Issue #88 begins the big, important arc. Bucky returns!
And so does Red Skull!
Only not. It’s a Red Skull robot. But we do see Skull lift Manhattan in a bubble.
As for how Red Skull survived drowning after his last appearance in ToS #81, the explanation is basically “because the Cosmic Cube.” Not much more than that.
Red Skull has Swordsman and Power Man as (very ineffective) bodyguards.
And a robot dog.
He’s also got a bubble gun, enabling him to capture Captain America in a clear container, and also to lift NYC in the panels at the top of this post.
The Bucky Bot barely phases Cap.
Anyway, it’s great to see Gil Kane drawing Cap. In the end, Skull holds the City hostage and forced Cap to go on TV and say he doesn’t like America.
Which leads to this great splash page…
But the Cap-is-bad theme gets resolved in a single issue. Seems like it could have gone on for a while longer and led to some cool stories. Oh well.
And check out the lower left face, behind Cap’s left boot. Is that Norman Osborn???
Of course it’s mind control. TV mind control.
Not too far from the truth.
In the end, Red Skull dies. Again. Not.
