Captain America (vol. 1) #174 (June 1974):
“It’s Always Darkest...!”
by Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema, Vince Colletta

Captain America (vol. 1) #174

Title: “It’s Always Darkest...!”

Medium: comic

Cover date: June 1974

Publisher:
Written by: Steve Englehart
Art by: Sal Buscema, Vince Colletta

35 characters in this story:

Character (Click links for info about character and his/her religious practice, affiliation, etc.)	Religious Affiliation	Team(s) [Notes]	Pub.	# app.
Captain America (Steve Rogers) (lead character)	Protestant	Redeemers; Secret Defenders...  The Avengers; The Invaders; The Ultimates; Weapon Plus		5,992
Falcon (Sam Wilson)	Baptist	black; SHIELD Super-Agents...  The Avengers		531
Cyclops (Scott Summers)	Protestant; mutant supremacist	Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy; Summers Rebellion...  The Twelve; X-Factor; X-Men		8,371
Marvel Girl (Jean Grey)	Episcopalian	Metro College; The Twelve...  X-Factor; X-Men		1,905
Professor X (Charles Xavier)	religious	Brotherhood of Mutants; Genoshan Excalibur...  Illuminati; The Mutant Underground (founder); The Twelve; X-Men (founder)		4,999
Number 68 (Gabriel Jones) (details)  Disguised as Secret Empire Agent #68, although this will not be revealed until the next issue.	Christian (denomination unknown)	black; Godzilla Squad...  S.H.I.E.L.D.; The Howling Commandos		125
Secret Empire		[1st app: Tales to Astonish (vol. 1) #81 (July 1966)]		120
Moonstone (Lloyd Bloch)	Committee To Regain America's Principles (temporary)	Secret Empire		10
Number One (Richard Nixon)	Quaker	Secret Empire (leader)		4
Number Nine (Linda Donaldson)		Secret Empire		7
Number 13		Secret Empire		3
Number 16 (Mr. Black)		Secret Empire		2
Committee To Regain America's Principles	Committee To Regain America's Principles	Secret Empire [launched smear campaign against Captain America]		5
Angel (Warren Worthington III) (5-panel cameo, pg. 12-15)	Episcopalian	Academy of Tomorrow; Horsemen of Apocalypse...  Renegades; Secret Defenders; St. Joe's Preparatory School; The Champions; The Defenders; X-Club; X-Factor; X-Force; X-Men; X-Saviours		1,741
The Beast (Hank McCoy) (4-panel cameo, pg. 12-15)	Episcopalian; agnostic	Academy of Tomorrow; Brotherhood of Mutants...  The Avengers; The Defenders; X-Club; X-Factor; X-Men		5,233
Quentin Harderman (3-panel cameo, pg. 2, 11)	Committee To Regain America's Principles (leader)	Secret Empire (ally)		6
Frank (3-panel cameo, pg. 10-11)		[morning talk show host]		1
Iceman (Bobby Drake) (2-panel cameo, pg. 12, 14)	Jewish Catholic	Secret Defenders; Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends...  The Champions; The Defenders; The Twelve; X-Factor; X-Men		1,752
Lorna Dane (2-panel cameo, pg. 12-14)	Jewish Catholic	Academy of Tomorrow; Horsemen of Apocalypse...  Starjammers; The Acolytes; The Twelve; X-Factor; X-Men [studied geophysics in college]		464
Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde) (2-panel cameo, pg. 12-14)	mutant supremacist	Brotherhood of Mutants; Factor Three...  Secret Empire		140
Unus the Untouchable (Angelo Unuscione) (2-panel cameo, pg. 12-14)	mutant supremacist	Brotherhood of Mutants; Factor Three		69
Miss Kearny (2-panel cameo, pg. 10-11)	prob. indeterminate	[flirted with Moonstone (Lloyd Bloch) on talk show]		1
Banshee (Sean Cassidy) (1-panel cameo, pg. 2, panel 6)  flashback	Catholic	Factor Three; Generation X (teacher)...  X-Corps (leader); X-Men		1,340
Magneto (Erik Magnus Lehnsherr) (1-panel cameo, pg. 14, panel 4)  flashback	Jewish; Gypsy/Roma	Brotherhood of Mutants; Genoshan Excalibur...  The Acolytes; The Twelve; X-Men		916
Havok (Alex Summers) (1-panel cameo, pg. 12)	Catholic (lapsed)	Academy of Tomorrow; Brotherhood of Mutants...  Dark Descendants; Magistrates; Old Landon College; Starjammers; X-Factor; X-Men [Cyclops' brother]		592
Blob (Fred J. Dukes) (1-panel cameo, pg. 13)	mutant supremacist	Brotherhood of Mutants; Factor Three...  Freedom Force; X-Cell; X-Corps		403
Mesmero (Vincent) (1-panel cameo, pg. 12)	mutant supremacist	The Demi-Men; Weapon X [stage hypnotist]		54
Number Eight (1-panel cameo, pg. 7, panel 2)		Secret Empire		4
Brand Corporation (1-panel cameo, pg. 3, panel 2)		[criminally-run subsidiary of Roxxon]		37
Tumbler (John Robert Keane) (corpse, pg. 2, panel 3)  flashback	Committee To Regain America's Principles (temporary)	Secret Empire		5
Peggy Carter (behind the scenes)  Peggy plays a prominent role behind the scenes, but her involvement will not be revealed until the next issue.		S.H.I.E.L.D.; The Avengers (staff) [Captain America's WWII-era girlfriend; Agent 13's sister]		72
S.H.I.E.L.D. (mentioned, pg. 8, panel 3)  Captain America: "A robot! On the outside, we run into SHIELD --And in here, a giant murder machine! Somebody pinch me and tell me I'm dreaming!"		[government agency; intelligence agency...]		1,188
Redwing (mentioned, pg. 10, panel 6)  Falcon: "You mean-- I'm a mutant?" Charles Xavier: "Not necessarily... though I've heard you have an uncommon rapport with your hawk!"	N.A.	falcon; Pet Avengers [falcon; partner of Falcon (Sam Wilson)]		128
Richard Nixon (mentioned, pg. 4, 11)  (pg. 4) Number One: "America is reeling from continuous bodyblows! First the toppling of its greatest symbol-- next, the fortuitous Watergate scandal! Ah, if only we'd known THAT was coming! How much simpler it has made our work" (pg. 11) Moonstone: "I just do my job... with both Watergate and Captain America pulling this nation apart..."	Quaker	X Presidents (ally)		504
Viper (Jordan Dixon) (mentioned, pg. 11, panel 4)  Quentin Harderman (thinking): "In but a few shot days, my advertising genius has done precisely what I contracted with the Secret Empire to do: --make people trust this stranger in their midst [Moonstone]! My old partner, the Viper merely craved revenge on Captain America... But soon, the Empire and I shall go far beyond that!"	activist; Committee To Regain America's Principles (temporary)	Crime Wave; Secret Empire...  Serpent Squad		10

Webpage for Captain America #174 (June 1974) created 2 August 2012. Last modified 26 December 2013.

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