"Hail HYDRA!"
"We will never be destroyed! Cut off a limb and two more shall take its place!"
Formed near the end of the World War II, HYDRA began as an underground society in Imperial Japan, making plans for after the defeat of the Axis. The organization began raiding arms plants around the world, many proving highly successful following the arrival of Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker from Germany. After his falling out with Adolf Hitler, Von Strucker sought out the Red Skull who sent Strucker to meet with the band of despondent Japanese who were forming what would become HYDRA. As the Cold War began, HYDRA came to be the globe's leading terrorist organization with branches in all the world, including New York City.
Fury's successful defeat of the Hydra empire built by Arthur Brown (chronicled in STRANGE TALES #135) Hydra was quite a long way from being eradicated, however, While its forces regrouped, Hydra kept SHIELD busy with several of its sub-divisions and a few independent agents. These included: the Fixer (STRANGE TALES #144) AIM., or Advanced Idea Mechanics, the previously mentioned scientists branch of the original Hydra (STRANGE TALES #146-149 and TALES OF SUSPENSE #78-84) and the Secret Empire (TALES TO ASTONISH # 81-85). All this-merely to cover the rebirth of Hydra proper.
When Hydra's existence became known to the world at large, it also became known to Baron Strucker, the man who to a certain degree-laid the foundation for the organization. He'd been staying in South America to escape punishment for the many crimes he'd perpetrated during World War II. The Baron left his hideaway to contact the remnants of the Brown organization. Hydra almost unanimously voted to restore Strucker to his former position as Supreme Hydra. With typical Nazi flair, Baron Strucker soon unleashed on the world two of the most destructive weapons ever imagined; the Overkill Horn (capable of setting off any nuclear weapon) and the even more fearsome Death-Spore. The Baron made the mistake of rebuilding Hydra Island, however, and, by gathering the majority of Hydra in that one location, made it that much easier for Nick Fury to destroy the bulk of the organization in one fell swoop. (STRANGE TALES #150-158)
Hydra was fragmented by this devastating defeat. Both AIM. and the Secret Empire severed their connections with this organization. The former is still active, under the leadership of Modok The latter, working its way into the political arena was recently exposed by Captain America (CAPTAIN AMERICA #175). Several years earlier, Cap had also fought and destroyed a Hydra splinter group under the leadership of the self-styled Madame Hydra (CAPTAIN AMERICA #110-113).
Coincidentally enough, the appearance of the Red dominated Hydra organization (CAPTAIN AMERICA #148), which, as stated earlier, has no connection with the actual Hydra, spurred a notion in the minds of the Hydra hierarchy. Though they were duped by the Red Skull, Kingpin and (his son) the Schemer ran the fraudulent Hydra with both deadly efficiency and surprising imagination. Hydra hierarchy, determined that they would find another such criminal mastermind to be their new Supreme Hydra. Hydra had turned full circle. Created by the Japanese underworld world during the war-torn 1940s, it was now scouring the American underworld in order to find dynamic leadership.
(Taken from Daredevil #121. By Tony Isabella)
Staying true to their mantra, HYDRA persevered, however at less then its full capacity. With the collapse of a central organization, many branches, such as the NYC cell, became semiautonomous while others collapsed entirely. The loss of Von Strucker's central leadership lead to a shift from global domination to more criminal enterprises allowing for the cultivation of such criminal minds such as the Kingpin. In particular the science division of HYDRA, A.I.M. grew so far as to establish legitimate business credentials. Amoung others who have been members and went on to various nefarious agendas of thier own are; Silvermane, Blackwing , Jackhammer, El Jaguar, the Fox, Man-Killer, Space Phantom, Grim Reaper, Bull's Eye, Count Otto Vermis, Crippler, Sathan, Crossbones, and the Absorbing Man
The late 1980's saw an effort to revive Von Strucker via the Deathspore virus succeed, thus ushering HYDRA into a new era. For the next three years Von Strucker sought to reform HYDRA under his leadership, even going as far as to change the old uniforms of green & yellow to a more somber dark red. During this second reign of Von Strucker, HYDRA launched its most devastating offensive; laying waste to S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, killing 1,500 graduating agents, thereby extracting deadly retribution for the sinking of HYDRA Island.
This second reign of Von Strucker was put to an end in 1993 when SHIELD launched an offensive against HYDRA's mountain fortress in Iceland. Von Strucker is thought dead again and his Satan Claw containing the Deathspore virus is in guarded containment. Once again HYDRA found itself deprived of a central leadership, but far from dead.
Once again the United States factions gained prominence and returned HYDRA to its original colors and set about another slow crawl to global dominance through criminal and terrorist means. Despite the proliferation of other terrorist cells and various splinter groups such A.I.M. and the Genesis Coalition attempting to gain its resources, HYDRA remains the premiere agency of terror on the planet.
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