Captain America 4 Theory: A Third HYDRA Super Soldier Is Hiding in Plain Sight

SUMMARY

• Captain America: Brave New World might have hidden its best kept secret in plain sight.
• Given that HYDRA was still active after its fall, Isaiah Bradley, who was turned into a super soldier in the 50s, might be a product of HYDRA, which might have infiltrated the USA and SHIELD by then.
• Bradley might have been the first success since Steve Rogers when it comes to super soldiers, making him an invaluable asset.

Captain America: Brave New World‘s trailer has set the expectations pretty high for the film. The film has caused fans to expect a high-stakes political thriller, something akin to Captain America: Winter Soldier, with epic fight scenes and the introduction of one of the greatest anti-heroes of Marvel Comics: Red Hulk.

Anthony Mackie in Captain America: Brave New World || Credit: Marvel Studios

However, as is the case with most Captain America films, HYDRA’s shadow might still loom large in the politics of the world in one key way. It is known that HYDRA held some influence in world politics from behind the scenes, even after the Second World War, and given what they did to Bucky, there might be another HYDRA agent running around in plain sight.

Isaiah Bradley could be HYDRA’s secret sleeper Agent in Captain America: Brave New World

Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier || Credit: Marvel Studios

In Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we know that Bucky tracked down Isaiah, who revealed that he was a super-soldier created by the US Government. Given that this was a time when the US Government and SHIELD were infiltrated and operated by secret HYDRA agents, it is completely possible that Isaiah was a product of HYDRA science, in a bid to infiltrate the United States of America more thoroughly.

This is further corroborated by the footage of Captain America: Brave New World that has been made public, which sees Bradley in a trance-like state, trying to assassinate Harrison Ford’s General Ross during a speech that he has been invited to. Given that HYDRA has been known to have sleeper agents that can be activated, it would make sense for Bradley to have unknowingly served the interests of HYDRA, and not properly de-conditioned.

Why would HYDRA have chosen Isaiah as one of its sleeper agents?

The Vestiges of HYDRA in Armin Zola in Captain America: The Winter Soldier || Credit: Marvel Studios

Throughout the MCU, it has been proven time and time again that the making of a Super Soldier Serum has a lot of issues. Never before has a single formula been reproduced by any of the factions in the MCU vying for power, and rarely does the serum yield a character sane enough to wield it correctly. Multiple scientists have put years of research into perfecting the various serums, and it has worked with pretty limited capacity in the MCU.

Isaiah Bradley could be one of the rare successes that HYDRA decided to go ahead with, rather than waiting around for the perfect serum. While the 90s will see Howard Stark successfully create a version of the serum, Bradley would be the first success since Steve Rogers, given his date of experimentation in the 50s.

Captain America: Brave New World hits theatres on February 14, 2025.

Written by Anuraag Chatterjee

Articles Published: 1214

Anuraag Chatterjee, Web Content Writer
With a passion for writing fiction and non fiction content, Anuraag is a Media Science graduate with 2 year's experience with Marketing and Content, with 3 published poetry anthologies. Anuraag holds a Bacherlor's degree in Arts with a focus on Communication and Media Studies.