Phase Zero
Characters

Johann Schmidt / Red Skull

Red Skull

Johann SchmidtCaptain AmericaEarth-616

The head of Hydra, who took an unfinished version of the serum that made Captain America and got the face he deserved.

Johann Schmidt is the first villain these films made and one of the few they got right on the first try. He runs Hydra, the Nazi science division, and his plan is not to serve Hitler but to replace him. He took Erskine’s serum before it was finished, which is why he is strong and why his face came off.

What makes him last is the second appearance. He is not defeated in Infinity War, he is employed: the Tesseract dropped him on Vormir and left him there as the keeper of a stone he can never hold, explaining the rules to people who are about to lose somebody. It is the most interesting punishment in the catalogue.

Played by
Hugo Weaving, Ross Marquand
Role
Head of Hydra
Affiliation
Hydra
What they can do
The same serum, taken too early, which gave him the strength and took the rest.

The journey

What happens to this person, title by title.

  1. Captain America: The First Avenger2011

    Looks for the Tesseract, plans to overthrow Hitler on the way, and is not stopped by the war ending.

  2. Avengers: Infinity War2018

    Found again on a cliff at the end of the universe, guarding a stone he cannot use.

Appears in

  1. Captain America: The First Avenger2011
  2. Avengers: Infinity War2018

Sources

Facts last checked on Sep 10, 2026