Captain America #253: Review

Jan 1981

Roger Stern, John Byrne

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Story Name:

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot

Review & Comments

Rating:

Captain America #253 Review by Peter Silvestro (November 10, 2010)

Comments: Part one of a two-part story. Union Jack, Spitfire, and Baron Blood were introduced in INVADERS (Vol. 1) #7-9. Steve Rogers saw OKLAHOMA on its original Broadway run in 1943. Cameos in a flashback of Invaders and their enemies include Bucky, the Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Master Man, the Blue Bullet, the Face, Agent Axis, Warrior Woman, Asbestos Lady, the Scarlet Scarab, and Adolf Hitler.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Captain America #253 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

In a small English village, a young woman is found dead, her throat mutilated and her blood drained—the third such victim in a month. Dr. Cromwell heads to the local manor house to inform Lady Crichton of the tragedy. She appeals to Scotland Yard to send Inspector Sweeney to investigate…but her father, the elderly Lord Falsworth, knows who the killer is, and no one will believe him. Meanwhile in New York, Captain America stops a holdup in progress, and then he switches to his Steve Rogers clothes to meet Bernie Rosenthal for an evening at the theater. Afterward, while relaxing at home they are interrupted by a call from Jarvis; a coded message has arrived for Cap, signed Falsworth. Steve makes some hasty excuses and departs for England. On the flight over he reminisces about his wartime days as one of the Invaders—and his English partners Union Jack and Spitfire. He flashes his Avengers ID to move quickly through customs and soon arrives at Falsworth Manor. He greets Lady Crichton—as Jacqueline Falsworth, the former Spitfire—and she fills him in on the history of the group since the War: her own powers faded with time, her brother Brian—the second Union Jack—died in an auto accident in 1953. Lord Falsworth, the original Union Jack, appears and fills Steve in on the recent murders and gives his opinion that the killer is Baron Blood—their vampire foe who perished during the War. As Captain America, Steve visits Dr. Cromwell, who is also the local coroner, and suggests the theory that the killer is a vampire. Cromwell flies into a rage and orders Steve out; a constable later explains that a village mob, thinking it had trapped a vampire in Cromwell’s home, set the place ablaze, inadvertently killing Cromwell’s daughter and scarring the doctor’s face. Cap then visits the Tower of London, where Inspector Sweeney shows him where the body of Baron Blood has been stored all these years. When the coffin is opened, Cap recognizes the skeleton as that of a young woman dressed in the vampire’s costume. Cap returns to Falsworth Manor to a domestic dispute: Jacqueline’s son Kenneth has come home, bringing his disreputable friend Joey Chapman, of whom his mother does not approve. Cap then breaks the news that Baron Blood is still alive and promises to stop him. Late that night, Baron Blood creeps into the house, intent on killing his old enemy Captain America. But Cap was prepared for him: the two foes battle, as Cap holds his own against his supernaturally strong opponent. The noise of the fight brings the rest of the home’s occupants on the run and they arrive just in time to see Baron Blood take control of Cap’s mind with hypnosis—and prepare to sink his fangs into the hero’s throat….

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