An exclusive preview of Captain America: Steve Rogers #2 from ComicBook has explained why Captain America is a Hydra Agent, and it's for exactly the reason most fans guessed. The preview and accompanying article reveal that Steve Roger's memories of being indoctrinated into Hydra as a young boy were implanted by his archenemisis the Red Skull, using the Cosmic Cube.

Marvel Editor-in-Cheif Alex Alonso participated in an interview with ComicBook where he talked about the plot twist. He said it took him a while to get on-board with the idea of Hydra Cap when it was first pitched to him. When talking about the audience backlash, he said "We're trained to anticipate a strong reaction to change or a big plot twist like this, whether it's a female Thor or the new Ms. Marvel or the Korean-American Hulk. We didn't expect the reaction to be anywhere this big."

He also said, "I think a lot of the people reacting most violently aren't people that go to the comic book stores every Wednesday" and went on to claim the angry fans didn't understand the way comic books worked. He felt the revelations in issue 2 would lead to brand new discussion amongst fans.

He said the current storyline was going to build to "big, big things within the Marvel universe as well". According to him, Captain America Steve Rogers #2 will be dense, challenging and mind-blowing. He also claimed the story was very topical, saying "What's more deep cover than the most trusted superhero in the universe operating with an ulterior motive? A sinister agenda? You don't have to search far and wide to start seeing the topical things we're dealing with right now in this post-9/11 world."

I'm naturally not at all surprised at the revelation that this was brainwashing, which is why I find it a bit laughable that Alonso is basically implying the fans who got angry are not "real fans". I watched the anger spread in the fan community and every single one of the people who were angry did not at all think Marvel was really going to turn Cap into a Nazi (See: 5 Reasons Why Captain America Being Hydra Doesn’t Make Sense).

They were just angry that Marvel would mess with an iconic character in this way for such a cheap publicity stunt, taking advantage of America's current political unease for a shallow plot twist. Also there's the fact Marvel may have outright lied in promoting this twist- Nick Spencer said Cap being a Hydra agent was "not mind control" in an interview. Nick Spencer may not agree, but technicalities aside, I think implanted memories count as "mind control".

Alonso namedrops 9/11 here, which I think speaks to why the fans reacted badly. Marvel is opening wounds about real tragedies to get sales. This doesn't strike me as deep political commentary, just a desire to incite anger and make money. Fans reacting badly to a creator turning a beloved hero into a Nazi and then decieving them to get them to believe this is the new status quo is not at all comparable to fans reacting badly to a Marvel adding diversity to their line. Diversity shouldn't be a "plot twist" that's supposed to unsettle the audience, so that comparison is a bit ridiculous in my opinion.

Do you agree with my distaste? Or do you think the plot twist is a good one and Alonso is right about fan reaction?

Read: James Gunn on That Controversial ‘Captain America: Steve Rogers #1’ Twist

Read: What Stan Lee Thinks of The Controversial ‘Captain America: Steve Rogers’ Hydra Twist