Exclusive: How 'Secret Empire' will shake the Marvel Universe to its core

PHOTO: Marvels "Secret Empire #1."PlayMarvel
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ABC News exclusively spoke with Marvel's Senior Vice President Tom Brevoort and Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso about the recent past, the present and the future of Marvel Comics.





PHOTO: Marvels Captain American #1 Marvel Comics
Marvel's Captain American #1




Secret Empire



Cap will be unmasked as a Hydra agent pretty early on.




PHOTO: Marvels Secret Empire #1. Marvel
Marvel's "Secret Empire #1."




"We'll definitely see an impact on our new, younger generation of heroes, a huge turn for them, a Watergate moment for them," Brevoort said.

"They will have to grapple with what this means and reset their heroism," he added. "You don't want it to be bleak and miserable, you always want to have hope and be uplifting, and that's the aspect of this story where the other characters in the Marvel Universe have to kind of come together for."

Alonso said, while Cap is the nucleus of this story, "this story is going to be told through the perspective of multiple characters, who are dealing with the threat this poses."

"Some roles and characters will come to the foreground at different moments in the story and play a big role in saving the day," the Editor-in-Chief added.

PHOTO: Interior comic page for the upcoming Secret Empire. Andrea Sorrentino/Marvel
Interior comic page for the upcoming "Secret Empire."

The Future of The Marvel Universe




PHOTO: Secret Empire - United We Stand Marvel
"Secret Empire" - United We Stand

"We saw this as the rallying cry, where we could have everyone -- Avengers, Guardians, Defenders, X-Men, Spider-Man, Deadpool -- all rally against this thing and unify the universe into the future," Alonso said.

As with all their big storylines, "Secret Empire" was planned well in advance, the concept taking shape years prior to now.

"When we made the decision to have Cap's memory rewired, thus that he would be come a Hydra agent," Alonso said. "You would have the most trusted superhero in the Marvel Universe become a super villain. You don't do something like that without considering what a huge story it is. You understand you're teeing up a huge story and that's what this is."

"We are already planned out two or three moves beyond [an out to this story]. We are always planning a year, 18 months into the future. We know exactly how this is ending, we know what's coming after that and after the thing that's coming after the thing," Brevoort chimed in.

"Secret Empire" hits shelves nationwide with issue #0 in April, followed by issue #1 in May. The series will run until August.

Note - ABC News and Marvel are both part of parent company Disney.