The MCU Needs To Bring Back Red Skull

The Big Picture

• Hugo Weaving first played Red Skull in
  Captain America: The First Avenger
  .
• Red Skull has a rich comic book history, including returning from the dead and battling Captain America, influencing various major events.
• Ross Marquand impressively took over the role of Red Skull in the MCU, and Marvel should bring this villain back full-time.

Whether you’re an apostate, an agnostic, or just apathetic when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one major point of agreement is that the villains its heroes face fall into one of two categories: immediately memorable or completely disposable. Johann Schmidt, best known as Red Skull, falls into the former category. Schmidt served as the antagonist of Captain America: The First Avenger, heading up the Nazi-backed terrorist organization HYDRA. He also happened to have a version of the super-soldier serum coursing through his veins, but, just as the serum turned Steve Rogers into a paragon of virtue, it drove Schmidt mad, all while giving him the striking appearance that would also earn him his name.

The Red Skull was believed to be dead after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, but he made a surprising return during 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 control the power of the Infinity Stones yet ended up being a slave to one. Nevertheless, the stage is set for the Red Skull to make a comeback, especially now that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is taking up the mantle of Captain America.

Captain America and Red Skull Have a Rich Marvel Comics History

The Red Skull made his first appearance in Captain America Comics #1 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, and would prove to be one 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 success in military operations at the beginning of World War II, the United States launched Project: Rebirth, the same project that would make Steve Rogers a super-soldier. While Rogers wound up frozen in ice at the height of the war, Schmidt placed himself in suspended animation and awakened around the same time as his mortal enemy.

Schmidt continued to battle Captain America, using a number of methods. Often he’d turn to the reality-warping power of the Cosmic Cube to achieve his goals, but his biggest strike led to Steve Rogers briefly abandoning the mantle of Captain America. Schmidt managed to influence the government body known as the Commission of Superhuman Activities to impose a number of sanctions upon Rogers, which caused him to relinquish his mantle and shield. He then manipulated John Walker (who’d become the U.S. Agent) into becoming the new Captain America, but embraced a harsher form 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 Multiple Times in Marvel Comics

Death is rarely the end in the world of superhero comics. Various superheroes and supervillains have met their end, 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 since his very first appearance. The Skull apparently seemed to perish when he fell on a hypodermic needle full of poison, but it was revealed that he’d hired an impostor to take his place. (He either had a subordinate take his place or he’d find an inventive way to cheat death.) The Skull’s biggest claim to fame is surviving the wrath of Magneto; the Master of Magnetism confronted the Skull during the Acts of Vengeance storyline and buried him alive until his lead assassin Crossbones saved him.

Recent years saw Red Skull utilize his cunning to destabilize the United States from positions of power. He adopted this strategy in the Red Zone and Winter Soldier story arcs, with the latter serving as a major influence for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In “Red Zone,” the Skull took over the Department of Defense as Dell Rusk and launched a plague that threatened to decimate the United States until the Avengers stopped it. In Winter Soldier, the Skull used the power of the Cosmic Cube to transfer his mind into the body of General Alexsander Luskin, manipulating events behind the scenes until he had Steve Rogers assassinated.

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

Bringing back the Red Skull could provide a strong hook for a future Captain America movie. While Captain America: Brave New World is juggling a full plate of characters, including Harrison Ford‘s take on Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, it would be a great re-entry point for the character as we get to see how Sam handles one of Captain America’s earliest and biggest threats. For an additional emotional twist, filmmakers could look to another Captain America storyline from the comics where the Skull made himself a new body by cloning Steve Rogers and transferring his mind to said clone. Then there’s also the question of Hydra. With Captain America: The Winter Soldier revealing that S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by Hydra following World War II, it would be interesting to see Sam and other MCU heroes go up against other Hydra cells.

But Captain America isn’t the only foe the Skull could face. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) might have an axe to grind with Schmidt, considering the brainwashing he underwent at Hydra’s hands to become the Winter Soldier. The Skull also became an enemy of mutant-kind in Uncanny Avengers by Rick Remender and John Cassaday when he stole the brain of a deceased Charles Xavier, grafting it with his own and gaining Xavier’s formidable telepathic powers in the process. This led to a team of Avengers and X-Men uniting to stop the Skull’s menace, which might be the direction both franchises could use going forward. Red Skull even impacted the life of Peter Parker, as one of his successors, Albert Malik, orchestrated the death of Peter’s parents and framed them as spies!

Ross Marquand Took Over Red Skull From Hugo Weaving

If Red Skull were to return, it would likely be without his original actor, Hugo Weaving. Weaving declined to return as the Skull in Infinity War and Endgame, citing a reduced salary as the reason:

“By then, they’d pushed back on the contracts that we agreed on and so the money they offered me for ‘The Avengers’ was much less than I got for the very first one, and this was for two films. And the promise when we first signed the contracts was that the money would grow each time. They said: ‘It’s just a voice job, it’s not a big deal.’ I actually found negotiating with them through my agent impossible. And I didn’t really wanna do it that much. But I would have done it.”

The role of the Skull was then played by The Walking Dead‘s Ross Marquand, who also did motion capture for the role. Marquand’s impression of Weaving is uncanny, to the point where viewers might believe Weaving actually stepped back into the role. Marquand has continued to provide his voice to Marvel projects, most notably as an Infinity Stone-powered Ultron in What If…? and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men ’97. If the Skull’s return is in the wings, Marquand could easily bring the character to life, whether it’s physically, vocally, or both. Either way, Captain America’s archfoe could provide a formidable force for any hero to overcome.

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