The Red Skull returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. While he is not shown encountering his nemesis, Captain America, again, the Russo Brothers confirmed that the two met once more. Red Skull is one of Marvel’s earliest major supervillains, debuting in Jack Kirby and Joe Simon’s Captain America Comics, though this iteration of the villain was the America defector George Maxon, who would perish in the series’ third issue. The more iconic Johann Schmidt iteration would debut in the seventh issue of Captain America Comics, quickly becoming the nemesis of Steve Rogers.
In the MCU, Johann Schmidt is the sole iteration of the Red Skull, and he debuts in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Red Skull is, fittingly, Captain America’s primary World War II-era adversary in the MCU, and the film leaves his ultimate fate ambiguous for a time, with Red Skull vanishing in a beam of energy from the Tesseract (which serves as the Infinity Stone known as the Space Stone in the MCU). Infinity War reveals that Red Skull was transported to Vormir and cursed with the duty of protecting the Soul Stone.
Captain America & Red Skull’s Last MCU Meeting Appears To Have Happened Off-Screen
Avengers: Endgame Set Up A Reunion Between The Former Foes
Thanos retrieves the Soul Stone in Infinity War, sacrificing the life of his adopted daughter Gamora to obtain it. In Avengers: Endgame, Hawkeye and Black Widow travel back in time to 2014 and retrieve the Soul Stone at the cost of Natasha’s life. Steve Rogers later returns all Infinity Stones to their respective points in time and space, meaning that he would have encountered his old nemesis. The Russo Brothers confirmed their reunion, noting that the two most likely did not fight, despite their history.
Joe Russo May Have Also Explained Why Captain America & Red Skull’s Last MCU Meeting Wasn’t Shown On-Screen
Red Skull Is “A Completely Different Enтιтy Now”
The Russo Brothers explained that the Red Skull’s cursed duty to guard the Soul Stone has significantly changed him, making him hardly resemble the man he was in First Avenger. Per Joe Russo, this would impact how any interactions between Steve and Red Skull would go down. The director explained:
Red Skull would probably put the soul stone back to its location, and wait for the next unfortunate stone seeker to make sacrifice. Cap and Red Skull probably won’t fight. It’s because it’s his mission to return the stone to its original place. The Red Skull is also no longer the same Red Skull from [Captain America; The First Avenger]. He is more like a ghost; you could almost say he’s a completely different enтιтy now. He only exists to guard the stone, his past consciousness may or may not exist anymore.
For this reason, he and Captain America would have little reason to fight, as Steve Rogers simply traveled to the alternate 2014’s Vormir to return the Soul Stone. Red Skull now only exists to guard it, so there’s no reason for the two to be at odds. This version of the Red Skull most likely returned to his duties once the Soul Stone was returned.
Steve Rogers was originally going to retrieve the Soul Stone in Endgame.
The fate of his main timeline counterpart, however, is less clear. Steve Rogers traveled back to the alternate 2014 to return the Soul Stone, likely leaving little time for Red Skull to exist with his duty fulfilled. His mainstream iteration will never be able to guard the Soul Stone again, as Thanos destroyed it. With this in mind, Red Skull may return to his villainous ways in the MCU after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
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