Issue(s): Captain America #110
Published Date: Feb 69
Title: "No longer alone!"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Jim Steranko - Penciler
Joe Sinnott - Inker

Review/plot:
Oooh, Jim Steranko! The opening sequence here (Man in trenchcoat approaches camera, suddenly the Hulk bursts through a wall, man throws off trenchcoat to reveal he is Captain America) is so awesome.

It should be set to music or turned into a movie or something. Rick Jones is around as well, but the Hulk is just so far gone at this point he doesn't even recognize Rick, and Cap rescues him and takes him back under his wing (he also prevents the army from killing the Hulk, which is interesting as well).

Rick finds an old Bucky costume and puts it on. It freaks Cap out at first, but then he decides to let Rick keep it and be his partner.

Suddenly they hear an alarm. Hydra is under the city, trying to poison the water supply. I know from my Essentials book that the Marvel Super Action reprint decided to cut out a big splash page depicting the Hydra force in order to stay within the reduced 70s page count, but i chose to go with the color in MSA verses the extra page/panel in Essentials. It was a tough choice. My PDF has the full spread:

Hydra is currently being led by Madame Hydra, later to be known as Viper.

Rick kind of screws things up a bit, but not too badly, and they manage to drive off the Hydra horde (there's a great scene where after, a fight between Cap and an agent in a power vest, the agent says "Captain America is dead. Never again will he mock my power vest.". It's even funnier because it's actually Cap, posing as the Hydra agent.).

So to recap, this issue has:

• Jim Steranko awesomeness - unusual panel layouts and excellent sequencing.
• A major transition in the Hulk's life - he is too far gone to have a human partner anymore
• A major transition in Rick Jones' life - he becomes Captain America's partner
• A major transition in Captain America's life - By letting Rick Jones wear the Bucky costume he finally stops sulking about Bucky and accepts his death
• The introduction of a major new villain: Madame Hydra.

Quality Rating: B

Historical Significance Rating: 7 - see above

Chronological Placement Considerations: Due to an annoying trend of cliffhangers spilling into unrelated stories in the Hulk at this time, there is no break in Hulk issues where his appearance here can be placed. This issue which features the Hulk on a rampage in New York City and the "transfer" of Rick Jones from Hulk's book to Cap's, best takes place during Hulk #106 (specifically between the end of page 5, where the Hulk is buried under rubble by the Missing Link, and the beginning of page 6 where he is suddenly free of the rubble and leaping. This issue actually has him bursting out of a collapsed wall, which works fairly well.), which features the Hulk rampaging in New York and Rick Jones' last appearance in Hulk for a while. To place it here, however, i've had to move Cap's appearances back in time (relative to the publishing date) quite a bit. This is the Feb 69 issue of Cap but it is placed in December of 68.

References: N/A

Cross-over: N/A

Continuity Implant? N

Reprinted In: Marvel Super Action #12

Madame Hydra may have been influenced by Diana Rigg in the TV Avengers.