12 Years On, Phase 5 Will Finally Make Up For 1 Iconic MCU Villain’s 2-Minute Defeat

Marvel Studios’ What If…? season 2 will mark the return of an iconic Marvel villain, who could redeem himself after a disappointing battle back in Phase 1 of the MCU. After Phase 4’s Loki series introduced the concept of the multiverse to the MCU, subsequent projects began to explore the franchise’s alternate realities and variant characters. 2021’s What If…? season 1 saw Jeffrey Wright’s Watcher narrate tales from across the multiverse, and introduce new heroes such as Captain Carter, T’Challa’s Star-Lord and an only child version of Thor, but the Marvel Studios Animation series also debuted several powerful villains, and this will continue in the highly-anticipated What If…? season 2.

What If…? season 2’s trailers have revealed that variants of villains including the Mad Titan Thanos, the Asgardian Goddess of Death Hela and Peter Quill’s Celestial father Ego will all be making their MCU debuts. These antagonists will face off against some familiar and some new superheroes from across the multiverse over the course of What If…? season 2’s nine episodes, which will release daily over the Holidays, premiering with “What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps” on December 22. What If…? season 2 will also mark the return of one of Marvel’s most threatening and recognizable villains, however, who could demonstrate much more strength than his live-action MCU counterpart.

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What If…? Season 2 Cast & Marvel Character Guide

What If…? season 2 premieres on December 22, 2023, on Disney+, bringing new and returning voice actors to the animated worlds of the MCU’s Phase 5.

Captain America: The First Avenger Never Showed Red Skull At Full Power

Hugo Weaving debuted as Johann Schmidt, a.k.a. the Red Skull, in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, acting as the first villain to Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers following his transformation into Captain America. Red Skull was HYDRA’s leader during WWII, so had a huge amount of power and influence, especially after acquiring the Tesseract and using the Space Stone to forge advanced weapons for his HYDRA forces. However, aside from a very short battle with Captain America aboard the Valkyrie, the Red Skull never got the chance to show off his super-soldier powers before being thrust into space by the Tesseract, but What If…? season 2 will finally change this.​​​​​​​

What If…? Shows Exactly How Powerful Red Skull Can Be

What If…? season 2’s second trailer, titled “Holiday Wordplay,” provided a deeper insight into what stories will be told in the upcoming season. What If…? season 2, episode 8, “What If… the Avengers Assembled in 1602?,” is based on Marvel Comics’ Marvel 1602 series by Neil Gaiman, featuring notable heroes in the Elizabethan era. Scenes from episode 8 in What If…? season 2’s trailer seem to depict an Elizabethan Bucky Barnes facing off against a huge, muscular villain, who has the face of the Red Skull. This episode will finally give the Red Skull the chance to show off his fighting ability after Captain America: The First Avenger failed him.

In the MCU, Johann Schmidt took Dr. Abraham Erskine’s experimental super-soldier serum before it was perfected ahead of Steve Rogers’ transformation, which caused his burned face, but gifted him with the powers of Captain America. While he may have never got the chance to show off these powers in live-action – not even with his return in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame – What If…? season 2 will finally see the Red Skull at full strength, waging war on 1602’s variant heroes. What If…? season 2 is expected to be a thrilling addition to the MCU’s Phase 5, and Red Skull’s developments in the series will be great to see.