Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Captain America: Cold War Alpha #1 (2023)


[CAPTAIN AMERICA: COLD WAR ALPHA #1
Writers: Jackson Lanzing,Collin Kelly and Tochi Onyebuchi
Artist: Carlos Magno
Cover Artists: Patrick Gleason and Alejandro Sánchez]

The big CROSSOVER EVENT has started!

The New Revolution uses his next Century Game move to spring the criminal Hunter, White Wolf of Wakanda, out of prison. The New Revolution agrees to put Hunter on the throne of Dimension Z in exchange for Hunter's transmitter and codes which will allow Bucky to control Dimension Z's monsters.

An interesting aside: While fighting Hunter, we get to see that Bucky's new cyber arm can shapeshift into several different handy-dandy forms of weaponry as needed.


[images excerpted from
larger originals found

Meanwhile in Manhattan, Steve Rogers is out for breakfast with his adopted son Ian when the restaurant blows up. Dryad Peggy Carter appears, kidnaps Ian and tells Steve that "The Revolution sends his regards." Steve immediately enlists the help of Captain America Sam Wilson to find and rescue Ian. Sam brings his girlfriend, superhero Misty Knight, to work with the team. Because of Misty's association with the Aberrant Crimes Division, they figure out that The New Revolution is now controlling the "Zola Gate" portal technology which leads to Dimension Z.



Hunter tortures Ian and Bucky extracts Ian's DNA containing his real father Zola's "genetic keys to the kingdom" of Dimension Z. Hunter ingests the DNA and thereby becomes blood-king as negotiated with The New Revolution. Hunter orders the "monster forge" to go into production again because "Dimension Z is going to war."

The Aberrant Crimes Division's latest intelligence shows that the Outer Circle is running war games in Alaska using rogue militias, so the two Captains head there with Sharon Carter and Misty Knight. An epic battle ensues and then a Zola Gate portal opens, overrunning the battlefield with Dimension Z monsters. Our heroes figure out that The Revolution and White Wolf are behind this development.

The issue ends on a chilling note with The New Revolution planning to kill both Captains America in order to win the Century Game. Has Bucky gone power mad? Will he sacrifice anything to win? Will he really kill "the only real friends" he ever had?


[found at burninblood]

I will just note here that I don't believe it for one second. Remember that way back in Issue #1, Steve comes into possession of the "Dimension Z eldritch weapon" crystal which powered the Starpoint New Destroyer. Bucky takes the crystal home with him but later, in Issue #7, leaves it in his deserted apartment for Steve to locate again. I suspect this "neganite shard" will either protect Steve from Dimension Z monsters or enable him to defeat them. What it means is that Bucky (playing the long game) has in fact ensured Steve's safety while crucially appearing to the other members of the Outer Circle to be ruthlessly playing The Game so as not to arouse suspicion. The New Revolution's real object is to wreak vengeance on all the other members of the Outer Circle by killing them and ending The Game forever.

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