Captain America #359
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeCaptain America #359 holds a permanent place in Marvel history as the first cameo appearance of Crossbones (Brock Rumlow), the skull-masked mercenary who would go on to become one of Steve Rogers's most relentless physical adversaries and play a direct role in his assassination during Ed Brubaker's celebrated run decades later. The issue arrived during one of writer Mark Gruenwald's most energetic stretches on the title — the globe-trotting 'Bloodstone Hunt' arc — doubling as a chapter of that adventure while simultaneously running a backup story advancing the 'Night of the Scourge' subplot starring John Walker as U.S. Agent. That dual-story structure made #359 a rare single issue carrying two distinct narrative threads of lasting consequence, seeding villains and plot lines that would pay off across the rest of the Gruenwald era and well into the 21st century. The character's later live-action adaptation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe further cemented this issue's place as a touchstone for both comics historians and fans of the films.
In "The Bloodstone Hunt Part 3: Wheel of Death," Captain America races against time to reach a Bloodstone fragment in South America, facing a deadly obstacle course designed to test his limits. Meanwhile, USAgent closes in on the Scourge, uncovering the true danger behind the masked assassin’s trail. Written by Mark Gruenwald and illustrated by Mark Bright, with inks by Don Hudson, colors by Bob Sharen, and letters by Jack Morelli, the issue’s cover by Kieron Dwyer and Al Milgrom captures the tension of a high-stakes chase across a world where survival is never guaranteed.
In "The Bloodstone Hunt Part 3: Wheel of Death," Captain America and the Serpent track Baron Zemo and the Batroc Brigade across the jungles of Central America, racing to stop the German villain from assembling the scattered fragments of Ulysses Bloodstone’s legendary Bloodstone—each shard said to grant eternal life to its possessor.
In "Night of the Scourge Part 2: Death Calling," the Power Merchant, hunted by the deadly Scourge, calls on his government contacts for protection—only to be handed a new bodyguard in the form of the American Agent. As the attack unfolds, the Merchant unleashes his power to amplify his strength, but the cost leaves him grotesquely scarred. In the aftermath, the Scourge meets his end at the hands of one of his own.
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The issue was written by Mark Gruenwald with plotting contributions from penciler Kieron Dwyer, inked by Danny Bulanadi, colored by Bob Sharen, and lettered by Jack Morelli, under editor Ralph Macchio and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. It was published in October 1989 as part of a deliberately accelerated biweekly shipping schedule Marvel adopted for the Captain America title that summer, which is why the Bloodstone Hunt chapters ran shorter than usual — the extra page count was allocated to the concurrent U.S. Agent backup stories. The issue exists in both a Direct Edition and a Newsstand variant, with the cover drawn and inked by Kieron Dwyer and Al Milgrom.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First cameo appearance of Crossbones (Brock Rumlow), depicted as a shadowy single-panel figure — his full appearance follows in #360 and his name is revealed in #362.
- Written by Mark Gruenwald (script) and Kieron Dwyer (co-plot); penciled by Kieron Dwyer; inked by Danny Bulanadi; cover by Kieron Dwyer and Al Milgrom.
- Part 3 of the six-part 'Bloodstone Hunt' arc (Captain America #357–362), in which Cap and Diamondback race Baron Zemo, Batroc, Zaran, and Machete to collect five fragments of the mystical Bloodstone across exotic global locales.
- Contains a backup story ('Death Calling,' Part 2 of 'Night of the Scourge'), written by Gruenwald with art by Mark Bright and Don Hudson, in which U.S. Agent (John Walker) pursues Scourge to the mansion of Power Broker (Curtiss Jackson), with Vagabond (Priscilla Lyons) also appearing.
- The main story's 'Wheel of Death' chapter places Cap, Diamondback, Baron Zemo, Batroc, Zaran, and Machete — heroes and villains alike — as prisoners of a lost Incan tribe in the Amazon jungle.
- Published in both a Direct Edition and a Newsstand variant; the series was shipping biweekly at the time, making this part of an unusually dense publication run.
- Reprinted in Captain America: Scourge of the Underworld (2011), Captain America: The 75th Anniversary Vibranium Collection (2016), and Captain America Epic Collection #15: The Bloodstone Hunt (2018).
- Crossbones, debuted here, was later portrayed by Frank Grillo in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
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Reprints
Reprinted in RoboCop #9 (1991), Capitão América #167 (1993), Captain America: The Bloodstone Hunt #[nn] (1993), Captain America: The Bloodstone Hunt #[nn] (2010), Captain America: Scourge of the Underworld #[nn] (2011), Captain America: The 75th Anniversary Vibranium Collection #[nn] (2016), Captain America Epic Collection #15 (2018), U.S.Agent: The Good Fight #[nn] (2020), Captain America by Mark Gruenwald Omnibus #2 (2025)
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