Within Marvel Comics, the Red Skull is the Joker to Captain America’s Batman. Not only that, but he’s considered an Avengers-level threat. It makes sense as he’s the leader of Hydra, one of the most prolific groups within Marvel. Despite this, the character was made to feel unimportant and forgettable when he was first introduced to the MCU. Hugo Weaving’s portrayal, as good as it was, didn’t stop his character from blasting into the unknown at the end of Captain America: The First Avengers. Fans had all but forgotten about him until he reappeared on Vormir in Avengers: Infinity War.
We now know he’s still alive out there, so who’s to say he can’t return as a major villain. There’s surely a place for the Red Skull after all this time, and there’s no telling what he can do now. The comics provide a wide range of possibilities, and some don’t seem unreasonable considering what we’ve seen from the current phase of MCU films and Disney+ series. Here’s why the Marvel villain needs to return at some point in the future.
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He Can Be Used to Continue Bucky and Sam’s Story
Marvel Studios
Red Skull has always been Captain America’s arch-nemesis. Even if it’s not Steve Rogers holding the shield, he still can be. Imagine if Red Skull returns to modern-day earth looking for Rogers, but finds Sam with the Captain America moniker instead. It would be a good chance to redefine their rivalry. A super-soldier villain against a hero without the serum. At the very least, it would be a drastic change in the balance of power between the two and would give Sam an even greater challenge to overcome.
And then there’s Bucky. How might the former Winter Soldier react when face to face with the Hydra leader who likely had a hand in making him into a mindless killer? If Barnes hasn’t overcome his past following The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, reintroducing Red Skull into the MCU fray could be the best way to continue his path to redemption. What better way for Bucky to leave the Winter Soldier name behind and become the White Wolf than to earn his justice against the face of Hydra himself?
Red Skull Could Fit into the Multiverse Conflict
Marvel Comics
Who knows what Red Skull can do now, having been in proximity to two powerful Infinity Stones. The Russo brothers stated that after the events of both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, nothing is binding him to Vormir anymore. If he finds his way off the planet somehow, he could make his way back to Earth and resume control of Hydra. With his genius intellect and tactical skills, he can do some real damage with the whole organization under his control. That goes double if he’s gained any abilities from handling the Tesseract. There is at least one Marvel Comics storyline where the cube granted him the ability to warp reality. If Feige decides that the same goes for his MCU counterpart, there’s no telling what kind of conflict it can cause in the current issues with the Multiverse. He was able to break out of the nightmare dimension once, so perhaps he’ll be able to break through to other universes much like America Chavez. He’s also used this same ability to try and steal the powers of Wanda Maximoff to create alternate realities to bend to his will, and he was almost successful too. Wanda may currently be the most powerful she’s ever been, but if anyone can outsmart her, it may be one of Marvel’s most diabolical villains.
His Potential as a Villain Has Yet to Be Fully Realized.
Considering he’s one of the most prolific villains in Marvel, he needs to make a return because there is so much he can do. He and Steve Rogers were like two sides of the same coin. Everything good about Steve, the Hydra commander was the exact opposite. He is one of the first Marvel villains to ever grace the pages and has been a terror to the world for eight decades. He’s attacked more than one nation in his bid for world domination, running afoul of other villains in the process. He’s put mutants into concentration camps and tried numerous times to ruin Captain America’s life. He’s also stolen Charles Xavier’s brain and gained his powers in the process. Imagine how dangerous Red Skull can be in the film if he can read the Avengers’ minds as they are plotting against him. Most recently, he was able to manipulate reality to turn Captain America into a Hydra mole, leading to one of the most controversial storylines in recent memory. And that’s only some of the worst things he’s ever done.
It’s worth noting that he doesn’t always play well with others. His Nazi past has made an enemy of Magneto, an angle that could come into play depending on what route Feige decides to go with the character. He once fought Doctor Doom when his country of Latveria became one of his targets for domination. Red Skull has even made an enemy of Kingpin, who chose to fight the Nazi rather than work with him solely on moral principle. Even The Joker doesn’t like him, and they aren’t even from the same comics. There hasn’t been a lot of villain rivalry in the MCU, but with a figure like Red Skull, there is plenty of room for story creativity, should he be brought back into the fold.
