It was a very pleasant surprise to seen Daniel Brühl return as Helmut Zemo to the MCU in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, especially since no one knows what he’s been up to since his awesome role as the main antagonist in Captain America: Civil War. In fact, to this date, the only two beings who have defeated the Avengers are Thanos and Zemo, showing how smart and intelligent he really is.
In Captain America: Civil War, Zemo was a cunning and menacing Sokovian survivor who set out for revenge on superheroes, or more specifically the Avengers, after his family was victims of the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. His plan to destroy the Avengers worked practically to perfection, but seeing as his task was complete, fans wondered if he would change as a character, or if the new series will show a new side to the MCU villain.
10 He’s No Longer Plotting Terrorist Attacks
In early movie interpretations of Helmut Zemo, he was a cold and menacing mastermind who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, and that led him on his mission to find Bucky Barnes as part of his plan to fracture the Earth’s mightiest heroes. One act of his involved a terrorist attack where he bombed the United Nations meeting in Vienna and then blamed the attack on Barnes.
This resulted in the death of 12 people, none more notable than the King of Wakanda T’Chaka, which led Black Panther on his quest for revenge. Now, however, after seeing the so-called “new” Zemo, it’s hard to imagine him willingly killing 12 innocent people for his own selfish reasons. In fact, he only did this because he was so revengeful over his family.
9 There Are No More Winter Soldiers For Him To Hunt
A key driving force for Zemo was the destruction of all super-powered heroes and villains alike. One group of enhanced individuals he particularly hated were the super-soldiers, especially since most of them were brainwashed into doing whatever they liked. But that didn’t stop Zemo from using this mind-control technique for his own advantage.
His plan to mind control Bucky was part of the tapestry to destroy the Avengers, but to find that Winter Soldier notebook, Zemo needed to find out as much as he could about HYDRA. In his quest, he found out about the other five Winter Soldiers. Zemo, of course, murdered them all, but this means one of his biggest aims has been completed.
8 His New Costume & Mask Give Him A New Personality
One big complaint by some fans about Zemo from Captain America: Civil War was the fact that his iconic purple mask didn’t feature even for a second. Luckily, the new Marvel series gave Zemo a completely new appearance and costume after his escape from his cell. Now, fans can see why his look may not have been discrete enough while he was going about his business of taking down the Avengers.
At least now, fans have seen Zemo in his iconic purple mask, which has been passed down by his family (and is not inspired by Thanos like some fan theories suggest), and also his pretty exquisite fur collar coat, showing that Zemo is kind of a fashion icon.
7 Zemo’s Status As A Baron Is Finally Being Explored
Another aspect of Zemo’s life that wasn’t explored was his status as a Baron. In fact, as Zemo even points out himself to Sam and Bucky, he was a Baron before the Avengers destroyed his country Sokovia. This, however, doesn’t mean he has lost all of his wealth, which as a Baron, he has a lot of.
From his private jet and own butler, almost a real-life Jarvis called Oeznik, to his awesome collection of classic cars and his incredibly nice house in Riga, it’s fair to say Zemo kept a lot of wealth from over the years.
6 Now, Zemo Is Working With Members Of The Avengers
From a man who was hellbent on destroying the Avengers and super-soldiers, it is pretty surprising to see Zemo working with a member of the Avengers and a super-soldier. Yes, they helped him escape jail after so many years, but it’s still a little odd how compliant he was with it. His hatred for enhanced individuals is still at the full front of his mind, however.
From his references to a world full of Red Skulls, him comparing the Avengers to Nazis in episode 4, Zemo is still completely against the idea of superheroes, and it won’t take long for him to turn against them, or escape as he did at the end of episode 4.
5 A Lighter & More Humourous Side To Zemo Has Been Shown
In Captain America: Civil War, Zemo was a pretty intimidating guy and seemed to have no personality other than getting his revenge. And even though in this show he still seems like he could snap and be as menacing at any second, Marvel has shown a new light-hearted and kind of humorous side to Zemo.
From his quirky one-off jokes, he also calls Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man a masterpiece, which it is, but that’s pretty unexpected of Zemo. To top it all off, one cannot simply forget about his epic dance moves in that nightclub scene, which now has an awesome one-hour clip-off thanks to Marvel.
4 He Has A Lot Of Powerful Contacts
While he’s used to working alone in completing his missions, Zemo is now working with both Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes and has proved himself to be pretty useful. One of his main attributes is his contacts across the globe which have helped them all hunt down the Flag-Smashers and find out more about where this super-soldier serum is being produced.
His main contact in episode 3 is Selby, who also knows the Power Broker, who currently resides in the fictional island of Madripoor, which is also a nod to the Wolverine comics. Not only does he help them get into the highly-secured island full of bounty hunters, but he also gives them the information they have been searching for, and the one who made the new serum, Dr. Nagel, is finally introduced.
3 His HYDRA Knowledge Is Still Very Expansive
Despite his many years in a cell, Zemo has come out in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier with an even more expansive knowledge of HYDRA than he ever showed in Captain America: Civil War. It seems unlikely, however, that he would have been able to find out more information about HYDRA or the super-soldiers since his imprisonment, so why does he know so much now?
Maybe he knew all this before, but because he was so focused on destroying the Avengers, he ignored most of it. But even if that isn’t the case, it is fair to say that Zemo is still as clever or perhaps, even more, when it comes to masterminding operations and finding out information at will.
2 Despite His Research, There Were Still Super-Soldiers He Didn’t Know About
Given his extensive knowledge of the Winter Soldier program, it was a surprise to see Zemo so surprised when Nagel told him, Sam, and Bucky all about the US Government’s very own super-soldier program and the extensive experiments on Isaiah Bradley that were mentioned in episode 2.
It doesn’t make much sense that Zemo didn’t know anything about this other program, or that he didn’t seem to know anything about Bradley, even though he came face-to-face with the Winter Soldier during his HYDRA days. At least, Zemo was able to destroy another super-soldier program after he destroyed the lab and killed Nagel.
1 Zemo Can Become A Skilled Marksman & Fighter In Seconds
Other than his mind and his intelligence, Zemo never really threatened the Avengers in terms of fighting ability, especially when it came to super-soldiers. But in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as soon as Zemo put on that purple mask, he suddenly turned into an impressive marksman and an aggressive fighter in seconds. He ultimately helped Sam, Bucky, and Sharon escape as all the bounty hunters closed in.
Just like in the comics where Zemo is skilled with almost any type of weaponry, Zemo’s swordsmanship hasn’t been shown before this show, and it’s kind of refreshing to see that side of him. Of course, on the other hand, it makes him even more of a threat going forward.
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