Captain America: HYDRA Agent?! (#201)

I'm quite late in talking about this since the news has been well known for over a week now, but a massive (and somewhat unpopular) plot twist has been revealed in recent Marvel comics. Last Wednesday, on May 25th, issue 1 of a new comic book series called Captain America: Steve Rogers was released. If you haven't read it, plan to read it and somehow have managed to avoid the incredibly large amount of posts regarding the reveal at the end of the issue, don't read beyond this point because spoilers.

At the end of the issue, Captain America gets into a plane where Erik Selvig had been kidnapped and tied up, I believe, by Baron Zemo. Cap does something that he has never said before; he utters words that nobody ever expected him to say. 'Hail Hydra.' That's right, Captain America himself, the symbol of the USA, freedom and everything that the United States stands for, is saluting a group that he has fought against for decades and decades. And that's the main thing that everybody has been talking about recently.

I actually went to buy some comic books on Saturday 28th May, and I decided to buy the issue because I really wanted to read it myself. I was lucky; I got the last copy in stock! There was the Hydra part of course which was the main reason I got the issue but apart from that I actually just really loved the story itself and I'm going to buy future issues for sure. I don't think issue 2 is out until June 29th though.

I have a few ideas on what will become of this massive twist. First of all, as a big Marvel fan, and I think most of you agree with me, I am almost certain that there is no chance of Cap actually being a HYDRA agent. I believe that this is, of course, mainly something to confuse people or get people to keep buying future issues to find out the truth (not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm really excited about this series now and I can't wait to find out what's going on). But I think that either Steve is being brainwashed, or that this Steve is somehow a fake. Maybe an android or even a clone. However, I think that my most realistic and probable idea is this: maybe HYDRA has changed and now represents a good cause that Captain America can agree with. In fact, I'm almost certain that somebody in the issue mentions something about there being a new HYDRA lately. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. could be seen as unreliable after recent times when they have been betrayed from within, like in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (even though that's part of the movies and not the comics). This new HYDRA's non-evil motives could be kept secret to protect their operations, and Cap could be one of only a few who know this. My final theory is that Cap could just be pretending to be a HYDRA agent to somebody who we haven't seen yet. Who knows, maybe somebody who believes that he is HYDRA is communicating with him on the plane he's inside and the truth could be revealed next issue.

Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the beloved American hero we've known for 75 years has actually always been fighting on the side of those whom he pretends to stand against. Either way, I'm sure the truth will be told in future issues, which I most definitely plan to pick up. What do you think of this HYDRA development? Real or fake?

Thomas