Did Marvel Really Just Kill [Spoiler] And More From Secret Empire #7

Secret Empire #7 is loaded with revelations, but there is one that takes priority. The question is, is it real, or just another bait and switch?

Spoilers incoming for Secret Empire #7, so if you haven’t read the issue yet you’ve been warned.

One of the main resistances to Captain America’s Hydra takeover has been Black Widow and her red room cadets. Spider-Man initially joined her mission to kill Cap thanks to the vision from Ulysses in Civil War II and has always known what he was meant for but not why. In Secret Empire #7 that is finally revealed, and if real it involves the death of a long time Avenger.

Last chance…

The Red Room team makes the trek to the capital, where Widow is hoping to get Captain America out in the open so she can take the shot to end all this. While the rest of the team initiates distractions and chaos, Widow locks Spider-Man in a cell designed for the Hulk. She wants to prevent the vision from happening for Spider-Man’s sake, taking that kill in his place.

After a skirmish with The Hydra commissioned Punisher, she spots Spider-Man escaping from the cell. He stands face to face with Captain America, and she rushes to his aid, taking out numerous agents on the way. She makes it them as Cap brings down his shield with insane force, and the bladed shield crushes the neck of Widow as she pushes Spider-Man out of the way.

As you can see in the image, the scene focuses on the force to her neck, and she falls lifeless to the ground. The Red Room cadets all look on in horror, and for a second so does Cap. Spider-Man flies into a rage, crushing Cap’s shield with his fists and beating Cap to a pulp as a result.

Now, as will be covered later, deaths and revivals in this book have been all over the place. Hulk came back to life and then died again, Rick Jones was executed, and there is some sort of Steve Rogers fighting in the Vanishing. All this goes to show that she could not truly be dead, as it isn’t above Black Widow to pull off a fake death.

Still, it seems awfully final, and an assist from the cosmic cube seems to be the only way out of this one.

You can view the full image above, and hit the next slide to see what other revelations Secret Empire #7 has in store.

An Inhuman Restored

Captain America seems to have a plan for everything these days, including taking powerful heroes out of play in inventive ways.

Cap’s managed to take heroes like The Vision (virus), Scarlet Witch (demonic possession), Thor (hiding Jane Foster), Doctor Strange (the Darkforce), and Captain Marvel (defense shield) out of the mix, and Secret Empire #7 revealed one more name he added to the list.

In one of Black Widow’s earlier operations, the team managed to rescue an elderly old man on life support from a Hydra base. Since then the others have asked her why they rescued him, with Widow always biding her time with an answer.

That becomes clear in #7 when Widow grabs his hand and reveals that Hydra trapped him in a dying man’s body. The hero turns out to be Mosaic, the Inhumans who has the ability to possess others and take control. He needs physical contact to transfer into another body, so putting him in a body that can’t move and find physical contact was the perfect way to get him off the playing field.

Quasar’s Fate Revealed

Back in Secret Empire’s early issues, Captain Marvel’s cosmic force took a big hit when their most powerful recruit was swallowed whole by an attacking Chitauri ship. It had been assumed she was dead, but #7 reveals that is not the case.

Captain Marvel heads down to the infirmary where a sleeping Quasar lies on a hospital bed. She is on life support, and Captain Marvel reveals that the team sent Nova to recover her from the insides of that Chitauri ship. Ever since she’s been comatose, but they hope is that she’ll wake up before the heroes that are left crumble.

Before she fell, Quasar was taking out swaths of Chitauri all by herself, and if they can ever penetrate the defense shield, she is their best hope at bringing Cap’s empire down.

The Return Of The Captain

By issue’s end, things aren’t going well, even by these new Secret Empire standards. Black Widow is dead, the mount is completely destroyed, and more heroes are in Hydra custody after the Red Room team’s attack on the capital.

What’s left of the resistance needs hope in the most desperate way. More often than not in the Marvel universe that hope comes in the form of someone like Captain America, but these days he isn’t exactly the best person to go to.

The world still needs one though, and that’s why Sam Wilson once again puts on the red, white, and blue costume he gave up to be that beacon for the heroes that are left. Captain America is back, and it’s time for the two former best friends to face off.

Before You Go

Secret Empire #7 is written by Nick Spencer with art by Andrea Sorrentino and a cover by Mark Brooks. The official description is included below.

It was foretold by Ulysses, it’s haunted Spider-Man’s nightmares for months, and now the moment has arrived: It’s time for Miles Morales to kill Captain America! Unless Natasha…

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