By Rebecca Kaplan — How could one tell the story of American fascism and nationalism through comics? It’s a loaded question, but one that needs exploring, in my humble opinion. It’s also a question that’s tough for me to answer because of my personal history. Not because right-wing beliefs match my philosophy – my background is entirely in-between other worlds, as a patrilineal, bigender, pansexual – but because of curiosity and empathy.

For the past four years, I have watched the rise of today’s right-wing, [t]ea [p]arty politics, knowing just how disgusting all those people are behind the scenes. I know firsthand the role of sexism and antisemitism in the rise of American extremism on the right. I was prayed on by their sons and made to feel like a token minority, and trust me, it’s hard to carry the weight of the in-group’s perceived flaws while trying to rise above your own. So, I never said anything because the experience was traumatizing and a bit scary at times (especially once they started locking up people like me in the name of freedom).

It’s hard to be the Queer Jew in a room of overly dominant white men who are obsessed with the classics (trust me, this is a BIG THING), and then to have nowhere to turn for support because of society’s engrained judgments keeping people silent.

However, I’ve spent the pandemic absorbing lessons from my master’s thesis and realizing organizational trauma and misappropriation of organizational power is a real threat to individuals, families, and communities — including myself. As the “Organizational Trauma and Resilience” Resource says: “just as silence and lack of understanding about trauma hurt individuals, so too does it hurt organizations,” and what are government bodies than giant organizations capable of committing mass atrocities that traumatize many?

In the world of criminology, white collar crime theory is routinely used as a framework for understanding crimes of the state, and nothing makes that comparison more apt than the last four years.

So, it’s time to take control of my narrative, no matter how scary it seems, because SOMEONE must start the conversation. I watch the public discourse and see people get it wrong – over and over again. I’m not sure it matters because it seems like people don’t care what people are like behind closed locker room doors, but maybe it does. Thus, I decided to join the discourse reflecting on the past four years (and more) based on my personal experiences, in a way that suits me and on my turf — having this conversation through discussing comics.

I’m still struggling with complex post-traumatic stress disorder because of many things, but partially because of the effects of organizational trauma – and the Committee to Regain America’s Principles. I was the token “Jew” in the room for years until I stopped being able to fight. My body gave out, and the pain took over. Yet, the people who helped the right-wing fueled hate of the last four years continue to rise – yes, even after the (hopeful) downfall of Donald Drumpf – and it has me thinking about the role of masked villains and heroes in Nick Spencer’s Secret Empire event with Marvel Comics, once again.

Secret Empire II: Worth It (Especially Now)

The world – yes, even people outside of comics – exploded when the Marvel Universe introduced a Hydra-aligned Captain America, and it was glorious. All of reality was at stake in the misunderstood and controversial Marvel Comics’ Secret Empire event in 2017.

In Secret Empire by Spencer, Steve McNiven, Jay Leisten, Matthew Wilson, and Travis Lanham, the premise is that a cosmic cube transforms Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, into the ultimate Hydra sleeper agent. After years of scheming and manipulating by the villain-behind-the-shield — Supreme Leader Captain America — the United States finally falls under Hydra’s control. Then, throughout a 10-issue main story and many tie-ins (about 70 floppies, totallying roughly the second worst-selling series in Marvel Comics’ history) told the story of life in Hydra’s America under the seemingly benevolent but often cruel rule of Hydra-Cap, aka a Donald Drumpf stand-in.

Most of the event focused on a worldwide quest for cosmic cube fragments, which are a reality-shaping plot device, and the tragic ineptness of America’s heroes in helping average citizens combat the Hydra takeover.

When Secret Empire debuted in comic shops, it led to significant reactionary debate about the responsibility of storytelling in comics. Now that the Drumpf era is over, it’s a good time to revisit Secret Empire and reflect on the event, both in and outside of the Marvel Universe. To me, Captain America’s turn towards outright fascism, aka Americanism, was worth every single penny because it reflected those four years where it was unclear about the future of the United States.

Secret Empire is a timely story about unchecked power in places where you would least expect it: Captain America, a symbol of determination against hate in all its forms.

By the end of Secret Empire, Hydra-Cap has found most of the shattered cosmic cube pieces to power the Green Mark I, the Hydra-Cap Edition super suit. Yes, that cosmic cube, the same object that in this same story is used to rewrite reality into a different version where Hydra won World War II and influenced America’s cultural growth for half a century (like the comic book version of Operation Paperclip).

However, in a moment that the last four years proved only happens in stories, even Hydra-Cap’s cosmically powered armor isn’t enough to protect him from the consequences of his crappy ideals. Because eventually, the surviving superheroes beat him, preventing further oppression of inhumans, mutants, superheroes, and political objectors nationwide.

And to deal the winning blow, Sam Wilson’s Captain America uses the one thing Hydra-Cap wants most to his advantage, the final piece of the cosmic cube. When Wilson hands over the final fragment in the last issue, Hydra-Cap doesn’t know that both Old Man Steve Roger’s consciousness and Kobik, the child-like manifestation of the merged cosmic cube fragments, still exist inside the cosmic cube itself.

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (or what’s left of them) use this ignorance to bring Kobik, and then the real Captain America, back from the pocket dimension so that they can prevent the final ascension of American fascism and nationalism. Hydra-Cap is so horrible that even Kobik, with her child-like innocence knows that she must restore the world.

Once Hydra-Cap’s power begins to fade, it’s a clash between two Captain Americas: one who represents American idealism and one who represents a twisted reflection of the hate-fueled social and political climate that exists in the United States today.

As millions of Marvel Universe citizens watch the fight on the state-sponsored news, Hydra-Cap finds he’s no longer able to wield Mjolnir. In a moment of narrative brilliance, the evil version of America’s ideals, Hydra-Cap, realizes that he was never worthy – because evil never is…

Then, the real Rogers can, and does, smash Mjolnir into his counterpart, and as he stands over the body, he declares never again, a phrase that’s quickly slipping from the American consciousness. Unfortunately, Kobik doesn’t exist in the real world to ensure that all of us remember the wreckage – a reminder of our promise to each other and ourselves: never again.

Thus, Secret Empire “wasn’t just a battle between two men, it was a war for the heart and soul of a people,” and the story doesn’t end with a clear answer to whether the nation is willing to repair the wreckage and heal the scars (and that’s a question that speaks to today).

In the epilogue, Secret Empire Omega #1 by Spencer, Andrea Sorrentino, Joe Bennet, Joe Pimentel, Scott Hanna, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Lanham, Rogers visits his evil imposter in prison. Rogers wants to get the measure of the man who ruined his reputation and permanently damaged a particular brand of leadership, literal or figurative, in the West. During the conversation, Rogers wonders if anything can ever undo the damage to Captain America’s reputation or if his predecessor’s actions have permanently tarnished the symbolism of his position in the eyes of the public. By Rogers acknowledging his predecessor’s efforts, the storyline creates a duty for his successor to rebuild bridges and tear down walls (a lesson for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris).

Just as important, though, and something that governments and social scientists should probably address in the collective consciousness in the real world, are the ramifications of Hydra’s rule to the citizens who lived through the takeover and still have scars. It seems the event left the Marvel Universe with visible scars of paranoia and hate, as it closes with Hydra’s militia ready to fight for their cause at any time.

For me, this is truly terrifying because it’s such an apt reflection of the world we live in, addressing the systemic and troubling nature of the ways fascism and nationalism worm their way into a democracy. The neo-Nazi plot against America is much larger than people realize. To this day, the movement’s impact reverberates across the country whether we want to acknowledge it or hide those memories on the Raft.

The Impact of Seeing Your Reflection in Comics

Throughout the 18 months during which this story was published, criticism towards Secret Empire primarily focused on Marvel Comics and Spencer’s attempts to “silence fandom,” Spencer’s online behavoirs, and the symbolism of corrupting a Jewish-created American icon with a Nazi-aligned organization. Unfortunately, folks, whether you like it or not, this story is rooted in the real world and history is at the heart of the plot. In WWII, Finland’s Jewish population fought alongside the Nazis, and while some rebelled, some played the game to protect their kin. As a third-generation Russian Jewish immigrant, a community’s story of betrayal is something my family knows well (although it’s still hard to get a straight answer about what happened to them).

But organizational trauma and collective victimization isn’t just about the Jewish people. It impacts many in the context of intergroup or political violence. The most common types of collective victimization are official persecution, expanded and focused suppression, terrorism, civil war, populist persecution, retaliatory persecution, slavery, occupation, and sustained structural violence, such as racism.

The reasons why historians and social scientists rarely tell these stories are varied. But all the reasons have one thing in common: the tales get at the heart of what it means to be Jewish and the eternal quest for acceptance by unenthusiastic host nations and local communities. Finland’s Jewish veterans – some of whom are still alive today – “insist they’re not ashamed of what they did,” but according to others who’ve examined the events in detail, the psychological trauma of this battlefield Sophie’s Choice left deep scars. So, maybe we should open the floor to this type of discussion because these scars also get at the heart of what it means to be a person trapped in an impossible situation, a story that speaks to everyone.

On that note, I wish more people gave the Secret Empire storyline a chance instead of outright dismissing it as a smear on the character’s cultural relevance.

Spencer’s past controversies and alleged “shitty politics,” which you can read about on Kim O’Connor’s blog or Nathaniel Livingston Jr.’s blog, might be part of the reason he writes such a realistic story. He knows the underbelly of politics (and bar scene) because he’s shield deep with not one, but three political parties: Republican Party, Charter Party, and Democratic Party. Yes, it’s confusing if you want answers about his current political alignment. But, whatever his beliefs are now, it’s clear that Spencer was once a Republican and he knows the truth about the financial backers who support the worst political positions.

However, Spencer also knows what it’s like to change sides (he was an avid Hillary Clinton supporter throughout her campaign) and grow as a person (albeit somewhat messily at times), giving him a unique perspective that people shouldn’t so easily dismiss because of his verbal vomit. Besides, the Republican Party of 2005 isn’t the Republican Party of 2021, and people have lost the ability to understand that nuance over the last decade.

As a person of Jewish descent, I know that antisemitism is strong in BOTH parties.

At the time of Secret Empire’s release, Marvel Comics and Spencer responded with pleas to stick it out to the end. The publisher even released a statement to ABC News – a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company – asking for fans to be patient, saying that it would all be worth it in the end. Spencer, for his part, wasn't as nice to fans or detractors, but maybe in a less tense environment, he can do better. Either way, at the time, fans weren’t happy with the ending and cried out that it was “irresponsible to play sleight of hand with potentially volatile and offensive imagery just because it all works out in the end!” But I never leveled those criticisms because the most surprising people are often villains under the mask, and even token minorities can participate in acts of hate against their communities.

So, it didn’t bother me when Hydra-Cap survived the fight, and the reality changes because, by the end of the story, he finds himself in a private prison. Spencer’s decision to lock him up in the comic version of “Club Fed” is “ideal” for the white-collar war criminal, a supervillain always at the ready for any writer’s whim. Like real-world villains of that caliber, the government places Hydra-Cap behind many bars with as many means of possible escape, including legal. Sadly, that’s more punishment than most state criminals receive in the real world. It’s also more punishment than any of the men who worked with me will ever receive. They hide behind a mask of niceness, unassumingly using other people's research to support their dark money machinations (and their outdated beliefs rooted in antisemitism).

“Spencer went out of his way to clarify that some factions of Hydra are Nazis, but not all of them are, and Hydra-Cap’s coalition is not.” Still, in my view, that was more of a reaction to Captain America fans’ misunderstanding of the series than the story itself. As proof that was never Spencer’s intention, in the final moments of Omega #1, Rogers tells his evil counterpart, “I know what you are, and I’ve been fighting you my whole life." The decisive moment is referencing Captain America’s origin story: the latter restarted the comic book industry by punching Hitler and fighting against the Third Reich.

Much of the discussion on Secret Empire revolved around splitting hairs over semantics rather than looking at the story in a larger historical context. And, you know, maybe that wasn't possible at the beginning of 45’s un-presidential term because we were all living in fear, and we just wanted AMERICA’S HERO to be our solace, not our golem-like stand-in for the hateful administration. However, in trying to prevent history from becoming our destiny, it’s time to return to the narrative and re-evaluate because metaphor can be a powerful tool for change.

And anyway, as I said, Captain America has always been a golem, and that means he always had the potential to run amok:

“Captain America was me, and I was Captain America. I saw him as part of me, and he always will be. In the fight scenes, when Cap used to take on seven men at once, and five bodies would fly around the room while he punched two in the jaw – that’s how I remember the street fights from my childhood.” – Jack Kirby

Thus, as a political superhero, the People will continue to subject Captain America to their whims for better or worse. But, because many didn’t give the storytelling in Secret Empire much thought at first, fans have relegated the comic arc to the long box of bad ideas.

Rebecca Kaplan has a Master of Science in Criminology and Juris Doctor. To the disappointment of her law school, she’s really a geek at heart and would rather have a cup of coffee with Captain Janeway than any non-fiction person. You can find her writing at Marvel Blog and in Double Challenge: Being LGBTQ and a Minority, which she co-authored with her wife, Avery Kaplan.