While Marvel's epic summer event Secret Empire won't officially begin for a few more weeks, Marvel delivered several very eventful prologue chapters today. Captain America: Steve Rogers #16, Thunderbolts #12, U.S.Avengers #6 and Secret Empire #0 all directly set the stage for the conflict to come, as Steve Rogers ushers in a new age for Hydra and some pretty shocking revelations are made about the history of the Marvel Universe.
Scroll down to find out what was revealed today and how these comics lay the groundwork for Secret Empire #1, but beware of spoilers for Secret Empire #0 and Captain America: Steve Rogers #16!
Secret Empire #0 opened with a pretty surprising revelation about the history of the Marvel Universe. If this storyline is to be believed, the Axis Powers (with ample assistance from Hydra) actually won World War II. The Allies were forced to resort to desperate measures by using a Cosmic Cube to rewrite reality and make themselves the victors instead.
This twist is also interesting in what it says about Captain America's true connection to Hydra. Until now, it's never been fully clear whether Cap has always been a Hydra agent or if Kobik (the sentient Cosmic Cube taking the form of a young girl) simply rewrote his memories to make him think that was the case. Now it appears that the former is true. Steve Rogers truly was recruited by Hydra as a child, and it's only because of the Allies using the Cosmic Cube that he changed into the blemish-free Captain America readers have known for most of his existence. Kobik simply restored him to the way he used to be when she healed him in the Pleasant Hill storyline last year.
Granted, there's plenty of room for interpretation here. Various characters in today's Secret Empire books even point out how reality is defined by one's personal perception. Perhaps the Axis Powers winning World War II is just another layer of Kobik's massive reality rewrite. But all of this does cast the history of the Marvel U. in a very different light.
While Baron Zemo and Steve Rogers are now BFFs in this revamped Marvel reality, Zemo still hates Bucky Barnes as much as ever. Even in the "true" account of World War II, Bucky is still responsible for the death of Zemo's father. The fact that Bucky has become the new leader of the Thunderbolts is just one more point of contention between the two.
Zemo finally settled the score today, however. He strapped Bucky to a missile identical to the one that that ended his career back in World War II. Bucky seemingly died when the missile exploded over the ocean. And to add insult to injury, Bucky's last thoughts involved the realization that his closest friend and partner has been a Hydra mole all along.
We have our doubts as to whether Bucky actually died. This is superhero comics, after all. But it does appear that he's been taken off the board just in time for Hydra's big power play.
One of the big questions surrounding Secret Empire concerns the actual conflict of the event. What happens after Cap and Hydra rise up and take over the world? What is Steve Rogers' next move? Based on today's issues, it seems that his immediate goal will be to fully restore the Marvel Universe to the way it existed before the Allies rewrote the outcome of World War II.
The problem is that he needs Kobik's power to do this, and she's been shattered into pieces and scattered across the globe. Until she can be reassembled, Hydra's conquest of Earth is incomplete. We assume that means the main Secret Empire mini-series will revolve heavily around a race against time as both Hydra and the Avengers try to track down the missing pieces.
Hydra nearly reassembled the Cube in Captain America: Steve Rogers, but Dr. Erik Selvig chose to sacrifice himself rather than continue helping Hydra exploit an innocent girl.
One of the major plot threads in Captain America: Steve Rogers lately has involved the imminent threat of a Chitauri invasion. In response, S.H.I.E.L.D. created a massive planetary barrier that can repel any invasion force. Unfortunately, the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. also happens to be the Marvel U.'s biggest traitor.
Cap played the invasion to his advantage in this issue, ordering one of his Hydra agents to sabotage the shield and dispatching some of the most powerful members of the Avengers, Ultimates and Guardians of the Galaxy to hold back the Chitauri until the shield be be restored. When the shield did return, these heroes found themselves locked out of Earth just as Hydra emerged from the shadows again. Suddenly, Earth has a shortage of heroes exactly when it needs them the most.
By he end of Secret Empire #0, Hydra's ambitious plan is fully underway. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been taken over by Hydra, with Doctor Faustus' mind control ensuring that every agent but Sharon Carter is 100% loyal and compliant. Meanwhile, New York City has been swallowed by the Dark Dimension, further eliminating any superhero resistance. And the Hydra-controlled Helicarriers are now floating above the White House, suggesting that the US government is about to be toppled.
While not everyone in the Marvel Universe is aware yet that Captain America is a Hydra mole, it's safe to say the secret will be out soon enough.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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