History of Hydra - Part 2

At the dawn of the 20th century, the still-evolving Hydra might’ve faded away into obscurity if not for the dark vision and leadership of one man, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, to mold it into the global terror organization that exists today.

With his experience in World War I and his deep facial scarring, Strucker rose above the level of a garden-variety Nazi to take on missions from German leader Adolph Hitler himself until the baron racked up numerous failures in battle against Sgt. Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos. After one major defeat in France, Strucker fled from his fuhrer’s displeasure to forge an alliance with the dreaded Red Skull. This compact led directly to the forming of the modern Hydra.

Strucker traveled to Japan under the Skull’s direction to take control of the Hand, a secretive group of ninjas, and with the invaluable aid of the wickedly inventive Arnim Zola, set Hydra on a path to worldwide domination. He ultimately wrested the role of Supreme Hydra from the man who inhabited it and transplanted the organization to two new bases of operation: Hydra Island and an immense submersible called the Dragon of Death. While Hitler’s war with the Allies progressed, Strucker directed Hydra covertly while he played the part of a loyal soldier to his mad leader.

Always with an eye on seizing power and resources for Hydra, the baron managed to take possession of not only technology from the future, but also alien artifacts from a race known as the Gnobians. With these ill-gotten gains, Strucker attempted to circumvent the dark outcome of the war for Germany and create a kind of sanctuary for himself and Hydra to survive the coming firestorm directed at Berlin. He poured not only his massive personal fortune toward this end, but that of the wealthy Japanese whom he took the reins of the nascent group from. He also designed a way for his superhuman operatives to survive the end of the conflict by placing them into suspended animation. He himself allowed an experimental age-retarding serum to be used on his body, insurance for the decades to come.

And so World War II ended for Hydra, but not in the fashion Baron Strucker wished and planned for…

For more, check out: SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #5, CAPT. SAVAGE AND HIS LEATHERNECK RAIDERS #2, NICK FURY: AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, MARVEL UNIVERSE #1, SECRET WARRIORS #1