"Secret Empire #1 is going to take you right into Hydra's America."
The heroes will discover why Steve is an agent of Hydra in Secret Empire #2.
New York, specifically Manhattan, has been trapped in the Darkforce dimension, leading to a dire situation.
Claire Temple will play a role in that part of the story, as will Cloak & Dagger.
"There are certain forces in the Dark Force dimension who will see this as an opportunity."
This will set up things that will have an effect later in 2017 and 2018.
Secret Empire #3 will feature Captain Marvel and the other heroes trapped outside the galactic shield.
Carol is "desperate" to return to Earth and take Steve on.
As seen in solicitations, Secret Empire #7 will feature a confrontation between Miles Morales and Steve Rogers.
Secret Empire's summer issues will be released with a miniature Cosmic Cube. "Reality altering powers are not included," quipped D'Lando.
Spencer talked about the role of Captain America: Steve Rogers tie-in issues, saying the issues are about the different facets of Steve's rulership of the country.
Some characters from Civil War: Frontline will appear.
Sam Wilson has stepped down as Captain America, as seen in the most recent issue of his series.
"When we find Sam again, he's in a tough spot. He's disillusioned, frustrated. He's gonna find his own way to get back into the middle of this."
Doctor Strange will tie into Secret Empire directly, with new creative team Dennis Hopeless and Nico Henrichon.
The story takes place in the part of Manhattan trapped in the Dark Dimension, and will deal with the destruction of magic in the Marvel Universe.
Lowe called Doctor Strange "charming and terrifying."
Lowe, the editor of Amazing Spider-Man, talked about the future of that title, including the inevitable confrontation between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus/Superior Octopus.
Parker Industries will pose a major threat to Steve Rogers.
Amazing Spider-Man will show what's happening all across Hydra's America - a journey that will have major ramifications on Spider-Man.
Editor Christina Harrington talked about X-Men: Blue tying into Secret Empire. In that story, the young X-Men are resistance fighters against Hydra. "They're trying to be the heroes that we know that they are."
Random will appear in X-Men: Blue #7, when the X-Men recruit other mutants to fight with them.
Emma Frost and Polaris will appear in X-Men: Blue #8 and 9.
Harrington said threads left off at the end of IvX will be picked up here.
"I'm not gonna talk about what Emma Frost is doing, but it's fabulous. It's gonna be dark, it's gonna be scary, but it's gonna take the character to some cool places."
Mighty Captain Marvel's Secret Empire tie-ins will feature "Captain Marvel doing what she does best - kicking ass in space."
Stohl said she studied film from World War II for inspiration for Carol's fight with the Chitauri and her relationship with her team. The story is titled "Band of Sisters."
Stohl said the only other character who has done what Carol can do with a team is Captain America, so the question of what could happen to her in light of Steve's plight weighs heavy on her.
Mighty Captain Marvel #5 will introduce three new Alpha Flight cadets who are trapped on their space station. One of the characters is a Wakandan, another is a "Tony Stark level designer" who built her own cybernetic legs.
She compared the role of the new cadets to the young soldiers of WWII.
Members of Alpha Flight, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Ultimates are all trapped with Captain Marvel.
Stohl said the story unifies Marvel's cosmic characters for the fight against the Chitauri. She lightly teased that not everyone may make it out.
"It's a darker place than our first arc - but that's Nick's fault!" Stohl joked.
Art from Secret Warriors #1 drew surprising applause.
Moss spoke about the book, which features Quake leading a team of Inhumans against Hydra.
Hydra is rounding up Inhumans and detaining them. With the Royal Family gone, Quake and her teammates will be the protectors of Earthbound Inhumans.
"I think it's also the only Secret Empire book that has dinosaurs eating people" joked D'Lando. "I don't know if your right!" said Spencer.
Secret Warriors #3 will have the team run into the X-Men.
Spencer talked about Uprising, Underground, and United - three Secret Empire one-shots - that will "fill in gaps" in the narrative and provide a more complete view of Hydra's America.
Secret Empire: Brave New World will feature an expanded roster of characters, with a serialized story about Namor and the Invaders, Steve's oldest and best friends, as well as new short stories in each issue.
An upcoming Brave New World story will feature Bob, agent of Hydra.
Nick Spencer chuckled when Fan Q&A time arrived, saying he's "ready for questions."
A fan asked how Carol Danvers' Civil War II status quo will affect how she interacts with Secret Empire.
Spencer said he doesn't necessarily agree that Carol was the villain of Civil War II. The panel seems split.
"Carol has worked pretty hard emotionally through a lot of baggage from Civil War II," said Stohl, pointing fans to earlier issues of her series where she deals with those feelings.
Maria Hill will also have a lot to deal with. "Her focus right now is on staying alive."
A fan asked if there was any redemption for Steve Rogers. "I'd like him to go back to being Captain America."
Spencer said that he can't reveal the end of the story, but he won't just "handwave and fix everything" at the end. "There will be real consequences of the story. It's not just gonna be put back in a tidy box at the end."
"One of the things I'm the most proud of with the story so far is so many people wondering how we're going to get out of this mess," said Spencer.
A fan asked "what possessed" Spencer to tell the story, praising Secret Empire so far.
Spencer talked about taking over Captain America from Rick Remender, saying that his story grew out of threads from Remender's run which established the idea of Hydra agents all over the Marvel Universe.
Spencer dialed it back, making Steve Rogers a Hydra agent rather than many heroes being Hydra agents.
"I owe a lot to Rick - or you can blame Rick. He'll love that!"
There was a coloring issue in Secret Empire #0 that led some fans to believe the Tony Stark AI was a returned human Stark. It was the AI - though Stark will play a role in the series through that.
A veteran asked about whether Secret Empire was meant to be a commentary on the military, saying many soldiers who identify strongly with Steve Rogers feel that it's saying the military "is bad and has always been bad."
Lowe emphatically thanked the veteran for her service, saying that there was no intent to criticize soldiers or the military, but to "put Steve Rogers in the most dangerous place possible."
Stohl pointed to Captain Marvel as a much more positive portrayal of a veteran in the story, detailing multiple references to her time as a soldier.
"The more you see one pushed down, the more you'll see the other come up. That's how heroism work."
Spencer reiterated that Marvel is very aware of the symbolism of Captain America and what he means, and said Secret Empire is not meant to "denigrate" Steve Rogers.
He explained "Steve has no culpability in what has happened to him," saying it is all about the Red Skull's manipulations.
The fan thanked the panel for their responses and said she felt somewhat better about the story.
Another fan asked if the story had changed or evolved due to the current political climate.
He also asked if the Superior Foes would appear, to which Spencer said fans "might get a surprise."
Spencer said the idea had not changed or been altered due to the 2016 election or any other political issues. "One thing we try to do is speak to something bigger than the current moment...That's how you make these stories timeless."
He said any relation to current events is for the readers to decide.
Spencer told fans "not to get their hopes up" about the return of Sentry.
Kraken's identity will be one of the series' biggest mysteries - and wouldn't confirm if any fan theories were on the right track.
A fan asked about the original Patriot - and removed his Superman shirt so he could get a look at Secret Empire.
Popular fan theories for Kraken's identity are Nick Fury or Jacob Fury.
Spencer said they'd "speak to the legacy" of the original Patriot "as best we can" with the new iteration.
Emma Frost's diamond form will return when she appears in X-Men: Blue.
A fan asked if Superior Octopus would last beyond Secret Empire?
The fan reading the FCBD issue is freaking out over the contents. "That's just the kick off!" quipped D'Lando.
Lowe promised that Superior Octopus would be a "kick-ass, giant story" moving forward.
A fan dressed as a Jedi thanked Marvel for ResurrXion. He asked if Magneto would be a part of Secret Empire. Lowe said he'd be involved during the X-Men: Blue tie-ins.
Spencer said that the hostilities that arose as part of Civil War II will still be there - and said that CWII is a big part of the reason Steve was able to rise to power.
That's it from Marvel's Secret Empire panel. Stay tuned to Newsarama for more live coverage from C2E2 2017.
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Originally Posted by Digifiend
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