Appearing in "Hunters"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Hand
- Kirigi (Death)
- Turk Barrett
- Grotto
Other Characters:
- Stymie
- Josie
- Toynbee (First appearance)
- Shiv (Death)
- Snuff (First appearance)
- Bilge (Death)
- Joseph "Wall-Eyed" Pike
- Stick (First appearance)
- Maxwell Glenn (Mentioned)
- Louie (Mentioned)
- "Wall-Eyed" Pike's cousin (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Realities:
Locations:
- Earth
- North America
- United States of America
- New York
- Long Island
- Cord Conglomerate headquarters
- New York City
- Long Island
- New Jersey (Mentioned)
- New York
- United States of America
- Japan (Mentioned in narration or thoughts)
- North America
Items:
Synopsis for "Hunters"
Appearing in "Tomorrow You Live, Tonight I Die!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Rick Jones (As Bucky IV)
Antagonists:
- Hydra
- Madame Hydra
- Mankiller (First appearance)
- Unnamed HYDRA agents
- Number 7 (dies)
Other Characters:
- Nick Fury (Mentioned)
- NYPD
- Bucky Barnes (Photo)
Realities:
Locations:
- New York City
- Manhattan
- Amusement park arcade area
- Avengers Mansion
- East River
- Manhattan
Items:
- Captain America's Shield
- Captain America's Uniform
- Spectro-Ray
Synopsis for "Tomorrow You Live, Tonight I Die!"
While at Hydra headquarters, the leader of the attack on Captain America is brought before Madam Hydra who kills him for his failure, by exposing him to a hallucinogenic drug. Meanwhile, at Avengers Mansion, Cap and Rick go through a training session. While Rick does well, Captain America goes through a routine to show him how to maximize his effectiveness in acrobatic fighting. While this was meant to be instructional, Rick takes it as a failure and once more gets down on himself for not being as good as the original Bucky. Later, Rick goes to the door when the doorbell is rang and find an envelop addressed to Captain America marked urgent. With Cap currently out of the mansion, Rick decides to open it to see what the message is about. This turns out to be a Hydra trap and Rick inhales a dose of hallucinogenics. Rick has a hallucination where he is being judged by Bucky himself, however Rick tries to show that he's worthy of the title and that Bucky is dead. When the Hydra agents burst inside the mansion they find Rick instead of Cap knocked out. They decide to take the boy hostage so that Madam Hydra doesn't punish them by at least brining her a hostage that will draw Captain America to her instead.
As they are leaving, Captain America returns to the mansion and spotting the envelope he detects traces of the narcotic used in it. Rushing outside he attacks the Hydra agents just as they are about to load Rick into their getaway car. However, the Hydra agents manage to get away, and when Cap grabs one of them for questioning he's shocked when the agents of Hydra kill one of their own men. With Rick their hostage, Cap laments that none of this would have happened if people didn't know his true identity.
At Hydra headquarters, Rick is brought before Madam Hydra, who believes that Captain America will go back to the carnival where they attacked him earlier to search for clues. She then orders Rick be locked up, but he manages to escape and flee to the carnival to try and warn Captain America. Cap meanwhile is already there searching for clues when he is attacked by Hydra's Mankiller robot. During the fight, the robot tries to blow up Cap with missiles that are loaded in it's chest. Cap lunges at the robot and blocks it's launches with his shield causing a backfire that destroys the machine.
As a Hydra ambush starts setting up to shoot Cap, Rick arrives and warns Captain America of the danger. Suddenly, Cap makes a jump for the water as the Hydra agents open fire on him. To all witnessing it, it appears that all the bullets strike Captain America as he lands in the water. Hydra retreats as the police arrive on the scene, and when they go searching the water for a body, all the find are Captain America's bullet riddled uniform and a lifelike mask with the likeness of Steve Rogers. With this discovery, the police conclude that Captain America was never really Steve Rogers at all.
This story is continued next issue...Appearing in "...And Now, the Absorbing Man!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Absorbing Man (Crusher Creel) (Main story and recap)
Other Characters:
- Leader (Referenced)
- Harvey
- Harvey's Girlfriend
- United States Air Force
- Schwartzberg
- General Morris
- Lord (Invoked)
- Odin Borson (Referenced)
- Thor (Odinson) (Mentioned)
- Cult of the Undying Ones (Unnamed)
- Barbara Norris (First appearance) (Unnamed)
- Jack Norris (First appearance) (Unnamed)
- Numerous unnamed cultists
Races and Species:
Realities:
Locations:
- Earth
- North America
- United States of America
- California
- Unidentified United States Air Force Base
- Washington, D.C. (Mentioned)
- California
- United States of America
- North America
Items:
- Absorbing Man's Ball and Chain (Main story and recap)
Vehicles:
- Harvey's Car (Destroyed)
- X-890 Rocket
Synopsis for "...And Now, the Absorbing Man!"
Meanwhile at a California Air Force base, Major Talbot is called in, receiving word that a highly radioactive comet is heading toward Earth. He reports this to General Ross, recuperating in the hospital after an injury from the Hulk. Glenn tells General Ross and Betty of the impending danger. Ross orders Talbot to call in all available troops.
Miles away, Bruce revives, overhearing on an abandoned radio of the danger and rushes towards the base. Surrendering to the military and offering his aid, Talbot agrees to let Banner pilot the new X-890 nuclear warhead to destroy the comet. Succeeding, Bruce takes aboard an unknown stowaway: The Absorbing Man, exiled to the comet sometime after his last battle against Thor. As the rocket returns to Earth, the Absorbing Man tries to attack Banner in the cockpit. Seeing the Absorbing Man on the rear monitor, Bruce is upset enough to transform into the Hulk. The two fight on the rocket until it crashes to the Earth.
The crash doesn't phase the two combatants, with the Absorbing Man relying on his powers to beat the Hulk in combat. During the fight, the Absorbing Man continues to absorb the Hulk's strength, turning it against him. Knocking him out, the Absorbing Man is about to crush the Hulk with a portion of a mountainside. However, the Hulk reverts back to Banner, causing the Absorbing Man to instead absorb Banner's lesser strength. Unable to support the weight, the stone begins to crumble as Absorbing Man frantically reapplies properties. Reacting too late, he breaks into pieces. Getting away but knocked unconscious by the shockwaves, Bruce Banner is safe from danger... except, who are these people watching from the shadows?