HERO OF THE WEEK: RED SKULL (Marvel)Real Name: Johann Schmidt
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #7 (October, 1941)
Fight Club Ranking: #858
Featured Fights:
- vs INVADERS: Captain America #5 (May 2005)
- vs COLONEL AMERICA: Marvel Zombies #5 (Jun 2006)
Avengers: Infinity War is officially in global theatrical release, and by now you've hopefully seen, or heard about, one of the more interesting cameos in the blockbuster ensemble epic! I'm talking about the villainous Red Skull, who plays a minor role in Thanos' quest to gather the Infinity Gems!
Hero of the Week is a chance to talk about the hot topics of the day, but I'm always a little wary of venturing deep into spoilers. Apologies to the pedantic who haven't seen Infinity War yet, but I'm not sure this one should cause you too much bother. After all, it's well known Thanos is looking for Infinity Gems, and if you saw Captain America: The First Avenger, you've probably spent the last few years wonder when Red Skull was going to turn back up!
The 2011 film stripped away the bombastic action of Cap's final comic book moments in the 1940s, replacing a fall into icy arctic waters with the somber submersion of a warplane into snow. In this telling, Red Skull shared his final moments with Cap when the "tesseract" (Cosmic Cube) beamed him ambiguously towards the heavens. A cliffhanger without a follow-up -- until now!
As Marvel cinematic lore would have it, eerie glowing macguffins are all variations of a common source. Red Skull was actually in possession of the Soul Stone all along! Inadvertently triggering its power; he's spent his days on the planet Vormir as the gem's keeper. Or something like that.
Back before Winter Soldier you might've thought the dangling plotline would finally be resolved with the Third Act reveal that Robert Redford was the Red Skull all along. No such luck, but if you had Thanos collecting the Gems, then your expectations were rewarded this time! A bit of a rarity!
Despite the mantra "everything's connected"; Marvel's live-action universe has largely relied on the obvious ties of marquee stars to create a semblance of continuum. Occasionally an oblique reference throws a bone to the initiated, but comic references are often cursory, or of limited relevance.
By finally picking up the loose end of Red Skull's disappearance, Infinity War offers an aside that connects present events to a greater meaning supplied by the past. It's a rare instance of a comic book style tangent. Appreciated in the often flattened, formulaic cinema that Marvel specialize in!
Will the Red Skull ever return to bring his special brand of Nazi villainy to modern day Marvel movies? Tough to say! The evil of Nazi doctrine has a disappointing pang of relevance in today's world. It could be very satisfying to see Captain America back socking Adolf's boy in the jaw! I'd still love to see a really good Invaders film, should they ever lock up rights to Namor and Human Torch!
Marvel went out of their way to distance Red Skull's origins from historic Nazi Germany, and Disney probably doesn't want to kick that particular hornet's nest. Of course, Red Skull's villainy can take many forms, and the simple pleasure of a visually striking villain will always be welcomed. At least we know he's still out there, perhaps awaiting an encounter with the cosmic heroes Marvel's amassing, or a new "Sentinel of Liberty", should Chris Evans fail to survive Avengers 4!
Last week I mentioned there were two details in Infinity War that got me excited. Red Skull was one, and with any luck we'll be able to talk about the other in our next Hero of the Week! Keep an eye out for the update link below, and always, keep your eyes peeled for other things going on around Secret Wars on Infinite Earths!
Learn more about The Infinity Gauntlet by starting at Wave 1 of our feature fight series, and find & share links inspired by the topics of the day via Twitter and Facebook!
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