It ends the same way it started, with two simple words: “Hail Hydra,” mouthed by a guard in the Shadow Pillar, a black-site prison facility that houses a single inmate: Steve Rogers, aka Hydra Cap. And with these words, spoken mere seconds after the “real” Steve Rogers exits, Secret Empire's prime mover is freed to become a full-time villain in the Marvel Universe.

RELATED: Why Kobik Didn’t Undo Secret Empire’s Casualties

Secret Empire: Omega #1 echoes the Oath stories that served as codas to Marvel’s Civil War events. The bulk of the issue -- illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino -- is a conversation between the two versions of Steve. The main narrative is intercut with three stories -- drawn by Joe Bennett and Joe Pimentel, along with Scott Hanna and Rachelle Rosenberg -- that explore the aftermath of the Hydra takeover for various players in this saga, but for now, we're focusing in on Captain America and the fate of his broken mirror image.

There are now two Steve Rogers in the Marvel Universe. One has committed unspeakable atrocities and is beyond redemption; the other is an ideal, in the truest sense of the word.

Hydra Cap may inhabit the body of the original Steve Rogers, but he is a twisted version of that man. Although he knows that he’s been altered by the sentient Cosmic Cube known as Kobik, he clings to the past she created for him, and continues to revel in the monstrous ideology of Hydra. The “real” Steve Rogers, on the other hand, is purely a construction of Kobik, an unaltered version of the man who lived entirely in her head, but who was made real to combat the evil version of himself.

RELATED: Interview: Nick Spencer on Marvel’s Secret Empire & Its Aftermath, Part 1

If this all seems a little complicated, that's fine. All you really need to know is that old school Rogers is the good guy, and Hydra Cap is not.

Rogers breaks into Shadow Pillar to confront his doppelgänger. He has questions for the man who is exactly like him but entirely different. He’s also looking for a proper confrontation. The punch-up that concluded Secret Empire didn’t leave much room for banter, and both Rogers want to get their digs in. The verbal sparring match that ensues is personal, political, and philosophical.

It also explores a question that has been troubling readers: How will Secret Empire affect the legacy of Captain America? Will the character be forever sullied by his fascist turn?

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Captain%20America%20Will%20Be%20Just%20Fine...%20Maybe']



Captain America Will Be Just Fine... Maybe

A two-page spread presents the dichotomy and the legacy of the character. On the left, we see the real Steve Rogers, behind him a collage of comic book covers and panels that goes back to his 1939 origins. On the right, the bare chested Hydra Cap is depicted in front of panels going back to the beginning of Spencer’s Captain America: Steve Rogers run. It is clear that one has the weight of history on his side, but as the story progresses, we see that old school Steve is the one who has doubts, not Hydra Cap.

In fact, throughout the issue, Hydra Cap speaks with the conviction of a true believer. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, he continues to think that his altered past is the truth. More frightening is the fact that his followers also cling to this version of reality, and are still willing to help him in his pursuit to restore this past and restore himself to power.

In many ways, he is the ultimate conspiracy theorist. His belief in the Great Deception -- the idea that the Allies created a Cosmic Cube to reverse Hydra’s World War II victory -- not only echoes the secret histories espoused by the hosts of late night AM radio call-in shows, but also smacks of nostalgia for a time that never was.

RELATED: Secret Empire: Zemo’s Friendship with Captain America Isn’t Over Yet

Hydra Cap also takes no responsibility for his actions. When Steve tells him that he will stand trial for his crimes, the doppelgänger falls back on legal technicalities. He explains that he did what was necessary and broke no laws. Carol Danvers created the Planetary Defense Shield, and the SHIELD ACT granted him the power to take over the country in case of emergency. It also granted him the authority to pardon any wrongdoers, which he used pre-emptively on himself and the members of Hydra.

Hydra Cap also insists that America brought fascism on itself because it -- and its heroes -- venerate fear and weakness. He argues that he had encouragement and support to commit his atrocities, and later on taunts Steve that there were many more people willing to join Hydra than the good guys would care to admit.

Hydra Cap also blames Steve for stopping him from using Kobik to reverse all the death and destruction, and from ushering in a new era of peace enforced by the violence of Hydra. Even though he feels it is just and right to use the Cosmic Cube to alter reality to his liking, he claims that Steve and the heroes won through divine intervention. Paradoxically, their use of Kobik against him undermines and delegitimizes their victory.

In short, his double standard paints everybody else as villainous, while bathing him and his Hydra cohorts in the light of virtue. Everything in the world is broken, and only he can fix it.

Despite Hydra Cap’s every provocation, Rogers remains unfazed. But unlike his evil counterpart, the strength of his belief leaves room for doubt; it is doubt that has brought him face to face with his mirror image.

Rogers reveals that Hydra Cap’s actions have tarnished his reputation. When he tried to help a boy trapped in the rubble of the Battle of Washington, the child cowered and shrank away from him. But he also sees the silver lining, “I’ve spent years telling people not to put too much trust in one person,” he tells his doppelgänger, “Not to follow blindly. To question authority. Now more people will understand why.”

These few words summarize the theme of Secret Empire, and of Spencer’s entire Captain America run. He has spent the last fifteen months deconstructing an icon, and showing readers that oppressors will co-opt and subvert the very symbols and institutions that signal liberty. They will cast themselves as liberators and victims, when in fact they are anything but.

Steve calls out Hydra Cap’s bluster and posturing as lazy. He calls out the villain as a liar who used the image of Captain America to fool people into following him. Evil Steve strikes back by reminding Rogers that far too many people embraced fascism. They found in Hydra a higher purpose, freedom from perceived oppression, and a sense of order. Ever the tyrant, he sees liberation in subjugation.

Upon finally understanding that Hydra Cap will not yield, Steve recognizes why he wanted to talk to his mirror image. He needed a reminder that his entire raison d’être was fighting fascists, and that he’d only won a battle in a war that never ends.

In the end, Spencer and Sorrentino have crafted an excellent way to bring Captain America back to his roots, set him up for Marvel's Legacy reboot, and give him a worthy opponent for the future.