10 Best Times Superheroes Switched Sides

Secret Empire is one of the more controversial comic book arcs of recent times, working off a simple idea: what if Captain America was a Hydra agent?

Steve Rogers hasn’t actually been a Hydra sleeper agent all this time, however thanks to Kobik’s manipulation of his memories, he thinks he has been. It begins with him trapping Captain Marvel and the Guardians outside of the Earth’s atmosphere before declaring his allegiance and ruling over the planet like a proper tyrant.

A Tony Stark-led group of heroes try to discover the truth of Cap’s turn to the dark side, because they know that the real Steve Rogers would not - could not - be a traitor.

It’s this, ultimately, that makes this storyline so compelling. There’s always some intrigue when a recognisable good guy turns bad, but Secret Empire does much more than that - it challenges a fundamental part of Captain America’s existence.

Since his creation, he has been a symbol not so much of America but of American ideals - loyalty, truth, justice. Whether modern day America still represents those goals is up for debate, and Secret Empire held up a metaphorical mirror for them. By changing what Captain America is, they remind you of what he’s meant to be.