SPOILERS: Steve Rogers Returns as Captain America Sidekicks Fight New Hydra Threat

CBR

By Brendan McGuirk

Published May 8, 2016

The original Captain America is back just in time, as old foes reveal themselves and old friends join the fun.

SPOILER WARNING: This article discusses plot developments and details of Marvel's "Captain America: Steve Rogers" Free Comic Book Day 2016 issue.

In Marvel's "Steve Rogers: Captain America" Free Comic Book Day preview issue, by Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz, Hydra is back in full force, but so is the original Captain America, and he has an entire team of sidekicks past and present in tow, ready to take on the new threat, and track down its roots.

Just in time for the character's new big-screen adventure in "Captain America: Civil War" -- and his 75th anniversary -- Steve Rogers is back in the star-spangled uniform, albeit a sleek new one designed by Daniel AcuÃ±a. And it's just in time, as a dark, familiar force has reignited Hyrda's age-old mission of global disorder. In an adventure that could have been ripped from the headlines, a series of coordinated Hydra attacks sends a newly restored Steve back into the field, and although he and his team are able to save lives, their work is undermined by ineffectual politicians who are only concerned with what the heroes weren't able to prevent.

There's been considerable discussion among fans about what might happen to former Falcon Sam Wilson, who has carried the mantle of Captain America, upon the return of the original. Here, Wilson gets the opportunity to voice his thoughts on the matter, making clear he prioritizes missions over honorifics. But Falcon-Cap is not the only former sidekick along for this latest ride, as he's joined not only by new Falcon Joaquin Torres and S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison Sharon Carter, but also one-time Bucky replacement and longtime Marvel hero fan-man Rick Jones, who's enlisted in the ensemble as penance for his career as a petty, open-data cybercriminal.

The full roster of patriotic counterterrorists is necessary, not only for the mission of the day, but to take on Steve Rogers' latest quest: an all-out, formally declared war on Hydra, complete with government backing. And although the hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, see-no-evil politicians won't make the allies that Wilson, Carter, and Jones do, they will have a vital role to play in the decimation of the latest iteration of Hydra, which is being masterminded by old foes the Red Skull, his daughter Sin and crony Crossbones.

The Free Comic Book Day issue of "Steve Rogers: Captain America" is available now. The first issue of the new series from Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz is due in stores later this month.