Villain Spotlight: The Red Skull

As a member of several self proclaimed evil societies I like to think of myself as a match for most men's evil, but on occasion you come across a true savant. One who understands evil in a way that most of us can only hope and dream. Perhaps one of the best of this lot is the personal friend of Adolph Hitler the Red Skull. The Red Skull has raised being evil to an art form. From world war II genocide to the murder of Peter Parker's parents this is a man who would boil puppies alive just because he was bored.

You don't just fall into evil of this caliber though, it is something that must be earned. And The Red Skull has paid his dues. Johann Schmidt began his acts of evil early killing his mother in childbirth an act that also convinced his father to commit suicide.

Johann Schmidt was forced onto the streets as an orphan thanks to the evil, yet not fully thought out plan. Yet he did not allow a lack of power or money to limit his evil ambition and he soon murdered the first girl he ever loved. His relationships with women have been rocky ever since.

He eventually worked his way up to being a bellhop where we can only assume he soiled people's luggage in unimaginal ways. While there he met Hitler who, in order to prove a point, trained him personally to become his right hand man.

As the young Nazi completed his training Adolph gave him the Red Skull mask and put in charge of Nazi terrorism. His acts across Europe at this time were so effective that America was forced to counter by creating Captain America.

At the end of World War II the Red Skull was buried and left in suspended animation for decades. Yet his evil could not be contained by simple suspended animation and he terrorized the world with sleeper robots that woke to seek revenge for the Nazi's loss.

One might think then that the Red Skull would remain loyal to the Nazi ideals after he woke, but loyalty is not evil enough for this protogy and he betrayed even his own ideals first becomming a communist and eventually an evil capitalist.

Eventually he was killed, but even hell itself could not contain the evil of the Red Skull and he escaped. This escape from hell gave him limited reality altering powers which he used to become the USA secretary of defense and used a new experimental biological weapon on Mount Rushmore.

He has also been implicated in the assassination of Captain America. A true genius of evil and a role model we can only hope to live up to.