Zola, a Tough Enemy

S.H.I.E.L.D. had possessed the Tesseract for at least twenty years, starting from the events involving Captain Marvel.

They had researched it all that time, yet they had not produced a single decent weapon.

That alone showed just how brilliant Zola was.

After World War II, Germany was defeated.

Hydra lost the power it had relied on and had no choice but to break apart and go underground.

As victors, the Soviet Union and the United States began dividing the spoils.

The Soviets gathered vast amounts of supplies and factories. The United States showed more foresight, recruiting many of the world's brightest minds.

Among them was Dr. Zola.

Many people knew he had once served the Nazis and Hydra.

But plenty of the scientists who came over from Europe had backgrounds like his.

If the United States worried about every one of them, it would never be able to put their talents to use.

Zola's short, big-headed, bookish appearance only added to the illusion.

They thought he posed little danger and would be easy to control.

In the end, he was assigned to S.H.I.E.L.D.

They never expected that beneath his bookish exterior, Zola was ruthless and devoted to Hydra.

While at S.H.I.E.L.D., he used his authority to secretly bring in Hydra operatives and expand its ranks.

The original story never explained how Pierce, despite his distinguished record, defected to Hydra.

But judging by the timing, Zola had likely infiltrated his circle and turned him through indoctrination.

The United States was at the height of its power then. Even by the time Zola developed cancer, Hydra had found no good opportunity to emerge.

Before he died, Zola ingeniously assembled a database from 200,000 reels of magnetic tape and uploaded his consciousness into it.

It was not until the events of *Captain America: