Baron Zemo

In prepping for the Captain America movie release, I thought I'd blog about another one his wartime enemies, granted not as infamous in the sense of the Red Skull, but just as equally villainous. Despite first appearing in Avengers #4 (1964) alongside Captain America's return, the Baron has been written into Cap's wartime history. A top Nazi scientist, Zemo created many weapons of mass destruction for Hitler's armies, but he was also a sadist, testing his inventions on civilians and prisoners inside the Reich. It was when he faced off against the Howling Commando's in one of their early encounters that this sadism came to a head. He test fired an experimental ray weapon on a nearby German town, killing hundreds of innocents. Despite his attempts to blame this atrocity on the Allies, Nick Fury and the Commando's exposed him for the monster he was, causing him to be hated and reviled throughout the entire world. His mask became a permeant part of his face when Cap exposed his face to Adhesive X, an experimental compound that could not be dissolved. Near the end of the war, he caused the apparent deaths of both Captain America and his wartime partner Bucky, when he launched an experimental drone plane laden with explosives towards London. Satisfied that his enemies were dead, he fled to South America, where he quickly gained followers and hid for many years. Upon the return of the Captain, he assembled several other super-villains into the first Masters of Evil. After their attack on the Avengers failed, he was pursued to his hideaway by the Captain, who blinded him with his shield, causing Zemo to fire his ray pistol wildly, creating a rockslide that buried the villain for good. His role was later taken up by his son Helmut. The Baron is confirmed to appear in the Captain America movie, although his role is not yet known. But whatever it is, you can bet that it will be good.