Red Skull | |
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Publisher | Marvel Comics |
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Species | Human mutate |
Place of origin | Germany |
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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.