Captain America #197: Review

May 1976

Jack Kirby, Jack Kirby

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Story Name:

The Rocks Are Burning!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Captain America #197 Review by Peter Silvestro (June 22, 2010)

Review: Kirby’s return to his earliest creation is a ridiculous affair. Instead of the usual mad adrenaline rush, we get an interesting plot marred by absurd episodes, silly dialogue, bizarre characterization, and heavy-handed thematics. What a disappointment.

Comments: “The Madbomb”: part five of eight. Mr. Chadwick is never clearly seen, hinting at some shocking revelation that never materialized.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Captain America #197 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

In the deadly underground Derby, Captain America hurls himself into the thick of the armored players to recover his shield. Cap’s determination enables him to withstand his foe’s blows and electric shock weapon to beat the man to the ground. As the spectators chant "Kill him," the opponent hurls the shield at Cap but is surprised that it returns to him and explodes—seems he had affixed a small bomb to it to take down Cap and was hoist on his own petard. Cap speaks to the crowd about the madness of a society which kills its own for playing by its rules….

Aboveground, General Argyle Fist orders the ground sprayed with chemical fire and steam reveals the placement of underground vents. An explosive opens up the entrance to the Royalist complex and the General orders his men to capture the place….

Cheer Chadwick speaks for the audience when she tells Cap and the Falcon to stop the speeches and take their golden prize. When the heroes refuse, the crowd turns against them as traitors and spies. The violent confrontation is cut short by the sound of the Army’s attack. The crowd panics and flees and Falcon pulls Cap out of the panicked mob and flies him to safety. The Royalists fight back with a soundwave weapon but Falcon takes down the guards so that Cap can destroy the machine. Cap links up with General Fist and they plan a search of the massive facility looking for the "Big Daddy" Madbomb. As Cheer and her father depart, however, he reveals to his daughter that the gruesome weapon is already in position for its objective: to destroy the United States on the day of its Bicentennial….