Hydra (Marvel)

**Hydra** is an organization that features in Marvel Comics.

## History

### Origin

Hydra was a terrorist organisation that operated on Earth for an unknown length of time. Its earliest origins were traced to as far back as the Third Dynasty of Egypt. (Secret Warriors v1 #1) Records indicated that Hydra had existed in one form or another for at least seven thousand years. (Captain America: Hail Hydra! v1 #5) They have been known by many names during this time including as the Cathari, the Sons of Anubis, Ariosophists, Wotanists, the Seven Kings, the Black Order and as the Green and Red Societies and Thule Society. (Captain America: Hail Hydra! v1 #1) All traces of the ancient organization of HYDRA ceased to appear after the Renaissance. (Secret Warriors v1 #1) Thousands of years ago, they embarked on their **Infinitus Agenda** and invested considerable resources to achieving the goal of searching for immortality. (Captain America: Hail Hydra! v1 #5)

Among their acts have included manipulating the Inquisition, the Third Reich and the rise of totalitarianism in China as well as Korea in order to support their agenda. (Captain America: Hail Hydra! v1 #4) One account held that Baron Strucker was responsible for founding the organization as his own paramilitary operation that was kept in secret from Hitler. (Wolverine: Origins v1 #19)

By 1944, Hydra had started recruiting S.S. officers into their ranks with this faction being led by Baron Zemo who was active in Paris after the liberation of France. (Captain America v6 #1)

After the war, the surviving members of the governments of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan that included the Hand were recruited to become the modern incarnation of HYDRA. (Secret Warriors v1 #1)

A Jonin of the Hand looked to unite their organisation and Hydra with both falling into occult worship of the Beast of the Hand. However, Baron Strucker refused to fall into occultism and believed it had no place within his vision of Hydra. Instead, he and the Jonin battled one another where he defeated his opponent with this keeping the two organisations separate for a time. (Daredevil v1 #295)

Under the direction of Dr. Geist, they created the **Lazarus Formula** and used it to create the ***Auferstehungs Corps*** (Resurrection Corps) that consisted of soldiers resurrected from death. (Captain America: Hail Hydra! v1 #1)

During the Cold War, Hydra kept on its activities, the Red Army Faction/Baader-Meinhof Gang, the German People's Union, Der Republikaners and Neo-Nazis being some of their new faces in Germany, pursuing the goal of obtaining eternal life through science. The German Freedom League who had previously opposed the Thule Society kept fighting Hydra, smuggling scientists under duress from their organizations. (Captain America: Hail Hydra v1 #2)

Satanist and fourth richest person in the world **Elsbeth von Strucker** came to marry Baron Strucker and started funding Hydra in 1957. (Wolverine v3 #23)

Around 20 years ago, Baron Strucker took the forces of the Hydra Bruderschaft to locate a secret cache of gold which he intended to use for the building of his forces. He learnt that a young Jewish girl named Gabrielle Haller was the key in unlocking the site and sent his men to capture her. Strucker's men were about to pillage the gold when they were attacked by Charles Xavier and his comrade Magnus both of whom were Mutants that used their abilities to save Gabrielle. Baron Strucker was left behind in the cave that collapsed around him whilst Magnus took the gold away to prevent Hydra from acquiring it. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #161)

### Modern Day

Fighting Steve Rogers in Captain America v6 #18.
After the death of von Strucker, HYDRA splintered into a number of factions that included the Secret Empire, A.I.M. and THEM. (Secret Warriors v1 #1)

The Yellow Claw came to arrange for Madame Hydra to be retrieved from the Tyler Foundation for the Criminally Insane.(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. v3 #12)

A purge of Hydra's ranks was conducted of troublesome lieutenants that had degraded the organization into operating as simple criminals. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #519)

At some point, a Skrull named **Sn'Tlo** took control of the New York Hydra branch and came to be referred to as the **Sensational Hydra**. He came to capture Captain America and impersonated Steve Rogers where he intended to destroy his reputation by faking an invasion. However, the real Captain America managed to escape and revealed he identity of the imposter to the world. (Captain America v3 #7)

During the Skrulls Secret Invasion, Baron Strucker came to destroy Hydra's **Ichor** base after finding it infiltrated by the shapeshifting aliens. He then decided to change Hydra's goals from subverting the world to outright conquering it. This saw him establishing a new ruling council for the organization that would consist of Viper, the Kraken, the Hive, Madame Hydra and they added the Gorgon into their ranks after they had the Hand resurrect him. (Secret Warriors v1 #2)

This led to an all-out war between Leviathan and Hydra. A discussion between the groups dissolved merely into fighting. However, Strucker was able to get a mole in the Secret Warriors: Hellfire. An assault on a Hydra base in China by the HC PMC ended disastrously for Fury's side. Fury's Secret Warriors were able to destroy Hydra's main base at Gehenna, with Phobos and Hellfire dying in the process. (Secret Warriors v1 #22) Kraken turned on Baron Strucker, taking him captive. After Fury's son died fighting Hydra, Nick surrendered to them. Kraken put him in a room with Strucker. He then revealed his true identity: Jake Fury. The Fury brothers then revealed the truth to Strucker. During the era of the Great Wheel, they had convinced a paranoid Life-Model Decoy of Thomas Davidson to subvert Strucker's organization. Strucker had been working for Fury the whole time. Fury then killed Strucker with a shot to the head. (Secret Warriors v1 #27)

The organization came to fall under the leadership of Madame Hydra and the Gorgon who served as its sole leaders. During this time, they were approached by the renegade Norman Osborn who suggested an alliance between Hydra and his agency H.A.M.M.E.R. thus leading to the two sides working together to attack the Avengers. (New Avengers v2 #16.1)

A new Hydra High sect was assembled by Baron Zemo where he sought to use the blood of a newly activated Inhuman named **Lucas** whose biology had a toxin that sterilised humans. Helmut Zemo intended to distribute this toxin around the world thus making mankind sterilised except for Hydra who would be inoculated from its effects. (All-New Captain America v1 #2)

Despite his perceived demise, Baron Zemo had in fact survived but remained in hiding where he attempted to consolidate Hydra's forces. However, a 'rival' emerged intending to take over leadership of the organization with this resulting in a civil war within Hydra. (Falcon & Winter Soldier v1 #2)

## Overview

It was also known as the **Hydra Bruderschaft**. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #161)

Whilst it was initially thought that Hydra emerged in World War II, in reality the organization was much older and even more dangerous than previously believed. Their goal such as the search for immortality had possibly even started with their group and led to the **Infinitus Agenda**. Their master plan was to conquer death, achieve immortality and bring into existence a new race of gods born from and believing in their ideology. (Captain America: Hail Hydra! v1 #5) It was said that their ideology had changed over the years but their methodology remained the same where they focused on traits such as supremacy and elitism. (Secret Warriors v1 #12)

Titles within the organisation included:

* **Supreme Hydra** :
* **Madame Hydra** :
* **Grand Inquisitor** : a high ranking agent within the organisation. (Wolverine: Black, White & Blood v1 #1)
* **Annihil-Agent** : the term given to squads of operatives trained in advanced treachery tactics and super-terror techniques. (Strange Tales v1 #155)

Its hierarchy was split into a number of independent sectors that included:

* **THEM** : a group within the upper hierarchy of Hydra that had ties with Hydra, A.I.M. and the Secret Empire. (Strange Tales v1 #149) The leader of the group was known to hold the title of **Grand Imperator**. (Strange Tales v1 #151)
* **International Corporations** : fronts created that used legitimate businesses to conceal illicit activities. (Secret Warriors v1 #1)
* **Government Assets** : consisting of individuals within the chain of command and utilised long-term resources that benefited from the minimal turn-over inherent in bureaucracies. (Secret Warriors v1 #1)
* **Global Criminal Groups** : subsidiary organisations created for short-term goals and also used deflect unwanted interest from the global law community. (Secret Warriors v1 #1)
* **Intelligence Gathering** : through its infiltration and creation of S.H.I.E.L.D. along with its underlying resources. (Secret Warriors v1 #1)

The organization was divided into ten divisions each headed by a division chief with these including Administration, Air Action, Assassins, Commandos, Engineering, Heavy Weapons, Naval Action, Reconnaissance, Science and Supply. (Daredevil v1 #121)
Hydra operatives in Avengers v4 #20.
Hydra also had a number of assets and groups that included:

* **Tiger Division** :
* **Rhino Division** :
* **Typhon Group** : one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world with over 250,000 employees world-wide. Only its Board of Directors was aware of the fact that the business was a front for Hydra. (Secret Warriors v1 #1)
* **Echidna Capital Management** : a venture capital firm that was committed to funding businesses on the cutting edge of several key areas namely genetic engineering, new media technology, next generation military systems and aerospace engineering and manufacturing. (Secret Warriors v1 #1)
* **Hydra Four** : a four-manned team of superpowered operatives who through technology were modelled on Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Hawkeye. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #520)

Hydra was known to enforce a new language on their assassins every 66 days that meant it took some time for linguists to crack through their communications. (Wolverine v3 #20)

During the course of its existence, it had made a number of technological creations and weapons for its arsenal that included:

* **Overkill Horn** :
* **Alchemy Formula** : a long failed project started by Arnim Zola with it said to be completed by scientists Peter and Mila Hitzig. It was said to hold the potential to create unlimited supplies of resources. (Winter Soldier: The Bitter March v1 #1.NOW)
* **Lazarus Formula** :
* **Dreadnought** : a bipedal robotic construct that was launched on missions to eliminate targets. (Strange Tales v1 #154)
* **Mechagorgon** : large insectile war machines that were used by Hydra. (Immortal Iron Fist v1 #1)
* **Pygmalion Project** : a program that involved random kidnapped subjects who were broken down mentally through chemical excision of the conscience and psyche erosion whereupon the subject was built up again with synthetic personality grafting alongside implanted memories to reprogram the person with a spy narratives as well as archetypes after which they were deployed on missions. The condition in time began to degrade with the subject not expected to live long. (Daughters of the Dragon - Marvel Digital Original v1 #2)
* **Living Room** :
* **Project Scylla** :
* **Infinite Elevator** : seemingly resembling an elevator but the device could actually transport people anywhere in the world. (All-New Captain America v1 #2)
* **Vortex Bomb** :
* **Aphonic Bomb** : a noted weapon doomsday weapon developed by the modern day. (Strange Tales v1 #155)
* **Betatron Bomb** :
* **Death Spore** : a germ-based doomsday weapon. (Strange Tales v1 #157)

A device consisting of epi-derm technology allowed Hydra operatives to completely change their face and identity in an instant. This allowed them to masquerade themselves as someone else quickly and hide their true identity from others. (Strange Tales v1 #156)

A type of large flying craft used by Hydra was the **Terror-Carrier** which carried full complement of **Viper** jets. (Avengers: The Initiative v1 #2)

It held a number of facilities that were bases of operation for their activities which included:

* **Castle Hydra** : a castle within the snow-covered mountains that served as a base of operations in 1944. (Winter Soldier: The Bitter March v1 #1.NOW)
* **Hydra Island** : a metropolis city of evil consisting of unbelievably complex towers and spires. It was a fortress headquarters that was protected by a near-impenetrable dome. (Strange Tales v1 #156) It was also known by the designation of **Hydra Base Tsunami**. (Secret Warriors v1 #1)
* **Hydra Flying Island** : a large flying city that drifted high in the clouds within the Land of Nowhere when Hydra forces became trapped within the mind of Jimmy Jupiter. (Captain America v6 #6)

## Members

* **Red Skull** :
* **Heinrich Zemo** :
* **Arnim Zola** :
* **Daniel Whitehall** : Known as the **Kraken**, the armoured man was said to help people achieve their destiny. (Secret Warriors v1 #11)
* **Elisa Sinclair** :
* **Baron Wolfgang von Strucker** :
* **Ophelia Sarkissian** :
* **Hive** :
* **Chancellor Cassandra** : a dark skinned white haired female with a third eye on her forehead who was a high ranking figure within Hydra. (Winter Soldier: The Bitter March v1 #1.NOW)
* **Madam Worm** : a beautiful red-haired female operative whose body was actually composed of worms that she could direct with her consciousness. (Winter Soldier: The Bitter March v1 #1.NOW)
* **Lord Drain** : a pale skin white haired male who was a renowned assassin and psychic where he part of the Icelandic chapter of Hydra with him serving as the right hand of Chancellor Cassandra. (Winter Soldier: The Bitter March v1 #2)
* **Otto Vermis** :
* **Arnold Brown** :
* **Edgar Lascombe** : owner of one of the top 5 biggest pharmaceutical companies in America. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #521)
* **Helmut Zemo** :
* **Werner von Strucker** :
* **Nikolaus Geist** :
* **Dieter Montag** : blonde haired Caucasian male that was the Chief of Special Operations that was in charge of Hydra Lab #119 also known as the Cauldron that was involved in the Infinitus Agenda. (Captain America: Hail Hydra! v1 #5)
* **Fox** : a mysterious division chief who was in charge of the Administration division. (Daredevil v1 #121)
* **Bob** :
* **Rutherford Winner** : male who had been kidnapped and forced to became part of the Pygmalion project that transformed him into a ruthless killer for Hydra who went on several missions before going freelance. (Daughters of the Dragon - Marvel Digital Original v1 #2)
* **Frankie Noble** :
* **Cassandra Romulus** : a blonde haired female agent who came to be Baron von Strucker's lover after he returned to resume his place as the leader of Hydra. (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. v3 #22)
* **Hammer** : a Hydra operative who through technology was modelled on Thor and his powers with him being part of the Hydra Four. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #520)
* **Tactical Force** : a Hydra operative named Karl who was given a suit of armour resembling Iron Man and was part of the Hydra Four. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #520)
* **Militant** : a Hydra operative who through technology was modelled on Captain America with him being part of the Hydra Four. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #520)
* **Bowman** : a Hydra operative who was modelled on Hawkeye with him being part of the Hydra Four. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #520)
* **Carmilla Black** :
* **Hardball** :
* **Bob Dobalina** :
* **R.J.** : a young dark haired boy who looked up to Bucky Barnes and was trained by Mr. Colt to be an assassin tasked with killing the Winter Soldier. (Winter Soldier v2 #2)
* **Natural** :
* **Gregor Hersh** : a bald headed male with a beard who was the Grand Inquisitor of Hydra who was attempting to capture Nick Fury in Budapest but instead found Wolverine where he along with his men were killed by a hidden bomb. (Wolverine: Black, White & Blood v1 #1)

## Notes

* Hydra was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where they made their first appearance in Strange Tales v1 #135 (August, 1965).
* On the Marvel website, a compiled timeline was given with one stating that stories spoke of Hydra's origins being traced to a species of cold-blooded alien reptiles that came to Earth that came before the rise of mankind planted a seed to bring about the emergence of the organization.
* The same website article on "History of Hydra Pt. 1" stated that the founders of Hydra corrupted an Eastern society of intelligent and clever men called the **Brotherhood of the Spear** with the Brotherhood of the Shield in time referring to their foes as 'The Beast'.

## Alternate Versions

* In Hail Hydra v1 (2015), one of the regions of Battleworld included a section whereby Hydra ruled the world having come into power after World War II with this land being ruled by Baron Arnim Zola.

## In other media

### Television

* In X-Men: Evolution, Hydra appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episodes "X-23" and "Target X".
* In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Hydra appeared as antagonists in the animated television series.
* In Avengers Assemble, Hydra appeared as antagonists in the animated television series.
* In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra appeared as antagonists in the live-action television series that was a tie-in to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
* In Ultimate Spider-Man, Hydra appeared briefly in the setting of the animated television series.
* In Spider-Man, Hydra appeared as an antagonist in the 2017 animated television series episode "Spider-Island Part 2". It was said to be an international criminal organization that was headed by several factions with one being led by Arnim Zola.
* In Marvel Future Avengers, Hydra appeared in the setting of the anime television series. Under the Red Skull, they operated a hidden island where they began to conduct highly advanced experiments such as those in nanotechnology and even genetically engineer children with superhuman powers that were indoctrinated to believe the Avengers were villains.

### Films

* In Heroes United: Iron Man and Hulk, Hydra appeared as antagonists in the direct-to-video animated film.
* In Heroes United: Iron Man & Captain America, Hydra appeared as antagonists in the direct-to-video animated film.
* In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hydra made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
	+ In Captain America: The First Avenger, Hydra was introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and served as antagonists in the movie. They were described as being the deep-science division of Nazi Germany and headed by Johann Schimdt with his chief scientist being Arnim Zola.
	+ In Captain America: Winter Soldier, Hydra returned as antagonists in the sequel series in the shared universe.
	+ In Ant-Man, Hydra made a brief appearance in the live-action film set in the shared continuity. Representatives from Hydra were present at the Pym Technologies building when Darren Cross was seeking to sell the Yellowjacket suits powered by Pym Particles to be used in warfare operations.

### Video games

* In Captain America: Super Soldier, Hydra appeared as antagonists in the video-game tie-in set in World War II. Among their creation were genetically engineered soldiers called **Screamers** developed by Arnim Zola. Through targeted stimulation of the brain, he was able to unlock the power of telekinesis but the technology caused severe side effects such as seizures and violent vocal outbursts. As a result, to contain the Screamers Zola had their mouths stitched shut and intended to further study them in order to improve upon the process though a number of specimens were present at Castle Zemo to aid their creator.
* In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Hydra appeared in the setting of the Facebook video game with a Dossier entry on them. It was said to date back thousands of years with it with it going through dormant periods. Hydra was reborn during World War II where fugitive Nazis overtook the Japanese ultranationalists in the organization thus intertwining it with the Hand. By the modern day, both were working on a combined assault against S.H.I.E.L.D. They operated the **Hydra Four** as one of their chief super-powered agents and their forces made use of **Hydra Power Armor**.
* In Marvel Heroes, Hydra made an appearance in the setting of the MMORPG video game.
* In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Hydra appeared in the setting of the Wii video game. Under the Red Skull, Hydra was involved in staging an attack on Asgard itself with the aid of Loki and Hela. They were defeated by the heroes of Earth thus forcing them to depart the land.

## Appearances

* *Strange Tales v1*: (1965)
* *Captain America v1*:
* *Daredevil v1*:
* *Uncanny X-Men v1*:
* *Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. v3*:
* *Secret Warriors v1*:
* *Winter Soldier: The Bitter March v1*: (2014)
* *All-New Captain America v1*:
* *Hail Hydra v1*:
* *Nick Fury v1*:
* *Captain America: Steve Rogers v1*:
* *Secret Empire v1*:
* *Falcon & Winter Soldier v1*: (2020)