Baron Helmut Zemo was the mastermind behind the formation of the Thunderbolts. It was his idea to recruit former members of his Masters of Evil to become a new superhero team in the absence of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four after the Onslaught crisis. However, the team grew out of his control, and he's been an antagonist to the team almost as much as he has been its leader.
That said, Zemo does have an unbreakable connection to the Thunderbolts. No matter how long they've been apart, the Thunderbolts and Zemo always seem to reenter one another's orbits. These are 10 facts about Baron Zemo every Thunderbolt fan should know.
10 His Intentions
The importance of Nazism and Hydra in Baron Helmut Zemo's story is far less pronounced than with the likes of Red Skull, Sin Schmidt, or even Crossbones. While Helmut was raised by his father in the ways of the Nazi Party, Helmut has often been more obsessed with his family legacy, his hatred of Captain America, and the power he believes to be his birthright.
That's not to say Zemo has never let his Swastika show, but it's not as important to Helmut as it was to Heinrich. Zemo believes he is a superior man and that only men such as he shall rule the world. He has, in the past, expressed a desire for world peace, but he believes that only he can bring that about. It's fascistic, but, on the surface at least, it's not as violent and racist as the goal of his peers in Cap's rogues' gallery. It's more Doctor Doom than Red Skull.
9 He Seems To Be Losing It
That said, Zemo has definitely been on a downward trajectory since becoming a head of Hydra, which was in the final run of Ed Brubaker's Captain America shortly before Marvel NOW! kicked off the first time. From there, he rejuvenated Hydra and even enlisted the likes of Sin Schmidt and Crossbones, and this is where Helmut Zemo's sanity really begins to fray.
He went onto participate in Hydra's coup during Secret Empire, then retreated to Begalia when that collapsed. He was then hunted by the Punisher, and Zemo begins to behave far more manically during this saga. He was well and truly humiliated by the time Ghost seemingly killed him on behalf of Mayor Wilson Fisk. He seemed more composed during his recent encounter with Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but he is still cooperating with a new nascent Hydra.
8 The 13th Baron Zemo
Helmut is actually the 13th in the Baron Zemo lineage. Famously, his father, Heinrich, was Baron Zemo during World War II. The Zemo Barony actually goes back all the way to 1480 in a small township just outside of modern-day Leipzig, Germany.
Harbin Zemo was the first Baron Zemo, and he was celebrated and considered truly noble by those under his charge. However, power, as it so often does, corrupts and festers, and the Zemo family has become what it is today.
7 His Own Time-Travelling Adventure
Baron Helmut Zemo was given something of a full-contact education with his family history during the Baron Zemo: Born Better miniseries. This was caused by the destruction of the Moonstones, which Zemo had been controlling for a time.
He was attempting to create what he believed to be a better world, but Captain America destroyed the Moonstones, which caused Zemo to become lost in time.
6 He Really Did Seem To Have A Change Of Heart For A While
It was around this point that Zemo really did seem to have a change of heart. After his initial deception with the Thunderbolts, he seemed to be using the team to earn some kind of redemption for himself. After his time-traveling in Born Better, he met with a man named Wendell Volker who intended to kill him. Instead, Zemo convinced Volker to help him redeem the Zemo lineage.
This seemed to change when Bucky Barnes was revealed to be alive and became the new Captain America. Zemo wanted to bring Barnes down to ensure his father's legacy--of killing Bucky Barnes--is preserved.
5 He Didn't Come Up With "Citizen V"
Those who aren't completely read-up on the history of Baron Zemo and the Thunderbolts might come to believe that Helmut created Citizen V as some kind of parody of Captain America. Those who were there for Citizen V's inception would know that Zemo named it after an Allied hero who once plagued Zemo's father.
However, knowing that doesn't mean one knows the true history of Citizen V. Citizen V was John Watkins, an actual character from the Golden Age of comics. He first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics in 1942. Ironically, subsequent Citizen V's would base their costumes upon Zemo's version as opposed to the original article.
4 Yes, That Was Him in Civil War, And He's Returning In Falcon & Winter Soldier
Despite the lack of the iconic costume, Daniel Bruhl did indeed play Helmut Zemo in Captain America: Civil War.
Furthermore, Bruhl will be returning to the role in the upcoming Falcon & Winter Soldier series, and it seems that he will be wearing the purple mask this time and fully embracing what it means to be the supervillain of the story.
3 He Once Ruled His Own Country
In the Marvel Universe, there is a rogue nation known as Bagalia. It is a country that serves as a safe haven for supervillains, and Zemo became its ruler when he became part of the Shadow Council.
It's also the rogue nation that the Punisher hunted Baron Zemo through after the fall of Hydra.
2 He Started Off As "The Phoenix"
When Helmut Zemo first put on a costume and fought Captain America, it actually wasn't as Baron Zemo. He took up the moniker of "the Phoenix," and it was a few years before Jean Grey took up the title.
Zemo had a bit of a fire theme as the Phoenix, but he dropped the identity after Heinrich Zemo died while fighting the Avengers.
1 He Once Killed The Grandmaster
Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment of any Zemo, Helmut Zemo once slew the Grandmaster, brother to the Collector and Elder of the Universe. This took place when the Grandmaster discovered the Wellsprings of Power, a series of immense energy reservoirs located on our world.
Zemo, armed with the Moonstones, led the Thunderbolts and, with the help of the Over-Mind, much of the world's villains in a fight against the Grandmaster. In the end, Zemo stripped Grandmaster of all supernatural power and shot Grandmaster in the head with a Luger.