The star-spangled man with a plan, Captain America, has always been a shining symbol of truth and justice for comic and movie fans of all ages. Of course, Cap always needs something to fight against and as such, the tight-wearing hero has gone up against a number of inventive foes.
From well-known to lost to history, Captain America’s villains aren’t as threatening as other heroes but there are still plenty that stands out as legends. That being said, among those titans of terror, there are plenty of villains who are less than legendary, ending up as villainous jokes to Cap.
Legend: Red Skull
Out of all of Captain America’s rogue’s gallery, there are none as vicious or as vile as the lead of the Nazi organization Hydra, Johannes Schmidt, the Red Skull. Since his first appearance, the Red Skull has plagued Rogers through the years, constantly being his number one foe.
From repeatedly returning from the dead, at one point gaining telepathic powers thanks to the brain of Professor X, and even twisting Steve Rogers into a Hydra version of himself, Stevil, the Red Skull is an evil that will never truly die.
Joke: Sin
Evil sometimes runs in the family, and for the Schmidt family, that’s more than true. After the Red Skull’s supposed death in 2005, it was time for a new villain/villainess to take center stage. That came in the form of Sinthea Schmidt, later known as Sin, the Skull’s daughter.
Of course, just because she was his daughter, that didn’t automatically make her a great villain. Sure, she had some great hits, but she was always living in Schmidt’s shadow. Even becoming an all-powerful god in “Fear Itself” didn’t improve her character.
Legend: Baron Zemo
Alongside Red Skull, there are no villains as dastardly or vile as Baron Helmut Zemo, son of the Nazi Heinrich. Whereas the Red Skull’s known for his vicious and violent acts, Zemo is known for having a deadly and vast intellect.
Armed with his intelligence, Helmut has amassed quite the evil resume. He’s gone from taking on Captain America, forming his own team, the Masters of Evil, and infiltrating the team The Thunderbolts as Citizen V. Overall, not a bad career for the dastardly villain over the years.
Joke: Serpent Society
How many villains looked in the mirror, decided they were gonna be a snake-themed villain, and then went out and fought Captain America? Enough to form an entire team, apparently. The Serpent Society is an entire group of villains with snake monikers who constantly butted heads with Captain America.
What makes the Serpent Society a joke is how many there are. There are so many members that it’s ridiculous that they’ve never been able to overwhelm or kill Captain America. It’s a testament to how much they flop as villains.
Legend: U.S. Agent
Recently in Falcon And The Winter Soldier, audiences were introduced to John Walker, the replacement to Steve Rogers Captain America. In the comics, Walker’s known as the US Agent who works for the government on increasingly shady and difficult tasks.
Although he’s seen as a hero, Agent’s had his villainous streaks throughout the comics. Beginning as Super Patriot, Walker was made into the new Captain America and took on Cap before taking the mantle of US Agent and continuing on his rocky path alongside a few heroic ones as well.
Joke: Batroc The Leaper
When a guy’s only ability is to leap great bounds, usually they’re not going to go far in the sense of villainous deeds. Georges Batroc was a member of the French Foreign Legion who became the masked villain and thief Batroc the Leaper.
With that kind of name, it’s easy to think that perhaps Batroc has some superhuman ability to leap to extreme lengths. In reality, Batroc has no superhuman powers. All he has is his skill to leap great bounds and serve as a C to D list villain.
Legend: Crossbones
Now thanks to the MCU, fans probably see Crossbones as being a joke. A big, dumb lug working for Hydra who got his face crushed by a building and then got blown up in just two phases. Comic-wise, Crossbones was more than that and was in fact the Red Skull’s right-hand man.
Originally serving as a mercenary who impressed the Red Skull, Crossbones, as the years rolled on, has proven himself as a brutal foe to be reckoned with. He even came close to killing Captain America at one point in the world of comics.
Joke: Hate-Monger
If no one can make a villain intimidating, then it’s not a good villain. Hate-Monger has been seen in a number of different methods over the years. He began as the clone of Adolf Hitler who tried to use a raygun to increase the level of hate in people and yes, that really was a thing. When Captain America resisted, the ray exploded and killed the clone.
Since then, multiple unknown characters donned the identity of Hate-Monger with each one being swept under the rug as forgotten second-rate foes that never made an impact.
Legend: The Winter Soldier
There’s no enemy greater than those closest to one’s heart. While trying to stop Baron Zemo, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes found themselves stuck on an explosive drone. Steve escaped but Bucky was supposedly killed until 2005 when Bucky was revealed to be alive.
Discovered by a group of Russians, Bucky was repurposed into the brainwashed assassin The Winter Soldier. Given a robotic arm as an upgrade, Bucky was a deadly assassin before he turned over a new leaf, becoming an ally again to Steve despite keeping his assassin ways, even becoming Captain America at one point and forming a friendship with Sam Wilson, The Falcon.
Joke: Armin Zola
Fans can thank the MCU for making the scientist Armin Zola into a somewhat realistic villain, not even that evil. A Swiss scientist working for the Skull and Hydra, Zola eventually downloaded his brain into a bank of computers. The comic version, however, went a different route.
After dying, Zola transferred his consciousness into a big robot body that broadcasted his face through its stomach. Rather than being a villainous AI, Zola was instead a maniacal loon, with his plots ranging from bizarre to just plain stupid, like taking over Dimension-Z.
