Summary
- Hydra's origin story is redefined in Captain America #5, where author J. Michael Straczynski emphasizes its meaning a metaphor for fascism's diabolical nature, perfectly encapsulating the organization's sinister efforts in the 20th century, following World War II.
- Captain America #5 places Steve Rogers at the moment Hydra's inception, reinforcing his role as their ultimate enemy by making him a threat to them even before he was Captain America.
- J. Michael Straczynski's current run on Captain America emphasizes Steve as an unshakable force for good, and issue #5 clearly articulates Hydra's evil, in diametrical contrast to Steve.
Legendary comic book writer J. Michael Stracynzski's current Captain America run has taken some exciting swings, and made some significant changes to Steve Rogers backstory – as well as offering a new canon origin for the name of one of Marvel Comics' deadliest organizations: Hydra. While the precise circumstance's of the name's introduction may be at odds with prior stories, the rationale behind the name is perfectly encapsulated.
Captain America #5 – written by J. Michael Straczynski, with art by Lan Medina, color by Espen Grundetjern, and lettering by Joe Caramagna – continues to redefine Steve Rogers as a Change Agent, a cosmic hero even before he was endowed with powers curtesy of the Super-Soldier serum.
At a pivotal moment in the issue, Baron Zemo uses the metaphor of a Hydra to describe his hope for Nazi proliferation in America – an image that sticks in Wolfgang Von Strucker's mind, and subsequently changes the course of Marvel lore forever.
"I Wanted to Present Some of the Fascists as Ordinary People": Alan Moore's V For Vendetta Perfectly Depicts The Banality Of Evil
In his seminal work V for Vendetta, author Alan Moore sought to portray the fascist antagonists as complex, multi-dimensional, if banal, characters.
While this moment from Captain America #5 may clash with previous depictions of Hydra's genesis, it accurately defines what makes fascism such a diabolical strain of ideology, unequivocally explaining the meaning that has always been inherent in the organization's name.
Steve Rogers Was Present At The Birth Of Hydra
Through a flashback story centered around the real-life pro-Nazi rally held by the German-American Bund at Madison Square Garden in 1939, Straczynski and the Captain America's creative team have positioned Steve as having been an essential American hero even before he donned his costume and fought in the war. In the process, they have also written a new backstory for Hydra, one that perfectly encapsulates the organization as the Marvel Universe's most nefarious fascist faction, as its founders outline the plot they will enact throughout the rest of the 20th century, following Nazi 's defeat in World War II.
In Captain America #5, long-time Marvel villains Baron Von Strucker, described in the flashback as "two of the most infamous of Hitler's Third Reich," plot a false flag attack on the Bund rally at MSG, hoping it will bring the United States into the nascent European war on 's side, or at least cause them to retain their neutrality. Strucker expresses momentary distress at the plan, calling it "regrettable" that so many Nazi ers will die unwittingly for their plan. As Baron Zemo replies:
Ah, but think of the hundreds of thousands who will our cause in their fury over an attack on their own soil. For every one of our people who dies, more will spring up to replace them. Like the Hydra of old.
"I like the image," Strucker replies, apparently satisfied with this reasoning.
Above all other Marvel antagonists, Steve Rogers has absolutely no patience for Hydra – nor should he. Making him their most vital enemy rom the very moment of their inception, even before he was Captain America, casts Steve Rogers as even more of the prodigal anti-fascist that ever before...
Captain America's New Hydra Origin Story Captures Fascism's Sinister Design
"Yes...I think I can do something with that..." Strucker continues, the gears in his head apparently already turning, as Hydra is officially born. Soon after, he nearly kills Steve Rogers, though Steve manages to escape, and subsequently foils Zemo and Strucker's destruction of Madison Square Garden. While this moment from Captain America #5 may clash with previous depictions of Hydra's genesis, it accurately defines what makes fascism such a diabolical strain of ideology, unequivocally explaining the meaning that has always been inherent in the organization's name.
Above all other Marvel antagonists, Steve Rogers has absolutely no patience for Hydra – nor should he. Making him their most vital enemy rom the very moment of their inception, even before he was Captain America, casts Steve Rogers as even more of the prodigal anti-fascist that ever before, a vital role for him to play as the most patriotic Marvel superhero, by design. J. Michael Straczynski's current Captain America run has emphasized the character as a perennial, unshakable force for good, and by reminding readers of Hydra's unmitigated evil, the lines between the have been articulated as clearly as ever.
Captain America #5 is available now from Marvel Comics!
