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In General
- Evil Power Vacuum: Ever since Red Skull was imprisoned, there has been a major power struggle between it's remaining high-ranking members, each of whom are trying to claim leadership of HYDRA, namely Baron Helmut Zemo, Baron Strucker and Arnim Zola if one accounts for the events of Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6.
- Gas Mask Mooks: All their soldiers are modeled after their MCU counterparts, who wear gas masks.
- No Swastikas: As a result of airing on Disney XD, all mentions of HYDRA's affiliation with the Third Reich are omitted. Whenever Cap recounts something from his WWII days, there are no references to the Nazis.
- Take Over the World: HYDRA is a global terrorist organization seeking to take over the world.
- The Remnant: Due to the events of Ultimate Spiderman 2012, Hydra is but a shadow of it's former glory by the time of Ultron Revolution.
Red Skull
Red Skull
Voiced by: Liam O'Brien
A brilliant, ruthless and power-hungry Nazi officer and prototype Super-Soldier during World War II and the head of the terrorist group HYDRA, the Red Skull is a recurring Big Bad of the series, leading a Legion of Doom called the Cabal in addition to his own HYDRA forces.
- A God Am I: He's always had this, befitting a supervillain, but in "Exodus" he's merged with the Tesseract and it gets to his head.
- Back for the Finale: After a long absence since Secret Wars, he and HYDRA reappear in the final episode of Black Panther's Quest (and the entire series).
- The Bad Guy Wins: He pretty much gets what he wants in the first episode, "Blood Feud" and "Super-Adaptoid".
- And again in "Bring on the Bad Guys".
- Once more in "By the Numbers". Though he loses his stolen Arc Reactor, he does get the Tesseract.
- Bad Boss: In "Bring on the Bad Guys", he starts making an effort to not be this, and as a result, the Cabal begins working as a much more cohesive and effective unit.
- "Exodus" reveals just how bad of a boss he is. Skull used the Tesseract to open portals to other worlds for MODOC, Dracula, Attuma and Hyperion to conquer for their own (ones that accommodate the conquering villain, at that), but Tony Stark reveals it's just essentially a window that will kill anyone who walks into it. Yes, that's right. Red Skull was going to massacre AIM, HYDRA, Dracula's vampires, the Atlanteans, and his team all in one hit.
- Big Bad: Of season 1.
- Heel–Face Turn: Sort of. After apparently stealing the Power Stone from his master Thanos, he flees to Earth and begs the Avengers for help, and doesn't object to being taken into the Avengers' custody. Regardless of whose side he's on, he's definitely not the Big Bad anymore. But since the Time Stone fixed him, he's a threat again but won't be heard from for a while.
- Chekhov's Gun: His stolen suit of Iron Man's armor.
- The Chessmaster: This guy excels at planning.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: First, he forms the Cabal to defeat the Avengers and acquire the Tesseract, then decides to get rid of all his allies with the Tesseract. Then after giving the Tesseract to Thanos, he steals the Infinity Stones from Thanos. THAT turned out to be a bad idea.
- Composite Character: Like his movie counterpart, he's a combination of his original depiction and the first Baron Zemo, with the Dark Reign version of Norman Osborn thrown into to the mix.
- Cool Boat: His current base of operations is a rather impressive looking submarine.
- Disability Superpower: The serum may have made him a Super-Soldier but it also was slowly killing him. He tries to steal Steve Rogers's body to avoid death and when that doesn't work, he take's Tony's reactor and armor.
- The Dreaded: Iron Man nearly has an Oh, Crap! moment in the first episode when Jarvis shows that Red Skull's still alive.
- Drunk on the Dark Side: Is he ever once he merged with the Tesseract.
- Enemy Mine: He and Dracula really don't like each other; HYDRA invaded Dracula's kingdom in World War II, but they have a common enemy in the Avengers.
- Evil Counterpart: Like Captain America, he's a Super-Soldier left over from World War II.
- He's also one to Iron Man as the Iron Skull.
- Evil Versus Evil: He and Doctor Doom don't get along. Part of it has to do with the fact they're rivals for world domination. Another part might have to with the fact that Red Skull's an ex-Nazi officer and Doom's half-Gypsy.
- Eviler than Thou: On the receiving end of this trope as Thanos makes him wet himself.
- Facial Horror: His entire head is a deformed, red skull with eyes.
- Finger-Tenting: He is often shown doing this while sitting in his command chair aboard his submarine.
- Gas Mask Mooks: All of his soldiers wear high-tech gas masks.
- Grand Theft Me: He tries to steal Cap's body in the first episode. Came close to succeeding too.
- Grand Theft Prototype: Since the above strategy didn't pan out, though not for a lack of trying, he decides to settle on acquiring Iron Man's armor and arc reactor. This strategy pays big dividends. Also, he later successfully hijacks the Tri-Carrier, with Nick Fury on board no less.
- Genius Bruiser: He's a Super-Soldier and a cunning strategist. Then he went and got Powered Armor.
- The Heavy: Much like Loki in The Avengers (2012), Red Skull is revealed to be this, despite having been season 1's Big Bad, having worked to bring the Tesseract to his true master Thanos.
- High-Class Glass: He wears a monocle in "Bring on the Bad Guys".
- Know When to Fold Them: He knows when it is time to cut his loses and retreat. For example, the ending of "Ambassador" when the attempt on Doctor Doom's life failed.
- Manipulative Bastard: "Blood Feud" has him manipulating Dracula into attacking the Avengers, knowing that if Dracula won, he would remove the Avengers from his path, and if Dracula lost, he would be forced to join the Cabal.
- The Man Behind the Man: The reason Dracula and Justin Hammer picked a fight with the Avengers? Him. He's on the other end of this with Thanos, his master who he betrays by stealing the Infinity Stones.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Him engaging Doctor Doom in "The Ambassador" made Captain America figure out that Doom had ulterior motives all along.
- Pet the Dog: In an incredibly dark subversion of the trope. The Cabal is practically giddy when Red Skull assigns them to conquer worlds hand-picked for each member - such as an eternally dark, starless world for Dracula, or an oceanic world for Attuma. Then Tony reveals the portals are just death traps waiting for the Cabal to enter and get themselves killed. Needless to say, the Cabal is completely horrified by this new low Red Skull's descended to.
- Powered Armor: He steals Iron Man's armor to use throughout season 1.
- Putting on the Reich: Most of the time we see him, he's wearing an SS uniform with the Hydra insignia replacing the eagle and swastika (when he is not wearing his black variant of Iron Man's armor). Considering that he's actually an ex-SS officer, it's not too surprising.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He does this on occasion, especially towards Iron Man.
- Red Right Hand: Yeah, his disfigured face is a pretty good clue that he is not a good guy.
- Sadistic Choice: He chooses to launch two missiles at Los Angeles and Las Vegas rather than risk the Avengers unsettling the unstable Tesseract in further combat.
- Sanity Slippage: After exiting Thanos's service, he is thoroughly traumatized and nuts. The Time Stone eventually fixed him, yet he doesn't know Thanos has been defeated.
- Skull for a Head: Yeah, that Super-Soldier serum he took had a little side-effect.
- The Strategist: Let's just say he proved he is this in "By the Numbers".
- Stupid Jetpack Hitler: His origin story? Nazi Super-Soldier.
- Super-Soldier: possesses the same native abilities as Captain America.
- Take Over the World: His ultimate long-term goal and the reason he wants to destroy the Avengers is because they stand in the way of him achieving it.
- Villain Team-Up: After his first dust-up with the Avengers, he decides he needs a team of supervillians to counter them, hence the Cabal.
- Villainous Friendship: In "Bring On The Bad Guys", he figures out he and his team must trust each other if they are to defeat the Avengers and if nothing else, he earns it when he successfully masterminds Hyperion's escape. After this, the Cabal is pretty loyal to Skull and admit he's not so bad a leader after all.
- Ultimately proven to be a facade; he plotted to completely wipe out his troops while he had the Tesseract for himself.
- Walking Armory: If the massive salvo he fired at Doom in "Ambassador" is any indication it looks like he and MODOK upped the firepower on his armor a little bit since he acquired it from Iron Man.
- Wicked Cultured: even in his craziest moments, he's not shy of referencing classical history and mythology.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: His rationality and caution tend to go out the window whenever he comes into the possession of astounding power. The only notable occasion when he didn't fall to this was in "By The Numbers" when he makes a rational decision on what to do with the Tesseract. But when he later merges with the Tesseract, he finally has the bite to back up his bark.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: He does this at times. It is especially evident in the first-episode and "By The Numbers". MODOK even lampshades it.
Baron Heinrich Zemo
Baron Heinrich Zemo
Voiced by: David Kaye ("Saving Captain Rogers" and "T'Chanda"), Danny Jacobs ("The House of Zemo")
The infamous Mad Scientist of HYDRA who created a strong glue known as Adhesive X as well as a Super Soldier serum.
- Abusive Parent: When he was brought from 1943, it's evident that he has nothing but scorn for Helmut Zemo, calling his son a failure and abandoning him in favor of his great-great-grandson from 2099.
- Arch-Enemy: Zemo is one of Captain America's first notorious enemies alongside Red Skull.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Zemo's noble lineage dates all the way to the 15th century, and he was also a Mad Scientist for the Nazis.
- Disney Villain Death: Like father, like son. A flashback in season 5's "T'Chanda" ends with Heinrich allowing himself to fall off a cliff, just to spite Cap. Since it's before his face got glued up, he must've walked away from it.
- The Faceless: Just as in the comics, it's implied to be the reason he never took off his mask, as his face got fused to Adhesive X, which was one of his inventions.
- Jerkass: If you thought creating a time portal might get even a begrudging compliment from this guy, you'd be wrong. Absolutely nothing Helmut does stops dad from pouring withering contempt over him.
- Mad Scientist: Created Adhesive X and a Super Soldier Serum, and was also involved in experimenting on Bucky Barnes.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: A difference between him and Helmut when they team up. Helmut wants Cap to suffer, whereas Heinrich's quite happy shooting him dead then and there.
- Predecessor Villain: In 1944, he's responsible for Bucky's capture and delivery to Red Skull to be turned into the Winter Soldier. His son Helmut Zemo attempted to carry his legacy.
- Related in the Adaptation: In this series, the Zemos are descended from Morgan Le Fey.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Never once shows any sort of love towards his son.
Baron Helmut Zemo
Baron Helmut Zemo / Citizen V
Voiced by: David Kaye
Son of the original Baron Zemo.
- Adapted Out: In the show's adaptation of Under Siege, Zemo's extremely petty act of vengeance against Captain America (destroying his last personal keepsakes) is removed.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: In the comics, he wears a mask because his face was hideously disfigured during a battle with Cap and Falcon. Here, he's perfectly normal looking, even as an old man, and presumably wears the mask in honor of his father.
- Especially in Black Panther's Quest where his face is shown to be handsome.
- Age Lift: In the comics, Zemo is still the son of the original, but because of Comic-Book Time, he was still very young when he was first introduced. Here, he starts out as a frail, withered old man before the Super Soldier Serum makes him young and strong again.
- Arc Villain: Of the Masters of Evil/Thunderbolts arc.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: By virtue of being the heir of a Mad Scientist who was affiliated with Nazis.
- Big Bad: Being the Thunderbolt's leader and the one responsible for making them a legitimate threat.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: As Citizen V, he does an alarmingly good job of playing the Humble Hero, never once returning Iron Man's open hostility toward him and the Thunderbolts. It's only once he's absolutely sure the T-Bolts are alone he starts acting like his normal, horrible self.
- Broken Pedestal: He idolized and venerated his father, seeking to avenge his memory by taking down Captain America. But when he manages to bring his father to the present in "The House of Zemo", the elder Zemo shows nothing but scorn and disdain for his son, even plucking a Cyborg Zemo from the future to serve as his heir instead. Ultimately, this drives Helmut to turn against his father, knocking him back into the past where he belongs.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: When the Thunderbolts betray him, he activates a vibranium death trap to deal with them and the Avengers... then leaves to go make a public announcement of their death without actually making sure they really are killed. Unsurprisingly, this ends up biting him in the ass.
- Captain Patriotic: In his disguise as Citizen V.
- Chronic Villainy: At the end of "House of Zemo", he rejects his father and it looks like he might be starting to turn into a better person. Nope. Come "Sneakers", he's once again committing villainy. Only this time, it's just for his sake, rather than because of his daddy issues. Happens again in season 5, as he just can't resist the shiny evil artifact...
- Disney Villain Death:
- His first appearance has him plunge off a cliff, with Iron Man saying he can't find the body. The very next episode, he's fine.
- Happens again in "Panther's Quest", where Killmonger and Madame Masque throw him into the Hudson. This time, it appears to stick, since he doesn't reappear after that.
- Entitled Bastard: During his team-up with T'Challa, he moans and sulks that T'Challa doesn't trust him, and complains about his living quarters, which is a giant suite that would put most hotels to shame.
- Evil Counterpart: To Captain America, and a more successful version than Red Skull, having used a similar Super-Soldier serum on himself. His Citizen V persona has an American flag motif just like Cap.
- Evil Is Petty: He holds the truth of the Thunderbolts over them as "insurance", threatening to expose them if they ever think of turning away from his plan. When Hawkeye discovers who he is, he exposes the rest anyway, to force them to side with him.
- Evil Old Folks: Even as an old man, he's one of HYDRA's leading figures.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Speaks in a very deep baritone as Citizen V.
- Fusion Dance: Merges with Ulysseys Klaue as part of his plot to destroy the Avengers. It ends with him getting smashed into many, many pieces.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Manages to steal one of Tony's old devices, which never worked, and get it up and running.
- Legacy Character: Like in the comic, the original Baron Zemo was an enemy of Captain America during World War II, and Helmut merely is his heir.
- Moral Myopia: In "The House of Zemo", he speaks of his former teammates betraying him. This is despite the fact that he'd been threatening them to remain loyal to him, and tried to kill them when that didn't work.
- Older Than They Look: The Super Soldier Serum makes him younger looking, enough that he can pretend to be his own son.
- Pretty Boy: Black Panther's Quest shows his face to look easy on the eyes, due to the Super Soldier Serum making him younger.
- Sinister Shades: Wore these in his first appearance. He dropped them when he started wearing his costume.
- Underestimating Badassery: He thought Hawkeye would be easy to defeat on his own. He was very wrong.
- Unexplained Recovery: He has a knack for seemingly dying then popping back up again with no comment.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Guy jury-rigs a time portal from some leftover Kang tech to try and impress his father. Doesn't work at all. The only benefit of the team-up of Zemos is Helmut decides his dad's approval means nothing.
Baron Strucker
Wolfgang Von Strucker
Voiced by: Robin Atkin Downes
The leader of Hydra's remains.
- Big Bad Wannabe: He may be the leader of Hydra, but compared to his predecessors (Red Skull and Baron Helmut Zemo), he's far more incompetent. His worst defeat had him being betrayed by his own protege.
- Evil Gloating: He constantly gloats to the point he gives away his plan. This backfired thoroughly.
- Dirty Coward: He's very poor in combat and will either send super soldiers to fight for him or hide behind battle armor.
- High-Class Glass: Almost always seen with his trademark monocle as in the comics.
Crossbones
Brock Rumlow/Crossbones
Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore
A mercenary in Hydra's employ.
- Back for the Finale: After escaping from prison, he reappears in "House of M", the final episode of the series.
- Eye Scream: He has a blind left eye while unmasked.
- Facial Horror: When he is shown unmasked for the first time in "The Vibranium Curtain, Part 2", the left side of his face is shown to be burned.
