What If? Vol 1 4

What If? Vol 1 #4

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Art by: Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia

Release Date

May 24, 1977

Cover Date

August, 1977

Issue Details

Editor-in-Chief

Archie Goodwin

I wanted to finish this thing... for both Captain Americas!!

—Captain America (Jeffrey Mace)

Appearing in "What If the Invaders Had Stayed Together After World War Two?"

Featured Characters:

Invaders / All-Winners Squad (Disbands as the Invaders, reforms as the All-Winners Squad) (Main story and recap)
- Human Torch (Jim Hammond) (See chronology) (Main story and recap)
- Toro (Tom Raymond) (See chronology) (Main story and recap)
- Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie) (See chronology) (Main story and recap)
- Spitfire (Jacqueline Falsworth) (Leaves group) (See chronology) (Main story and recap)
- Union Jack (Brian Falsworth) (Leaves group) (See chronology) (Main story and recap)
- Bucky (Fred Davis) (Joins group) (See chronology)
- Captain America (William Naslund) (Joins group) (Death) (See chronology)
- Miss America (Madeline Joyce) (Joins group) (See chronology)
- Whizzer (Robert Frank) (Joins group) (See chronology)
- Patriot / Captain America (Jeff Mace) (First appearance as Captain America) (Joins group) (See chronology)

Supporting Characters:

🢐 Winston Churchill 🢒
British Army
- Major Rawlings (First and only known appearance)
United States Army
- 🢐 Colonel Farrow 🢒
- Admiral Chester Nimitz (First and only known appearance)
President Harry Truman (See chronology)
🢐 Professor Phineas Horton 🢒
🢐 Senator Jack Kennedy 🢒

Antagonists:

Axis
- Nazi Germany
  - Adolf Hitler (Death) (See chronology)
  - Schutzstaffel
    - Major Otto Günsche
  - Jerry (a Nazi grunt) (First and only known appearance)
- Imperial Japan
Adam II (First and only known appearance)
Phineas Horton Android (First and only known appearance) (Destruction)
Adam II's Androids (First and only known appearance)
Senator Kennedy's Chaffeaur Android (First and only known appearance)
Senator Kennedy Android (First and only known appearance)

Other Characters:

Captain America (Steve Rogers) (Only in recap)
Bucky (James Barnes) (Only in recap) (Apparent death)
Baron Zemo (Heinrich Zemo) (Only in recap)
Baron Zemo's Android (Only in recap)
Future Captain America (Steve Rogers) (Behind the scenes) (Only in recap)
🢐 Uatu the Watcher 🢒
Eva Braun (Corpse, skeleton or other remains) (See chronology)
Neptune (Referenced)
God (Yahweh) (Mentioned)
R.A.F. (Mentioned)
Wehrmacht (Mentioned)
President Roosevelt (Mentioned)
Daily Bugle (Mentioned)
Benito Mussolini (Mentioned)
Luftwaffe (Only in recap)
Liberty Legion (Mentioned)
Isbisa (Simon Meke) (Only in recap) (Death)
United States Congress (Mentioned)

Races and Species:

Humans (Main story and recap)
Watchers
Androids (Main story and recap)
Human-Inhuman Hybrids
Atlantean-Human Hybrids (Main story and recap)

Locations:

Earth (Main story and recap)
- Europe (Main story and recap)
  - United Kingdom (Main story and recap)
    - England (Main story and recap)
      - English Channel (Only in recap)
      - London
        Big Ben
  - Germany
    - Berlin
    - Bavaria (Mentioned)
  - Austria (Mentioned)
- Russia (Mentioned)
- Pacific Ocean
- Atlantis (Referenced)
- Atlantic Ocean
- United States of America
  - Washington, D.C.
    - White House
    - National Mall
      - Capitol Building
  - New York (Only in recap)
    - New York City (Only in recap)
      - Manhattan (Only in recap)
  - Massachusetts
    - Boston
- Japan
  - Honshu
    - Hiroshima Prefecture
      - Hiroshima (Destruction)
  - Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu (Mentioned) (Destroyed)
- Earth Orbit
  - Moon
    - Blue Area of the Moon

Items:

Captain Americas' Shields
- 1945 Steve Rogers' Shield (Only in recap)
- Time-Traveling Steve Rogers' Shield (Only in recap)
- William Naslund and Jeff Mace's Shield (First appearance chronologically)
Captain Americas' Uniforms
- 1945 Steve Rogers' Uniform (Only in recap)
- William Naslund's Uniform (First appearance chronologically)
- Jeff Mace's Uniform (First appearance chronologically)
Lean Boy Atomic Bomb (First and only known appearance) (Explosion)
Patriot's Uniform
Super-Soldier Serum (Mentioned)

Vehicles:

A Royal Atlantean Jet (First and only known appearance)
U.S.S. Missouri (First and only known appearance)

Events:

World War II (Main story and recap)

Synopsis for "What If the Invaders Had Stayed Together After World War Two?"

The Watcher reveals the last days of World War II from the perspective of the Invaders. As Captain America and Bucky disappear over the Atlantic^[1], Torch and Toro fly into Berlin on April 30th, 1945 in an attempt to capture Hitler before he can commit suicide. When Hitler reaches for a button upon seeing them, the Human Torch believes it to be the trigger for a bomb that would destroy all of Berlin and feels forced to stop him by burning him to death. Meanwhile, Namor fights the Japanese in the Pacific and Spitfire and Union Jack protect Churchill back in London.

The remaining Invaders later meet up, learning of Cap and Bucky's deaths, and Namor and the Torches are recalled to the States to meet with President Truman while Spitfire and Union Jack remain in Britain. Truman explains that the Invaders must live on until the war in the Pacific is over. He adds to their ranks the former Liberty Legion members Miss America and Whizzer as well as a new Captain America and Bucky -- formerly the Spirit of '76 and Fred Davis, Batboy for the Yankees who once acted as a decoy for Bucky ^[2].

The new Invaders continue to fight in the Pacific until Japan's surrender, at which point they receive a new Presidential request to turn their attentions to fighting crime at home under the name of "The All-Winners Squad". They operate as such for the remainder of 1945 into 1946. One day in '46, the Human Torch decides to visit Phineas Horton's home in Boston to attempt to reconcile with his "father", taking Toro with him. When they arrive, they find Horton has made a second android, Adam-II, who has gone mad and imprisoned his creator and fashioned several other robotic servants, including duplicates of humans he intends to replace. With the arriving help of another former Liberty Legionnaire, Patriot, the Torches escape from Adam-II's trap and learn from Horton that Adam-II intends to replace a politician campaigning in Boston. The other All-Winners assemble and spread out to find the mark, and it's Captain America and Bucky that find Adam-II along with a duplicate of a young Senator Jack Kennedy. While Cap desperately sends out a flare to recall his teammates, one of the enemy androids grabs him and crushes his ribs.

The All-Winners Squad converge to fight Adam-II, who attempts to flee when Captain America miraculously returns, however he loses control of his getaway car and crashes, seemingly destroyed in the resulting explosion. When the All-Winners are alone, Captain America unmasks to reveal that he's actually the Patriot and that he had found the dying second Cap, who revealed his secret with his last breath. Jeffrey Mace vows to keep the legend of Captain America alive in honor of both the men that came before him.