Captain America #359
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeCaptain America #359 holds a firm place in Marvel's Copper Age because it contains the first — if fleeting — cameo appearance of Crossbones (Brock Rumlow), a villain who would go on to become one of Steve Rogers' most brutal and persistent physical adversaries, eventually playing a direct role in the assassination of Captain America during the post-Civil War era. Writer Mark Gruenwald seeded the character quietly into the third chapter of the globe-trotting 'Bloodstone Hunt' arc, letting Crossbones lurk in shadow before fully emerging in the very next issue — a storytelling technique that gave the villain immediate menace before readers even knew his name. The issue also represents a creative high point in Gruenwald's decade-long stewardship of the title: a pulpy, Indiana Jones-inflected adventure that balanced big ensemble action with careful long-range character planting. Crossbones' subsequent live-action appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ensured that this single-panel cameo retroactively became one of the most discussed debut moments in the run.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was produced during Mark Gruenwald's expansive, uninterrupted run on Captain America, which stretched from issue #307 (1985) through #443 (1995). 'The Bloodstone Hunt' arc, of which #359 is the third chapter, was co-plotted by Gruenwald and penciler Kieron Dwyer — a young artist then early in his professional career — with Dwyer handling the main story's pencils and Danny Bulanadi on inks, while a backup U.S. Agent/Scourge story was drawn by Mark Bright and Don Hudson, all under editor Ralph Macchio with Tom DeFalco serving as editor-in-chief. The series had recently gone biweekly for the Bloodstone Hunt run, which accounts for the book's October 1989 cover date arriving close on the heels of September installments; the cover was penciled by Dwyer and inked by Al Milgrom.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First cameo appearance of Crossbones (Brock Rumlow), appearing in shadow; the character was created by writer Mark Gruenwald and artist Kieron Dwyer.
- Crossbones received his first full appearance in the very next issue, Captain America #360, and was identified by name in Captain America #362 (both also October/November 1989).
- The issue is the third chapter of the six-part 'Bloodstone Hunt' storyline, in which Captain America and Diamondback race Baron Zemo, Batroc, Zaran, and Machete to recover fragments of the mystical Bloodstone across global locations including the Amazon jungle.
- The issue contains two concurrent stories: the main 'Wheel of Death' chapter featuring Captain America and Diamondback versus Zemo's crew (including a lost Incan tribe), and a backup 'Night of the Scourge, Part 2: Death Calling' featuring U.S. Agent versus Scourge and the Power Broker.
- Kieron Dwyer is credited as both co-plotter and penciler of the main story; Mark Gruenwald provided the script. Mark Bright penciled the backup story.
- The issue exists in two formats: a direct edition (with Kieron Dwyer/Al Milgrom cover) and a newsstand variant.
- The issue has been reprinted in at least three collected editions: Captain America: Scourge of the Underworld (Marvel, 2011), Captain America: The 75th Anniversary Vibranium Collection (Marvel, 2016), and Captain America Epic Collection #15 — The Bloodstone Hunt (Marvel, 2018).
- Crossbones was subsequently portrayed by Frank Grillo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and Avengers: Endgame (2019), elevating the significance of this debut issue to a broader pop-culture audience.
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