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Credits

• Writer: Ed Brubaker
• Art: Mike Perkins
• Colorist: Frank D'Armata
• Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
• Editor: Tom Brevoort

Quick Summary

More thrills and chills in a sleepy little town with a secret...

When last we saw CA and Sharon, they'd been woken up by A.I.M. - here they explain that A.I.M. has controlled this sleepy little town for years, and has an underground research facility here, which has been taken over by Crossbones and Sin.

Sharon calls in a SHIELD strike force, and they move to take the A.I.M. facility back - however, Crossbones and Sin let the A.I.M. agents go, and are expecting the attack. The A.I.M. agents put up a limited defense, and Sin activates a MODOC Squad, which creates enough chaos that Crossbones and Sin escape, having abducted a SHIELD agent.

After the fight, we learn that the Winter Soldier had come here tracking down a World War II German Resistance fighter with whom he'd fallen in love, and visited with her daughter. Cap speculates that Bucky is making his final arrangements before hunting down and killing Lukin - a battle Bucky doesn't plan on surviving.

Meanwhile... Crossbones interrogates the SHIELD agent, learning that Lukin gave the orders to kill the Red Skull. Corssbones kills the SHIELD agent, and he and Sin head off to "thank" Lukin - personally!

Commentary

• Another excellent job on the artistic side by Mike Perkins - I think that I have a marginal preference for Steve Epting, but they are both so skilled at both the draftsmanship and storytelling that so long as one or the other - or both - continue, I'll be a happy fellow!
• There are two ties to the recent 65th Anniversary Special here - the first one is that the Special is where Bucky, in a WWII story, meets the German resistance woman with whom he falls in love. The second is a bit more sinister, and details the next Lukin/Red Skull plot, with them attempting to recover base which was buried at the conclusion of the Special.
• When Crossbones and Sin learn that the Red Skull's mind is co-inhabiting the body of his killer, it ought to lead to an interesting discussion or two - especially with the Winter Solder gunning for Lukin.
• Cap finally seems to have gotten over his historical over-protectiveness of Sharon. About time!
• In the aforementioned Special, Brubaker has Cap comment that he can run a mile in 60 seconds when he has to, at a dead run. Here, Sharon asks how he dodges bullets, and he responds that he "sees faster". Brubaker seems to be making explicit what the comics themselves have been alluding to for years - that the Super Soldier Formula didn't boost Cap to maximum human performance, but as the next step in human performance.