This is an “imposter cap” story. It starts with a Cap-versus-Nick fight. It’s cool.
Both of these characters are formidable strategists–this kind of fight shouldn’t happen. But it’s fun to read. And Nick Fury’s battlesuit is remarkably similar to Winter Soldier, in that it has one powered-up arm.
This is the famous story where Steve Englehart tries to reconcile the fact that Marvel’s Captain America was frozen in ice before the end of World War II, but Timely Publications published Cap comics in the 1950s.
The solution: Two Caps!
Only this one is a racist who refers to Falcon as a “darkie” and “blackie.” He was also the product of a super soldier serum, and this one went through animal testing.
Does anyone know if that Monkey was ever used in future books? Seems like an opportunity…
Two caps causes some confusion.
Cap and Falcon take out bad Cap and bad Bucky. Bad Bucky is Jack Monroe, who will become Nomad many years from now.
The actual final battles are pretty short, but Falcon gets the best takedown sequence:
It’s a brilliant way to reconcile continuity questions and also make a statement about how a symbol of America might represent our country’s darker side, rather than our high ideals. Like, is the evil Cap stronger?
Yes, it’s symbolic. Here’s the full final fight:
It’s widely recognized as one of the best Captain America stories of all time. Steve Englehart was a lot like Steve Gerber, only his scripts were not quite as weird.