The Slayer

Politics took center stage when Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Nomad (Jack Monroe) faced the Slayer in Captain America #294.

Wearing Devil-Slayer's costume (stolen from Project: PEGASUS *), the Slayer was remarkably adept at using the mysterious Shadow Cloak to teleport and draw arsenal from other dimensions.

Yet this wasn't the real Devil-Slayer (Eric Payne). Defenders #110 had closed with an epilogue indicating that Devil-Slayer had turned himself into the authorities for crimes he'd previously committed.

Instead, it was David Cox, a conscientious objector who was brainwashed by super-villains into attacking the heroes. Even under this mental manipulation, the Slayer's deep-rooted principles as David Cox did not allow him to kill Nomad when given the chance.

With reflection, Captain America noted that becoming a pacifist can require more courage than choosing to fight. This was a perspective that Nomad hadn't considered.

* A government energy research center. (That's how the footnote within the issue identified the project, rather than spelling out Potential Energy Group/Alternate Sources/United States.)

Captain America. Vol. 1. No. 294. June 1984. "The Measure of a Man!" J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Paul Neary (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Diana Albers (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist), Mark Grunewald (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).