Brace for impact. Secret Empire #0 arrives seeing the rise of Hydra led by – Steve Rogers!
Events have impact. What will Hydra’s victory mean for Marvel heroes and fans – even if the good guys win against a hero gone evil?
Marvel’s big 2017 event is the culmination of Nick Spencer’s Captains America epic that began with Avengers Standoff. The Star-Spangled Avenger was transformed into a senior citizen without powers when the Super Soldier Serum was pumped out of him. Rogers asked Sam Wilson/Falcon to step as the new Cap.
In the Avengers Standoff finale Steve Rogers was restored to full power by Spencer but the writer quickly delivered shock and awe in Captain America: Steve Rogers #1. Steve was and had always been a sleeper Hydra operative?!
Kobik, a Cosmic Cube manipulated by Red Skull and in the form of little girl, not only made Rogers younger and powerful again but rewrote his past – making him a Hydra agent.
Rogers strikes in Secret Empire seizing control and revealing his shocking secret from his friends and allies.
What does Spencer have planned next?
When Marvel has an event…expect dramatic changes, shocking deaths and mind-blowing moments. What will happen in a series where heroes must fight a living legend now an agent of evil?
It got us thinking back the high-impact, what the …. moments in event history?
Just a spoiler warning – this lists gives away big moments so we left a critical word in each headline out just in case you don’t want to know and read the epic for yourself.
Here are our most shocking moments in Marvel events:
Hawkeye killed by _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in Avengers Disassembled.
This wasn’t an event series but the final issues of The Avengers book as Brian Michael Bendis destroyed Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to give him a radical rebirth with a milestone run. Before most of the events below – it all started here with the worst day ever at Avengers Mansion. Chaos (Avengers #500-503)Hawkeye was killed. Ant-Man was killed. Several heroes were severely injured as Kree forces attacked. Scarlet Witch was behind all the tragic chaos. Wanda had gone insane. It was later revealed Wanda has been manipulated by Doctor Doom but nothing take away from the shock and awe of an arc that ended the Avengers.
The Decimation in House of M:
Magneto seized his daughter at the end of the earlier arc. Professor X and Dr. Strange was attempting to heal Wanda. The Avengers and X-Men confronted them leading to a wave of change across the Marvel Universe. In this big event by Bendis, Magneto ruled a planet where mutants were the dominant species. When Quicksilver’s manipulation of Wanda, Magneto and Xavier was revealed, the Master of Magnetism attacked his son. In her anguish and anger, Wanda declared, “No More Mutants.” The mutant gene was wiped out of the human race. Millions of mutants lost their powers. Only about 200 mutants were left to watch the coming extinction of their race.
Spider-Woman is a _ _ _ _ _ _ in Secret Invasion:
Brian Michael Bendis turned Jessica Drew into a fan-favorite Avenger during his phenomenal run filled with events that built upon each one leading to a shocking revelation and invasion. Spider-Woman was already a triple agent with ties to Hydra, SHIELD and the Avengers but it turns out it really wasn’t Jessica. In an early New Avengers issue, Elektra (ruling The Hand) was killed in battle and shapeshifting back into its true form – a Skrull. The hints kept coming until the big reveal: Spider-Woman was actually Veranke, the Skrull leader of a long-term destabilization and infiltration of Earth’s heroes and SHIELD paving the way for a full on invasion.
The Sentry kills _ _ _ _ and destroys _ _ _ _ _ _ in Siege:
The Sentry was the most powerful hero in the Marvel Universe but easily manipulated due to his mental instability. Norman Osborn (leading his own SHIELD and Avengers – that’s a whole other story) convinced The Sentry to join his twisted team of “heroes” leading the Siege of Asgard. Osborn was obsessed with conquering or riding Thor’s homeland which was floating over the United States. In the massive battle one of the most horrific moments was the death of Ares. The Sentry ripped the Greek God of War (and Avenger at the time) apart with blood and pulp flying. Robert Reynolds (his real name) then reduced Asgard to rubble on the Oklahoma desert.
Magneto did WHAT to Wolverine in Fatal Attractions?
In the tradition of Avengers Disassembled – Fatal Attractions is not an event series but a X-Men crossover arc but deserves a place in the most shocking Marvel moments. A heartbroken Colossus (following Illyana’s death) joined Magneto and his Acolytes (soldiers who saw Magnus as their messiah) in Avalon, his satellite haven for mutants orbiting Earth. When the X-Men arrive to get their friend back, two unthinkable things happen never seen in a X-Men fight before. Wolverine strikes cutting the Master of Magnetism who struck back. Magneto pulled the adamantium off Logan’s skeleton and out of his body. It looked painful. It pushed Professor X beyond his limits – Charles used his mental powers to basically turn Magnus into a mentally vegetative state. The loss of his adamantium had a huge mental and physical impact on Logan. He lost his edge, even becoming afraid. He started to devolve into an animal. He was left with breakable bone claws.
Hulk killed by _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in Civil War II:
Bruce Banner was MIA. Amadeus Cho was the new Hulk. When a new Inhuman with the power to predict the future emerged, Captain Marvel saw him as a way to prevent tragedy with the power predictive justice. In one vision, the original rampaging Hulk killed the Avengers. Carol, Tony Stark and a team of heroes find the reclusive Banner supposedly cured but still experimenting with gamma radiation. The confrontation got heated. Banner got that look in his eye. Before we could see if the Hulk was about to return, Banner got an arrow through the head. Hawkeye killed Banner. During the trail we learned Bruce turned to Clint to be his safeguard if the monster inside ever got out. Barton was cleared of charges and now fights for redemption and social justice on the road in Occupy Avengers. Amadeus Cho and Jen Walters are now the Hulks.
My most shocking pick:
Professor X killed by _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in AvX:
Avengers vs X-Men pitted Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against the Children of the Atom over the return of the Phoenix Force coming back to Earth. Cyclops saw it as a sign of possible rebirth of his dying race. Others saw it as a destroyer. When Iron Man tried to stop the entity, it split into five hosts (Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus and Magik) leading to a mutant takeover and madness. A Phoenix possessed Scott Summers killed Xavier when his mentor confronted him. The founder of the X-Men is still dead and Cyclops continued to be branded a terrorist and a bitter divide escalated between Xavier’s students. But Scott Summers would face a kind of justice in…
What really happened to Cyclops and Emma Frost in Death of X:
Cyclops and Emma Frost were missing in action for a year following Secret Wars. Cyclops was believed to be dead after a fight that escalated war with the Inhumans. The Terrigen Cloud creating new Inhumans was deadly to mutants. Death of X revealed what happened to Scott and Emma. The renegade X-Men leaders discovered the Terrigen Cloud over Muir Island and a dying Madrox. Scott appeared to start feeling sick but rallied to lead an attack on the Cloud – only to be killed by Black Bolt. The shocker – it was all Emma. Scott almost died immediately after exposure to Terrigen. Emma made the controversial leader into a martyr. Emma appears to be driven mad with revenge against the Inhumans and is now back to her villainous ways after the X-Men and Inhumans formed a truce.
Secret Empire will see Marvel’s greatest hero fighting against one of the most admired, respected Avengers ever. Can Steve be saved? Will Carol or Sam have to take out their leader turned enemy? Avengers Disassembled lead to Civil War lead to Secret Invasion which led to Dark Reign. What will Hydra’s ultimate victory do to the Marvel Universe? Events have impact. Even victories have costs and ramifications. Who will survive?
By Editor