the scene of the theft to look for clues.
At that moment, Batroc and his crew are three sheets to the wind at a bar in Long Island City. Growing tired of hearing Batroc boasting over how great he is, Zaran and Machete complain that they did all the hard work getting Captain America’s shield while he stayed on the sidelines. In order to prove that he is not afraid of the Star-Spangled Avenger, Batroc agrees to go out and prove that he can defeat him in battle.
Back at Stane International, Myron MacLean continues to examine Captain America’s shield. He explains to Arons that he created the alloy — a fusion of Vibranium and Adamantium — entirely by accident and has spent the decades since trying to recreate it with little success. Aron’s isn’t interested in hearing excuses and tells MacLean that he’s not going anywhere until he succeeds.
Elsewhere, Nomad has returned to the scene of his earlier fight with Batroc’s Brigade. However, after scouring the area he finds no clues that might reveal where they went with Captain America’s shield.
At that moment, the Brigade catches up with Captain America and Batroc challenges him to a duel. Although Batroc is drunk off his ass, he still manages to hold his own against Captain America. Eventually, he lets slip that he sold Cap’s shield to Stane International. With this information, Cap quickly ends the fight by knock Batroc out. Not wanting to tangle with Captain America, Zaran and Machete take their share of the money and take off. Captain America lets them go as he needs to figure out a way to get his shield back from Stane International.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Batroc’s Brigade (Batroc, Zaran, Machete), Nomad, Bernie Rosenthal, Josh Cooper, Obadiah Stane, Myron MacLain
Continuity Notes
Per Captain America #255, Captain America received his indestructible shield back in 1941. This raises questions about how Myron MacLean can still be alive in the Modern Age. See below for more details on this. As of this writing (August, 2022) Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (vol. 2) #1-5 is further exploring the secret origin of his shield, the answers of which have yet to be fully revealed and may have an impact on this origin story.
For more on Captain America’s recent battle with the Red Skull see Captain America #293-300.
How Can Myron MacLean Still Be Alive?
This story states that MacLean was the man who created Captain America’s shield. As detailed in Captain America #255, Steve first obtained the shield in 1941. Due to the Sliding Timescale, the length of time between the end of World War II and the start of the Modern Age is ever expanding. This makes it exceedingly impossible for someone like Myron MacLean, who was already a well established scientist in 1941, to still be alive in the present day.
MacLean has a profile in the Avengers Assemble handbook published in 2010. All it says is “He remains remarkably vital despite his advanced age.” and offers no explanation for why that might be.
However, a possible theory can be inferred from the facts given in this story arc. In Captain America #304, we learn that MacLean has been working for SHIELD until he recently retired. Since many SHIELD agents, particularly Nick Fury, have had their lifespans extended thanks to exposure to the Infinity Formula, one could assume that MacLean might also have been kept alive through a similar process. This seems probable because, up to this point, he had devoted his life to try to recreate the alloy used to make Captain America’s shield as well as come up with new and efficient ways to manufacture and mold Adamantium, another one of his inventions.
Given how closely the government controls and regulation the creation and use of Adamantium (sorta) it stands to reason that having only one person who knows their secret and keeping him alive for as long as possible would make a certain amount of sense. At this point point in the fiction Adamantium was still pretty scarce and its production and use was closely guarded.
