In Death is not the End, we spotlight the outlandish explanations for comic book characters (mostly super-villains) surviving seeming certain death.

Recently, I wrote an article about the Red Skull who tormented the Avengers during Rick Remender's Uncanny Avengers run. I noted in that piece that that Red Skull was actually a clone of the original Red Skull who was created as a sleeper in 1943. He was revived in present day, not having any memories after 1943.

This Skull became the main Red Skull for the next few years, replacing the seemingly dead previous Red Skull. Reader Ramon T. then asked what happened to THAT Red Skull. Who is the current Red Skull?

Let's take a look!

First off, do note that this is only about this specific resurrection for the Red Skull. He's gone through a number of them, but we're talking about the mind jumping Red Skull that began in Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting's Captain America run.

In the first issue, the Red Skull collects a Cosmic Cube but is then shot and killed...

Three issues later, we meet Aleksander Lukin, a rogue Russian general who is now the head of a powerful corporation (and also secretly the guy who is controlling the Winter Soldier, who happens to be Bucky Barnes, the former partner of Captain America!)...

In Captain America #14, though, we learn that since the Skull was shot while holding the Cosmic Cube, enough of his consciousness transferred to the Cube that Skull was able to transfer his mind into Lukin's when Lukin held the Cube...

Eventually, the Skull grew powerful enough that he essentially took over Lukin's body entirely (he even began wearing a Red Skull mask), as seen here in Captain America #42...

But then, during plans to transfer his mind into a new body, the Skull as Lukin was shot and killed by Sharon Carter...

However, Arnim Zola saved the Skull's mind in a spare robot!

The Skull wanted out of this predicament, even though his daughter and Crossbones tried to make him feel better about it in Captain America: Reborn #3 (art by Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice)...

The Skull took control of Captain America's body, but Cap kicked him out...

He ended up back in the robot body...

He was then exposed to Pym Particles and allowed to grow to giant size...

But he was then shot down by missiles, finally dying with nowhere for his brain to go...

This, then, led to the whole clone stuff. But the clone died during Secret Empire.

Well, in Captain America #5 (by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan and Sunny Gho), Lukin's widow, Alexa Lukin, helps to resurrect her husband...

but in the process, she also brought the Skull's control of Lukin back, as well!

So that's the deal with the Red Skull today, Ramon. He's alive and in control of Alexander Lukin's resurrected body.

If anyone else has a suggestion for a future Death is not the End, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!