Two years after the conclusion of Marvel's Secret Empire storyline, Captain America is still haunted by the events of the Secret Empire storyline. Terrorist group Hydra took over America under the leadership of Steve Rogers, and it took a resistance force of superheroes to defeat him, led by Sam Wilson, who had the Captain America title at the time, and Bucky Barnes, who had previously held it. Unfortunately for the duo, previews for the upcoming Falcon and Winter Soldier #3 suggest that the next leader of Hydra will be a fake Captain America, and could be the very same fascist version of Rogers that they previously defeated.
In Secret Empire, a reality-warping entity alters Captain America's timeline so that he was raised by indoctrination specialists at Hydra, turning him into a perfect Hydra sleeper agent who is as dedicated to the Nazi-adjacent villains as the unaltered Rogers is dedicated to America. The entity eventually had a change of heart and recreated classic Steve to beat up the version she'd corrupted, but at no point did she undo her previous work. This meant that the US had to quietly reinstitute a democratic government, the populace had to decide whether to believe that the leader of Hydra wasn't the "real" Steve Rogers, and Captain Hydra was sent off to prison to stew in his anger and eventually be reintroduced as a villain.
Falcon & Winter Soldier, an upcoming miniseries releasing ahead of the television series of the same name, features the title characters trying to find and defeat the person who is set up to become the next Supreme Leader of Hydra. The solicitation for April's issue 3 (which you can read below) describe the pair as "closing in on their quarry", with the cover depicting them about to beat down on a figure that looks exactly like Steve Rogers in his classic Captain America costume. When the Supreme Hydra and Captain America are mentioned in the same breath, one person comes to mind, and given the amount of time that has passed since their last major appearance, a return seems likely.
There's also the chance that this fake Captain America is a new impostor, not the one that subjugated the United States and created a team of collaborating Avengers. The solicit describes Captain America super-fans who have "a living room of Cap memorabilia". Likewise, Sam and Bucky are wearing the costumes from their respective stretches as Captain America, suggesting that this may be some sort of twisted cosplay event gone too far. The "living memorabilia" could also be a Life Model Decoy, one of the realistic androids made by SHIELD to impersonate their agents in dangerous situations.
There's also the slight chance that it's Captain America himself, caught up in a classic Marvel hero-versus-hero fight. Maybe the Sentinel of Liberty has become compromised again? After all, if you ask J. Jonah Jameson's clickbait factory, Steve never switched back to our side at all. Here's the full solicitation:
- FALCON & WINTER SOLDIER #3 (of 5)
- DEREK LANDY (W)
- FEDERICO VINCENTINI (A)
- DAN MORA (C)
- CORY SMITH (VC)
- Hot on the trail of the Natural - a gifted new killer who has already beaten them once – Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes track him down...to his parents’ house. Where they meet the biggest Captain America fans who ever were.
- From a living room full of Cap memorabilia to a warehouse full of Hydra agents, the Falcon and the Winter Soldier are closing in on their ultimate quarry: the prospective new Hydra Supreme.
You can preorder Falcon & Winter Soldier #3 from your local comics shop before it goes on sale in April 2020.