Captain America Hail Hydra

[Leoparis]

This story occurs in July 1944 in Germany.
Cap and Bucky come across Hydra (for the first time apparently) and Baron Von Strucker appears.

[Russ Chappell]

July, 1944? Then this would not be Steve Rogers, correct?

Didn't the Rogers Cap encounter Hydra in the Roger Stern Marvel Universe story?

Dovetails nicely with this being the first time this Captain America encounters Hydra, no?

[Michael]

Russ, I don't have Hail Hydra but I thought that Steve was still Cap in July 1944. Aside from the Isaiah Bradley Captain America, the first replacement Cap didn't appear until May 1945. Am I forgetting something?

[Russ Chappell]

Ah, you're right. Got my World War II history mixed up.

So. Where does that leave us? Marvel Universe 1-3 occurs in May of 1944, right? It's a Hydra story, isn't it? So, how "apparently" is this Cap's first meeting with Hydra in Hail Hydra?

[John Simons]

Guys,

I just read the issue and although it is clearly an early encounter between Cap and Bucky and Hydra, I don't see anything in the story that requires it to be the very first time. In fact, although Geist brags about his bitchin new secret organization, he doesn't mention Hydra by name in the presence of the heroes. So Cap and Bucky really never comment one way or the other "Hydra, what's that?" or "Hydra, those guys again?" Later, Cap and Bucky see Strucker in full Hydra garb, but they still make no reference one way or the other about whether they've seen him in that get-up before. I haven't read the Marvel Universe story in awhile, but I don't see anything in Hail Hydra #1 that would prohibit it from taking place after that MU arc.

[Russ Chappell]