Watching a television report on the death of Captain America,
Madame Hydra rejoices in her great victory and celebrates by burning his Hydra dossier.
She reflects on her origin as a European war orphan, her facial disfigurement,
her joining of Hydra and rise through the ranks, and seizure of power in her
sector through assassination of her superiors, while lamenting that she can
never escape the tyranny of her mirror….
Elsewhere, Rick Jones is still coming to terms with the loss
of his friend and partner; meeting with the Avengers (Thor, Iron Man, Black
Panther, Hawkeye, and the Vision), he is unable to speak through grief. A short
time later at a funeral parlor, a memorial service is held for Captain America,
a dummy taking the place of his unrecovered body. Nick Fury delivers the final
tribute, while a number of friends and co-workers, including Sharon Carter, mourn
in silence. Fury and the Avengers remain behind in a vigil after the others
have left and are exposed to a sleep gas trap set by Hydra. The captives are
placed in coffins and loaded into waiting hearses. Rick Jones, who was unable
to attend through grief, finally manages to bring himself to visit the chapel,
arriving just in time to see the enemy driving off with the captive heroes. He
follows them to a cemetery where they are planning to bury the heroes alive,
but Rick is captured by a Hydra agent. Suddenly, a motorcycle roars onto the
scene—Captain America
lives! Cap and Rick battle the forces of Hydra, and at Cap’s orders, Rick fires
a bullet into the motorcycle gas tank, igniting the explosive fuel and killing
all the Hydra agents. The sole survivor, Madame Hydra, realizing her life is
forfeit as the price of failure, launches hunter missiles at Cap and Rick. Cap
pulls Rick into an open grave, the missiles pass overhead and return to their
source, destroying the crypt where the villainess was hiding. Cap explains to
Rick that his death was part of a scheme to convince the world that Captain
America is not Steve Rogers, so he sent an inflatable decoy, dressed in his
costume and a Steve mask into the hail of bullets. So now Captain America
has a secret identity once more.
For the special marvelite in you