The Future of Zemo

By Lone Lez

SPOILER ALERT!

Marvel has finally given us a villain who seems will stay for the long run. He may not be a cosmic powerhouse like Loki, but at least he wasn't killed off in one movie. Daniel Bruhl’s Helmut Zemo is the type of person you don’t mess around with, and as it’s looking to be, Zemo will be an important piece in the further construction of the MCU’s Phase 3 set of movies. 

At the end of Captain America: Civil War, we are left with an imprisoned Zemo being taunted by Everett Ross. Though in a confined transparent box (the same containment he used on the Winter Soldier), with a smirk on his face Zemo feels successful; as he was indeed successful in breaking the Avengers, both emotionally and physically with the unfortunate paralysis of Don Cheadle’s Rhodey Rhodes aka War Machine.

War Machine is struck down by Vision's energy beam accidentally.

So where does this leaves Zemo and what is his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

My first theory is that Zemo will eventually be broken out of confinement/prison. Now, we don’t know much about his background, other than he served in the secret death squad of the Sokovia police and that his family was killed in the incident there, but someone, will somehow need of his skills, and will break him out of prison. Who could that someone be? My initial thought was the Red Skull. 

In the comics, Helmut Zemo’s father is Baron Zemo, an elite member of Hydra. Could Daniel Bruhl’s Zemo have some connection to the now defunct organization? It is possible, since Zemo in the movie had previous knowledge of Hydra before Black Widow released the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. documents, as we saw when he kidnapped and killed the Winter Soldier’s Russian handler.

So, if the Red Skull returns,and finds that his once powerful organization dead, he would want to have the son of a former Hydra scientist by his side. To recap Captain America: The First Avenger, the Red Skull was trapped within the Tesseract at the end of the film, so the possibility exists that he is still alive.

Masters of Evil

My second theory revolves around what could happen in next year’s Thor: Ragnarok. If Zemo is broken out of confinement, either by the Red Skull or somebody else like Loki, will we see him go after forming the Masters of Evil? If Enchantress is present in Thor: Ragnarok I think it’s highly probable.

Enchantress

We know Marvel Studios doesn’t completely translate the stories of the comics to the big screen, but if Enchantress is in fact present in the next Thor installment, and she being an original member of the Masters of Evil in the comics, I think Marvel could make the team of villains a reality.

Like I mentioned in my theory of Ultron returning to the MCU, when Thanos comes to Earth during Infinity War, I don't think he will be alone. Having a group of evil henchmen by his side seems reasonable.

Loki

The question now would be: If Marvel does do a version of the Masters of Evil, will Zemo be the one to form it? I definitely think so. He, and Loki, are the best chance we have at getting an MCU Masters of Evil. For the reason of pleasing Thanos, I think Loki would go as far as bringing back Ultron, as I explained in my theory of Ultron’s return. 

Loki is also a possible someone who could break Zemo out of confinement. Seeing how successful Zemo was in breaking the Avengers, an impressed Loki could then be inclined in using Zemo for a much deadlier plan.
The Masters of Evil on the big screen would be fascinating, but who could form part of the evil team? Putting Thanos aside, as he is the big boss of them all, the Masters of Evil in the MCU could potentially go something like this: Zemo, Loki, the Red Skull, the Mandarin (maybe, we know the real Mandarin is out there somewhere thanks to the Marvel one-shot All Hail The King), Ultron (if he returns), a villain from Thor: Ragnarok (a possible Enchantress), and Arnim Zola (if his mind is still out there).