Secret Empire is turning out to be one of Marvel’s most controversial storylines in years. That’s to be expected when the core premise of a comic involves tarnishing the once sterling reputation of a 77-year-old icon. There are many fans who argue Secret Empire is a mistake - that Marvel is doing lasting damage to Steve Rogers for the sake of a short-term sales boost and a few newsworthy headlines. But that’s selling Secret Empire short. Controversial or not, this is a story that Captain America needs.
You can’t blame readers for being upset with this new turn of events. Steve Rogers is rather unique among Marvel’s heroes in the sense that he is (or was) such an unimpeachable figure. He’s one of the few heroes whose commitment never wavers. He’s not really prone to self-doubt or moments of personal weakness. He’s just a guy from Brooklyn utterly devoted to doing the right thing and protecting the innocent from bullies. Suggesting that Steve Rogers is actually a double-agent for one of the most nefarious organizations in the Marvel Universe seems like an extraordinary betrayal of one of the most fundamentally decent characters in pop culture.
A lot of the outrage also stems from the times we’re living in. The world is a pretty scary and chaotic place right now, to put it mildly. It’s times like these that people cling to stories of hope and bravery all the more. People want to be able to look to Captain America as a symbol of hope and a reminder of what’s good and wholesome about the United States. Now it seems even our most iconic symbols are betraying us.
In a time of rising xenophobia, nationalism, racism and antisemitism, many Cap fans just can’t abide the thought of Steve Rogers becoming “Captain Nazi.” The fact that Hydra’s ties to the Nazis are far less clear-cut in the comics than they are in the movies and cartoons gives these wounded fans little comfort. And Marvel didn’t exactly help their case with the recent, ill-advised Hydra dress-up promotion. For too many fans, that was basically like rubbing salt in an open wound.
No, Marvel’s promotion of Secret Empire hasn’t always been ideal. And it seems like they’ve failed to take into account how many Cap fans see a direct correlation between Hydra and the Nazis. But questionable marketing choices notwithstanding, Secret Empire is a very compelling, very necessary shift for the character.
Images like this don't necessarily help the "Hydra =/= Nazis" argument. Art by Elizabeth Torque. (Marvel Comics)
Let’s face it - Steve Rogers needed something to truly re-energize him as a character. Prior to Secret Empire, the last time I felt truly enthralled by Marvel’s Captain America comics was during the early years of Ed Brubaker’s run, and even that had more to do with the return of Bucky Barnes and the passing of the mantle than it did Brubaker’s handling of Steve himself. Frankly, I was a big proponent of keeping Steve dead and allowing Bucky to remain the new Captain America permanently. Bucky was a relatively blank canvas, whereas we’ve pretty much seen it all where Steve is concerned. And that’s probably why even Brubaker’s run never felt quite the same after Steve returned and the two Caps tried to co-exist.
The “man out of time” angle that defines Steve Rogers post-World War II only holds weight for so long. How long ago in Marvel time was he thawed out of the ice? 10 years? 15 years? Sooner or later, Steve stops being a man out of time and simply becomes a man of the 21st Century. What do you do to reinvigorate the character at that point? Various creators have tried one approach or another, but nothing has quite connected.
Secret Empire feels like that catalyst Steve Rogers has needed for years. The revelation that Steve is a Hydra mole is easily the most clever and significant wrinkle to the character since Stan lee and Jack Kirby first dusted off the characters back in 1964’s The Avengers #4. It calls into question practically everything readers thought they knew about the character. Half the fun in reading Captain America: Steve Rogers is seeing the new wrinkles Spencer adds to that initial reveal in each new issue. That culminated in Secret Empire #0 last week, with the revelation that the Allies originally lost World War II and were forced to use a Cosmic Cube to rewrite reality, changing both the course of the war and Steve Rogers' memories. It's not that Kobik changed Steve Rogers' past and morphed him into a Hydra agent, it's that she made him remember he was a Hydra agent all along.
Marvel has always prided itself on telling stories that reflect the real world. If the Marvel U. isn’t an exact mirror of our own, it’s generally only a couple steps removed. Secret Empire speaks to the state of the world in a very direct way - surely more directly than anyone at Marvel could have predicted when the story was first being hashed out. This is a story about a popular, seemingly trustworthy public figure being outed as a closet fascist with deep, sinister ties to enemies of the state. Not since the original Civil War has a Marvel event served as such an clear, fitting political commentary.
I get that drawing comparisons between Cap's downfall and contemporary politics isn’t necessarily going to win over any Secret Empire naysayers. But there really is something to the idea that Marvel’s most shining hero has now become its greatest traitor. And it’s important to remember that nowhere in his work has Nick Spencer suggested it’s a good thing that Steve Rogers is a Hydra agent. This twist is treated like what it is - a grave tragedy with massive consequences for the Marvel Universe. We’re supposed to be upset at the implication that Steve isn’t the man we always thought we was. We’re supposed to respond to Hydra Cap with anger, just as we should be angry about so much going on in the real world right now.
Marvel’s heroes are already terribly divided, and the discovery that even Captain America isn’t the shining beacon of light they believed him to be could be the final blow that crushes all hope in the Marvel U. Or it could be the tragedy that finally unifies and rallies the Avengers once more.
What excites me most about Secret Empire is the prospect of what comes next for Steve Rogers. One way or another, I don’t expect him to remain a Hydra agent forever, especially with what we know is coming in the Marvel Legacy relaunch. But still, this story raises many crucial questions. How does the Sentinel of Liberty recover from this? How can Steve Rogers hope to reconcile with the Avengers after dealing them such a profound blow? Can Cap ever win back the public trust and become the inspirational figure he once was?
All of these questions could fuel a dramatically different status quo for the character in the aftermath of Secret Empire. After all the attempts at reinvigorating Steve Rogers’ familiar struggle, Secret Empire may just turn out to be the answer Marvel was seeking.
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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