Captain America (1968 series) #373

Captain America had entered the Manhattan warehouse which was the supply center for the street drug Ice, and now the building has exploded and is burning out of control. Cap’s sidekick John Jameson contacts Peggy Carter with the news. She sends out a call for the Black Widow, the only Avenger in the city at the moment, to head to the scene; Peggy also phones Diamondback as a friend of Cap’s. Diamond heads to the scene of the fire but Jameson tells her that no word has been heard of Cap. Captain America suddenly appears out of the crowd, gives Diamond a surprisingly passionate kiss and explains that he had seen the detonator in Napalm’s hand and was heading out a window when the blast carried him to a rooftop across the street where he just came to. Though everyone is concerned about the hero’s wellbeing, Cap insists he has never felt better….

At the penthouse suite of the Kingpin Wilson Fisk, Bullseye holds the receptionist hostage until Fisk agrees to see him, without Typhoid Mary present. The assassin want to return to work for the Kingpin but Fisk tells him first to get some new clothes and dental work… Later, after a truck bombing takes out one of the Kingpin’s crackhouses, the crime boss assigns Bullseye (now back in his familiar costume) to uncover a) who destroyed his property and b) whose warehouse of Ice was blown up last night. Bullseye protests that he isn’t a detective but Fisk is adamant so the killer heads out, unaware he is under surveillance by the Black Widow….

Having been informed that Fabian has been accepted into a drug rehab center, Captain America heads back to the streets with his team. He and Diamondback stake out the burned warehouse; soon John Jameson radios Cap that an intruder has entered the building. Cap swoops down on the scene aboard his jet cycle—then leaps off, leaving the stunned Diamond to pilot the unfamiliar vehicle herself. After trying to figure out how to stop the craft for several blocks, Diamond feels a tug—Black Widow has jumped aboard, having seen the criminal Diamond riding Cap’s cycle, and wanting to know what happened to the hero. The two women struggle until the cycle dives and crashes into the Hudson River….

Meanwhile, Cap has entered the darkened warehouse but he accidentally makes a noise alerting his quarry he is there; the quarry, Bullseye, suddenly leaps out and hurls a flashlight at Cap to blind him, followed quickly by a sharpened hand shovel….

---

Story #2

Fists of Truth

Writer: Mark Gruenwald.Penciler: Mark Bagley. Inker: Don Hudson. Colorist: Nel Yomtov.

Synopsis

Outside the West Coast Avengers compound, Battlestar is fighting USAgent, whom he believes to be his missing friend John Walker. But the Agent denies being Walker, denies knowing Lemar Hoskins, denies having been Captain America, and denies that his parents are dead. The Agent does not pull any punches in this super-powered slugging match, which leads Battlestar to conclude either a) he is lying to protect his identity, b) he has been brainwashed, or c) he has gone insane. USAgent unmasks to show he is not John Walker but Battlestar suspects plastic surgery was part of his new identity. As the fight progresses, Iron Man and Wonder Man arrive to investigate and offer help. The Agent releases Battlestar who introduces himself as an old friend of USAgent’s who is clearly not welcome, and takes his leave. On the drive home, Lemar phones his brother Leon who tells him he had a call from his old wrestling manager Ethan Thurm in L.A. Battlestar stops by a seedy motel to see Thurm who tells him his life is in danger and that the bad guys may be right outside the door. And he’s right….