Appearing in "The Coming of...The Falcon!"
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Synopsis for "The Coming of...The Falcon!"
Continued from last issue....
The Red Skull has used the Cosmic Cube to switch bodies with his hated enemy Captain America. In an attempt of final revenge, he has Captain America teleported to Exile Island in the hope that his former minions, the Exiles will kill Captain America over the Red Skull's most recent betrayal of them. As Captain America tries to find cover, the Red Skull pores over the Cosmic Cube watching the events unfold with eager eyes. When the Exiles walk the beach bemoaning the fact that the Red Skull stranded them on the island, Captain America tries to hide in a tree; however, the Red Skull uses the Cosmic Cube to break his cover, forcing him to have to fight the Exiles.
While Captain America has the superior fighting skills, he is not used to fighting in the Red Skull's body and is soon overpowered by the group attack. Amused and believing that Captain America will meet his end, the Red Skull decides that he has seen enough and decides to amuse himself by parading around as Captain America some more. This proves to be the Red Skull's mistake, as Captain America gets the aid of an unlikely ally: a falcon that seems to be trained to fight and defends him. With the Exiles distracted by the bird, Captain America manages to make a break for it and hide out in the jungle. There, he realizes that the whole time the Red Skull has been wearing a mask, and decides to take it off to help disguise himself better. Not willing to bank on the possibility that the Exiles have not seen the Red Skull's true face, Cap uses clay from the ground to crudely disguise his features as extra cover.
Meanwhile, back in the States, the Red Skull walks around as Captain America and, although he is disgusted by the fame and adoration that Captain America is receiving from the masses, he takes a moment to revel in it, while letting adoring fans gaze upon him at a fancy hotel. However, the Skull gets tired of the constant questions from the press and orders them to go away. He then decides to begin the next phase of his plot: ruining Captain America's good name so that when his true body is found dead, no one will mourn his passing. The Red Skull's use of the Cosmic Cube has not gone unnoticed, however, as at the secret headquarters of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), the scientists there have detected their invention's use, and report their findings to their leader, M.O.D.O.K., who is still alive and well.
Back on Exile Island, the falcon -- named Redwing -- returns to his master, who set it upon the Exiles to save the man whom they were attacking. Having finished his disguise, Captain America spots the young African American and thanks him for his help. The young man introduces himself as Sam Wilson, a native of Harlem. He tells Captain America that he is nuts about birds, and went from training pigeons on Harlem rooftops to acquiring his falcon Redwing and training him. He explains to Captain America that he answered an ad in the newspaper looking for workers on this Haitian island for an employer seeking to learn falconry, unaware that he was entering into the employ of the Exiles. Upon learning of the Exiles and their backgrounds, Sam instead decided to help the local population who have been enslaved by the Exiles and has been trying to convince them to revolt against the group of fascists.
Inspired by Sam's desire for revolution, Captain America offers to help and explains to Sam the importance of a mask and costume as a symbol. As the Exiles continue to search for the "Red Skull", the locals make him a new costume. When it is complete, Sam emerges in his costume as the island's new champion: the Falcon.
This story is continued next issue...Appearing in "The Falcon Fights On!"
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Synopsis for "The Falcon Fights On!"
Continued from last issue...
The Exiles continue their search of Exile Island for the Red Skull, unaware that their former leader has used the Cosmic Cube to switch bodies with his hated foe Captain America, or that Cap has trained Sam Wilson how to fight and provided him the identity of the Falcon. The Red Skull, still in Captain America's body, watches through the Cosmic Cube as his Exiles still seek out his hated enemy. The Red Skull is furious at this bungling until he realizes that Captain America must have realized that he is wearing a Red Skull mask and took it off and that the reason why the Exiles have not found him yet is because the Red Skull never showed his minions his real face. However, the Red Skull rationalizes that there is no way off the island and decides to let his Exiles to continue their hunt unaided in the hopes that they will ultimately destroy Captain America without his help.
The Exiles spot Redwing, the Falcon's pet falcon, and attempt to shoot the bird out of the sky, but miss. The shots alert Cap and the Falcon of the Exiles' approach and they prepare for their enemies by continuing the Falcon's fight training. The Falcon feels right at home in learning how to fight, reminding him of all the street gangs he used to fight with when he was back home in Harlem.
Meanwhile, the Red Skull has decided to rest before checking back on Captain America; however, his sleep is disturbed when he gets a call from the hotel's front desk. The hotel clerk tells "Captain America" that a throng of his loyal fans have showed up wanting to see him. When one of Cap's admirers learns what room "Cap" is staying in, he leads the horde of eager fans up the stairs to meet their favorite super-hero. Using this as an opportunity to smear Captain America's good name, the Red Skull uses the power of the Cosmic Cube to avoid his enemies' fans and then runs out on them, leaving them upset that their "hero" had run out on them. While at Avengers Mansion, Rick Jones laments over being rejected by "Captain America", little realizing that it was really the Red Skull posing as his mentor. Ripping up his Bucky mask, Rick decides to leave and try to find his own way[1].
Meanwhile, at the secret headquarters of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), the scientists are working hard at creating a device that will allow them to prevent the Cosmic Cube from being used by other parties and return the device to their clutches. Creating a crystalline sphere that will do the job, the A.I.M. scientists prepare Phase Three of their recovery operation.
Back on Exile Island, Captain America and the Falcon are ready to face the Exiles and get the drop on the group. While they are outnumbered, Cap and the Falcon have the element of surprise against their foes, and as the Red Skull watches in frustration they manage to hold their own against his minions. The tide of the battle are turned fully in Cap and the Falcon's favor when the locals, inspired by the two heroes join in the battle staging a full-out revolution against the Exiles, manage to drive the Exiles into fleeing from the scene. The Red Skull, furious at Captain America's continued survival, decides the time for Captain America to die is soon at hand. On the island, the Falcon thanks Cap for all his help, Captain America, however, is grim as he senses that the Red Skull is watching him and is preparing for the final battle.
This story is continued next issue...Appearing in "Now Falls the Skull!"
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- Falcon
- Redwing
- Sharon Carter (Only in flashback) (Cameo)
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- Exile Island
- Germany
- Berchtesgaden (First appearance) (The Red Skull's castle)
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Synopsis for "Now Falls the Skull!"
Continued from last issue...
Having become fed up of attempting to kill Captain America by proxy using the Cosmic Cube to manipulate others to do his bidding, the Red Skull changes back into his normal form and teleports himself to Berchtesgaden, a castle he owns in Germany. Deciding to combat Captain America up front, he transports Cap, the Falcon and his falcon Redwing from Exile Island to face him. When Captain America realizes what is going on, he tells the Red Skull to leave the Falcon out of it; however, the Skull wants revenge against him as well for his battle against the Exiles on Exile Island. When Redwing attempts to attack the Red Skull, he uses the Cosmic Cube to capture the bird in a cage.
When the Falcon attempts to attack the Red Skull, the Skull uses the Cube to strike him down. Then, deciding that it is time to kill his hated foe, the Skull uses the Cube to change Captain America back into his normal form. When the Falcon sees the transformation, he is shocked to learn that the man who trained him how to fight and help him become a hero is none other than Captain America himself. Captain America and the Falcon attempt to attack the Red Skull; however, he uses the Cosmic Cube to deflect their attacks and then flood the room with water. In the deluge, the Falcon suddenly dives underwater while Cap struggles to stay afloat.
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), M.O.D.O.K. is informed that the device to recapture the Cosmic Cube has been completed. M.O.D.O.K. muses over how he managed to cheat death after his last encounter with Captain America:[2] how he survived the explosion of the A.I.M. submarine by creating a mental force field around him to protect himself from the blast, then using his telepathy to call A.I.M. scientists that were still loyal to him to recover him from the ocean.
Back at Berchtesgaden, the Red Skull transports himself, Captain America and the Falcon to a desert to continue their fight. As the two heroes continue to try and fight off the Red Skull, he continues to use the Cosmic Cube to his advantage. However, when the Red Skull tried to drown them, the Falcon used the rushing waters as a distraction to free Redwing from his cage, and the bird attacks the Skull long enough for Captain America to knock the Cosmic Cube from his hands. As the Red Skull struggles to recapture the Cube, A.I.M. activates their Cathode device to destroy the Cube. Even as the Cube begins to melt, the Skull attempts to use it one last time. Instead of destroying his hated enemies, the Red Skull seemingly disintegrates himself. With the threat of the Red Skull ended, Captain America and the Falcon consider their victory was helped by fate, unaware of A.I.M.'s involvement, and walk off into the sunset.See Also
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References
- ↑ See Captain Marvel #17 for that story!
- ↑ Tales of Suspense #93–94