The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (1941), in which his secret identity is revealed to be George Maxon, who is retroactively established as a decoy working for the real Red Skull, Johann Shmidt, who would debut in Captain America Comics #7 (1941). Other individuals have also adopted the Red Skull persona, including Albert Malik and the original's own daughter Sinthea Shmidt.
In his comic book appearances, the Red Skull is depicted as a Nazi agent and protégé of Adolf Hitler during World War II who becomes an ominous threat to his mentor and the world at large. Although he initially only wears a mask to give his face the appearance of a red skull, 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.
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.
Publication history The original Red Skull was introduced in Timely Comics' Captain America Comics #1 (cover-dated March 1941) which was written and drawn by the team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. On separate occasions, both Kirby and Simon claimed to have had the original idea for the character, and at the 1970 San Diego Comic Con, Kirby said the Red Skull was created by France Herron.Kirby, Jack, interviewed by Bruce Hamilton in Rocket's Blast ComiCollector #81 (1971). Simon later credited both Kirby and Herron with having a role in creating Red Skull.
Golden age The Skull made limited appearances in the Golden Age of Captain America. His first story in Captain America Comics #1 follows the Red Skull as he takes out military personnel in attempts to sabotage United States military industry. In the issue, his identity is revealed as George Maxon of Maxon Aircraft, and dies at the end of the issue by rolling onto his own hypodermic needle in apparent suicide.
The Skull returns again in issue #3 of Captain America Comics having survived his own needle. He commandeers bank robberies in an effort to raise money to overthrow the US government, declaring, "Of course you realize the main item in overthrowing the government is money!" The Skull again assumedly dies at the end of the issue when Captain America returns a thrown bomb.
The Red Skull once again thwarts death by returning and planning crimes around music in Captain America Comics #7 (October 1941). Stories published decades later claimed this was the Nazi Johann Shmidt, and that the Red Skull appearing before that point was his pawn George Maxon. Marvel has since revealed Johann Shmidt's first appearance was also in Captain America Comics #1, and the two skulls worked together in the Golden Age.
The Red Skull made sporadic appearances in other Timely comic books in the forties. He appeared in Young Allies #1 and #4. appearing maskless in both issues, including when getting up from bed in issue #1 and while in a fighter jet with one other ally in #4. He was also to appear in All-Select Comics #2 (December 1943), Captain America Comics #37 (February 1944) and All Winners Comics #12 (April 1944) in various plots to overthrow the United States.
In the last issue of Captain America Comics in the forties, which had since been retitled Captain America's Weird Tales, Red Skull appears in a dream of Captain America, and they both battle in Hell for the damnation of each other's soul. This story was notable for including horror aspects in Captain America stories, as horror comics books became popular during this time period. Timely would end the run of Captain America after this issue to focus on mystery, humor, and horror.
After an absence from comics for five years, both Captain America and the Red Skull were brought back in 1954 in Young Men Comics #24, in a story entitled "Back From The Dead". Here the Red Skull, thinking Captain America was dead, has left politics and started a large criminal enterprise in the United States. In his next appearance, in issue #27, the Red Skull is once again left for dead from a truck crash.
Silver age After an absence for more than a decade, the character of Red Skull returned in new stories starting with Tales of Suspense #65 (May 1965) in a Captain America World War II-period story run. Marvel resorted to retroactive continuity in recreating the identity of the Red Skull for the Silver age, explaining the real George "John" Maxon was killed and replaced with a lookalike who worked for the real Red Skull. In traveling to Germany to seek out the real Red Skull, Captain America finally meets Johann Shmidt face to face.
Red Skull was established as a contemporary villain in Tales of Suspense #79 (July 1966), with the explanation that he had been in suspended animation since World War II. He would continue to appear in this title after Tales of Suspense was renamed Captain America in 1968 with Marvel establishing the character as the archenemy of Captain America for a new age of readers.
Bronze age During Jack Kirby's return to Marvel in 1976, the Red Skull would again appear in a run of Captain America during which Kirby both wrote and penciled stories of the characters he helped create. During this run, it is notable Red Skull was the only villain Kirby brought back, having distanced these new Captain America stories from the rest of the Marvel Universe. During this period, the Red Skull would also be used as an antagonist in the Invaders comic book series which focused on period stories from the forties.
For decades, the character's true face was hidden, but in Captain America #297 (September 1984) the Red Skull unmasks in front of Captain America and his face, albeit extremely aged, is fully revealed. In the next issue, the Red Skull retells his story with his face fully visible in his various ages. The Red Skull seemingly dies in issue #300 (December 1984) after a battle with Captain America and would disappear for five years. When the character is revealed to be alive in issue #350 (February 1989), in a story called "Resurrection", by Mark Gruenwald, the face of Johann Shmidt's original body is hidden again, but the Red Skull's face is fully visible, albeit in his cloned copy of Captain America's body.
The character's origin was more fully illustrated in the miniseries Red Skull: Incarnate, with Shmidt's face fully visible again.
Fictional character biography Johann Shmidt Johann Shmidt was a Nazi general officer and confidant of Adolf Hitler. He is an enemy of Captain America, the Avengers, and the interests of the United States and the free world in general. He was physically augmented by having his mind placed into the body of a clone of Captain America, the pinnacle of human perfection. He has been seemingly killed in the past, only to return time and time again to plague the world with schemes of world domination and genocide.
Johann Shmidt was born in a village in Germany to Hermann Shmidt and Martha Shmidt. His mother died in childbirth, and his father blamed Johann for her death. Johann's father tried to drown the baby, only to be stopped by the attending doctor; he later committed suicide, leaving Johann an orphan. The doctor took Johann to an orphanage, where the child led a lonely existence. Johann ran away from the orphanage when he was 7 years old and lived on the streets as a beggar and thief. As he grew older, he worked at various menial jobs but spent most of his time in prison for crimes ranging from vagrancy to theft. The Skull's real name of Johann Shmidt was not revealed in his Golden Age and Silver Age appearances. As a young man, Shmidt was from time to time employed by a Jewish shopkeeper, whose daughter Esther was the only person who had treated Shmidt kindly up to that point. Seized with passion for Esther, Schmidt tried to force himself upon her, only for her to reject him. In unthinking fury, Shmidt murdered her. Shmidt fled the scene in terror but also felt ecstatic joy in committing his first murder. In killing Esther, he had given vent to the rage at the world that had been building up in him throughout his young life.Captain America #298
According to the official version of the story told by the Red Skull and the Nazis, Shmidt met Hitler while working as a bellhop in a hotel. This occurred during his late teens, around the same time that the Nazi Party gained power in Germany. Shmidt wound up serving Hitler's rooms at the hotel. By chance, Shmidt was present by bringing refreshments when the Führer was furiously scolding an officer for letting a spy escape, during which Hitler declared that he could create a better National Socialist out of the bellhop. Looking closely at the youth and sensing his dark inner nature, Hitler decided to act on his words and recruited Shmidt. In the miniseries Red Skull: Incarnate, it has been revealed that Shmidt actually engineered his meeting with the Führer with himself disguised as a bellhop, tricking his fellow orphan Dieter into trying to kill Hitler and then taking this opportunity to save Hitler's life.Red Skull: Incarnate #5
Dissatisfied with the standard drill instruction his subordinates used to train Shmidt, Hitler took over personally, training Shmidt as his right-hand man after Heinrich Himmler. Upon completion, Hitler gave Shmidt a unique uniform with a grotesque red skull mask, and he emerged as the Red Skull (in literal German: Roter Totenkopf or Roter (Toten-)Schädel) for the first time. His role was the embodiment of Nazi intimidation, while Hitler could remain the popular leader of Germany. To that end, the Red Skull was appointed head of Nazi terrorist activities with an additional large role in external espionage and sabotage. He succeeded, wreaking havoc throughout Europe in the early stages of World War II. The propaganda effect was so great that the United States government decided to counter it by creating their own equivalent using the one recipient of the lost Project Rebirth: Steve Rogers, as the superhero/counterintelligence agent, Captain America.