Johann Schmidt - better known as The Red Skull - is a well-known supervillain in Marvel Comics. Originally the right-hand man of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, he was an elite scientist, spy and assassin. He strongly believed in Hitler's ideals and may well have secured Nazi victory in World War II were it not for the heroic Captain America. Like the Captain, Red Skull would disappear towards the war's end and spend the next several decades in suspended animation, awakening in the modern era to continue his quest for world domination.
Marvel Cinematic Universe[]
Captain America: The First Avenger[]
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Johann Schmidt (portrayed by Hugo Weaving) is the head of the Nazi deep-science division HYDRA. Early in his career, he encountered the scientist Abraham Erskine who had developed a formula to enhance human capabilities. Schmidt forced Erskine to give him the serum and he used it on himself. While this did increase his strength, stamina and even his intellect, the serum also left Schmidt severely deformed, altering his face into the visage of a red skull and thus earning him his moniker.
Red Skull wears a mask to hide his grotesque visage
During World War II, the Red Skull sought to harness the power of the gods themselves. Researching various mythological and religious texts, the Skull was led to a village in Norway where he discovered the Tesseract, a cube-shaped object of incredible power believed to be of Asgardian origin. The Skull took the cube and learned how to harness its power, designing and building new weapons for his soldiers that utilised the Tesseract's destructive energy. No longer interested in the narrow ideals of Nazis, the Skull and HYDRA separated themselves from Hitler and his command and plotted to dominate the Earth themselves.
The Red Skull assigned his operative Heinz Kruger to infiltrate the Americans' Strategic Scientific Reserve in order to assassinate the wayward Dr. Erskine and steal his perfected Super-Soldier serum. However, Kruger had failed in his mission and the serum had been administered to an American soldier called Steve Rogers who would become known as Captain America. As the years went on, Captain America and his Howling Commandos would continually thwart HYDRA's operations, destroying their factories and seizing their assets. But the Skull had one last card to play; he had created a powerful airship called the Valkyrie that harnessed the power of the Tesseract and was equipped with atomic bombs. The Skull planned to use this ship to invade the United States and destroy all of their major cities in one fell swoop.
The Skull's final plan was thwarted by Captain America who boarded the Valkyrie just as it took off from HYDRA Headquarters. Aboard the colossal bomber, the Captain and the Skull clashed. During the fight, the device harnessing the Tesseract was damaged and the cube's energy became unstable. As the Red Skull grabbed the Tesseract, it released a burst of energy that seemed to tear a hole in the fabric of reality. As the Red Skull gazed into the portal at the universe beyond, his body was enveloped by the Tesseract's energy and he suddenly disappeared through the portal. His whereabouts and status remain a mystery, though the world believes him to be dead. Despite losing their leader, HYDRA did not disappear with him. Though they were defeated toward the end of WWII, the sinister organisation would remain in the shadows for the next seven decades, sowing chaos throughout the world until they emerged in the 21st century from within the global peacekeeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D..
Avengers: Infinity War[]
It is revealed decades later that the Red Skull had not perished during his showdown with Captain America. When the Tesseract energies were released and the Skull was transported across space, arriving on the planet Vormir. As the Skull would come to learn, this was his punishment for abusing the power of the Tesseract, which Schmidt would learn was actually a vessel for the Space Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones.
Another of the Infinity Stones, the Soul Stone, was located on Vormir. Schmidt attempted to take the stone for himself, but he could not use its power since the stone could only be acquired by someone sacrificing one they love, and Schmidt loved no one but himself. The Skull was therefore cursed to become the Stonekeeper, an ageless, immortal guardian of the Soul Stone. Over the decades, he advised beings who sought the Soul Stone, warning them of the price that must be paid to gain its power.
In 2018, the Mad Titan Thanos arrived on Vormir along with his treacherous daughter Gamora in search of the Soul Stone. With his new abilities, Schmidt immediately detected Thanos' presence and knew who he was, greeting the alien conqueror and explaining the ritual that was needed to acquire the Soul Stone. At this, Gamora mocked her father, believing his quest to be in vain and that he was incapable of truly loving anyone. To her horror, Gamora realised she was wrong as she witnessed Thanos shed a tear for her and reluctantly threw her off a cliff to her death. With Gamora's sacrifice, Thanos obtained the Soul Stone.
After Thanos obtains all of the Infinity Stones, the Red Skull's fate remains unknown. Though rendered unable to die by the Soul Stone, its effect on him may have been canceled out after Thanos completed the Infinity Gauntlet and Schmidt could have been among the countless beings that were destroyed by Thanos' death wave. Since Schmidt was not seen again after Thanos left Vormir, his fate cannot be confirmed.