| Baron Zemo | |
|---|---|
 Heinrich Zemo, the 12th Baron Zemo Art bySteve Epting | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance |
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| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human |
| Notable aliases | Heinrich Zemo Helmut Zemo |
| Abilities | (All) (XII & XIII)
|
Baron Zemo (/ˈziːmoʊ/) is the name of twosupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics.Heinrich Zemo and his sonHelmut Zemo have both been depicted as a major adversary ofCaptain America and theAvengers, as well as the leader of theMasters of Evil, a team comprising numerous villains in theMarvel Universe.
In the 2021radio dramapodcast seriesMarvel's Wastelanders, two original incarnations ofKing Zemo (voiced byJames Saito) are introduced as Helmut Zemo's successors asDictators ofthe Wastelands:Herman Zemo (voiced byKi Hong Lee) andAsh Morse (voiced bySasha Lane).
The initial published version of Baron Zemo was created byStan Lee andJack Kirby and was first seen in aflashback inThe Avengers #4 (March 1964).[1] The character did not actually appear in person and was not identified as Heinrich Zemo untilThe Avengers #6 (July 1964) andSgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #8 in the same month. Zemo was retroactively added into the history ofCaptain America upon the hero's reintroduction to the Silver Age two issues prior. The character subsequently appears inThe Avengers #7 (Aug. 1964), #9-10 (October–November 1964),Tales of Suspense #60 (December 1964), andThe Avengers #15 (April 1965), in which he is killed.
Since then, Helmut Zemo has used the Baron Zemo title sinceCaptain America #275.[2]
Harbin Zemo, theprogenitor of the Zemo line was first seen, via flashback, in theAvengers/Thunderbolts limited series. The backstory of the 11 barons before Heinrich and Helmut was later touched upon in the limited seriesThunderbolts Presents: Zemo – Born Better. So far it seems that every baron is succeeded by his son. According to Wendell Volker's notes, Harbin had other children before Hademar who did not survive to adulthood; Herbert had two sons who died of illness prior to Helmuth.
The Zemo barony started in Zeulniz,Germany in 1480 when Harbin Zemo, the granary charge man andministerialis of the town borrowed a suit of armor and stood alone against an invading horde ofSlav raiders. Harbin slew the entire horde and so impressedthe emperor of theHoly Roman Empire that he was elevated to nobility and awarded Zeulniz. As time went on Harbin Zemo became irritated and tired of the demands of the barony. Harbin died of old age in 1503 and was succeeded by his son Hademar. Hademar was a weak man who had never seen battle, but who was all too eager to become the next baron. Shortly after Harbin's death, Hademar was made baron. Hademar's 12-year-old son Heller plotted to kill his father and soon became the next baron, thanks to the help of his time-travelling descendant Helmut Zemo. History looks upon Heller as the most progressive of all the 13 barons in the Zemo line.
Helmut's next few trips in time involved him going into battle in 1556 alongside Heller's son Herbert Zemo, who was a proud warrior, assassinating Herbert's son Helmuth Zemo in 1640 and narrowly escaping death at the hands of Helmuth's son, Hackett Zemo in 1710.
Helmut later arrived at Castle Zemo in the 1760s around the time that the seventh baron, Hartwig Zemo died in battle during theSeven Years' War. Helmut began to observe Hartwig's son Hilliard as he romanced Elsbeth Kleinenshvitz, the daughter of a Jewish merchant whose family had worked for the Zemo family from the inception of the barony. After Hartwig died, Hilliard became the eighth baron and was forced to turn against Elsbeth and her family. Men loyal to the barony murdered Elsbeth's family to keep them from becoming too powerful. A pregnant Elsbeth was saved by Helmut Zemo, who was still travelling in time. Hilliard would later go on to marry anAustrian girl named Gretchen.
Helmut is next seen in 1879 as a member of the travelling guard of the tenth Baron Zemo, Hobart. Helmut had worked for Hobart for several weeks and routinely had to defend Hobart from civilian assassination attempts. Unrest had broken out in theGerman Empire afterWilliam I, German Emperor passed legislation to curbsocialism following attempts on William's life. The commoners grew angry with the noblemen, including Hobart, despite the fact that Hobart fought for their rights. Helmut Zemo leaped to another time and was unable to save Hobart from being killed.
Helmut next arrived duringWorld War I to meet his grandfather Baron Herman Zemo. Herman was defending Germany against a battalion ofBritish soldiers led by the originalUnion Jack. Helmut witnessed his grandfather employ his own concoction ofmustard gas against the British troops and watched as they died in agony (Union Jack had fled the battle by this time). Helmut went with Herman and his men back to Castle Zemo to find it devastated. Helmut leaped to his next time period to see his father's role inNazi Germany.
The 12th Baron Zemo, Heinrich Zemo is depicted as one of the topscientists in theNazi Party. Zemo fought both Captain America and his allies the Howling Commandos duringWorld War II. A brilliant and sadistic scientific genius, Zemo created many weapons of mass destruction for Hitler's army.
In an attempt to regain a level of anonymity, Zemo began wearing a reddish-pinkhood over his face as he continued to build weapons for the Nazis. His activities ultimately drew the attention ofCaptain America, resulting in a confrontation just as Heinrich was ready to unveil his newest scientific breakthrough:Adhesive X, an extremely strongadhesive that could not be dissolved or removed by any known process at the time.[9] It was only after the war that the adhesive-using villainPaste-Pot Pete (later known as the Trapster) found a way to neutralize it.
To ensure that the Nazis could not use Adhesive X against Allied troops, Captain America confronted Zemo in an attempt to destroy the limited supply. Captain America threw hisshield at the vat to release the adhesive onto the ground. Zemo, however, was standing right next to the vat containing the chemical, which poured over his face and permanently bound his mask to his face.[10] Believing that he had killed his rival at long last, Zemo fled toSouth America as Hitler and the Nazis fell and World War II ended, abandoning his long-suffering wife and toddlerson, toward whom he had become physically and emotionally abusive. With an army of mercenaries loyal to him, Zemo enslaved a tribe of natives and lived as a king, as he tried desperately to find a solvent that would remove his mask. After decades passed, Captain America was revived by theAvengers. This causes Zemo to renew his rivalry with the Captain. Among his attempts included sending agents to take the place of participants of a hand-to-hand combat demonstration with Captain America to capture him. As Captain America learned that Zemo was behind this attack, he sent a taunting message on Zemo's minions' communicator to provoke the villain into becoming more carelessly aggressive against him and thus provide an opportunity for the superhero to deal with the villain directly.[11]
Heinrich then formed the originalMasters of Evil to serve as an evil version of the Avengers; the other founding members included the villainousBlack Knight, theMelter, and theRadioactive Man who were gathered by his pilot. He tried to have Adhesive X spread over New York, but theTeen Brigade seized Zemo's pilot, preventing him from speaking, then tied him up to stop him causing trouble. They switched the adhesive with the remover made by Paste-Pot Pete. Zemo used his sceptre's hypno-ray on the Teen Brigade, placing them under his control.[12]
In his final battle with Captain America, Captain America used his shield to deflect the Sun's rays and cause Zemo to shoot blindly. His ray gun's shot hit a rock, starting an avalanche that killed him, and Captain America felt that Bucky's death had finally been avenged.[13]
The 13th Baron Zemo, Helmut J. Zemo, the son of Heinrich Zemo, then followed in his father's footsteps, battling Captain America many times to avenge the killing of his father. Helmut was then responsible for bringing back the Masters of Evil and then forming theThunderbolts. He still remains the current Baron Zemo.[14]
TheAvataars: Covenant of the Shield miniseries, set in asword and sorcery version of the Marvel Universe, features an alternate version of Baron Zemo namedDreadlord. He was previouslyZymo of Z'axis, a general who fought in the Worldwar. When Z'axis lost the war, Zymo adopted a new identity – and swore that he would not remove his hood until Z'axis triumphed once again.
Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil are seen among the enthralled villains defendingKrona's stronghold.[15]
InSpider-Ham's reality, Baron Zemo is depicted as an anthropomorphiczebra namedBaron Zebro.[16]
In the unifiedMarvel 2099 reality of Earth-2099, an unidentified Baron Zemo appears as a member of the2099 version of the Masters of Evil. After the Masters of Evil have slaughtered the2099 version of the Avengers, they went on the conquer planets wherePatriot left Baron Zemo in charge of the Masters of Evil. He did kill the2099 version of Black Knight for disobeying orders. Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil were defeated by the2099 version of the New Avengers and were remanded to a prison on the planet Wakanda.[17]
In theMarvel Noir universe, Baron Zemo is one of several Nazis led byBaron Strucker in repeated battles against adventurerTony Stark in the 1930s.[18] This version is later revealed to beHoward Stark, who Strucker chemically brainwashed through a combination ofzolpidem,ethanol,methyl chloride, and "ophentonyl" to become the latest bearer of the Zemo mantle.[19]
In theMarvel Zombies limited series, Baron Helmut Zemo and hisThunderbolts attackThor andNova.[volume & issue needed]
In theUltimate Marvel universe,Loki disguises himself as Baron Zemo to force thousands of Third Reich soldiers to attackAsgard and recruitsIce Giants to bolster his forces.[20][21]
Baron Helmut Zemo appears inDeadpool MAX as a white supremacist and conspiracy theorist attempting to create a segregated community for Caucasians in America.[22]
Baron Helmut Zemo appears inAvengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher, voiced byEric Bauza.[citation needed]
Daniel Brühl portrays a modified version of Helmut Zemo in media set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). He first appeared in the filmCaptain America: Civil War and returned in theDisney+ seriesThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier.[30][31]
Baron Zemo appears as a boss in the following video games:
Baron Zemo appears as a playable character in the following video games:
Helmut Zemo and his teenage sonHerman Zemo appear inMarvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye, voiced byJames Saito andKi Hong Lee respectively. The former went on to becomeKing Zemo before he died a decade prior to the podcast, leading to Herman impersonating his father via a voice-changer and mask and assuming the role ofKing Zemo II (also voiced by Saito), one of the seven dictators of theWastelands. Herman would eventually vacate his position and nameAsh Morse his successor asKing Zemo III.[7][8]
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