Captain America #424
February 1994
Cover art by: Phil Gosier & Danny Bulanadi
Story: The Last Operation
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Phil Gosier
Inks: Romeo Tanghal
We kick this issue off with the return of Diamondback into the fold. (She was in a coma in Wakanda...long story) Well, in the meantime Sidewinder is visiting his daughter in the hosptial, and she requires a very expensive operation to stop the seizures she has been experiencing. He contacts Captain America for a meeting, during that meet up he asks Cap for the money. Cap refuses, not sure if he believes the villain. Sidewinder lets him know he will have to return to his evil ways to get the money.
Sidewinder also contacts Diamondback and asks for help. She refuses as she has gone straight, but gives him a way to contact her in case his efforts go awry. The Star-Spangled Avenger does his own investigating, and learns that Sidewinder is telling the truth. He talks to his ex-wife, but doesn't get anywhere with her.
Later, Sidewinder does contact Diamondback to assist him. She and Cap make their way to a crackhouse, and Sidewinder is just teleporting randomly around the place. The pair defeat the gangsters there, and Diamondback manages to get Sidewinder to stop. Captain America tells Sidewinder that he has friends who will pay for his daughter's procedure if he turns himself into the police. Sidewinder agrees.
Rachel later confesses to Cap that she believes that she killed Snapdragon. Cap tells her he will support her until SHIELD investigation is complete. Diamondback is overjoyed.
Man, I really dug this one-shot. We got some real good insight into Sidewinder. He is at heart a coward. Which is the whole reason he created the Serpent Society. He would plan their crimes, and they would carry them out, as he would deathly afraid of violence. He overcame it here temporarily to help his daughter. He also never developed his teleporting power to go beyond 10 feet as that tires him out an awful lot. Finally, he also programmed the chip that allows him to teleport him to make the random teleports when he is gravely injured. Good read.
As to the art. I would call it uneven at best. Still worth the time.
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