The (First) Death of the Red Skull // Comics 101
When we last met, we looked at the first-ever appearance of the Red Skull! He was a murderous, red-skull-faced saboteur Nazi sympathizer who also happened to be the owner of an aircraft manufacturer. However, he was slain and died at the hands of his own poison.
So why are we here again? Well…
Oh for the luvva Mike.
He wasn’t dead for long. From December 1940 to March 1941. It’s unknown if he was popular in fan letters, or if Joe Simon and Jack Kirby wanted to do more with the Red Skull, but now he was back once more! This time, in The Return of the Red Skull.
As mentioned in an earlier article or two, Captain America’s shield has changed since his premier issue. This is because his shield was too close for comfort for Pep Comics’s own patriotic superhero, The Shield. MLJ Comics, the publisher of said magazine, was threatening legal action against Timely Comics (Marvel’s ancestor and predecessor) for the alleged theft. It does seem somewhat silly in retrospect.
That said, comic books had just seen their first defense of copyright in the courts with National Publications aggressively defending their Superman copyright against one of his first imitators. It makes sense that MLJ would also take a similar stance and see what worked out. Timely would change the shield to the more iconic round shape, and the character named Shield would fade into obscurity as MLJ found more profitable comic sales by following the adventures of some kid named Archie.
This one is written just by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. They also took the lion’s share of the art, but inkers Al Avison and Al Gabriele worked on this story as well.
So, the Red Skull is dead at the hand of his own schemes. But this is comics. Heroes and villains have come back from both less and more. So, how did Joe and Jack come up with the return of the Red Skull? Was it another person behind the mask? Maxon faked his death? A patsy died in the place of the real Skull?
Ah, Maxon must have been trained by the Dread Pirate Roberts.
Naah. George Maxon is just immune to the poison he was using. This is why you check the body, people.
Honestly, this is one of the least insane ideas I’ve seen for bringing back a villain. The Johann Schmidt version of the Skull has survived literal death from old age, as well as being shot in the head, a host replacement body being slain, and has even come back from being wiped from existence. Being immune to poison is positively pedestrian for a Red Skull, to say nothing of the wider Marvel universe.
Unless the Red Skull gets brought back by the revival pods of Krakoa, we’re still in the shallow end of resurrections, frankly.
So, the Red Skull is back. What will his motive be this time? Sabotage? Robbing another bank?
I didn’t mention it in the last article, but these non-standard panels are amazing for the day. They’re also a pain in the ass to edit.
Oh! Revenge. That sounds about right, but this is literally seconds after Captain America and Bucky left the room. I can’t help but wonder why Cap isn’t wandering back in, wondering why he’s hearing voices in the back room again. George Maxon is super lucky that Captain America and Bucky ran away as soon as he died.
I’m also loving the fact that they’re keeping the Red Skull’s face in shadow. The first comic story didn’t really care about showing who’s under the mask, but this helps build an air of mystery for the Red Skull. It’s a nice touch. Finally, the Touch of Death actually sounds really cool. I’m sure it’s not going to be hand-waved with a weird explanation like last time.
Meanwhile, Captain America and Bucky are now back in their civilian identities of Steve Rogers and… Bucky.
Anyhow, Steve and Bucky have been assigned to stand guard outside a military conference. Inside, state secrets are being discussed, and Cap figures these state secrets being shared could bring out spies or other villains. He isn’t far off, either. Army Major Douglas is handed the secret plans for a “power drill” and vows to defend them with his life. He takes them home for some ungodly reason, violating many top-secret security document regulations. But nothing should go wrong.
Unless something should go wrong, of course.
That’s right, George Maxon is back to steal state secrets and kill Army Majors. And there just so happens to be both in front of him. Major Douglas won’t give up without a fight, however, and lashes out at the Red Skull’s grinning face.
“Yes! Distilling the essence of the Uno reverse card has made me invincible!”
And instantly dies.
Damn. That is incredibly effective and somehow way more family-friendly than c̶h̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ using the Look of Death or the needle full of poison. With the Major dead, the Skull finds the top-secret plans easily. He laughs off into the night, bragging about how he’s going to conquer America and about how he can’t wait to “tell Adolf about this.”
I’m now imagining him having a phone call with Adolf Hitler and the two of them talking on the phone like teenage girls.
Captain America and Bucky charge onto the scene, just in time to find a rapidly cooling corpse. They look for clues and try to use science to figure out who the murderer was. The case is quickly resolved when they find a box placed next to the body.
Huh. Still subtle, I see.
That’s right, the Red Skull now has a calling card. Now, the murderous malefactor leaves a Red Skull behind in a hatbox at each murder. Once again, this is so stupid that it circles around again to become awesome. I have to wonder exactly how many spare skull helmets Maxon has to pull this off.
Satisfied that he will have someone to punch, Cap and Bucky charge off into the night. They spend a couple of pages punching goons in the face to 100% confirm that the Red Skull is actually the one who left the Red Skull behind at the murder of Major Douglas.
Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da, Red Skull!
Meanwhile, at stately Skull Manor, the Red Skull has finished construction on the top-secret Power Drill. Despite being a top-secret American project, this thing just oozes evil and looks menacing as hell. It is also a glorious piece of comic engineering, straight from Kirby and Simon’s nightmares.
“First America. Then… Ba Sing Se!”
Yes, the Power Drill is a giant subway train drill the size of the sandworms of Arrakis. Again, this is nothing short of amazing to see on the comic page. I have to wonder what plans America had to use this in the war effort, but the Rule of Cool once more overrides any concerns I actually have. When I first read this, I could not wait to see Captain America take out this mile-long monstrosity by punching Nazis in the face.
This stuff is why I read comics.
Luckily, I didn’t need to wait long. The Red Skull launches his master plan of “obliterating America” into action!
Jesus.
That is actually horrifying from a real-world perspective. Jack Kirby and Joe Simon have outdone themselves with this story. I don’t care if this is a prototype Red Skull, or if he had a lame origin story. George Maxon is truly worthy of the title of Red Skull with this panel alone. Of course, he’s not done. The Red Skull chooses to be an even larger villain by destroying America’s pastime!
The Cubs would later cite this incident as the reason they didn’t make the 1942 World Series.
Captain America and Bucky don’t take long to catch up to the Red Skull’s monster machine. They make like Kyle MacLachlan (or Timothée Hal Chalamet) and leap onto the Power Drill!
My brain is now rocking out to the 1984 Dune soundtrack. I invite you to join me.
Unfortunately, Cap and Bucky aren’t able to push forward. Despite the police showing up to take potshots at Shai-Hulud the Power Drill, the onboard defenses are simply too much for Cap and Bucky to take out the machine.
A rarity for the era, Cap and Bucky are even forced to retreat. Luckily for everyone, the Red Skull also chooses to play it safe and takes his Power Drill home. Meanwhile, a rare Golden-Age subplot hatches on the very same page…
So, is this the world’s first cosplay?
A gang of thugs has pooled their cash together and gotten costumes of Captain America and Bucky! Their dastardly plot? They’re going to tour various cities in America, and they’ll charge people to meet Cap and Bucky!
Man. All crooks were simpler in this era. It’s really refreshing.
This plan goes reasonably well. However, the impostors run into a pair of soldiers (who totally aren’t really Cap and Bucky), who knock them out without effort. Thus, “Cap” and “Bucky” are shunned by the children they’d stolen from and actually hand the money back without making a fuss. This is somewhat odd, but I guess criminals were just more polite back then. Still, it’s not like their day can get wor-
The Skull just looks so happy to have finally caught Captain America; I don’t have the heart to tell him otherwise.
Well.
Crap.
The pair of thugs are promptly captured by the Red Skull and his goons. The Skull then launches into a lengthy speech about how he’s going to destroy Ame-
Holy shit.
The Red Skull didn’t bother with a simple deathtrap. He didn’t ramble at what he believed was his most hated foe. George Maxon just plain built some gallows and executed them. I can see why Timely kept bringing the Red Skull back time after time, long after World War II ended.
Of course, the real Captain America and Bucky didn’t die with this execution, and the Red Skull finds out when they break in.
“They’ve not come back from the dead, you fool! It’s really the amusement park owner, Mister Johnson!”
In the resulting fight, Captain America and Bucky beat Nazis into submission. Cap uses his shield as a melee weapon while Bucky tackles everyone left and right. Finally, it’s down to just the Red Skull. Bucky lashes out with his fist!
But Bucky lives! He survived the Red Skull’s “Touch of Death!” How?!
Electrified.
Clothing.
Honestly, that’s a fairly awesome explanation for why the Red Skull was dropping people left and right: He was electrocuting them while strangling the life out of them. Or letting his foes fry themselves when they punched him. While it is still a Scooby-Doo-level reveal, this actually fits perfectly with the Red Skull and his over-the-top plans.
However, Red Skull isn’t about to let Bucky stop him. He bashes the child over the head with a full wooden chair like a pro wrestler from the 1860s and runs off into the night. He’s not about to leave them without a going-away present, though!
He just hurls the most cartoonish bomb I’ve ever seen at the heroic duo. Unfortunately, Captain America is actually athletic, and…
Captain America’s first time as a DJ goes horribly wrong.
And so, the George Maxon incarnation of the Red Skull dies a gloriously explosive death as the Power Drill erupts. It’s certainly more memorable than “rolling over onto his own poison,” but this was far from the last time the Red Skull would appear. Not only is he still a modern Captain America foe, but the Red Skull would also show up multiple times throughout the Golden Age of Comics as a German-based Nazi foe. The George Maxon version, though, would allegedly never show up again.
A Communist-based Red Skull would also menace Captain America during the waning days of the 1950s, but Marvel hopes you don’t remember that.
In a way, it’s a shame Marvel shoved their movie Red Skull off to guard the Soul Gem for all eternity. It would be nice to have Johann Schmidt continue to show up to menace Steve once or twice during more important events, or to have him resurrected to fight against Sam Wilson and Bucky.
I like to think Steve laughed at the imprisoned Schmidt as he returned the Soul Gem in Endgame, though.
