Captain America Vol 1 268

Kyle Richmond, Gargoyle, Valkyrie and Hellcat of the Defenders have been captured by August Masters and his minions who have been manipulating psychics for their own goals. Taking Richmond out of his holding cell, they allow him to revive and place him in a wheelchair as it is daytime and his mobility only comes to him at night. Masters explains to Kyle that everything he's told him to date has been true except for one glaring fact: He is not a member of the C.I.D. because the C.I.D. does not exist.

While in Brooklyn, Steve Rogers is walking Bernie Rosenthal back to her car after they watched the latest Indiana Jones movie. As Steve critiques the movie's less than noble main character, he is silently recognized by a man passing by on the street. As they enter the car, Bernie expresses that she is in love with Steve and when Steve finds he cannot say it back to her, mostly because he hasn't given much thought about his feelings for her, it ruins their date and Bernie angrily asks Steve to drive her home.

Back at his apartment, Steve tries to get to work on his latest work assignment but can't keep his mind off sorting through his feelings for Bernie. He is suddenly jolted by a mental attack that attracts the attention of Bernie and their neighbor Josh. Brushing it off, he shoos them away so that he can go into action of Captain America. Realizing that it was a mental cry from help from the telepaths and former American Dreamers Ursula Richards and Phillip Leguin, Captain America rushes to their home as he recalls his previous encounter with them.^[1] He arrives too late and is given another mental flash showing men loading the unconscious telepaths into a truck.

Unable to track down the truck, Captain America decides to make use of his connections at S.H.I.E.L.D. where Dum Dum Dugan supervises the use of a mental probing device that will sort through the mental flashes given to Cap in the hopes of learning where Ursula and Phillip had been taken. Although the machine is overloaded, the location is clear: A sleepy town in the mountains of Colorado.

Back in the base of August Masters, Masters explains to the helpless Richmond that, while his organization is not affiliated with the government, all its members are "true patriots" who seek to protect America's best interests. He takes Kyle to see Mindy who is in pain due to the probing of their machines. Kyle, now mobile, goes to her side and pulls her free. When Kyle demands some answers on what they are planning, he is shocked to learn that Masters is hoping to orchestrate World War III.

Meanwhile, Captain America puts on a disguise and rolls into the town and by posing as a scientist researching strange UFO activity in the area he gets a lift into the mountains to see the location of supposed "weird happenings" by one of the locals. Sure enough, the man is one of Masters' men and he brings Cap right to the mouth of their base where he is confronted by some of Masters' guards. Once their attack removes his disguise, Cap easily dispatches of the guards and fights his way into the complex. However, he finds himself confronted by Masters and his guards who have their guns on him, forcing him to surrender.

Elsewhere in the complex, Ursula and Phillip use their powers to revive Hellcat, Valkyrie and the Gargoyle who break out of their cell. While this is happening, Captain America is being shown through the complex and Masters explains to Cap his plans: using the captive psychics, he intends to use them to launch a mental assault that will destroy all of Russia so that America's enemies might be rushed. Finding such a plan to be disgusting, Cap calls Masters a lunatic and attacks. Just then the alarm goes off warning August of the Defenders' escape. Although the heroes manage to free Mindy, Ursula and Phillip and try to make a break for it, August forces them to retreat when he tells them that he's activated the base's self destruct and that only he can shut it down. With no other choice, they surrender to Masters and are all locked up. Kyle is left free and the former Nighthawk wonders how he can contact Dr. Strange and get help. Picking up his thought, Mindy sends a mental call for help out to Doctor Strange.

This story is continued in Defenders #106....

Notes

This story is continued in Defenders #106 and Defenders #107.
This issue contains a letters page, Letters to the Living Legend. Letters are published from: Chris Dyer, Gerald Burns, Dave Schmidt, Jeff Bingham, Stanley Johnston, and Mark Waldman.
The letters page also contain a Statement of Owenership, Management, and Circulation.
For most of the first half of this issue, the story shifts between events that occurred in the Colorado Rockies "some weeks" in the past and events that are occurring in present-day New York City. The shifting between times ends once Cap arrives is Colorado.
Aside from Ursula, Phillip and Mindy, the only other captive telepath who is clearly depicted is a large clean-shaven white man with light brown hair who wears glasses with circular lenses. However, this man is not among the six telepaths shown to be hooked into the psi-augmentor in Defenders #106 and he is not one of the six telepaths whose appearances the group consciousness possessing the Over-Mind assumes in Defenders #117. This is either a continuity error or this man was a seventh telepath who for some reason ended up not being hooked into the psi-augmentor for the psychic attack on the U.S.S.R.
Although Richmond and Masters both mention the C.I.D. in this issue, in previous stories Masters had claimed to work for the C.I.B. (Central Information Bureau).
In this issue, Capain America mentally refers to Ursula Richards has having been one of Morgan MacNeil Hardy's "so-called American Dreamers!" Although that is the title of the story in Captain America #264, no character in that story is ever shown using that term.

Trivia

Although Nighthawk appears on the cover of this issue, Kyle Richmond does not don his trademark costume in this story.
Steve Rogers also gives a brief movie review of the then contemporary blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first in a series of Indiana Jones movies.
Bernie Rosenthal is shown driving a vintage Volkswagen Beetle complete with a vanity license plate that reads BERNIE.

Links and References

The Grand Comics Database: Captain America Vol 1 268 [1]

References

↑ Captain America #264

[Captain_America_Vol_1_264-1] Captain America #264

[1]

Captain America Vol 1 268

Appearing in "Peace on Earth, Good Will to Man."

Synopsis for "Peace on Earth, Good Will to Man."

Notes

Trivia

See Also

Links and References

References

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