Evil foils of superheroes are a common trope, but terrorist organization Hydra took it one step further by letting loose a squad of genetically altered soldiers made to copy some of the original Avengers. They are the “Hydra Four” – imitations of Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Thor – and they do some decent damage to the Avengers before being defeated. Perplexingly, though, they have never made a single appearance afterward.
The Hydra Four appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #519-524 (2005) by J. Michael Straczynski and Mike Deodato Jr. According to a Hydra officer who appears in the beginning of the story, the fascist terrorist cabal chose to make evil Avengers as a way of combatting the immense power of the heroes, basically applying a “fight fire with fire” logic. When the Hydra Four does spring into action to fight the Avengers, they do a pretty good job showing off their power. It is only later when Spider-Man infiltrates their Hydra base that the Avengers are able to retaliate.
Since they aren’t the “real deal,” the Hydra Four don’t have the same intellects or power levels as the Avengers. They do have some amusing minor similarities to the people they’re imitating. “Tactical Force” seems to have a callous version of Tony Stark’s wit and “Militant” demonstrates basic leadership ability similar to Steve Rogers’s. Overall, they’re a powerful, if largely unremarkable, threat. To an extent, it seems like this is intentional – that these palate-swapped “Hydra-vengers” are a joke about lazy villain concepts. The way they are introduced to the reader via an evil monologue in a gloomy underground base, complete with a fog machine and legions of Hydra troops shouting in unison for dramatic effect, is pleasantly campy. Furthermore, some of the selection choices made by Hydra for the group just seem comical.
“Hammer” is a ridiculously generic name for a Thor pastiche. “Bowman,” is said to somehow be enhanced physically, but he appears to just be a normal guy who knows archery, which begs the question of why Hawkeye was one of the Avengers Hydra chose to emulate (not to mention Iron Man, who also has no superpowers). And Tactical Force is so dismissive of his job that he refuses to use his codename and instead opts to call himself by his first name, Karl. They aren’t exactly Hydra’s best and brightest.
After the Avengers defeat the Hydra Four in this Amazing Spider-Man arc, they are never seen again, reinforcing their disposability both as characters and as Hydra agents. They do their jobs as villains-of-the-week and a form of self-parody, but the characters don’t have that much depth. But perhaps because of that, they have more room for exploration in future stories. If the villains were to return to the Avengers titles, they could be taken in a new direction. Diving into the dynamics of being a villain solely meant to copy a heroic icon has some potential. Or, if that’s not an option, these failed Hydra experiments could always continue to be punching bags for the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – either could work great.
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