Even if you’re not up on every current Marvel comic, you’ve doubtless heard the big storyline news of the past year or so, as it’s exactly the sort of thing that gets picked up by broader news outlets out-of-context: Captain America is a Nazi! And not just that: he has always been a Nazi! The twist you did NOT SEE coming!

Now, those of us who’ve followed comics at any point in our lives knew to chill. I remember in the ’90s honest-to-goodness believing Conor Hawke was now the permanent Green Arrow, Kyle Rayner is Green Lantern forever, and Aquaman is a broody, beardy guy with a hook hand. Sure, I had trouble letting go of Hal Jordan and Ollie Queen (less so clean-shaven Aquaman, as I liked the new version better from the getgo; Zack Snyder clearly agreed), but I accepted the new guys, and eventually made peace with them as a necessary story progression. DC undoing all of that was the beginning of knowledge in many ways. And Sam Wilson was never going to replace Steve Rogers completely.

But Marvel pushed the issue, even as Axel Alonso backpedaled a bit. This wasn’t a double or a clone, but the real Cap, and he had always been part of Hydra. (Though with actual white supremacists becoming a visible global political faction, Marvel is now hedging on the notion that Hydra were ever Nazis, because wearing similar uniforms and fighting alongside the Axis in World War II is apparently something that can be done by coincidence).

Via io9, however, we have the big reveal of Secret Empire #2, and it’s this:

Obviously we don’t know how this will play out, but this man calling himself Steve Rogers is a good guy who saves an innocent woman from the Serpent Society. And assuming he is who he says he is, that means that at best, always-evil Cap is the equivalent of Evil Kirk in a  Star Trek transporter accident. At worst, Marvel was totally lying and he’s not Cap at all (not that they should be sued for that; lying in the concealment of spoilers can at times be considered justifiable). At the most obvious, talk-show hosts who freaked out when it was revealed Batman was going to die should have learned their lesson already: very little in comics is ever permanent.

What do you think this means? Multiple Steves? Alternate timeline Steves? A genuine Hydra Cap from another universe? It would be irresponsible not to speculate irresponsibly, so please have at it in comments.

Images: Marvel, LEGO

We speculate all day long about Avengers 4