Marvel editor Tom Brevoort suggests that letting Captain America become a Hydra turncoat was a mistake. Nine years ago, on May 27, 2016, readers were shocked to see Captain America utter the phrase, "Hail Hydra." It would soon be revealed that this was an evil Steve Rogers clone manifested from the Cosmic Cube warping reality, but before the reveal, the moment placed Marvel at the center of controversy.

In his latest Substack post, Tom Brevoort confesses that Marvel underestimated the backlash that would emanate from the Captain America twist. The moment originally took place in Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 by writer Nick Spencer and artist Jesús Saíz, which Brevoort served as the editor on with Alanna Smith. On the anniversary of its release, Brevoort had this to say:

Here comes trouble! STEVE ROGERS: CAPTAIN AMERICA came out on May 25, 2016, marking the first time that Rogers picked up the identity of the Living Legend of World War II in a couple of years. But of course, all anybody re about this first issue is its final pages, in which the rejuvenated Rogers reveals that something is very wrong with him, as he reveals that he’s an operative working for Hydra. If we were over-concerned about bringing back Bucky, we were perhaps under-concerned about the impact that this moment was going to have when it hit. We knew it was going to cause controversy, that was pretty much the whole point. But fans went crazy, and not even just fans—this moment became the center of that culture wars, with any number of bad actors pointing at it as evidence of some manner of moral decay that had infected the entire industry. Thing were serious enough that I received death threats for allowing this to happen—I had to cancel an appearance at that year’s Baltimore Comic Con due to a threat that was sent from the Baltimore area and that the police we consulted considered a legitimate threat and not just some blowhard spouting off. Fun times! The person who got hit the hardest was probably writer Nick Spencer, and most of those who were angry didn’t want to hear that this was the first move in a carefully-constructed storyline that was going to play out over the next 18 months or so. It was a big, brassy story—maybe too big at certain points—and one that Nick almost lost control of at one point or another. But ultimately, we were able to keep the whole thing together long enough to land the plane in a mostly-satisfying way in the SECRET EMPIRE crossover that came the following year. Lost in the crowd a little bit, but probably thankful for it in this instance, was artist Jesus Saiz, who turned in some seriously great artwork on this issue and those that followed.

Brevoort its that while the intention was to create controversy, no one at Marvel could have foreseen just how rabid fans would become, particularly in issuing death threats to creators like him.

Editor Tom Breevort and Marvel Underestimated the Impact of Evil Captain America

Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 by Nick Spencer, Jesús Saíz, and VC's Joe Caramagna

The final page of Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 suggests that Steve had served Hydra in secret as a double agent for years. In reality, as Brevoort expressed in his statement, this was always the first step of an ambitious storyline that would continue to play out over the course of 18 months, inevitably leading to the good Steve Rogers regaining his good name and reputation. Obviously, creators can't reveal their plans to readers immediately, nor can readers assume that everything is going to work out.

At that moment, it seemed to readers that Marvel had Captain America turn his back on his country, something pro-American readers considered a betrayal both to the character and his fanbase.

At first glance, readers can only react to what they are currently seeing. At that moment, it seemed to readers that Marvel had Captain America turn his back on his country, something pro-American readers considered a betrayal both to the character and his fanbase. Naturally, some fans responded in kind through spirited debate and, for lack of a better word, outrage. Some poked fun at the moment through several memes, others angrily complained online, and others took things too far with death threats.

The Reaction to Hydra Cap Could Have Never Been Predicted

Marvel Readers Hated Marvel Instead of Captain America For His Heel Turn

It's the consequence of long-term storytelling with bold creative decisions like this. Marvel intended Captain America going dark to produce controversy as most shocking stories do. They presented this as a drastic retcon when the plan was always to turn back to the status quo, but the problem is, at face value, readers blame creators when they don't like a creative decision. Fans didn't hate Captain America for betraying America, but the creators for writing something they deemed un-American. In that regard, some may say Captain America going evil was always doomed to backfire on Marvel.

Source: Substack