From Stan Lee To James Gunn, What Are The Big Names In Marvel Saying About Captain America's Hydra Twist?

It's the topic of the week, and it shows no sign of dying down — how could Marvel turn Steve Rogers into a Hydra agent?

As the Internet fires continue to burn, more and more comic creators and even actors are getting drawn into the controversy. Here are the best!

It was always going to happen! Interviewed at MegaCon, Stan Lee — the greatest figure in Marvel Comics history (although not Cap's creator) — was asked about the idea. His answer came as a surprise to many fans!

"It's a helluva clever idea. I don't know that I would ever have thought of it, for him to be a double agent. But it's going to make you curious, it's going to make you want to read the books...they'll probably do a movie based on it, so I can't fault it. It's a good idea."

Tom Brevoort

A key figure in Marvel Comics, Tom Brevoort was always going to be fielding questions about this. He's told Newsarama that, in his view, the anger is largely based on misunderstandings.

"The sort of game of telephone on the internet about this went from it being “Captain America is Hydra,” to “Captain America is a Nazi” — which is already a leap — to “This is anti-semitism,” which is ridiculous, in that, if you look at the comic book that we put out, there is nothing in it that, in any way, shape, or form, is even slightly anti-semitic. But because people were able to go “Hydra = Nazi, and Nazi = anti-semitism," that's what reactions became about...

So a lot of those more casual fans are outraged, but they’re outraged based on the reporting of it. I don’t even necessarily mean the major news outlets, but by the way this news, and the expression of it has passed from person to person, particularly online. It’s been couched in a very particular way to generate the most possible outrage, and it’s done so."

Paul Renauld

Notable comic book writer Paul Renauld shared his views on Twitter:

Dan Slott

A long-running writer of Amazing Spider-Man, Slott is no stranger to comic book controversy — he received death threats himself over his Superior Spider-Man arc.

Ed Brubaker

Once writer of Captain America, Brubaker has had the weird experience of getting drawn into the controversy. Although he doesn't even write for Marvel Comics any more, he's somehow been blamed for Nick Spencer's plot twist.

It's nice I'm now getting abuse from lunatics about Captain America, a comic I haven't worked on for over five years.— Ed Brubaker (@brubaker) May 26, 2016

James Gunn

Even the big names of the MCU are getting drawn into the furore! After a dismissive Facebook post, James Gunn — director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films — has wound up on the defensive. The image above gives an idea of just how much heat people are getting, and it's more than a little disturbing.

As he commented in his Facebook post:

"Sometimes the pop culture figures we love are going to do different things than what we want them to do. Sometimes it will be because of bad storytelling and sometimes it will be because the creators simply have different ideas than we do. We can complain about it, but being hyperbolic about it isn't healthy and attacking folks for it isn't kind. And if you're doing those things, I suggest you have bigger issues in your life that need examining.It's Memorial Day weekend. In memory of all those who sacrificed themselves for freedom, let's use it wisely (i.e. not throwing my pet in a wood chipper)."

Clark Gregg

After an initial shocked reaction, Clark Gregg stepped back a bit with a wry comment.

Brett Dalton

But for sheer comedy genius, nobody reacted better than Brett Dalton (formerly Agent Ward/Hive of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Chris Evans

Even Chris Evans has chimed in — after a fashionably late response. Here's all he had to say:

Nick Spencer, writer of Steve Rogers: Captain America #1, seems to have known he was in for a rough ride. In spite of the death threats he's received, though, the responses of his fellow creators has clearly astounded him:

It is an amazing thing when your heroes go to bat for you. Really, truly grateful for it.— Nick Spencer (@nickspencer) May 28, 2016

As the fans rage, the reality is that the writers and actors seem remarkably unfazed by the #Hydra plot. Most are neutral, willing to give it time, while others are intrigued to see where Nick Spencer's headed. One thing's pretty certain: However little fuming fans may like it, this kind of controversy typically fuels sales, and Steve Rogers: Captain America #1 is pretty much guaranteed to have performed well in terms of sales. That said, I doubt even Marvel could have predicted quite how much of a storm this twist would cause!