SECRET EMPIRE FCBD Nick Spencer interview

>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."

>"We're constantly looking for ways to make the story bigger, make the story scarier, make it bolder, and this one kind of fell into our laps," he explained.

>"Whoever can lift that hammer immediately receives a certain level of reverence and deference within the Marvel Universe. We know that picking up the hammer is a big, big deal, and very very few people can do it. So it's a watershed moment in Cap's whole plan."

>"The message that it sends out to everyone across the world is a huge one. It's sort of a credibility building moment for him. He'll always be able to claim whenever people call him evil, or whenever people criticize the things that he's done, he'll be able to say 'I lifted Mjolnir.' So that's another card in his deck now."

>As for what the future holds for Secret Empire, Spencer said "now you're going to see the world under Hydra rule. You're going to see the United States under Hydra rule. So you're going to be introduced to a very new environment."

Cap in the High Castle is surprisingly entertaining.

Of course he is worthy

I enjoy the storyline but I enjoy all the "drama" coming from it even more. From both sides of the political spectrum. But mostly from Tumblrites, as usual.

Why has the FCBD #1 been story times yet?

>big story
>it's based exclusively on Earth

Why doesn't Nick have any sense of scale? This is kid stuff that won't even leave the solar system.

...

But how did they take out the Vision and the Scarlet Witch and then have them join Hydra alsongside Thor Odison?

Apparently the hammer is the personification of the first storm in creation bound to a chunk of Uru that has been changing its mind on what makes people worthy lately, so I think Cap picking it up isn't much of a surprise.

Maybe she has the hots for Hydra Cap unifying the world?

Did you just assume the hammer's gender?

Then why Doom can't pick it up?

>Implying a Hammer can't be a she
Umm... Misogynist much?

>People found out about Nick's old political campaigns and the fact that he was a shitty booker/ bar owner with questionable politics.

Oh boy.

(Apparently he has a reputation in Cincinnati.)

Wait, they just found out now? I thought that was public knowledge in the last five years.

I'm pretty indifferent to the storyline. I mean it's better written than most Marvel events in the last 10 years, but it's not interesting enough for me to continue on with it.

The shitstorm is more entertaining. Moreso when you realize they can't use their attack on comic fans like they usually do because the audience upset about this is the one they actually wanted to have buying their books.

i havent kept up with marvel, but i thought that jane forster was thor for the moment, is she thor at this time, and just drops the hammer, or is it not explained at all?

Yeah. Steve sent her to another dimension or some shit and she dropped the hammer in the process. Where she went is going to get covered in the Avengers tie-in.

It was, but "public knowledge" for people that looked into it. Which pretty much begins and ends at us.

You know what I hate when it comes to these kinds of attitudes with the writer? The sheer smugness and arrogance that they show when they talk about these kinds of stories. Personal feelings for the story aside, just going off of the track record that Marvel has with long running stories and events in general, how about rather than focusing on making the story bolder and scarier, how about just making sure to stick the landing? Because when you hype something up too much, you only increase the chances that it's not going to deliver in the end, either feeling rushed or ending unsatisfactory to what was laid out in the beginning.

>Captain America has revealed himself as the leader of Hydra
How does the House of Ideas do it?

What are some of his questionable politics?
I think it's more that he's pissed off almost anyone he possibly could so now people want to find out what kind of skeletons are in his closet.

>"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.
>taking input from the guy that made us wait 3 plus years for Gorr was right