Plot Summary
"Two Americas" is a four part story arc that deals with the return of the former Grand Director, the crazed Captain America from the 50's who is leading the terrorist group called the Watchdogs in the hopes of "reclaiming" America, as they see that their country has lost its glory. The current Captain America, Bucky Barnes, under the orders of Nicky Fury, teams up with his partner Sam Wilson aka the Falcon to stop this "Bad Cap" before anyone is hurt. Bucky infiltrates the Watchdogs' camp, posing as one of their own but his plan backfires and he and Sam are captured as a result. The fiendish Cap forces Bucky to wear his old "Bucky" costume as they appear on live television, making a statement by blowing up the Hoover Dam using the vibranium the Watchdogs have taken from Falcon's suit. Meanwhile, Falcon is being kept at a train headed for a lobbyist conference as a distraction from the group's main plan. Sam escapes from his captors and goes to the Hoover Dam to help Bucky who is engaging the rogue Super-Soldier in combat. However, the desperate wannabe patriot attempts to kill everyone using the bomb, because he's rather die than leave his country in its current state, forcing Bucky to shoot and apparently kill him but his body that was dropped off the dam was never found. Despite everything, Bucky still feels sorry for him because he started out with the best intentions and deep down there was good man trying to do the right thing, and killing him has become a heavy burden on his shoulders.
Full Plot
50's Cap wants to get his country back In Boise Idaho, a group of deputies attempt to arrest members of the terrorist organisation known as the Watchdogs but a man dressed in a Captain America costume and using a red & blue shield appears and easily takes the deputies out. He appears to be working with the Watchdogs as he tells them to head back to the compound and prepare to "reclaim" America.
This man is revealed to be the Captain America from the 1950's who idolized the original Captain during WWII to the point of changing everything to become Captain America himself but through out the years became mentally unstable. While trying to reconnect with his beginnings in his birthplace of Boise Idaho, he becomes distraught and enraged at the current state of America and wondpers what happened to his country. He remembered an America that had the best schools and the best workers, a great country but now it is full of empty houses, closed factories and lines of unemployment. When he saw that the house he grew up in had been torn down and in its place now stood an out-of-business strip-mall, the insanity he was constantly fighting off took the best of him and he decided to act. The next day, after he stopped a bank robbery while wearing his Captain America costume, he was noticed by members of the Watchdogs. 50's Cap saw them as honest, hard-working Americans who shared the same view of the current America and he gladly became their leader.
Two days after the attack on the deputies in Idaho, Nick Fury called James "Bucky" Barnes down to one of his many secret bases where, after performing upgrades on Bucky's cybernetic arm, making it look and feel like a real arm, shows the current Captain America footage of the 50's Cap giving a speech to the Watchdogs. Bucky immediately recognizes him from an encounter last year and Fury tells him that this man needs to be stopped before coming to the attention of Norman Osborn or any other malicious individual. Even though Steve Rogers is back, Bucky volunteered to stop him because he preferred Steve doesn't see his dark reflection with the enemy and considered 50's Cap's re-emergence as his responsibility because he let him escape once before.
Bucky and Sam Wilson aka the Falcon travel together to Idaho. Sam reminds Bucky that this Cap is even stronger than Steve himself and to make matters worse he is seriously insane. Bucky admits that despite everything, he feels a bit sorry for him but Falcon urges him not to hesitate at all because this Cap is extremely dangerous. While witnessing an Anti-Tax protest, Bucky reveals his plan to infiltrate the Watchdogs's base. At a bar, Sam poses as a "tax-man" attempting to close down the bar but Bucky, posing as a truck driver punches him and throws him out of the bar, in the hopes of coming to the Watchdogs' attention. He is successful, as two members of the paramilitary group were impressed by his actions and offered him a spot on their group, just as Bucky had hoped.
That night, the Watchdogs inform their leader of their new recruit, and upon seeing Bucky's picture immediately recognizes him. Bucky spends a week in the Watchdogs' training camp and he is put through their basic training in combat skills, weapons and wilderness survival. Knowing who the new recruit really is, the Watchdogs realize that he is holding back and fear that there might be a big risk in bringing him to the compound but the 50's Cap is willing to take that risk and re-assures them that Bucky is part of the plan now.
Ten miles outside Boise, Captain America and Falcon intercept a Watchdogs scouting mission and make short work of the soldiers. Despite knowing that his cover may be blown, Bucky is still going into the Watchdogs' camp to find out their plan.
After spending the next day training in the Watchdogs' camp, Bucky sneaks into the rogue Cap's tent at night and attacks him only to discover that a decoy was in his place as Bad Cap had somewhere else to be while the Watchdogs captured Bucky.
The fiendish Cap and a group of his soldiers attack Sam in the hotel he is staying at. Falcon is easily outmatched by the Super-Soldier and is viciously knocked out. He reveals that they really came after the vibranium that powers his suit but capturing Falcon is just a bonus. The Watchdogs's scientist removes the entire holographic-wing system and extracts the vibranium to use it as a very powerful explosive.
Back at the Watchdog Compound, Bucky attempts to convince Cap of the Watchdogs' terroristic nature but this only angers the rogue Cap who exclaims that the Watchdogs are patriots and after threatening to kill Falcon, forces James to wear his old Bucky costume.
The start of a RevolutionThe Falcon wakes up in a moving train where he is being held prisoner by the Watchdogs. After Falcon provoked one of the guards, Redwing appeared and gave Falcon the chance to take out the two guards around him and release himself from his restraints. Now free, Sam prepares to take on the whole train full of Watchdogs and after his sneak attack fails, he decides to directly take on all the soldiers. Despite being greatly outnumbered, Falcon benefiting from his formidable hand-to-hand skills, moving fast and striking with precision has the advantage and while they're overconfident because of their numbers and weapons, he catches them in their own crossfire as they stumble over each other. During the fight, Sam enters a room full of explosives so the goons stop shooting at him and tend to the use of melee weapons but Sam easily defeats them. He then enters the driver's room and defeats the remaining Watchdog and meets David Price, the engineer, who tells Sam that the train is meant to crash into corporate lobbyist conference at a train station in Vegas. He also tells him that the trains' brakes are gone and this whole thing is a distraction for something even bigger. Meanwhile, Bucky, 50's Cap and the rest of the Watchdogs have traveled via plane to the Hoover Dam and to Bucky's horror, Cap plans on blowing up the dam using the vibranium they took from the Falcon as a statement that will be heard around the world and the start of a revolution.
After the Watchdogs take out the dam's guards, Cap receives word that all communication with the train has been lost, and now re-assured of Sam's safety, Bucky breaks free from his restraints using his bionic arm that the villains are unaware of and punches an unsuspecting Bad Cap in the face. Sam and Dave separate the section of the train they are in from the one that contains all the other unconscious Watchdogs and Sam proceeds to force the last remaining soldier to call in the chopper that was meant to pick them up in the first place before throwing him off the train. Sam and Dave hitch the helicopter, throws the pilot off and, now knowing Bad Cap's plan, goes to the Hoover Dam to help Bucky.
Bucky vs Captain UnamericaAt the Hoover Dam, an enraged 50's Cap attacks Bucky and tells his soldiers to leave Bucky for him. Bucky gains the upper hand using his speed and throughout the fight, Bucky thinks to himself that despite all that's happening, this man is a patriot at heart, willing to fight for what's right but the chemicals that turned him into a Super-Soldier made him crazy. When the rogue Captain America threw his shield at Bucky, the current Cap countered by catching the shield and throwing it at the scientist before he could set up the bomb, knocking him out. 50's Cap retaliates by punching James in the face knocking him down but then the Falcon appeared and gave Bucky the chance to fight back. As Falcon fights off the remaining Watchdogs, Bucky and Captain Unamerica continue to fight until the rogue Super-Soldier desperately attempts to set the device off and kill everyone. Bucky picks up a rifle, pointing it at the Captain and tells him that there are doctors that can fix him but Bad Cap, refusing to see this world any differently than he already does, attempts to trigger the bomb so Bucky is forced to brutally shoot him in the chest, killing him and his body is thrown off the dam. Later on, the body is not found but Bucky is certain that the Bad Cap is dead because he never misses. Falcon tells Bucky that he only did what he had to do but Bucky still feels sorry for the wannabe patriot because he wore the uniform and it destroyed him. Falcon replies "That man was not like you. Remember That."
Collected Editions
Non-U.S. Editions
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