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[LordOfLore]

Bleeding Cool links: Report 1. Report 2.

Marvel is now offering comic stores the chance to be a part of the Hydra Nation with exclusive retailer Hydra Staff T-Shirts, to be worn by staff during the run of the series.

They reiterated to retailers that they will be converting popular comic & entertainment news sites (apart from Bleeding Cool), Marvel apps and Marvel Unlimited – even certain brick-and-mortar comic locations into Hydra-ized versions of themselves.

Now, Marvel would like to invite even more retailers to further immerse themselves within the pages of Secret Empire with exclusively designed Hydra Staff T-Shirts.

Yesterday, Bleeding reported on Marvel's plan to get comic shop employees to wear Hydra shirts to promote Secret Empire. It's part of Marvel's overall ”Hydra Takeover" marketing gimmick that has been as well-received on social media as, well, as Secret Empire itself. For some reason, one we can't quite put our finger on, people are uncomfortable with this. Hmm. What could it be?

Anyway, the reaction was swift and overwhelmingly negative, with, out of literally hundreds of tweets just quoting our own tweet of the story, only one or two tweets supporting the idea. Amongst the many tweets no in favor of a Hydra takeover were some from someone who you may remember as the comic shop clerk who brought us a heartwarming tale about a young Supergirl fan last December. Will her shop be participating in the Hydra promotion?

Yeah, doesn't look like it. Another retailer revealed that Marvel wants shops to do more than just wear t-shirts.

Check the second link for the one group who likes it and thinks it's a good idea(

Spoiler

actual nazis

).

Also:

What's not mentioned is that comic retailers can NOT get these shirts through Diamond, or even from Marvel. They have to pay for them, and order them from a third party.
Marvel once again wants the retailers to pay for their promos. Which, might be fair, but not like this.

 

[caliph95]

Definately not tone deaf and boneheaded.

They should fire their marketing team.

 

[johnsmith]

That's not a hydra uniform


This is a hydra uniform

 

[NEO0MJ]

Definately not tone deaf and boneheaded.

They should fire their marketing team.

Pepe needs to put food on the table too, man. Do you have any idea how many eggs frogs lay?

 

[BoogieWoogie]

Lol at Marvel having the gall to make stores pay for this. Come ooonnnn.

 

[VAD]

I wouldn't mind buying comics from Hydra Bob. But only from him, not wanabe nazis.

Also what's the offense being hinted at here? Genuinely seem to be missing it

Using nazis as promotional material is kind of shitting on their diversity efforts and not very elegant in the current political state of the world.

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

Making the stores pay seems crazy?

Also what's the offense being hinted at here? Genuinely seem to be missing it

 

[WrenchNinja]

This seems ill-conceived

 

[SpaceWolf]

Also what's the offense being hinted at here? Genuinely seem to be missing it

Marvel asking comic book store employees to dress up as fantastical Nazis.

 

[Bronx-Man]

This seems uh.......yeah.

 

[Phamit]

Is the Trump Presidency a Secret Empire promotion?

 

[Kurdel]

Marvel asking comic book store employees to dress up as fantastical Nazis.

I am willing to bet this store had no problems with Empire merch pushed during Star Wars.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Check the second link for the one group who likes it and thinks it's a good idea(

Spoiler

actual nazis

).

Ouch.
Your move, DC!

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

This just seems dumb.

 

[Metroidvania]

Great, job, marketing team. Must be taking directions from Nick Spencer's twitter feed on how to manage PR.

Also what's the offense being hinted at here? Genuinely seem to be missing it

Long story short, while the HYDRA organization has (recently) been 'white-washed' in the new Captain America series as trying to be a 'separate' fascist ideology (and thus, not actually Nazis), for a large part of their history in comics, they were basically in bed with them.

Given the current populist/white nationalist political climate, and asking employees to dress as 'I can't believe it's not a Nazi'......

 

[Kensation]

Are they going to make them goose-step and salute too?

 

[QuantumBro]

Nathan for you season 4?

 

[echoshifting]

Making the stores pay seems crazy?

Also what's the offense being hinted at here? Genuinely seem to be missing it

Because Hydra were Nazis. And it's kinda like they're doing that "root for the villain" thing that can be fun but is maybe bad with Nazis, especially in the current political climate.

The real problem is that Marvel is inhabiting a reality where people have accepted their explanation that Hydra weren't really Nazis in this continuity, but generally speaking, nobody has.

 

[Aceun]

Is the Trump Presidency a Secret Empire promotion?

Believe me. It's going to be YUGE #HailHydra #MAGA

 

[WrenchNinja]

I am willing to bet this store had no problems with Empire merch pushed during Star Wars.

The Empire didn't work with Hitler

 

[KingV]

Lol at Marvel having the gall to make stores pay for this. Come ooonnnn.

That's ridiculous. If they were just sending the tshirts to comic stores pro bono (and said, hey we would appreciate if you wore these) I wouldn't really have a problem with the promotion.

 

[Dali]

Fitz straight up said hydra was going to MAGA in the newest episode of agents of shield... the one where they are trying to escape a virtual world where hydra has taken over and turned America into a fascist, police state. The comparison to Trump isn't veiled.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

I get that this is just a silly thing they want to do to promote their event but yeah... Considering the times we live in, it's incredibly tone deaf.
And they can try to retcon it all they want but Hydra will always equal Nazis.

 

[Kurdel]

The Empire didn't work with Hitler

The Hydra story is convoluted, but they didn't work for Hitler either.

 

[KidGalactus]

My decision to stop buying Marvel comics continues to be vindicated.

 

[WrenchNinja]

The Hydra story is convoluted, but they didn't work for Hitler either.

Read again

With

 

[Puck Beaverton]

The Empire didn't work with Hitler

They're space racist

 

[Metroidvania]

The Hydra story is convoluted, but they didn't work for Hitler either.

While this is (moreso now) true with the retcons Spencer's story has been telling, that doesn't stop people from feeling like this.

The real problem is that Marvel is inhabiting a reality where people have accepted their explanation that Hydra weren't really Nazis in this continuity, but generally speaking, nobody has.

Marvel either doesn't see, or doesn't care that a lot of people aren't going to make the connection.....because of all the history Cap has, not only with Hydra but with the Nazis they were in bed with.

Some of that is probably due to The First Avenger movie, sure, but even aside from that, there's almost 80 years of Cap being super anti-fascism, which encompasses both Hydra and the Nazis in peoples' minds.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

The Empire didn't work with Hitler

Palpatine is pretty much just Space Hitler.

 

[ezekial45]

Is the Trump Presidency a Secret Empire promotion?

Trump's meeting with Ike Perlmutter (Marvel Comics CEO) a few months ago makes even more sense now.

 

[TTOOLL]

The Empire didn't work with Hitler

 

[Spaced Harrier]

Make Our Society Great Again.

 

[wesleyshark]

Marvelol

 

[Bronx-Man]

My decision to stop buying Marvel comics continues to be vindicated.

ACTUALLY, this is a good thing and makes perfect sense

Spoiler

/s

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Not Nazis, but number one with Nazis, right Marvel?

This is bizarrely stupid even for comics. Especially in a year where Bannon, Alex Jones, and Milo were practically in the President's ear.

 

[Mushroomer25]

I am willing to bet this store had no problems with Empire merch pushed during Star Wars.

The Empire didn't get their start by working with the ACTUAL Nazis.

Even Agents of Shield was up front about the two groups being given undeniably linked.

 

[Geist-]

That's not a hydra uniform


This is a hydra uniform

I was seriously expecting this.

 

[BajiBoxer]

Making the stores pay seems crazy?

Also what's the offense being hinted at here? Genuinely seem to be missing it

In the Marvel lore, Hydra were actual Nazis. The Nazis were basically a Hydra sub-group.

 

[Machine]

Most comic shops don't have very big margins. Asking them to pay for promotional shirts is absurd.

 

[Choppasmith]

Because Hydra were Nazis. And it's kinda like they're doing that "root for the villain" thing that can be fun but is maybe bad with Nazis, especially in the current political climate.

The real problem is that Marvel is inhabiting a reality where people have accepted their explanation that Hydra weren't really Nazis in this continuity, but generally speaking, nobody has.

I think another thing is that they mistakenly think the whole "Hail Hydra!" fad from when the Winter Soldier movie came out is still popular.

 

[jph139]

Yeah, like, ANY other event and this would be fine. "Hail Doom" for Secret Wars? "Kneel Before Thanos" for Infinity? "Cyclops Was Right" for Death of X? Sure.

But not when you're intentionally drawing a parallel between your cartoon fascists and real-world fascists.

 

[shingi70]

I know marvel has tried to separate Hydra and the Nazi Party no one is buying it.

 

[chefbags]

Damn I guess we're all plugged in the framework.

 

[radios shipping overview]

Is this the best thing Marvel marketing could think of to promote the line this year?

I know marvel has tried to separate Hydra and the Nazi Party no one is buying it.

The alt-right are totally not white supremacists.

 

[ZeoVGM]

Bleeding Cool continues to be tabloid nonsense.

How exactly is that t-shirt "dressing like Hydra?" Comic shops have been selling Hydra branded shirts for years.

Making them buy the shirts is dumb but come the fuck on.

 

[TTOOLL]

Things are getting out of hand. It's time we started separating them.

If I want Hydra to succeed in a comic book because I think it's fun and interesting to see different things happen in a story and perhaps I have a Hydra t-shirt am I suddenly a fucking Nazi???

If people like Darth Vader and they DO, they even dress like him, are they ok with killing kids?

C'mon, we sure can do better. This shitty narrative "anybody I don't like is a nazi/Hitler" needs to go away. It's even disrespectful to those who died because of his regime.

 

[caliph95]

Pepe needs to put food on the table too, man. Do you have any idea how many eggs frogs lay?

Wasn't marvel branded SJWs

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

I know marvel has tried to separate Hydra and the Nazi Party no one is buying it.

Things are getting out of hand. It's time we started separating them.

If I want Hydra to succeed in a comic book because I think it's fun and interesting to see different things happen in a story and perhaps I have a Hydra t-shirt am I suddenly a fucking Nazi???

If people like Darth Vader and they DO, they even dress like him, are they ok with killing kids?

C'mon, we sure can do better. This shitty narrative "anybody I don't like is a nazi/Hitler" needs to go away. It's even disrespectful to those who died because of his regime.

Shamelessly stolen from the other thread.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

I know marvel has tried to separate Hydra and the Nazi Party no one is buying it.

I hate that they do this.

 

[DoctorFling]

I know a lot of people who bought Hydra shirts after Winter Soldier. It's pretty awful if the current situation so bad that comicbook store workers can't wear 'em. Fuggin' Nazis ruin everything.