First announced back in September 2022, Skydance's Marvel game is still completely shrouded in mystery. Despite debuting with a minute-long trailer, fans only know a vague outline of Skydance's Marvel game, including that it's set during World War 2, and that they'll be able to control Captain America, Black Panther, a U.S. soldier named Gabriel Jones, and Nanali, a member of the Dora Milaje. Aside from that, it's all still up in the air.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Skydance's Marvel game announcement trailer was its hints about its main villains. As any Marvel fan would expect for the time setting, Skydance's Marvel game will pit players against Hydra, the terrorist organization that started as an offshoot of the Nazis. While there was really no question of which group could be the primary antagonistic force of this game, it's a little less clear who could be leading them.
Who's Leading Hydra In Skydance's Marvel Game?
First introduced in 1965's Strange Tales #135, Hydra has had several different origins in Marvel comics, but the most common throughline is that its roots date back to World War 2, where it began as a subsection of the Nazi army. During the war, Hydra spent a great deal of time discovering ancient artifacts and using them to create experimental technology, technology that would go on to be used for the organization's state-of-the-art weaponry and vehicles. As Nazi Germany falls, Hydra manages to escape capture, and over the years, it manages to gradually spread its network of double agents and spies across the globe, eventually regrouping in the modern era as a worldwide terrorist organization.
Over the years, Hydra has had many different leaders, both in the comics and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, meaning that Skydance's Marvel game has a plethora of different villains to choose from to lead its own version of the antagonistic organization. Of course, the most obvious choice for Hydra's leader is also its most iconic one: Red Skull.
Red Skull, also known as Johann Schmidt, is by far the character most synonymous with leading Hydra, especially during the World War 2 era. Often depicted wearing a black trench coat and sporting either a blood-red skull mask or a disfigured skull face, the Red Skull is Captain America's most brutal and consistent foe, appearing across time and space to try and kill the super soldier and anyone he holds dear. If Skydance's Marvel game wants an iconic villain with black-and-white motives, then Red Skull is definitely the best way to go.
But, if Skydance wants to subvert expectations with its Marvel game, then there are a few other leaders it could go with. Baron Von Strucker is another iconic Hydra leader, and one that's been kept alive via different comic book means for decades. In some continuities, Von Strucker is the one who originally founds Hydra, as well as the one to resurrect it in the modern era. Alternatively, Skydance could go with Baron Zemo.
An assassin that's only growing in popularity thanks to the MCU, Zemo occasionally takes on a leadership role in Hydra, and having him take on the role of the game's primary antagonist could pave the way for a thrilling final boss fight. Madame Hydra is another great pick for Skydance's Marvel game. Having many different origin stories and personas in the comics, Skydance would have plenty to draw inspiration from if they chose Madame Hydra, and that would also allow them a little more creative freedom, with fans probably not going in with too many expectations about the character.
Skydance Interactive’sMarvel game is in development.