Earlier today, Desiato had the pleasure of previewing Red Skull, Johann Shmidt, Hydra on this very blog! I assume most of you have already browsed his terrific analysis of the card, so I won’t waste time reiterating his brilliance (especially not the parts where he implies my genius, since I am far too modest). What does concern me is reviewing the sordid history of the man who wears his skull on the outside. Now, as one who has read nearly every Captain America comic ever printed, I know a great deal about the Red Skull and his shenanigans. Not saying that to brag, it’s actually more of a problem than anything else. What to reveal, what to leave out? Let me sum up then… the following is an extended and abridged (huh?) summary of the true Red Skull’s history according to Marvel.com, with bits of my own tossed in for freshness. If you already know everything you need to know, you can skip ahead to the next section where I review the comic that inspired this version of the Skull.
Johann Shmidt, like most malcontents, was orphaned at birth. His mother died in childbirth and his father committed suicide the very next morning. Christ. Kind of makes you feel sorry for the guy. Anyway, Johann led a sad and lonely existence, begging, thieving, hard laboring and bellboying till the fateful day his path crossed with that of Adolf Hitler. By chance, he was present when Hitler was furiously berating an officer and swore he could train Johann, a simple bellhop, to be a better National Socialist. Sensing his dark inner nature, because that’s one of the many powers truly evil dudes have, Hitler decided to take the young Shmidt under his wing. Upon the completion of his “evil” training, Hitler gave Shmidt a uniform with a grotesque red skull mask, and so emerged the Red Skull.
His role was to be the embodiment of Nazi intimidation, while Hitler could remain the popular leader of Germany. The Red Skull was appointed head of Nazi espionage and sabotage. He was spectacularly successful, wreaking havoc throughout Europe in the early stages of World War II. The propaganda effect was so great that the United States government decided to counter it by creating their own super soldier in the form of Captain America. These titans of competing political ideologies soon clashed in a series of engagements throughout the war, ending with a final battle that left the Skull buried under the rubble of a bombed out building. Because he was immediately exposed to an experimental gas there, he remained in suspended animation for decades. You know, so he could pop up again for later use.
Johann was eventually rescued in modern times by the terrorist organization HYDRA, who the Skull quickly subverted to his own ambitions of world conquest and the death of Captain America. The two enemies resumed their war. At one point, he came into possession of the Cosmic Cube, the first of a handful of times, but still failed to defeat his nemesis Captain America. Soon after, the Skull’s health began to fail and he had Nazi geneticist Arnim Zola create for him a new body using stolen tissue from Steve Rodgers.
Under the alias of Mr. Smith, the Red Skull had the head of the President’s Commission on Superhuman Activities arrange for the Taskmaster to train John Walker to become the next Captain America. Skull’s goal here was to disgrace the image of Captain America, but once again, his plan fell apart when Steve Rodgers, then going by the codename The Captain, thwarted his plans… mostly by kicking his ass. During the confrontation, the Red Skull’s “Dust of Death” doused his own face and caused his flesh to melt away and his skull to turn red once again. You’d think that if that happened in real life, the victim would die of shock. Lucky for old Skully, he’s a super soldier.
During his heyday, the Red Skull controlled multiple criminal organizations, including the Watchdogs (a group of right-wing militiamen) and Scourge of the Underworld (an organization devoted to murdering super villains). The Skull is usually ignored by other villains because of his Nazi background. See, bad guys have standards. Even Dr. Doom only works with him under the most extreme of extenuating circumstances. It seems that the only guys he can rely on or his fellow Nazis, like Arnim Zola and Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, the leader of HYDRA. In fact, Strucker and Shmidt are such good friends, that Strucker allows him access to the full compliment of HYDRA’s arsenal.
Recently, while trying to relive his former glories by reconstituting a damaged Cosmic Cube, the Red Skull was assassinated by the Winter Soldier, under orders from the former Soviet general Aleksander Lukin. Lukin wanted the power of the Cube for himself. Lukin’s master plan? To bring the Russian state back from the brink and elevate it once more to Superpower status. However, when the Skull was shot, he was able to transfer his consciousness into the nascent Cosmic Cube. When the Winter Soldier delivered the Cube into Lukin’s greedy hands, the Red Skull transferred his mind into Lukin’s body. But the process wasn’t a total success. Once inside Lukin’s mind, the Red Skull wasn’t able to overpower the home team, only managing a stalemate. Currently, the two men are trapped like rats inside Lukin’s head.
Where Did The Card Come From?
The version is a nod to the Skull’s past affiliations with HYDRA, and you’ll see a RAID versioned Skull as well, but the origins of the art is what I’d really like to talk about. Back in 2004, during the whole “Avengers Disassembled” event, Marvel decided to disassemble and re-launch a bunch of the ancillary Avengers titles like Thor, Iron Man and Captain America with each title’s final arc receiving the “Avengers Disassembled” banner. Robert Kirkman was tapped to write the final Captain America story and turned out what in my mind could be one of the greatest Marvel works of his career. See, I don’t always hate on Kirkman.
The story is very simple: Red Skull uses one of Captain America’s former flames to entrap and murder him. All goes according to plan, yet not, when the hordes of HYDRA, Batroc the Leaper, the Serpent Society and Mr. Hyde all get involved and threaten to derail the Red Skull’s murderous ambitions. Of course, with the help of Diamondback, Captain America overcomes them all! Eventually, it’s down to Red Skull vs. Captain America in a no holds barred brawl for it all!
A notable piece of interest: this arc also offers up one of the final appearances of Nick Fury before going underground in the wake of the disastrous Secret War. Oh wait, but that’s not Nick Fury! Who the hell is that guy? Image inducers!!! Kirkman really nailed the naïve and fun loving aspect of Cap’s personality in this arc. The scenes with Cap storming the HYDRA base are some of the best the story has to offer. When the lowly HYDRA crony yells “GET HIM!” Cap turns the tables and does the getting. Yes, HYDRA agents do take coffee breaks. Well, this is just embarrassing.
In part 2, Batroc shows up, only to get his face smashed, in the most deserving way. THIS is why you will never see a Batroc the Leaper in Vs. System. He is too TEH lame. Hey look, it’s the Red Skull and he’s wearing some fancy armor! Is that a “head force field”? HAHAHHAHA… I want one. Oh, and Steve gets laid. Nice… then the stupid Serpent Society crash the party and things take a turn for the silly.
This is fun Cap. I miss him. Can we get a four issue mini starring fun Cap, please? So Cap and Diamondback wreck the Society and make plans for dinner later that night. When Diamondback heads home to change, Red Skull is there waiting for her. Since the Society messed up the old “poison” plan, he tells her to come up with something new. She hesitates. He asks why. She replies…
…and then Red Skull has a reply of his own: a swift neck breaking. Ouch. No Cap, she’s not there. Sad times. With Rachel out of the way, the fight begins with a savagery never before seen in a Captain America comic! Double ouch!! Could Red Skull actually defeat the great hero of the American People? Nah… not while Life Model Decoy Diamondback (WHA?!?!) yet draws artificial breath! The real Nick Fury shows up, stops the fight, explains the plot in great detail and then disappears with the LMD and the defeated Red Skull. How the Red Skull escapes custody in the months leading up to the re-launch is a bit of a mystery… whatever, there’s enough time to ponder that one later, right now I’d like to discuss a more pressing matter, like say… Steve Rodgers sexing up a robot!?! Um, how did this get past editorial? What’s even more inappropriate? The real Diamondback’s eagerness to take her doppelganger’s place in the sack.
Yuck.
All in all, it was a fun couple of issues and a fitting, yet awkward end to a mediocre series. And then came… Ed Brubaker. But that’s a story for another time.
Red Skull and The Marvel Universe
I can’t really reveal much in the way of designs, since the Marvel Universe set hasn’t even shipped yet, but I can toss out an unused art description from Marvel Team-Up.
Red Skull, Johann Shmidt
Setting: Streets of a European City – Night
Action: The Red Skull stands in front of a burning building, firing a Luger pistol at the viewer. He is dressed in an SS uniform, but let’s keep the Swastikas out of it. The buildings should look European, preferably a real-world building in London, Paris, or Berlin.
Focus: Red Skull
It was decided that one Red Skull, the communist Albert Malik, was more than enough Skull for MTU and that we’d save the real deal for the next Avengers re-feature… which just so happens to be Marvel Universe, a set that includes not 1, or 2, but 3 brand new Red Skulls. He is a legend, after all.
That’s it for this week’s Origin Stories! Hope you enjoyed Desiato’s preview and this retelling of the Red Skull’s lowly origins. Check back next Wednesday for more behind the scenes info and keep checking VsSystem.com for Marvel Universe Preview updates. Join me there Friday for the Crime Lords Team Preview where we learn a little bit more about HYDRA, A.I.M. and RAID.
DRAFT MORE WEB OF SPIDER-MAN!!!
Tags: Captain America, Marvel Comics, Marvel Universe Preview, Red Skull, Versus
