Remender's Nomad Assaults Battleworld's Evil Empire in "Hail Hydra"

For decades, the forces of freedom and liberty in the Marvel Universe have been under assault by Hydra, a persistent, high-tech terrorist organization founded in the waning days of World War II. Across that span, Hydra was seemingly destroyed countless times, but like their oath -- which evokes their mythical namesake -- says, "Hail Hydra! Immortal Hydra! We shall never be destroyed! Cut off a limb, and two more shall take its place!"

The latest heroes to take up the struggle against Hydra were the new Captain America, Sam Wilson, and the new Nomad AKA Ian Rogers, the adoptive son of former Cap Steve Rogers and the "biological" son of his arch-enemy, the mad scientist Arnim Zola. That battle took place in writer Rick Remender and artist Stuart Immonen's "All-New Captain America" series, over the course of which Ian appeared to perish in an explosion. Not only did the new Nomad survive that fiery end, he also survived the death of the Marvel Universe, which took place during the current "Secret Wars" event series. Ian may be wishing he had died, however, as he now he finds himself trapped in a world that is quite literally his worst nightmare come to life.

Remender & Boschi Set to "Hail Hydra" During "Secret Wars"

Ian stumbled into a domain of Battleworld known as the Hydra Empire, a place originating from a world where Hydra founded the United States. In their new "Secret Wars" series "Hail Hydra," Remender and artist Roland Boschi will chronicle Ian's battle with the evil empire and its agents. CBR News spoke with Remender about Ian's arrival on Battleworld, the specifics of this Hydra-centric domain, the familiar faces that serve as the organization's imperial agents. He also explains how the series serves as a culmination to the work he's done with the character of Ian Rogers, who debuted in the initial Dimension Z storyline of his "Captain America" run in 2013.

CBR News: From what I gather, it seems like "Hail Hydra" is both a new reader friendly "Secret Wars" title and a continuation of the larger story you've been telling in your "Captain America" run.

Rick Remender: Yeah, I think it would be both of those. We're going to do the best job we can of developing Ian Rogers a little further. Last we saw of him he was seemingly killed in a battle with Baron Zemo. The first issue of "Hail Hydra," though, will reveal that he made it to the Infinite Elevator [a Hydra creation that can transport passengers to other places and dimensions] where he was thrust through time and space into Battleworld.

â€¨Much like the Thing on the original "Secret Wars" Battleworld, Nomad is wandering and the domain he ends up wandering into is a New York that comes from a world where Hydra founded the United States.

What kind of shape is Ian in when we first meet him in your story? How has his journey across time and space affected him?

He's been moving through time and space via the Infinite Elevator and trying to get home and he's plopped down into this Hydra world where he doesn't want to be, but as soon as he steps out of the elevator he's drawn into a situation that demands that he stick around. So I don't think he's in a great head space. He's pretty confused as one might be.

This will be a fun exploration of who Ian is and who Zola intended him to be. It will also give you an interesting snapshot of the world Hydra would create if they ever achieve their goal of world domination.

Let's talk a little bit more about that world. What's life like in a world where the tyrannical philosophy behind Hydra is the guiding philosophy of the United States?

It is the guiding philosophy, and it's also the founding philosophy. There are very few contradictory philosophies floating around in the Hydra Empire. We will meet some people who have those contradictory beliefs, but we'll also get to see what Captain America and the Avengers have saved humanity from. What they've saved humanity from is a totalitarian regime that does not respect the individual or privacy. It's very Orwellian and Huxley.

So life for the average citizen is pretty awful, but do they notice that? Or are they kind of asleep and unaware of how bad they have it?

Most of them are brainwashed into thinking this is the best way forward. They think they're in the best place and Hydra is the best form of government. The streets are clean, the trains run on time, and there's order in their world. So their lack of freedoms and the fascism they live under not only seem normal and natural, but good and right. So for the most part they're all happy to live in the world of Hydra.

The Hydra of the now destroyed Marvel Universe was an organization that frequently employed high tech and fantastic technology. Does that mean that technology in the Hydra Empire is more advanced than our world? Or is the tech level pretty similar?

It's similar to our own, but it's a little more advanced because Arnim Zola runs the show. So Zola being Zola is going to help tech things up. Unfortunately that also means the eye of Zola is everywhere. It's looking out at you from your televisions, cars and cell phones.

So Zola is the "Baron" of the Hydra Empire domain?

Yes, he is the "Big Brother" of the Hydra Empire.

That means with his "biological" father being the head of the Hydra Empire this isn't just a big adventure tale for Ian Rogers, it's also an intensely personal story as well, correct?

Yeah, I'm always looking for context and looking to give characters things that matter to them. We'll get an idea of the world that Ian protected us from in Dimension Z, the world that Zola wanted to build. We'll also get an idea of how much Ian despises his natural father and what he'll do when faced with Zola's dream, which is his adoptive father's nightmare. Steve Rogers raised Ian and this is the thing he raised him to fight against.

Does confronting Zola's regime mean that Ian will be taking on Hydra Empire counterparts of himself or his sister, Jet Black?

There are different familial connections and new things introduced here that do not touch on Jet. They open up some new potential for emotional conflict in terms of alternate types of family members and things like that.

One of our big villains is Captain Hydra, who Roland [Boschi] designed in spectacular Kirby fashion. He's really cool. Plus there's a bunch of fun surprises. I took a random list of Marvel characters and Hydra members and kind of mixed them up to cook up ideas for alt world versions of characters that we know and love. For example, we have the Eddie Brock Venom who wears a symbiote that instead of emulating a spider emulates a snake. I figured we hadn't seen Eddie in the suit for awhile and he's a fun character. So that kind of stuff is going to be peppered throughout the book. I'm trying to think of things we might not have been able to see in the Marvel Universe.

The idea of what a hero is in the Hydra Empire is dissimilar from our own. So you will be seeing some familiar faces that have bought into that ideology.

Will the new Nomad battle the heroes and forces of the Hydra Empire on his own or will he have any allies on Battleworld?

He might have an ally, but that's a part of the story that I don't want to spoil. We'll meet his ally in the second issue and I think it's a pretty fun reveal.

Cold War Ghosts Haunt Remender's "Captain America" & "Winter Soldier"

You've mentioned the work being done by Roland Boschi and it sounds like you guys are having a pretty great time telling the story of "Hail Hydra" and creating its nightmarish dystopian setting.

Yeah, for sure. An odd assortment of characters will be redesigned as agents of Hydra, and Roland is so great. I think it's fitting he does this story because he and I have been working together since my early days at Marvel. He worked with me on "FrankenCastle" back in 2009 and I fell in love with Roland's work. He's one of my very favorite collaborators and I love to work with him any time he's available. I've been very fortunate to get to work with him on several projects and continue to look for opportunities to collaborate.

Plus we've put back together the entire team of our "Winter Soldier" series "The Bitter March" that we did. So it's me, Roland, [colorist] Chris Chuckry and Andrew Robinson on covers. I hope we can recapture the same magic, because that was one of the projects I've done for Marvel that I'm most proud of.

Finally, I understand if you can't say much here, but does "Hail Hydra" set up or lay some of the groundwork for your next project at Marvel?

No, this wraps up a lot of things. It's the culmination of the Ian Rogers story as well as a commentary on a couple of things that I've been itching to comment on. So this is a nice spotlight for Ian. We haven't had a lot of real estate to give him. It also sort of book ends the "Dimension Z" stuff that began my Captain America run.

Ian has been a true nomad. He's been wandering through dimensions and he's wandered into one where his "father" Arnim Zola has succeeded in all of the things Steve Rogers had always stopped him from succeeding at. Now it's up to Ian to navigate what to do with that. So it really does serve as a nice book end to the Dimension Z story I did.

I think fans of "FrankenCastle" or "Winter Soldier: The Bitter March" will enjoy this. Roland is in top form, and so is Chris Chuckry. Plus, the covers by Andrew Robinson are worth the price of admission alone, so hopefully people will pick this series up and enjoy it.

"Hail Hydra" #1 debuts July 15 from Marvel Comics.