>Captain America has revealed himself as the leader of Hydra, and Marvel's biggest heroes have gathered. The hammer of Thor, Mjolnir, falls to the ground after the Asgardian disappears and Captain America walks over to it and in a huge shocker, lifts the hammer.
>"It's a big moment. It's a big, scary moment for the Marvel Universe," writer Nick Spencer told us. "We wanted an iconic image that would signify to the audience and to everybody in the Marvel Universe that the fight was sort of over before it began."
>"We thought 'what's a bigger finish than Hydra Captain Steve getting his hands on that hammer?' It has so much significance and meaning both to the broader Marvel Universe but also to Steve and Steve's own history," Spencer explained. "When he picks that up, it really is your sign that this thing is over before it starts."
>But how exactly is Captain America, now the leader of Hydra, able to hoist the mighty hammer? "It certainly is a plot point we're going to keep coming back to and revisiting and talking about," Spencer said. "We're going to talk a little about what the meaning of 'worthiness' is." Spencer said they've worked with Thor writer Jason Aaron "really closely" on not just the story in Secret Empire, but "other ways in which Thor and Asgard will connect" to the book.
>"Big plans there," he said.
>But the question remains, is there any sort of trickery or illusions at work in Cap's unbelievable feat, or is he actually able to lift Mjolnir?
>"Oh, he's really lifting it," Spencer assured us. "People have their theories. There will be a lot of people who refuse to believe it, but sure does look like he really did lift the hammer."
>The impetus for Cap's lifting of Thor's hammer comes from wanting "to bring up the intensity another notch," Spencer said. "When you do something as big as Captain America saying 'Hail Hydra,' that can be a very tough thing to then top the next time around."