Marvel reveals the cover to Secret Empire #9

By D. Goodman | Jul 11, 2017

Marvel has taken the wraps off the cover to Secret Empire #9 and promises it will reveal the secrets of Captain America, Agent of Hydra.

As far as Marvel super-mega crossover events go, Secret Empire has been begrudgingly entertaining so far.

No, it isn’t Civil War or Crisis on Infinite Earths, but five issues in and Nick Spencer has managed to create something very readable and dare I say, enjoyable, just when I thought Marvel had forgotten exactly how to do a good super-mega crossover event.

But one of the biggest and most controversial elements of Secret Empire has yet to be tackled head-on, namely the secret of how Captain America became an agent of Hydra. Sure, theories have been bouncing around the internet for months and the fact it involved the Red Skull and Kobik the Cosmic Cube were proven true. But as every comic book reader knows, there is much more to any story.

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So far, the main series has yet to reveal much, instead giving readers a bit at a time in order to build the suspense, which is good. There is nothing worse than having the whole story explained at the outset so it makes reading the rest of the series a waste of time.

But on Tuesday, Marvel disclosed the whole story will come to light in the pages of the forthcoming Secret Empire #9. In addition, they gave fans their first look at the cover to that issue. Well, most of the cover.

Cover to Secret Empire #9 (Credit: Marvel Comics)

You’ll no doubt notice the cover features one of Marvel’s famous blacked out character silhouettes. Whoever it might be seems to be battling with Baron Zemo while Black Panther is lying on the ground.

So, of course, the big question is: Who is the silhouetted figure?

If I had to guess, and this is just a shot in the dark from what I know of Zemo, his history and how the silhouette looks, it may be Citizen V.

For those who may not remember, Citizen V was the role Zemo assumed while he ran the Thunderbolts. With that book seemingly in limbo and the fact the character was featured in early marketing material for the last big Marvel relaunch that isn’t a relaunch, but never actually showed up in any comics.

Like I said, total shot in the dark, but you never know.

The solicitation for the issue doesn’t offer much in the way of clues.

"When Steve Rogers was revealed to be an agent of Hydra due to the manipulations of Red Skull, the Marvel Universe was rocked to its core. Now, it’s the moment fans have been waiting for – and you’re not going to want to miss this reveal!What is the secret of Steve Rogers? And how will it affect the Marvel Universe as we know it? Head to your local comic shop this August to find out!"

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Secret Empire #9 goes on sale this August and you can fully expect who the mystery character is to be completely spoiled before the issue hits comic shops.