Avengers Endgame: Why THAT Captain America moment hinted at MORE than fans thought

Avengers: Endgame was a dramatic and emotionally impactful movie for fans and actors alike. The penultimate Phase Three film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe wrapped up ten years of storytelling. Marvel, however, is far bigger than its movies. Warning: spoilers for Avengers: Endgame from here.

What did Captain America saying ‘Hail Hydra’ really mean?

The moment occurs when the Avengers travel back in time to 2012.

Captain America, Iron Man, Professor Hulk, and Ant-Man all travel to the Battle of New York from Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Captain America finds himself in an elevator with presumed Agents of Shield.

However, these men are actually Hydra spies working against the Avengers.

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Knowing this, Captain America convinces them to hand over an Infinity Stone by saying: “Hail Hydra.”

Fans laughed at the subterfuge on Captain America’s part, knowing full well their hero would never be on the side of Nazi’s.

But this isn’t entirely true. In 2017 Marvel released a maligned comic called Secret Empire.

Written by Nick Spencer, the story revealed Captain America was actually a Hydra spy all along.

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Captain America’s betrayal was explained as a result of his memories being changed by the Cosmic Cube Kobik.

Fans, however, did not take this explanation well and the comic was disparaged by many.

This was despite the fact that by the end of the comic, the good Captain America was restored and fought for justice once again.

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In part, this was due to the fact that Captain America’s creators themselves were Jewish.

And another Marvel character, X-Men’s Magneto, was also turned into a Hydra operative despite the fact that canonically, Magneto is a Jewish Holocaust survivor.

The moment in the lift, therefore, is both a wink at the audience and an even deeper eye-roll at the 2017 misstep.

The reversal by the end of the comic, however, was not enough for many.

Avengers: Endgame is now playing in cinemas.