Imperial Hydra
Imperial Hydra, born Arnold Brown, was the leader of Hydra in the mid-1960s and, in his public life, the secretary of Chairman Leslie Farrington at Imperial Industries International. Brown was responsible for organizing Hydra's attempted extortion of world governments with a betatron bomb in the atmosphere. This plan was foiled by the efforts of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury and engineering consultant Tony Stark. Stark used a highly sophisticated "braino-saur" craft to safely disarm the bomb while it was in orbit. Though Hydra forces captured Fury, Arnold's daughter Laura helped him to escape and overrun the Hydra base along with other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Arnold was heartbroken that his daughter had betrayed him, and made the difficult decision to activate a self-destruct sequence on the Hydra base in an attempt to preserve Hydra, killing Fury and Laura in the process. However, before he could do so, other Hydra agents spotted him not wearing his Imperial Hydra garb. They didn't believe that the meek-looking Arnold Brown could be the imposing Imperial Hydra, and they shot and killed him. Upon finding his body, Laura was inconsolable. Amid protests from his allies, Fury let Laura go free, as consolation for her grief and thanks for saving his life.[1][2][3][4][5]
References
- ↑ Strange Tales #137a: "The Prize Is...Earth!" (October 1965) Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (art), Severin, Johnny (art), Simek, Artie (let).
- ↑ Strange Tales #138a: "Sometimes the Good Guys Lose!" (November 1965) Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (art), Severin, Johnny (art), Rosen, Sam (let).
- ↑ Strange Tales #139a: "The Brave Die Hard!" (December 1965) Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (art), Sinnott, Joe (art), Simek, Artie (let).
- ↑ Strange Tales #140a: "The End of Hydra!" (January 1966) Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (art), Heck, Don (p), Sinnott, Joe (i), Rosen, Sam (let).
- ↑ Strange Tales #141a: "Operation: Brain Blast!" (February 1966) Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Ray, Frank (i), Rosen, Sam (let).