3

In the Marvel movies Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. are opposed by the evil society HYDRA. Whenever a HYDRA agent is defeated or captured, they (almost) without fail chomp a suicide pill and utter the words 'Hail HYDRA!'

Why are HYDRA agents, both in WW2 and the present day, so uniquely committed to their organisation?

I am most interested in informed answers based on the movies, but supporting evidence from the comics will also be considered helpful.

Improve this question
3
  • 11
    It's a go-to trope for spy movies and espionage stories. A combination of dedication to one's cause, and not wanting to be able to reveal any secrets via interrogation. There's a recurring idea of a false tooth that contains said poison, instead of a pill.
    – VBartilucci
    Commented Feb 8, 2019 at 21:14
  • 1
    Obligatory TV Tropes Link
    – Paul
    Commented Feb 9, 2019 at 2:39
  • 1
    Not sure if it's a retcon or not but recent TV offerings have consistently shown Hydra's recruit training as indoctrination heavy & often starting at a very young age, not exactly brain washing but pretty close.
    – Pelinore
    Commented Feb 9, 2019 at 4:00

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
3

As per the movie universe, Hydra had some earlier roots, but before an in WWII they were a department of the Nazi Schutzstaffel which refused to surrender.

  • In the real world many Nazis were fanatical enough to suicide at the end of the Third Reich, either because they didn't want to live in a world where they had lost or because they feared prosecution. This would be some precedent for fictional hydra agents.
  • HYDRA agents would expect to be treated as unlawful combatants rather than criminals or POWs. Note the real-world Allied fear of a Werwolf guerilla, which fortunately did not materialize, and the countermeasures they were considering.
  • In the Marvel universe, SHIELD runs some rather "interesting" prisons.
Improve this answer
2
  • +1 Answers supported by research are always preferred, well done. Ideally you could make it a little clearer why modern day HYDRA agents are still so fanatical - or demonstrate that they have backed off the fanaticism a bit in the present day! :-)
    – EleventhDoctor
    Commented Feb 10, 2019 at 19:09
  • @EleventhDoctor, kind of difficult for a fictional organization.
    – o.m.
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 5:46
8

Consider that an agent's death might be preferable to capture not only for the organization, but for the agent themselves. It's the same reason why it's not unheard of for criminals to choose to kill themselves rather than surrender to police. People do this even when there's no greater organization to protect; they just don't want to spend the rest of their lives in a cage. Throw in an extra layer of potential interrogation, torture, and betrayal of a dearly-held cause, and this doesn't sound so outlandish.

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    Either they're not willing to betray their organization, or they are willing to betray their organization, in which case they can trade their information for freedom. Either way, the OP's question stands: if the agents are altruistic, why are they working for HYDRA? If they aren't altruistic, why aren't they willing to sell HYDRA out?
    – Acccumulation
    Commented Feb 8, 2019 at 22:16
  • 4
    Well if I was a HYDRA agent and I was captured alive, I might be a tad concerned that HYDRA would want to tidy up loose ends.
    – Peter M
    Commented Feb 9, 2019 at 0:15
  • and seeing that HYDRA is capable of invading even SHIELD's ranks, I'm pretty sure no HYDRA traitor would be safe anywhere.
    – MissouriSpartan
    Commented Feb 11, 2019 at 21:32
  • Think of it from a "the good guys are always good" perspective - capturing the "bad guy" means the good guys are now in possession of someone who probably knows a lot about the enemies tactics, forces, technology etc. This means interrogations are in order. Interrogations are often messy and involve coercions to some degree. Cant be having the good guys doing all that stuff, can we? Messy interrogations are solely the realm of the bad guy. So the bad guy must die before, or shortly after, capture. At his own hand, or the hand of someone with a very good ethical reason to kill him.
    – Moo
    Commented Feb 12, 2019 at 8:06
4

Hydra is not an organized crime outfit. In the comics it was created as an ideological foe for SHIELD, an organization of fanatics who combined inspirations from the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazis, the Communists, religious cults, terrorists and THRUSH from the Man from UNCLE. Their goal is not to make money. It's to unite the world under their rule, turning it into what they imagine will be a utopia. Their slogan about what happens when you cut off one "head" of Hydra reflects their sincere dedication to their cause. We don't get a lot of explanation of what motivates the Hydra faithful because if we did get a detailed and well worked out explanation, a fair chunk of the readers (and watchers) might actually decide they are team Hydra, just as a disturbing number of people find cinematic Thanos's loony justifications to have some merit. But the reason why a lot of Hydra agents are willing to die for their cause is because they believe their cause is right.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.