Today marks ten years since Marvel dramatically changed the backstory of one of Captain America’s most famous enemies – a change that remains one of the biggest revisions in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hydra has always been closely tied to Captain America’s story in the MCU, as the organization originally started the super-soldier program that created Steve Rogers, and he’s repeatedly fought against them. Many fans still consider Captain America: The Winter Soldier to be among the best movies Marvel has ever made.
The Winter Soldier is a crucial film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s overall story. It shockingly revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been secretly infiltrated by Hydra all along – an organization aiming for world domination while pretending to protect it. Captain America bravely exposed this, causing a major internal conflict within S.H.I.E.L.D. This event also significantly impacted the first MCU television series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Redefined Hydra
The reveal that Hydra was secretly behind everything in The Winter Soldier completely changed the direction of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The show then focused on the aftermath, following the remaining loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents – led by Phil Coulson – as they tried to rebuild the organization and fight against the remaining Hydra groups. A major twist was that one of Coulson’s own team members, Grant Ward, was actually a Hydra operative all along. By season 2 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson found himself in a desperate competition with Hydra to obtain the ancient and powerful abilities of the Inhumans.
Today marks the tenth anniversary of a major reveal on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! In season 3, episode 8, viewers learned the surprising connection between the Inhumans and the villainous organization, Hydra. Gideon Malick, portrayed by Powers Boothe, shared a shocking history lesson with Ward: Hydra wasn’t a recent creation, but an ancient cult, five thousand years old, originally devoted to worshipping the powerful Inhuman known as Hive.
Long ago, a supremely powerful and terrifying Inhuman was born on Earth, destined to become its ruler. Fearful of its power, people exiled it through a portal to another world. The organization known as Hydra was then created with one goal: to bring this being back.
Malick explained that Hydra had existed for centuries, constantly changing its appearance and going by many different names. They were originally loyal followers of Alveus, also known as Hive, a being created by the Kree over 5,000 years ago to lead their military forces, but who later turned against them. The Inhumans essentially switched rulers, from the Kree to Hive, but eventually freed themselves by driving Hive off Earth. Hydra’s followers worked tirelessly to both revive Hive and reshape the world to make it easier for him to dominate once he returned.
The Red Skull didn’t actually create or lead Hydra; he simply allied with them to achieve his own goals. Like all members of Hydra, he believed real power came from outer space and ancient, god-like beings. This is why he sought the Tesseract, a legendary artifact once wielded by Odin. It’s no surprise, then, that he was after the Space Stone. If Hydra had controlled the Tesseract, they could have used its power to resurrect Hive.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Hydra Retcon Made Them Even More Dangerous
The show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. handled the reveal of Hydra’s true origins carefully. While changing Hydra’s backstory, they made the organization even more frightening by establishing it as a conspiracy stretching back to the beginning of history. This also cleverly connected Hydra to the emerging threat of the Inhumans, as Hive eventually returned and took control of Hydra, attempting to conquer the world. Fittingly, Hive possessed the body of Grant Ward to do so.
However, season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. quietly revised this backstory yet again. A controversial comic book storyline depicted Captain America as a leader of Hydra, sparking discussion about whether Hydra was separate from the Nazis. The show’s retcons were then used to argue that they weren’t. Season 4 directly addressed this, featuring a virtual reality where Hydra had won the war, and a powerful statement from Elizabeth Henstridge’s character, Jemma Simmons: “Just to be clear – Hydra? They’re just Nazis. All of them. Don’t ever let anyone forget that.”
Instead of minimizing the connection between Hydra and the Nazis, the Marvel Cinematic Universe reimagined the Nazis’ hateful ideology as a long-standing, ancient threat – one that’s lasted for over 5,000 years. This made the continued existence of both Hydra and modern neo-Nazi groups seem even more significant. Essentially, Captain America and his friends became the newest heroes in a very old fight against evil, which is perfectly in line with what Captain America would believe in.
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2025-11-17 17:15