Issue(s): Captain America #247
Cover Date: Jul 80
Title: "By the dawn's early light!"
Credits:
Roger Stern - Script
Roger Stern & John Byrne - Plot
John Byrne - Penciler
Josef Rubinstein - Inker
Bob Budiansky - Assistant Editor
Jim Salicrup - Editor

Review/plot:
Stern & Byrne's first issue opens with a nicely drawn scene of Captain America running across the Brooklyn Bridge.

He's decided to head to SHIELD to get info about his past.

A little too conveniently, Dum Dum Dugan tells Cap that SHIELD has been running its own investigation into Cap's past and they have some results.

Meanwhile, Nick Fury interrogates Baron Von Strucker...

...but Strucker escapes and heads to Fort Dix, where Cap is going through some of his old WWII stuff...

...including a diary that confirms that Cap was born and raised in Manhattan. Other conflicting memories he had were due to memory implants that he received in case he was ever taken prisoner during his time in Europe during World War II.

Strucker shows up and attacks...

...and after a long fight that in part forces Cap to use his original triangle shield...

...Strucker self-destructs, revealing that he was really a robot.

The Machinesmith watches on a view monitor.

Ah, Roger Stern and John Byrne. Very nice.

Note the Magneto and Manipulator robots, among others, in the background of the Machinesmith panel. The implication, not actually stated here but definitely implied in the case of the Manipulator, is that Machinesmith was behind the robot Magneto revealed during the Neal Adams X-Men run as well as the Manipulator.

Quality Rating: B

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - finalizes some elements of Steve Rogers' past.

Chronological Placement Considerations: The MCP has this issue placed earlier than its publishing date to clear the way for Cap's appearance in the Avengers. Must take place after the Avengers' security clearance is restored in Avengers #191. "Less than an hour" passes before the start of Captain America #248, so Cap likely shouldn't appear anywhere else in between.

Captain America's eventual love interest Bernie Rosenthal is formally introduced next issue, but she has a cameo here.

References:

• Cap has been wondering about his origins again since Josh Cooper threw him a surprise party in Captain America #245. That party triggered some memories that contradict 'lost memories' he received in a mind probe in Captain America #225.
  
• There's no footnote, but as Amidon37 notes in the comments, Captain America cites the fact that the Avengers have had their security clearance restored when he first enters the SHIELD base. The reinstatement happened in Avengers #191.
  
• Interrogating "Strucker", Fury mentions that Strucker was thought dead since Strange Tales #158. We now know his reappearance in Captain America #130 And Captain America #131-132 wasn't real. The real Strucker won't appear until the 1990s in the Nick Fury series. I'm not quite sure why Stern and Byrne decided to retcon Strucker's previous Cap appearances, though.
  
• It turns out that prior to going overseas to fight with the Invaders in Invaders #1, Cap was given false memory implants in case he was every captured and tortured. This is why he's had contradictory origin stories.
  
• Cap sees similarities between his fight with the Strucker robot and his fight with the Manipulator in Captain America #242.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The "memory implants" were a plot device used to resolve an extreme continuity violation by Steve Gerber during his brief 1978 run on this title. Gerber stated that Steve Rogers had a brother who died in Pearl Harbor, which spurred him to become Captain America---except it was established many times before that Steve became Cap early in 1941.

I'm may use very disfruted not see Baron Von Strucker in this story, it's a really a bad issue if that conceived to
the shady terrorist scientist Machinesmith, he tricks Cap
America inventing a robot make him Strucker electronic, and HYDRA powerful dictator didn't make appareance it's too poorly, Star Saxxon ( Machinesmith ) makes many creations who seemed to be dangerous and offensive in
a criminal line not very megalomaniac and he plays
with adventurer contact heroes including Red Skull
he disguted me ! That's morose !

Around this time, there were two attempts to revive Nick Fury as the wartime Sgt. Fury. First, the reprint title was supposed to start new stories. Later on, Sgt. Fury by Goodwin/Trimpe was announced for Marvel Spotlight. Neither happened.

Roger Stern's first Captain America writing was a career summary in FOOM#8. It wasn't fiction, but significant because John Byrne did the illustrations. The most interesting part is that Stern declared "Erskine" to be a code name for Dr. Reinstein rather than the other way around.

When Strucker fought Captain America in #130-132, he was a bit out of character (and IIRC, offered to explanation for his survival), so it makes sense to retcon him as the robot.

You will notice that he went by "Weapons Master" at the time, too. He even recycles that alias in a panel of this Roger Stern story.

In the references it should be noted that Cap refers to the Avengers having their security clearance reinstated stemming from Avengers 191.

Added the Reference, and it's actually a placement consideration, too. Thanks Amidon37.

Ah, two of my favorite storylines ever, both drawn by John Byrne, happening simultaneously. Man, I wish I had actually been old enough to be buying these as they came out in 1979. A great start to a great storyline.