Johann Schmidt


 * Red Skull redirects here. For the character from the 1990 film, see Tadzio de Santis.

"He thinks he's a god and he's willing to blow half of the world to prove it."

- Chester Phillips

Johann Schmidt, also known as the Red Skull, is an ex SS officer and scientist who has his own branch of the German Army under his command known as HYDRA.

Captain America: The First Avenger
Johann Schmidt was an SS officer who reached the rank of Obergruppenführer (Lieutenant General) and got into Hitler's inner circle. He believed in some of Hitler's stories that many other Nazis didn't and became to have an obsession for the ocultism. Then he created his own branch known as HYDRA, named after the mythological creature which became Hitler's deep science division. Dr. Abraham Erkshine had been forced to test the super soldier serum on Johann Schmidt, corrupt and greedy for power. After the serum had been used on Schmidt, he not only developed a darker nature but it also had physical side effects.

Schmidt then invade a castle in Norway searching for an artifact he calls "The jewel of Odin's treasure room". The artifact is said to give it's finder unbelievable power and Schmidt believed it would give him power. A monk tries to stop him from stealing it but Johann shoots and kills him. Schmidt and Nazi scientist, Arnim Zola experiment with the artifact which is really the cosmic cube and attempt to harness it's power. Then they started to create their own wunderwaffe using the Tesseract´s power. Schmidt then kills three SS officers when they reveal HYDRA wants to take over every country in the world including Germany. Schmidt reveals that his cause is looking beyond Hitler's plans and imagination and that HYDRA won't grow up under Hitler´s shadow, so he becomes an enemy and traitor of the Axis powers.

While on a solo rescue mission, Steve Rogers briefly confronts Schmidt. After Dr. Zola stops the fight, Schmidt tears away the skin on his face revealing that he is the Red Skull (he became Red Skull after the super soldier serum was tested on him). The Red Skull and Zola retreat. The Red Skull grew frustrated as Captain America destroyed all but one of his factories, killing his men who failed to stop him. After the Howling Commandos captured Zola, Rogers went to the Red Skull's last fortress. After his men captured the Red Skull asked Rodgers what made him special. After the Red Skull's questions, Allied troops under Col. Phillips Agent Carter and the Howling Commandos stormed it. The Red Skull then took off in his jet destroy the US with the energy from the cosmic cube.

After subduing his pilots and their bombs, the Red Skull and Captain America fight within the cockpit ending in a stalemate as the battle damages the cube power core. The Red Skull claims the Cube in an attempt to use its power to destroy Rogers, but the Cube responds to the user's desire. The Red Skulls desire being to obtain the power of the Gods which in the Cube's case was Asgardian in nature. Thus the Cube open's a portal to Asgard where the Red Skull is transported leaving behind the Cube to burn through the hull of the ship toward the Arctic Ocean.

His overall fate after this is unknown.

Character traits
Johann Schmidt is a megalomaniac genius who firmly believes in Nietzsche's theory of Übermensch (beoynd-human), a race of superhuman beings destined to rule the normal ones. Believing himself to be such a man, he used both magic and science to obtain a central position in Hitler's army, until his conceit arrived to the point of believing to be greater than Hitler himself, thus starting a plan to overthrow him. Schmidt is pitiless and cruel, but also a scientific genius, who's able to see beyond appearances and managed to see the truth behind myths believed to be superstition, in reality fragments of alien technology.

As a result of the formula developed by Abraham Erskine, Schmidt was horribly disfigured, but also obtained incredible attributes, such as an enormous strength, speed, stamina and reflexes, and got even his intelligence increased, becoming a war mastermind. In combat, he uses canonical firearms, but after the retrieving of the Tesseract, he gained access to a source of energy the like of which has never be seen, and used it to implement his weapons.

Abilities

 * The Serum severely transform schmidt's appearance into living Red Skull. But did enhanced all of his body natural abilities to the peak of human potential.

Serum Abilites

 * Peak Human Strength: The Red Skull's physical strength can match Steve to the very peak of human potential.
 * Peak Human Speed: The Red Skull is able to run at a speed of approximately 30 miles per hour.
 * Peak Human Agility:' The Red Skull have agility superior to that of any Olympic athlete.
 * Peak Human Stamina: Schmidt's musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human.
 * Superhuman Reflexes: Schmidt's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are superior to those of the finest athlete.
 * Peak Human Durability: His bones and muscles are denser and harder than normal, to the highest human potential, which makes him very durable compared to a normal human.
 * Peak Human Mental Process: His mental performance has been greatly enhanced, allowing his mind to operate in the most efficient and rapid manner possible.
 * Peak Human Healing: Schmidt's healing speed and efficiency is at the highest limits of human potential, which means he can heal faster than most humans.

Relationships

 * Steve Rogers - Archenemy.
 * Bucky Barnes - Enemy.
 * Peggy Carter - Enemy.
 * Howling Commandos - Enemies.
 * Arnim Zola - Ally.
 * Heinz Kruger - Ally.

Behind the Scenes

 * Hugo Weaving based the Red Skull's accent on renowned German filmmakers Werner Herzog and Klaus Maria Brandauer.
 * About the character, Weaving remarked, "I think the major difference between Skull and Cap, they've both had the serum, and the serum seems to augment certain qualities that each of them have. Cap is much more in tune with other people I think. Schmidt is in tune with himself, and his own needs, and his own ego, so I suppose it augments that. From that point of view, they're quite opposite."
 * The Red Skull searches for a powerful artifact, the Cosmic Cube. In the 2007 film Transformers, Hugo Weaving voiced the villain Megatron, who also searched for a similar cosmic cube-shaped relic (the AllSpark).

Appearances/Actors

 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 film)
 * Captain America: The First Avenger (First appearance) - Hugo Weaving

Trivia

 * In the comics the Red Skull was Hitler´s right hand, second in command and personal assassin and he has no relationships with HYDRA. Although, he helped Baron von Strucker (the original HYRDRA's director) to escape from Germany and to organize HYDRA in the japanesse occupied territory in the final days of the WWII.