Reintroducing Zemo!

Introduced during Captain America: Civil War; Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) has arguably been one of the most successful villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The cunning man from Sokovia is set to return in the Disney+ exclusive show, Falcon and The Winter Soldier. From the latest trailer Zemo looks set to continue what he started by removing superheroes from Earth. Despite the oversimplification of his mission, Zemo is a complex character with a horrifying history which will be developed upon in the upcoming series. However we still know a great deal about Zemo in the MCU which creates excitement for his return and for the debut of his famous purple mask.

Born in Sokovia, Zemo became a commander of a Sokovian death squad. This squad were called into action when Ultron attacked Sokovia during Avengers: Age of Ultron. Despite surviving the attack, Zemo lost his family. After spending days searching for them he eventually discovered their bodies in the rubble. Discovering your loved ones like this would cause many men to break down and Zemo is no exception, the only difference being Zemo had elite training and some remarkable patience.

During Captain America: Civil War the plan of Zemo to get revenge on the Avengers for what they had done to his family and his homeland came into motion. He managed to manipulate The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) in order to tear the Avengers apart. As Zemo said to Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) his plan did work, as the Avengers were separated. However, Zemo was captured after his suicide attempted was stopped by the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). This is where we last saw Zemo, but as the trailers have shown for Falcon and The Winter Soldier he is no longer in prison and we ponder what he will do next.

As we mentioned Zemo manipulated the broken mind of The Winter Soldier. He unlocked the trigger words of Bucky and caused him to go on a rampage against members of the Avengers. We have seen from the trailers and encounter between the two, but no physical contact. This would suggest that Bucky has moved past actions Zemo had taken. It also suggests Zemo has as well. Trailer footage has shown Zemo walking with Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and The Winter Soldier which suggests a temporary alliance may occur. However, as we heard from the trailers Zemo does not want to leave his mission unfinished and will not stay allies forever with the heroes.

In fact we could expect Zemo to lead a team of his own as trailer footage gave us a quick glimpse of him seemingly leading a team. This could put Zemo with the terrorist organisation which will be introduced The Flagsmashers. The aim of the group in the comics is to create a united world be removing the flags of the world. However we have seen the MCU alter parts from the comics which could result in Zemo heading the group as an anti-superhero organisation. However if Zemo is to lead a team of his own then we can’t not consider The Masters of Evil which is a group Zemo leads in the comics. We expect if Zemo is to lead a group of his own then the origin to be altered from the comics to fit his MCU character, which is consumed with grief.

If we look at the character of Zemo during Civil War, he was taking revenge for his family’s death and he was going to kill himself after his work. Obviously that didn’t happen which does give Zemo new motivation. Many families across the world will have spent 5 years without loved ones during the blip, which will have caused heartache, something Zemo would relate to. Although he wouldn’t be able to relate to the return of everyone’s loved ones. Zemo will once again have to deal with the fact that his family are dead and didn’t return whereas others did. He will also feel that the Avengers didn’t do enough for his family, like they did for others. This could set Zemo on a personal vendetta to wipe out superheroes more so than he did during Civil War.

With no superhuman powers Zemo is a remarkable character and is set to be an excellent villain in Falcon and The Winter Soldier. From the last time we saw Zemo in Civil War he had a clear plan which was his only goal. That goal was fulfilled but not to extent he wants. So, with no current clear plan we can expect a more dangerous side of Zemo, a Zemo that is fitting of the purple mask he will don.

Images:

Marvel Studios

Disney+