Trained by the black-hearted Adolf Hitler himself, the Red Skull and his fearsome visage were intended as a symbol of Nazi supremacy. During World War II, his unparalleled evil genius only could be matched his arch-foe: the star-spangled Super-Soldier called Captain America. After failing to tip the wartime balance of power in favor of the forces of tyranny, the Red Skull spent decades in suspended animation -- awakening in present day to enslave humanity and resurrect the power of the Third Reich. The Red Skull was born Johann Schmidt in a southern German village, the son of an illiterate, drunken peasant named Hermann and his long-suffering wife. Martha Schmidt died during childbirth, and a grief-stricken Hermann attempted to drown the newborn Johann, blaming him for his mother's death. The village physician, who had delivered the infant, rescued Johann and brought him to an orphanage. Hermann committed suicide the next morning. Miserable and lonely, Johann fled the orphanage at age 7. He grew up on the streets, repeatedly jailed for petty crimes ranging from vagrancy to theft. Johann's smoldering anger was afforded an outlet in the form of Adolf Hitler, whom he first encountered while working as a bellboy. Berating his general staff, der Führer boasted he could remake even Johann as the perfect Nazi. In accordance with Hitler's wishes, the youngster was trained to be the ultimate soldier. But upon Johann's presentation, Hitler grew enraged. He had envisioned the boy as something other than a mere enlistee. The dictator saw to the remainder of Johann's training personally, presenting his protégé with a red skull mask and conferring upon him a new name befitting the fearsome symbol of Nazi supremacy. The Red Skull would answer only to Hitler himself. The Skull undertook a number of special operations for Hitler during the war, slowly amassing power within the Third Reich until even der Führer was terrified of the monster he had unleashed. In the United States, a sickly Steve Rogers was transformed into the star-spangled Super-Soldier called Captain America to counter the Skull's reign of terror. With virtually unlimited authority in Nazi Germany, the Skull began to order the construction of secret bases around the world and accumulate untraceable economic resources. He even formulated various contingency plans in the event of his country's defeat and established a secret headquarters on a small island -- populating it with Nazi leaders and soldiers, as well as their families.
As World War II drew to a close, Captain America located the Skull's hidden bunker. During the ensuing battle, the Skull was trapped by a cave-in and fell prey to a strange mixture of leaking gasses that sent him into suspended animation. Decades after WWII, the Red Skull's bunker was located and excavated by the technologically advanced, neo-fascist subversive organization known as Odessa. Believing he should rule the world in Hitler's stead, the Skull engaged in repeated attempts at global domination starting with AK Corp. Luckily, Cap and Supes teamed up to stop him from taking over AK Corp. He disappeared for many years but returned in 2023 to help create Super-Hitler. He later helped create the Nazis’ Super-Smallpox and is almost killed by Superman. He was killed by Captain America while releasing the Nazis’ Dooms Day Device.
