Appearing in "Murder By Decree!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Supreme Intelligence
- Mental duplicates of:
Other Characters:
- Accuser Corps (Only in flashback)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Murder By Decree!"
Captain America narrowly avoids an explosion that collapses the Citadel of Judgment, but he's trapped in the resulting rubble. Meanwhile, Iron Man reassures the Avengers they made the right decision to abandon Cap; because they had no time to save both Cap and the Kree Galaxy from the Nega-Bomb. Several of Cap's foes attack him, but he soon realizes they're not real when he asks Batroc to remove his mask; never having seen his real face, Batroc's face is a blank. The Supreme Intelligence reveals he constructed Cap's attackers, but curses Cap's innate desire for freedom. Meanwhile, the Nega-Bomb continues its path to the Kree Empire.
Appearing in "Out in the Cold"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Races and Species:
Locations:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Out in the Cold"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "Crossing Back: The Origin of Diamondback"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Daniel Leighton
- Ricky Leighton (First appearance; dies)
- Willy Leighton (First appearance; dies)
- Mrs. Leighton (First appearance; dies)
Antagonists:
Races and Species:
Locations:
Synopsis for "Crossing Back: The Origin of Diamondback"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "Captain America Joins... The Avengers!"
Avengers #4
Featured Characters:
- Avengers
- Giant-Man (Hank Pym)
- Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)
- Iron Man (Tony Stark)
- Thor (Odinson)
- Captain America (Steve Rogers) (Joins team; first Silver Age appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Teen Brigade
- Rick Jones
- Three unnamed members
Antagonists:
- Empire of Atlantis
- Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie)
- Atlantean Army
- Warlord Seth (First appearance; unnamed)
- Numerous unnamed soldiers
- Nazis
- Baron Zemo (Heinrich Zemo) (First appearance; unnamed) (Only in flashback)
- Vuk (First appearance; unnamed) (Main story and flashback)
- Numerous unnamed mobsters
Other Characters:
- Inuit
- Bantu Tribe (First appearance; unnamed)
- Aningan Kenojuak (First appearance; unnamed)
- Numerous unnamed members
- Bantu Tribe (First appearance; unnamed)
- Bucky Barnes (Only in flashback) (Apparent death)
- Lord (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- Journalists
- Pete (First appearance)
- Numerous unnamed journalists
- New Yorkers
- Sally (First appearance)
- Numerous unnamed New Yorkers
- NYPD
- Unnamed Police Officer
- Little Red Riding Hood (Mentioned)
- Ancient Greece (Only in flashback)
- Thee unnamed soldiers (Only in flashback)
- Medusa (Mentioned)
- Hulk (Bruce Banner) (Vision or hallucination)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and flashback)
- Asgardians
- Mutant Atlantean-Human Hybrids
- Fish (Main story and flashback)
- D'bari (First appearance; unnamed) (Main story and flashback)
- Cows (Invoked)
- Atlanteans
- Rats (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earthspace (Main story and flashback)
- Milky Way (Main story and flashback)
- Solar System (Main story and flashback)
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- Europe (Main story and flashback)
- United Kingdom
- E.T.O. Army Base (Only in flashback)
- Mediterranean Sea
- Alboran Sea
- Atlantic Ocean (Main story and flashback)
- North America
- Newfoundland, Canada (Mentioned)
- United States of America
- Alaska
- New York
- Upper New York Bay
- New York City
- Manhattan
- Unidentified Warehouse
- Earth Orbit (Main story and flashback)
- Europe (Main story and flashback)
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- Solar System (Main story and flashback)
- Shi'ar Galaxy (Referenced)
- Milky Way (Main story and flashback)
- Netherworld (Mentioned) (Only in flashback)
Items:
- Giant-Man's Suit
- Wasp's Suit and Wings
- Iron Man Armor MK II
- Mjolnir
- Captain America's Uniform and Shield
- Unidentified Drone (First appearance; destruction) (Only in flashback)
- Vuk's Petrifactor (First appearance; unnamed)
- Atlantean Undersea Scanner
- Pym Particles
Vehicles:
- Stark Industries Prototype Bathyscaph
- Vuk's Spaceship (Main story and flashback)
Events:
- World War II (Only in flashback)
- European Theater (Only in flashback)
Synopsis for "Captain America Joins... The Avengers!"
Avengers #4
After escaping his battle with the Avengers, Namor angrily continues his search for his missing people. He eventually finds his way to the North Sea, where he discovers a tribe of Inuit people worshiping a dead man frozen in a block of ice. Still angry at humanity Namor approaches the Inuit, causing them to flee as he throws the ice block into the water. It drifts away, slowly beginning to thaw.
By chance, the Avengers are in the area in their undersea craft. They spot the figure in the water and Giant-Man pulls him onboard. Upon inspection they notice that he wears the clothing of long-lost World War II hero Captain America. Suddenly, he awakens and, in a fit of panic and confusion, charges at the Avengers before realizing his surroundings and calming down. Iron Man asks the mystery man who he is and the Avengers are skeptical when he tells them he is indeed Captain America. After a brief demonstration of his ability they quickly change their minds.
Captain America explains his last memories: he speeds towards an experimental plane on a motorcycle with his sidekick Bucky. Unknown to the duo, the plane had been sabotaged by Nazi agent Baron Zemo. Bucky manages to get on board while Captain America slips and falls from the plane. The last thing he remembers is the plane exploding with Bucky on it as he falls through the sky into the frozen waters off Newfoundland.
Back in the present day, the Avengers have docked in New York City and are greeted by a crowd of journalists looking for interviews about the battle with Sub-Mariner and the Hulk. Suddenly, a camera flashes and turns the team into stone. The journalists think it is a publicity stunt and leave. Aboard the sea craft Captain America awakens and exits onto the dock. He also spots the statues but dismisses them as statues made to honor the heroes. Cap finds the modern world very unusual and alien but finds his way to a hotel.
Later, Cap is awoken by a vision of Bucky, but it is revealed to be Rick Jones. He has been following Cap's trail across town, looking for clues to the Avengers' whereabouts. They team up to solve the mystery and examine photos taken at the dock. Cap discovers one of the photographers carrying what looks more like a weapon than a camera, and Rick sends his Teen Brigade to search around the city to find the mystery man. Eventually Captain America finds the man in question and approaches him. His gang overhears his entrance and a fight breaks out. Cap easily defeats them despite being heavily outnumbered, and exposes the leader as an alien. The alien, a member of the race called the D'bari, explains that his spaceship crashed into the ocean and the Sub-Mariner promised to help him return to his planet if he turned the Avengers to stone. Captain America offers to help the D'bari if they reverse the stone effect on the Avengers and he complies, freeing the Avengers once again.
In his palace, the Sub-Mariner angrily observes the scene and plans another tactic to defeat the Avengers. As if by luck, a troop of his Atlantean Elite Guard pass nearby and Namor rallies them to his side.
Back on land, the D'bari leads the Avengers to the area where his ship is stuck on the seabed below. After Giant-Man and Iron Man attach a camera to the ship's hull, Thor manipulates his hammer, causing a torrent of magnetic waves that wrench the ship free. The D'bari dives to make any necessary repairs to his ship. On the surface, Giant-Man and Captain America are suddenly attacked by Namor and his elite guard, sending them into the water. Namor duels with Iron Man, slowly gaining the upper hand. The Wasp flies in to distract Namor, giving Iron Man essential recovery time. Namor's elite guard plead for aid against the mighty Thor, who is making short work of them. Thor deflects the Atlanteans' weapons back at themselves, scattering the troops. Namor now battles one-on-one against Thor.
Meanwhile, under the water, Giant-Man is ensnared by a massive net. However, he escapes by taking a shrinking capsule before he suffocates. He emerges near Iron Man, and they take care of the remaining Atlantean elite guard. Namor again attempts to take Thor's hammer from him, to no avail, and soon has to deal with Giant-Man and Iron Man as well. Captain America watches, trying to get a feel of what sort of team the Avengers are. The fight is brought to a standstill when some of the Atlanteans reveal a hostage - Rick Jones! With his uncanny reflexes, Cap leaps in and frees Rick and the fight begins anew.
Suddenly an earthquake strikes the island and the Sub-Mariner leaves, believing the Avengers to be consumed by it. Little does he know, the tremors were actually caused by the launching of the D'bari spacecraft. The Avengers watch the D'bari leave and then officially offer Captain America a place on the team, which he readily accepts. Nearby, Rick looks out on the ocean deep in thought, torn between his loyalty to the Avengers, and to his old friend the Hulk.
Notes
- Story 1 continues in Avengers: West Coast #82.
- This issue contains a letters page American Graffiti. Letters are published from: Lysle Kapp, Delores Banks, Stefan Schultheiss, and Howard W. Stangroom.
- This is a Special Giant-Sized Issue. It is also a "flip book" with the cover of Avengers #4 appearing on the back cover with the price (12 cents) removed.
Trivia
- In this issue Captain America claims never to have seen Batroc's face, but he did ever so briefly in Captain America #149.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- The Grand Comics Database: Captain America Vol 1 [1]