Hydra (comics)
| Hydra | |
|---|---|
Hydra agents
|
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Strange Tales #135 (Aug/ 1965) |
| Created by |
Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | Various |
| Owner(s) |
Currently: Viper Formerly: Baron Strucker Red Skull |
| Employee(s) |
Current members: Gorgon Baron Helmut Zemo Former Members: Hardball Kingpin Silvermane Werner von Strucker Bob, Agent of Hydra |
Hydra is a fictional terrorist organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The name "Hydra" is a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra. The organization's motto references the myth of the Hydra, stating that "if a head is cut off, two more will take its place", proclaiming their resilience and growing strength in the face of resistance. Hydra agents often wear distinctive green garb featuring a serpent motif.
Hydra first appeared in Strange Tales #135 (August 1965). In its original continuity, it was headed by nondescript businessman Arnold Brown, who was killed as S.H.I.E.L.D. apparently crushed the organization. Hydra soon returned, however, headed by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, with the support of the Nazi Red Skull; Hydra's changing origin was one of Marvel's earliest retcons. After its initial defeat, several of its branches, such as its scientific branch A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) and the Secret Empire, became independent.
Crypt of Shadows #3, published in 1973, reprinted a story from Menace #10 (1954), but with a change to a line of dialogue that erroneously implied that Hydra was first mentioned in the 1954 issue. In the reprint, an agent of an unspecified enemy government was changed to identify himself as working for Hydra when he paid off a scientist named Dr. Nostrum for information about a cobalt bomb that turned people into monsters. Dr. Nostrum shot all the other scientists on his team after they were turned into monsters, then shot himself after his son put an image from a monster magazine on his mirror.
"Hail, Hydra! Immortal Hydra! We shall never be destroyed! Cut off a limb, and two more shall take its place! We serve none but the Master—as the world shall soon serve us! Hail Hydra!"
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Wikipedia