Appearing in "The Weakest Link"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- ⏴ Agent 13 (Sharon Carter) ⏵ (Identity revealed)
Villains:
Other Characters:
- SHIELD agents
- Manfred
Locations:
Items:
- Captain America's Shield
- Captain America's Uniform
- Oxygen Cylinder
Vehicles:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Weakest Link"
Steve Rogers takes Agent 13 out on a date for dinner and dancing and learns that her real name is Sharon Carter. However, their date is crashed by an attack made by minions of the Red Skull, who incapacitate Steve and capture Sharon taking her away. When reporting in to their master, the Red Skull is furious that they did not recognize his hated enemy in his civilian guise, however tells them that it doesn't matter as Captain America shall soon come to them. As Sharon is taken to Exile Island, the Red Skull and his minions the Exiles decide to have some entertainment by forcing two of their slaves to fight each other. When they refuse, the Red Skull threatens them with a tiny device that strikes them full of fear and so they battle in order to avoid an ever worse torture. The Red Skull and his Exiles then begin to plan their trap for Captain America.
The red-white-and-blue Avenger has wasted no time in going after the Red Skull and gets air lifted by a SHIELD agent out to the ocean near Exile Island. With a high tech breathing device designed by Tony Stark, Cap dives into the ocean below intent on swimming to the island and dealing with his arch-nemesis alone. Cap is soon caught up in one of the island's defenses: electronically controlled sea-weed that tangles up anything that comes into its proximity. However, Cap has prepared for such a trap and detonates a hidden charge in his glove in order to blast free. However, this alerts the soldiers on Exile Island of Cap's approach. When they go out in a motorboat to capture him, he easily subdues the villains and then rides the craft to the island's shore. Smashing the boat into the battlements set up to defend the island, jumping out of the boat just as it explodes destroying the cannons.
The soldiers of the Red Skull swarm Captain America, however he refuses to go down without a fight. Ultimately, he is pistol whipped from behind knocking him out. With Cap unconscious, the Red Skull places a strip of nuclear tape, which is connected to a device that will allow the Red Skull to cause Captain America a great deal of pain. The Red Skull hopes to make Captain America do his bidding and tosses the Star-Spangled Avenger into a holding cell next to where Sharon Carter has been held prisoner. Red Skull then returns to his fellow Exiles to monitor the cell, and General Ching attempts to make an attempt to usurp leadership of the Exiles from the Skull but is stopped by Gruning.
Down below, when Cap revives Sharon tells him that she was waiting for him to arrive before she attempted to escape. With a special SHIELD glass cutter hidden under her fingernail she cuts through the plexi-glass between their cells and uses a micro-blow torch to melt through the door so they can escape from their cell. Captain America and Sharon make a run for the Island's runway, fighting off all the soldiers who come to stop them. This is going according to the Red Skull's plan and he throws himself in the battle and lets Captain America defeat him in hand-to-hand combat so as to make a convincing show of preventing them from escaping. Cap easily bests the Red Skull and he and Sharon escape in an aircraft. As Captain America flies away, Red Skull is recovered by Gruning, and the Nazi warrior laughs at how thanks to the nuclear tape and his detonator he can reach Captain America anywhere in the world.
This story is continued next issue...
Notes
- In this issue, Steve Rogers as well as readers learn that Agent 13's name is actually Sharon Carter. Despite her being a romantic interest of Steve Rogers, he has not known her name since she first appeared in Tales of Suspense 75.
- Gruning's name is misspelled as "Grunning" when first used in this story.
- This story is reprinted in Essential Captain America Vol 2 and Marvel Super Action #5.
- This issue contains a letters page, Let's Yap With Cap. Letters are published from Steve Hunsberger, Alan Groginsky, Rany Singer, William De La Torre, Dan Taylor, Bill Hayes, David Rein, and Terry Levine.
See Also
Links and References
- The Grand Comics Database: Captain America #103 [1]