Baron Zemo, the Master of Evil

Heinrich Zemo, aka Baron Zemo, is a supervillain who was introduced 60 years ago in The Avengers #6 (July 1964). A Stan Lee and Jack Kirby creation, Baron Zemo doesn’t have superpowers, but that hasn’t stopped him from going up against Marvel heroes like Captain America.

Heinrich is the 12th Baron Zemo who was one of the Nazi Party’s top scientists who created terrible weapons during World War II. One of his best inventions was Adhesive X, a product that did not dissolve and couldn’t be removed. Despite trying to protect his identity behind a mask, Captain America found Baron Zemo. To stop the production of Adhesive X, Cap threw his shield at a vat of the material to pour it on the ground. Zemo was standing next to the vat when it was overturned, and the chemicals splashed on his face and bonded the mask to his skin.

When the Axis powers were defeated, Baron Zemo fled to South America, leaving his wife and son behind. In his new home, Zemo led mercenaries to enslave a local tribe and become their ruler, all while trying to develop a solvent that could remove the mask.

Baron Zemo renewed his quest for revenge against Captain America when the hero joined the Avengers. One of his attempts involved sending his own operatives to replace participants in a hand to hand fighting demonstration. In response, Cap sent a taunting message back to Zemo to provoke him into making a mistake with a hasty attack. Zemo then formed the Masters of Evil with Black Knight, Radioactive Man, and the Melter to act as an anti-Avengers team. The evil group tried to spray Adhesive X over New York, but they were stopped by the Teen Brigade.

His final attempt at taking out Cap would be his ultimate downfall. During their skirmish, Cap threw his shield and the sun’s reflection blinded Zemo as he was shooting his ray gun. The missed shot caused an avalanche and Baron Zemo was killed.