Hydra (Earth-1600)

Hydra is a criminal organization led by the Red Skull.

World War II
Formed as a branch of the Nazi Third Reich built around both deep science and the investigation of the occult, Hydra was lead by the brutal Johann Schmidt. While Hitler had always maintained an interest in both fields, Schmidt was obsessed with them, leading to his taking of the Super Soldier serum which transformed him into the Red Skull. No longer a champion of the Aryan image, Hitler had Schmidt quietly transferred elsewhere, under the illusion that he could continue his work in private and with better funding, but the facade did not convince Schmidt.