Secret Empire, Marvel’s controversial event story, which follows Nazi Captain America’s fascist takeover of the United States, is getting an additional issue. Which is kind of weird, because if there’s one thing that fascists are supposedly good for, it’s making sure that everything runs on time. An extra issue seems to go against this ideal, no?
Marvel broke the news on Wednesday, the same day that the series’s second issue hit shelves. The publisher said that the issue wouldn’t be changing writer Nick Spencer’s creative vision. “Allowing the cataclysmic story to wrap up as intended, this additional issue will bring Secret Empire to its explosive conclusion,” a news release claims.
Getting an extra issue has become something of a pattern for Marvel when it comes to event series. Both major events from the past two years, Secret Wars and Civil War II, had an extra issue tacked on as well. In both cases, it seemed like the extra issue didn’t add anything so much as it gave other story beats a little more time to play out (and, of course, make more money, because Marvel is selling an additional issue for $4.99).
Marvel’s executive editor Tom Brevoort said that each issue of Secret Empire ends with a cliffhanger, so strap in.
“Moving into the finale, with issue #10, the heroes across the Marvel Universe will be pushed to the breaking point as we race to the exhilarating climax we’ve been planning for months,” Brevoort said. “Oh, and let me say again: we’re not going to use the Cosmic Cube to simply reverse everything away—the stakes matter, maybe more than they ever have before.”
Marvel also shared the cover for the final issue, which shows a fully Hydra-suited Captain America standing over all his fallen former friends. The shield in the series’s title, which has been a mishmash of the classic star and the Hydra logo, is censored. Perhaps it’s a spoiler, but it sure looks like HydraCap is doing pretty well for himself going into the finale.
Sigh.
Secret Empire #10 comes out in August.
See Also: When HydraCap Picked Up Thor’s Hammer, It Was Pretty Dang Nazi-Like
