In Marvel Comics Uncanny Avengers #4, written by Gerry Duggan with art by Javier Garrón, Captain Krakoa’s identity is revealed.
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Uncanny Avengers #4 Review:
Wondering about who the new Captain Krakoa is? Wonder no longer, as his identity is now public knowledge in this latest issue. And he’s probably exactly who you thought he was, as the team comes face to face with the series’ big villain.
Spoilers past this point, but Captain Krakoa is Hydra Cap, the version of Steve Rogers who was raised by Hydra, thanks to some Cosmic Cube machinations. “We threw a lot of other wild ideas out there and the fact that it was just the most boilerplate one [is] fine,” said host Justin Tyler.
Alex Zalben liked the dichotomy that Duggan set up in the issue, with regular Cap fighting for mutants, and Hydra Cap purporting to fight for humans. “Makes a lot of sense,” Zalben said. “And in setting up an antagonist, it is very smart to give Cap [his] ultimate opposite.”
Though Pete LePage deferred to talk about Hydra Cap, having been against the character’s introduction in the Secret Empire crossover, he did like some other bits in the issue. “I did like this Psylocke stuff that we got and the Deadpool stuff was great,” LePage said. “That part about him getting cut in half was hilarious.”
Both Zalben and Tyler agreed with LePage’s assessment, calling Psylocke chopping off the Strucker Twins’ hands “gross and bad*ss.”
What Are The Long-Term Ramifications Of Hydra Cap’s Return?
“This is a surprisingly funny, gross book,” Tyler added. “As far as the reveal… I don’t know what the ramifications are of that because it’s such an expected reveal. It feels like he’ll be defeated pretty quickly. It doesn’t feel like it’s a far-reaching thing.”
Zalben agreed, noting that the original intention of Hydra Cap was to represent the creeping fascism in America’s real-life government. “I don’t know what having Hydra Cap in the Marvel Universe does now, unless somebody does something specifically political in a very similar way,” Zalben said. “We’re certainly heading towards a time with the presidential election where you could do a lot with that. But I don’t know if they will, so much as: he’s Bad Cap and that’s it.”
Uncanny Avengers #4 Official Synopsis:
THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY IS MY FRIEND! (For one issue) Orchis comes to the conclusion that they cannot control Captain Krakoa, and on the eve of his great triumph, with the world about to burn, they must turn to…the Avengers’ Unity Squad? Plus, witness the blooming of the unlikeliest romance in Uncanny Avengers history!
