Whether or not you happen to be an apostate, an agnostic, or just apathetic when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a single key point of agreement is that the villains its heroes face fall into a single of two categories: quickly memorable or entirely disposable. Johann Schmidt, ideal recognized as Red Skull, falls into the former category. Schmidt served as the antagonist of Captain America: The Very first Avenger, heading up the Nazi-backed terrorist organization HYDRA. He also occurred to have a version of the super-soldier serum coursing by way of his veins, but, just as the serum turned Steve Rogers into a paragon of virtue, it drove Schmidt mad, all even though providing him the striking look that would also earn him his name.

The Red Skull was believed to be dead soon after the events of Captain America: The Very first Avenger, but he produced a surprising return in the course of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as the guardian of the Soul Stone. Schmidt even remarks on how ironic of a fate this is, as he sought to manage the energy of the Infinity Stones but ended up getting a slave to a single. Nonetheless, the stage is set for the Red Skull to make a comeback, in particular now that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is taking up the mantle of Captain America.

Captain America: Brave New Globe

Fourth film in the Captain America franchise.

Release Date

February 14, 2025

Captain America and Red Skull Have a Wealthy Marvel Comics History

The Red Skull produced his 1st look in Captain America Comics #1 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, and would prove to be a single of the most formidable foes the Sentinel of Liberty ever faced. Ironically, it was Schmidt’s operations that led to the birth of Captain America. Fearing the Skull’s achievement in military operations at the starting of Globe War II, the United States launched Project: Rebirth, the identical project that would make Steve Rogers a super-soldier. Whilst Rogers wound up frozen in ice at the height of the war, Schmidt placed himself in suspended animation and awakened about the identical time as his mortal enemy.

Schmidt continued to battle Captain America, utilizing a quantity of techniques. Usually he’d turn to the reality-warping energy of the Cosmic Cube to accomplish his objectives, but his greatest strike led to Steve Rogers briefly abandoning the mantle of Captain America. Schmidt managed to influence the government physique recognized as the Commission of Superhuman Activities to impose a quantity of sanctions upon Rogers, which triggered him to relinquish his mantle and shield. He then manipulated John Walker (who’d come to be the U.S. Agent) into becoming the new Captain America, but embraced a harsher type of justice. To this day, the Red Skull continues to haunt Captain America and his allies, most notably Bucky Barnes in the Thunderbolts: Worldstrike miniseries.

Red Skull Has Cheated Death Many Instances in Marvel Comics

Death is hardly ever the finish in the globe of superhero comics. Different superheroes and supervillains have met their finish, only to be mysteriously resurrected or replaced by an alternate version of themselves, or even come back from the dead with new powers. The Red Skull is no exception as he’s been returning from the dead because his pretty 1st look. The Skull apparently seemed to perish when he fell on a hypodermic needle complete of poison, but it was revealed that he’d hired an impostor to take his location. (He either had a subordinate take his location or he’d uncover an inventive way to cheat death.) The Skull’s greatest claim to fame is surviving the wrath of Magneto the Master of Magnetism confronted the Skull in the course of the Acts of Vengeance storyline and buried him alive till his lead assassin Crossbones saved him.

Current years saw Red Skull use his cunning to destabilize the United States from positions of energy. He adopted this method in the Red Zone and Winter Soldier story arcs, with the latter serving as a key influence for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In “Red Zone,” the Skull took more than the Division of Defense as Dell Rusk and launched a plague that threatened to decimate the United States till the Avengers stopped it. In Winter Soldier, the Skull applied the energy of the Cosmic Cube to transfer his thoughts into the physique of Common Alexsander Luskin, manipulating events behind the scenes till he had Steve Rogers assassinated.

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Would Be Fantastic for Red Skull’s Return

Bringing back the Red Skull could supply a powerful hook for a future Captain America film. Whilst Captain America: Brave New Globe is juggling a complete plate of characters, like Harrison Ford‘s take on Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, it would be a wonderful re-entry point for the character as we get to see how Sam handles a single of Captain America’s earliest and greatest threats. For an more emotional twist, filmmakers could appear to an additional Captain America storyline from the comics exactly where the Skull produced himself a new physique by cloning Steve Rogers and transferring his thoughts to stated clone. Then there is also the query of Hydra. With Captain America: The Winter Soldier revealing that S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by Hydra following Globe War II, it would be exciting to see Sam and other MCU heroes go up against other Hydra cells.

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But Captain America is not the only foe the Skull could face. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) could have an axe to grind with Schmidt, taking into consideration the brainwashing he underwent at Hydra’s hands to come to be the Winter Soldier. The Skull also became an enemy of mutant-type in Uncanny Avengers by Rick Remender and John Cassaday when he stole the brain of a deceased Charles Xavier, grafting it with his personal and gaining Xavier’s formidable telepathic powers in the procedure. This led to a group of Avengers and X-Males uniting to quit the Skull’s menace, which could be the path each franchises could use going forward. Red Skull even impacted the life of Peter Parker, as a single of his successors, Albert Malik, orchestrated the death of Peter’s parents and framed them as spies!

Ross Marquand Took More than Red Skull From Hugo Weaving

If Red Skull had been to return, it would most likely be with no his original actor, Hugo Weaving. Weaving declined to return as the Skull in Infinity War and Endgame, citing a lowered salary as the cause:

“By then, they’d pushed back on the contracts that we agreed on and so the income they presented me for ‘The Avengers’ was a lot much less than I got for the pretty 1st a single, and this was for two films. And the guarantee when we 1st signed the contracts was that the income would develop every single time. They stated: ‘It’s just a voice job, it is not a significant deal.’ I truly discovered negotiating with them by way of my agent not possible. And I didn’t definitely wanna do it that a lot. But I would have performed it.”

The function of the Skull was then played by The Walking Dead‘s Ross Marquand, who also did motion capture for the function. Marquand’s impression of Weaving is uncanny, to the point exactly where viewers could think Weaving truly stepped back into the function. Marquand has continued to supply his voice to Marvel projects, most notably as an Infinity Stone-powered Ultron in What If…? and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Males ’97. If the Skull’s return is in the wings, Marquand could effortlessly bring the character to life, whether or not it is physically, vocally, or each. Either way, Captain America’s archfoe could supply a formidable force for any hero to overcome.

Captain America: Brave New Globe premieres in theaters on February 14.