Issue(s): Captain America #153, Captain America #154, Captain America #155, Captain America #156
Published Date: Sep-Dec 72
Title: "Captain America -- Hero or hoax?" / "The Falcon fights alone!" / "The incredible origin of the other Captain America!" / "Two into one won't go!"
Credits:
Steve Englehart - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Jim Mooney / Tony Mortellaro & John Verpoorten / Frank McLaughlin - Inker

Review/plot:
Steve Englehart takes over the writing chores for Captain America, and it's pretty good.

This arc resolves a sub-plot in which Nick Fury thought that Val was cheating on him with Cap.

Based on what i saw in Hulk #152, that was a pretty silly story line so it's good to see Steve Englehart wrap it up. Then Cap and Sharon go on vacation, but the Falcon runs into a Captain America and Bucky running around Harlem beating up black people.

The Falcon actually has to be rescued by people from his neighborhood, who were starting to turn on him because of his support for Cap. Standing up to the fake Cap turned the tide for them.

It turns out that there was another Captain America active during the McCarthy-ite 50s. He loved Cap so much he found out Cap's real name and changed his own name to Steve Rogers. He was put into suspended animation, but he's subsequently woken up and escaped. He thinks the real Captain America died in World War II and the one that's around today is another copy, but one that has gotten soft and liberal. He infiltrates the Avengers mansion to find his location and tracks him down.

He's stunned to find out that it's the real Cap, who after several fights finally beats the commie-hating Cap even though that one has super strength (because he refused the vita-ray treatment that keeps you sane?).

Marvel must have been badgered for years over the question of "How come, if Captain America was frozen during World War II, there was a Captain America comic published through the 1950s?". I would have expected a Roy Thomas to attempt to tackle this sort of continuity problem, not Steve Englehart, but Englehart, one of Marvel's most political writers, makes great use of the character to challenge fake patriotism, racism, and commie-bashing.

The Bucky that appears along with commie hating Cap is Jack Munroe, who will subsequently wake up and take the identity of Nomad.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 7 - first Jack Munroe/Nomad, explains the 1950s Captain America appearances

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Cap and the Falcon fought the Scorpion and Mr. Hyde in Captain America #151-152
  
• Val refers to when Fury threw her over (?) for Laura Brown. Not sure exactly when that occured, since Fury and Laura never actually got together, but she appeared in Strange Tales #137-141 and Strange Tales #152-159
  
• The fake commie-hating Captain America first appeared in Young Men #24 and battled the Communist Red Skull.
  
• ...he fought the Russian Killer Electro in Captain America Comics #78
  
• ...he fought the Chinese Assasssin With No Face.... somewhere.
  
• (He also was seen in suspended animation at the end of Marvel: The Lost Generation #1, if you're interested).
  

Cross-over: N/A

Continuity Implant? N

Reprinted In: N/A