Captain America vol. 3 #50Captain America vol. 3 #50
Title: “Silent Night, Silent Morning”
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Penciller: Dan Jurgens
Inker: Bob Layton
Colors: Avalon Studios
Editor: Andrew Lis
PAGE ONE
We open on Lloyd Grunnell in his small, nondescript office. He’s in his mid thirties, short, balding, wears thick glasses and cheap suits. Our first panel is a close-up. His head is down, covered in shadow, a rather sad shot.
The camera begins to pull back. He’s at his desk. A box is on the desk and he’s putting items into it. The drawers to his desk are open and mostly empty. A nameplate on his desk shows his name. A newspaper on the desk with a headline that reads, "Lennco Announces Year End Layoffs". A date on the paper (Daily Bugle?) reads, "December 24".
He picks up a framed photo on his desk.
Shot of the photo. It’s his wife and their two young children, a boy and girl, about 3 and 5 in age.
He places it in his box with tenderness, right on top, while picking up his name plate with his free hand.
PAGE TWO
Lloyd exits his small, shabby office with his box of stuff, his name plate sticking up out of the top.
A plump older woman comes rushing up, wiping away tears.
She gives him a big hug, obviously the last time they’ll see each other.
Lloyd looks down the hallway where a number of employees are gathered around a Christmas tree drinking, partying and celebrating.
Close again on Lloyd, the partiers reflected in his glasses.
PAGE THREE
Cut to the exterior of the office building which is located in Manhattan. Big panel. It’s a gorgeous Christmas Eve late afternoon as darkness falls along with big, billowy snowflakes. Lloyd is carrying his box of possessions.
A sad, dejected Lloyd starts walking down the street while happy, festive people surge by, many carrying Christmas packages.
Lloyd stops in front of a jewelry store which has an incredible display of jewelry in the window.
from behind. Tricky shot. His sad face is reflected in the window as he gazes at an incredible necklace. The photo with his wife’s face is evident here. The reader will connect the dots.
Close on Lloyd as he turns to a sound off panel. There’s a hint of a tear running down his cheek.
PAGE FOUR
Pull back the camera to show a Salvation Army-type of worker ringing a ball while standing next to a collection pot as others drop money into it.
Lloyd takes out his wallet...
...opens it to reveal a single five dollar bill...
...and takes it out.
He drops the money into the collection pot as he strolls by.
Shot of Lloyd walking off into the night, terribly dejected, the weight of the world on his shoulders. This is as bad a day as you can imagine. And, not surprisingly, it’s going to get worse.
PAGE FIVE
Later. Totally dark now. Exterior shot of a small, simple but welcoming type of house in Jersey. Lloyd’s car is pulling into the driveway. Christmas decorations are on the door, in the yard and snow continues to fall.
Lloyd gets out of the car with his box of stuff.
He stands on the front step, looking in the window where his kids are playing on the living room floor.
He turns, leaning against the door. A morose, "Whatever am I going to do now?" type expression on his face.
Then he bends down, hiding the box behind a bush next to the steps. He doesn’t want anyone to know yet.
PAGE SIX
We swing into the interior as Lloyd walks through the door. We’re talking Norman Rockwell here as a dog, (a lab) instantly perks up from where he’s laying, which is right in front of a fire. The interior should look very inviting with a nice Christmas tree evident in the shot. It’s also important to note that there are no presents under the tree.
The two kids jump up as well and we should almost be able to hear them yelling, "Daddy’s home!"
The kids run up as Lloyd bends down to give them a big hug.
They pull him into the kitchen where their mother sits at the kitchen table pouring over bills. A calculator is there as well. She should look miserable.
PAGE SEVEN
Close on his wife Ellen. She’s about the same age, fairly plain, and holds up bills marked "overdue" in each hand. They’re in a hopeless financial situation, and she doesn’t know the worst of it yet.
Lloyd hustles off the kids to speak more to his wife. For the first time, we see a patriotic photo on the wall with Captain America plainly evident.
puts his hand on her shoulder as she lowers her head in her hands on the verge of tears.
View from behind as she points to the tree with nothing under it.
She turns, crying. It’s clear here they don’t have any presents or any real money to buy them with. Lloyd is smiling, patting her hand. He’ll come up with something.
PAGE EIGHT
Cut to a few minutes later. Lloyd is up in his bedroom poking around, reaching way under the bed.
He pulls out a shoe box, rather old and worn.
View from behind him as he digs in the shoe box. It’s filled with old baseball cards and birthday cards, various mementos from previous years.
As he sits cross legged on the floor he pulls out a folded twenty dollar bill, obviously disappointed that it’s the only money in there. In his other hand is a folded note.
Close on his hand, the note open. It says, "Lloyd, I’m sorry I had to raid your not-so-secret-stash of cash but it was the only way I could buy you your birthday present! I’ll pay it back--promise!!! Love, Ellen"
PAGE NINE
Cut to a short time later. Lloyd is walking down the sidewalk in front of a quaint Jersey main street. He’s headed for a toy store that’s right next to a bank. It’s still snowing.
Lloyd enters while the store owner points to a sign that says, "We close early Christmas Eve."
Follow Lloyd as he walks down the aisles. A few other shopper are present. The store is nice inside, and the roof is held by girders that are concrete on the bottom and steel the rest of the way up.
He stops in front of a counter that has radio controlled cars and planes.
Shot of Lloyd and one of the other customers as they turn to a sound off panel. Some of the items on the shelves are beginning to shake.
Close on Lloyd. Looking even more shocked and amazed now!
PAGES TEN AND ELEVEN
Double-page spread as in a dynamic shot, Crusher Creel, The Absorbing Man, and Captain America come flying through the wall amid a hail of debris. From the angle we can see that the toy store and bank share a common wall and it’s up to the reader to infer that Cap was in the bank foiling a robbery attempt. We’ll furnish more clues as the story progresses. Lloyd and some of the other customers are diving for cover.
PAGE TWELVE
Cap and the Absorbing Man roll along the floor as the customers react.
Then they both come to their feet as Absorbing Man whips his massive ball and chain toward Cap.
Cap leaps over the ball, dodging it in the nick of time.
Then, in a cool panel, Cap slings his shield toward Creel!
PAGE THIRTEEN
Horizontal panel across the top of the page. In the foreground is a close-up of Lloyd. He’s watching the action in an almost childlike trance. Behind him, others are fleeing the store.
Back to the action as Creel touches the concrete portion of the girder...
...which means he turns to concrete! Cap’s shield slams harmlessly off him as Creel laughs!
Upshot of Creel lifting his arm way back, spinning the ball in a large circle above him--
PAGE FOURTEEN
--until he slams it down on Cap’s shield with a tremendous show of power! The force is enough to knock Cap to one knee, but he still takes the blow!
But it gives Creel the opening he needs to hammer Cap with his free hand, driving him back a couple of feet.
Cap kicks both feet up as Creel charges, however, knocking him back a bit.
But this enrages
Creel even more, and he slams his fist down on the floor of the
store, sending shockwaves rippling along! The upheaval is strong
enough to throw Cap up off the floor and tip numerous shelves.
The place is really coming apart now.
PAGE FIFTEEN
Cut to Lloyd, the only one besides Cap and the Absorbing Man still left in the store. He looks as though he wants to help.
Back to Absorbing Man, whose ball finally glances off Cap’s shield striking Cap in the face!
Cap is on the ground dazed!
Absorbing Man lifts a fist over him, as though to kill him!
Shot of Cap, his head spinning, unable to get up!
Close on Lloyd. He’s gotta do something...but what?
PAGE SIXTEEN
Lloyd turns to see the remote control units and RC toys laying on the ground.
Lloyd picks up one of the remote control units, a smile crossing his face.
Creel spins his ball to blast Cap again...
...but a remote control plane comes flying into the panel, smacking Creel right in the face!
Small close of Lloyd smiling with the remote in his hands. He’s doing what he can to help out!
It gives Cap the chance to nail Creel right in the chops, causing him to stumble back against a girder that’s concrete at the bottom and steel on the top.
PAGE SEVENTEEN
Creel reaches back, touching the steel, so he changes to...duh!...steel!
Then he slams Cap in the shield so hard that it knocks him for quite a loop, right into a rack of rubber rain coats! Electric cables are hanging from the ceiling, sparkling with electricity. They’re wrapped in rubber.
Cap grabs one of the electrical cables, swinging it over in Creel’s direction.
Close on Creel reaching for the rubber raincoats as the sparkling cable comes closer! All he has to do is change to rubber and he’ll be fine!
PAGE EIGHTEEN
Shot of Lloyd, grabbing a bag of cotton...
...which he throws...
...until it comes between Creel’s hand and the raincoats. He can’t help but touch it...
...which causes him to change to cotton. He’s horrified, pleading with Cap is if to say, "No! Don’t burn me!"
Close on Cap who grins, holding the blazing electrical cable.
PAGE NINETEEN
Some time later. Exterior shot of the toy store and bank. Several police cars and a couple of SHIELD fliers are parked in front. Agents are leading Creel away while surrounded in some kind of force barrier generated by a piece of high tech SHIELD equipment.
Cap stops them for a moment, as though to ask, "Why?"
Creel hands Cap a picture of his wife, Mary. She’s healthy again after a long illness. Lloyd is entering the panel to see this as well. Creel is very dejected here.
While Cap holds the photo, Creel pulls his pockets inside out, revealing no cash whatsoever. The bank is right behind him in the shot, a Christmas tree evident, so it’s obvious that Creel just didn’t have any money to buy her a gift with.
Close on Creel (who’s always been very emotional) as we cheat a bit with a panel. He’s near tears and there’s a vignette behind him of Mary, in some rat hole apartment, coming down in the morning to a scrawny Christmas tree, with only one or two ornaments, and no presents underneath.
PAGE TWENTY
Close on a saddened Cap. An even sadder Lloyd behind him.
Close on Lloyd imagining the same scenario as Creel’s, only for his whole family.
Cap watches the SHIELD agents lead Creel off while Lloyd looks at something off panel.
Reverse angle to show a limo has pulled up where a very wealthy man gets out. He’s a banker and Cap and Lloyd just saved his bank millions!
He hands an appreciative Lloyd a check. Lloyd is taking off his glasses, a stunned look on his face.
And for the first time in the story, we see Lloyd’s eyes as he stares at the check, a huge, huge smile on his face. His prayers have been answered.
PAGE TWENTY-ONE
Lloyd turns to Cap, his hand on his shoulders, and excitedly asks a question while looking at his wristwatch. There may yet be time!
Lloyd and Cap charge off down the street.
Cut to the next morning. We open with an exterior shot of the Grunnell house. Snow blankets the yard and his car.
Inside. The kids are pulling a sleepy Lloyd and Ellen out bed. They’re excited beyond belief! After all, it’s Christmas morning.
Lloyd, Ellen and the kids charge down the hall toward the living room.
And skid to a halt! They’re shocked! Can’t believe their eyes!
PAGE TWENTY-TWO
There’s a huge pile of presents under the tree!
The kids are tearing open presents while Lloyd’s wife opens a box, pulling out the necklace featured on page 3, panel 5
She gives Lloyd a big kiss, Lloyd happy that miracle of miracles, everything worked out.
Cut to the interior of Creel’s apartment as his wife Mary, is standing in front of the tree, though there are now presents underneath it. She’s stunned.
She pulls the exact same necklace from the exact same kind of box as Lloyd’s wife. There’s a note on it that says, "Mary, I ran into a little trouble last night but I’ll be home soon! Love, Crusher!"
Then we cut to an exterior shot, where we see Cap sitting on the ledge of the building right next to the window, smiling that everything worked out
Cap's Shield rating: 4 out of 10
Jurgens’ art is fine and he does a decent enough job to get most of what he intended across, but the story itself I have problems with. It’s a Christmas story that’s fine, but there wasn’t much concern devoted to the villains of the issue. Jurgens seems to forget that Absorbing Man can absorb energy. Why would he be afraid of it? He would just absorb it and then kill Captain America. The other sore spot for me is the way that Titania is just instantly better in this issue. Maybe if it wasn’t one of these lame Nuff Said books it might have been explained somewhat, but I don’t think you can just gloss over Titania getting cured of cancer.
CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 3 #50 CONTINUES
RETURN TO WHEN CAPTAIN AMERICA THROWS HIS MIGHTY SHIELD