In Captain America #27, Steve Rogers stepped right into the kind of explosive situation that turned the public against heroes in Marvel’s Civil War.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Captain America #27, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Leonard Kirk, Matt Milla & VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
In the Marvel Universe, Steve Rogers is usually aware of most things happening around him, which is why Captain America is one of the most trusted leaders around. From the Avengers to the Daughters of Liberty and Marvel’s other heroes, Captain America is trusted for both his morality and his unparalleled tactical experience and expertise on the battlefield.
However, in Captain America #27, Steve falls for an old trick once more, and it’s the same kind of explosive event that set off Marvel’s Civil War in 2008.
In Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s classic event, Nitro blew up in Stamford, killing innocents and putting the New Warriors in a spotlight that gave the U.S. government the moral authority and urgency to push the Superhuman Registration Act. However, making Nitro a bomb was part of a bigger plan, as he was given the power-boosting Mutant Growth Hormone by Damage Control’s Walter Declun to get his organization more reconstruction contracts that could also allow him to keep superhumans under his watch.
The political intent of Nitro’s bombing remained a mystery to Captain America and the rest of Marvel’s heroes until Wolverine unearthed the truth about it while he was on a quest for revenge.
In Captain America #27, a very similar event happens once again and proves that Steve needs to keep an ear to the ground a bit better. This time, Aleksander Lukin, whose body is now possessed by Red Skull, is the one with the trigger, baiting Steve in with a white supremacist rally in New York that gathers groups like the Watchdogs, Red Skull gang and the Friends of Humanity. Although a riot breaks out there, Skull tells his daughter, Sin, that tis is all about misdirection and playing the field.
Red Skull orchestrated this to make sure the media documented everything, all so that they could see Cap and law enforcement battling the crowd. Eventually, Red Skull reveals that had a bomb planted in Central Park. Sin’s shocked as she didn’t see this move coming. As Skull blows the scene up, Steve is left bruised and battered. He and Sharon Carter barely escape but he knows something bigger is coming as they were set up.
After the blast, Skull wastes no time as his Kronas Industries holds a press conference to sway public favor against the Avenger again. He dubs Cap a criminal, playing off the emotions of people right after he was acquitted for killing General Ross. In Lukin’s skin, he deems Cap an agent of chaos and disorder, someone who constantly uses the Constitution as a weapon.
With this bomb, Red Skull is looking to push a racist agenda and paint Steve as the “Captain of Nothing.” Just as in Civil War, the Red Skull once more wants to show why the symbols of heroes are warped, and he wants the civilians of the Marvel Universe to pay, which leaves Captain America incredibly nervous about what’s to come.
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