Avengers Infinity War: Who is the Red Skull? Surprise character returns

In Avengers: Infinity War, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes must band together to take on Thanos and stop him from collecting the six infinity stones. 

New and returning heroes unite to take on the Mad Titan as he collects the stone to complete the Infinity Gauntlet.

Returning characters Iron Man, Captain America and the Hulk bring together some of our favourite Marvel heroes to stop half the universe from being destroyed. 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has spanned 10 years and 19 films, showcasing some of Marvel’s of the most daring heroes and sinister villains in the great movie saga.

Infinity War offers more than 70 major Marvel characters in its runtime but one particular character surprised fans in a brief cameo.

Infinity War spoilers ahead

Who is the Red Skull?

A character that we haven’t seen in the MCU for seven years, Red Skull shows his face once again in Infinity War. 

The former head of Hydra during World War 2, Red Skull – or his normal character name, Johann Schmidt – is the main antagonist for Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

Played by movie heavy-weight Hugo Weaving, the German mad-man seemed to use the power of the Tesseract to bolster the weapons of the Third Reich.

Luckily for the allies, plucky Brooklynite Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is injected with the Super Soldier Serum, transforming him into the perfect soldier, capable of the absolute peak human physical strength, endurance and agility. 

Rogers spends the first film systematically taking down Schmidt’s plans as the Geat World War rages around them. 

The MCU wikia page describes Red Skull as “a brilliant scientist in his own right, he fought his was through the ranks of Nazi elite to come a confidant of Adolf Hitler himself. 

“However, his ambition to become the superior man led him to test an imperfect version of the Super Soldier Serum on himself which transformed him into the horrifying Red Skull”.

The closing scene of Captain America shows an immense battle between Captain American and Red Skull aboard a giant ship carrying the powerful and mysterious Tesseract. 

It seems as though Red Skull will finally kill Cap as he holds the mighty infinity stone in his hand, until he is suddenly surrounded by a teleportation beam and zapped away into space, never to be seen again… until Infinity War

Why is Red Skull in Infinity War? 

Absent for the next seven years of the MCU, it turns out that Red Skull was placed on the planet of Vormir, the home of the Soul Stone. 

For the last seven decades, Red Skull was tasked with keeping watch over the stone, guarding it as punishment for thinking he could wield the Space Stone. 

His sole purpose now is to guide seekers of the stone and advise them of the price they must pay to wield its power. 

Tempting Thanos to make a sacrifice of love in order to get the stone, the Mad Titan throws his daughter Gamora off the cliff, fulfilling the sacrifice and collecting the Soul Stone. 

The inclusion of Red Skull as the keeper of the Soul Stone was an unexpected one for fans who had almost forgotten about the Nazi villain. 

Hugo Weaving had been previously vocal about not wanting to return to the MCU, prompting a recast for Infinity War. 

Red Skull is now plated by renowned impressionist and Walking Dead actor Ross Marquand. 

Will we see Red Skull again? 

The Walking dead actor was reportedly unable to discuss his involvement in the MCU, and is even more unwilling to speak about his potential returning Avengers 4.

He said: “I don’t know. I can’t speak to that, and I think that I would obviously love to replay that role again anytime. 

“It’s such a rich character, especially now that he’s gone to this intergalactic hellscape and he’s found his own prison there – not to quote Creed. That was a Creed song, right?

“But he’s a changed man, and I don’t even know if he is a man anymore. He’s almost like this ghostlike deity, and he’s at the service of the Soul Stone now, and his sole purpose is to essentially guide people to this, but you have to wonder: Is there still a part of him that does have ambition? 

“I don’t know. It would be really cool to see where that character goes. But that’s really a question for all the folks at Marvel and the Russo brothers and the writers. I certainly couldn’t speak to that.”

It seems unlikely Red Skull would return, given the fact he has served his purpose as the gatekeeper in Infinity war.

The small cameo was a huge surprise, but who knows what the future will be for Red Skull.

Avengers 4 will be released on May 3, 2019.