Red Skull

Red Skull
The Red Skull as seen on the cover of The Marvels Project #7 (March 2010) by Steve Epting
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearance
Created by
In-story information
Alter ego
SpeciesHuman mutate
Place of originGermany
Team affiliations
Partnerships
Notable aliases
  • Der Rote Schädel (German name, translation: "The Red Skull")
  • Senator Dell Rusk
  • Bettman P. Lyles
  • The Agent of a Thousand Faces (impersonated in Europe during World War II)
  • The Man (head of the People's Militia)
  • Cyrus Fenton
  • John Smith (the English version of his natural German name)
  • Teacher
  • Tod March (president and founder of Galactic Pictures)
  • Aleksander Lukin
  • The White Skull
Abilities
  • Genius-level intellect
  • Expert tactician, strategist, and field commander
  • Skilled hand-to-hand combatant and marksman
  • Inhabits a cloned body of Captain America granting:
    • Superhuman strength, reflexes, and healing
    • Slowed aging

The Red Skull (Johann Shmidt) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. In Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941), the Red Skull's secret identity was revealed to be George Maxon; It would be retroactively established that he was merely a decoy who was working for the real Red Skull.[2] Albert Malik would later adopt the Red Skull mantle, only to be killed in a plot orchestrated by the original.[3]

In his comic book appearances, the Red Skull is depicted as a Nazi agent and protégé of Adolf Hitler during World War II. Although he initially wears a fearsome blood-red skull mask, Shmidt suffers a horrific disfigurement decades later that causes his face to match his namesake. The Red Skull has endured as the archenemy of the superhero Captain America.[4]

The Red Skull has been adapted in various media incarnations. Scott Paulin portrayed the character in the 1990 direct-to-video film Captain America. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hugo Weaving portrayed the Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and was then replaced by Ross Marquand in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Peter Cullen, Steve Blum, Liam O'Brien and others have provided the character's voice in media ranging from animation to video games.

  1. ^ Christiansen, Jeff (2009). Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Vol. 9. Marvel. p. 71.
  2. ^ Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Demeo, Mickey (i), Rosen, Sam (let), Lee, Stan (ed). "The Red Skull Strikes!" Tales of Suspense, vol. 1, no. 65 (February 1965). New York, NY: Marvel Comics.
  3. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 (November 1968), 366 (September 1992), etc.
  4. ^ Albert, Aaron. "Top Ten Comic Book Archenemies - Superhero and Villain Arch-rivals". About.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-28. Retrieved 2008-06-25.