Red Skull (Comics)

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“

I, who am the prince of villainy, serve none! And now once the Cosmic Cube is mine, all that live shall pay me homage!

— Red Skull

”

Johann Schmidt, best known under the criminal alias of the Red Skull, was the child of a horribly abusive father who attempted to murder him the day he was born, accusing him of murdering his wife when she died in childbirth. Johann was saved by the doctor who delivered him, and when his father committed suicide the next day, the doctor delivered him to a local orphanage. His time in the orphanage was lonely and miserable, and he left to live on the streets of Germany at only seven years old. As he grew up on the streets, Schmidt spent most of his life serving time for various minor offences ranging from vagrancy to theft. When he was rejected by his first love, a Jewish woman named Esther, Johann flew into a rage and murdered her- discovering the thrill of violence and murder for the first time. When the Nazis came into power, Schmidt was working as a bellhop for a local hotel, where he first met Adolf Hitler. The Führer was enraged and yelling at the chief of the Gestapo, and during the exchange Hitler claimed that "I could teach that bellboy to do a better job than you!" When the two looked into each others eyes, Hitler could see that Schmidt was filled with the same hate and rage that he himself was, and Johaan knew that Hitler was a man he could see as a role model, and shape himself after.

Inspired, Hitler decided that he would make the boy the perfect Nazi, and took Schmidt under his wing. Hitler gave Schmidt a special face mask, and the Red Skull was born. An expert soldier and fighter, the Red Skull engaged in numerous missions for the Nazis during World War 2, constantly battling his nemesis and American equivalent, Captain America. Eventually, Red Skull renounced Hitler, considering him weak and undeserving to be the leader of the Nazi Regime. He continued to haunt Captain America and the Avengers with his super villain schemes, and every time he has died, he has returned, even more powerful and angered. During one of these revivals, he returned in a cloned body of Captain America, giving him the superhuman benefits of the Super Soldier Serum. Even when he remains dead, his legacy runs deep. His daughter, normally known as Sin, has previously taken up his title as the Red Skull, and she nearly brought about the end of all things when her quest to gain power lead to the release of Odin's brother, The Serpent. Most recently, the Red Skull has taken the brain of the recently deceased Professor X, gaining telepathic powers, as part of his plan to wipe out Mutants after witnessing them nearly destroy the world under the reign of Cyclops and the Phoenix Five.

Battle vs. Black Mask (by Godkombat21)[]

TBW

Winner: Red Skull

Expert's Opinion[]

TBW

To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Viktor Reznov (by CuchulainSetanta)[]

Sgt. Reznov:

Red Skull:

Near the end of World War II, Sgt. Reznov and four Soviet soldiers have been sent to take out the infamous Nazi terrorist the Red Skull. Coming across his bunker, Reznov halts his men when he sees a Nazi guard at the entrance. Taking out his Mosin-Nagant rifle, Reznov aims at the guard's head and fires, dropping him. Down below, the Skull and three of his other bodyguards hear the shot and spread out through the base.

Entering, Reznov's team comes under fire by a Nazi on an MG-42. One soldier is killed while the others take cover, firing back with PPSh-41s. One of the Soviets manages to hit the machine-gunner, and the team moves on, splitting up to search the base. Entering a locker room, two Soviets come across the Skull himself, armed with a "death ray" gun. Catching

them off guard, the Skull fries one before taking cover behind a locker door to evade the other's Tokarev fire. Taking a gas mask out of the locker, the Skull tosses out a grenade containing his "dust of death". The second soldier has no chance, the skin on his head shrinking and turning crimson. Walking out to see his handiwork, the Skull laughs and continues on, whistling to himself.

Meanwhile, in a large war room, Reznov and his last soldier are engaging in a fight with two Nazis armed with ray guns. Nodding to each other, both Reznov and the other soldier dive out at the same time, riddling the Nazis with bullets from their PPSh-41s. Getting up, Reznov turns to his friend, only to see the Skull slitting the soldier's throat with a trench knife. Reznov shouts, pulling his machete out and charging the Skull. The war crim

inal dodges his slash, punching Reznov in the face with the knife's hilt before moving in to stab him. At the last moment, however, Reznov chops the Skull's hand off with his machete, before getting up and slicing him across the face. The Skull falls to the ground, dead, as Reznov raises his weapon with a shout of "Ura!!!"

Winner: Sgt. Reznov

Expert's Opinion[]

This was a very heated battle, as is to be expected when dealing with a Nazi like the Red Skull. However, the Skull got more than a few votes, due to his high-tech arsenal. When it came down to it, though, what really put Reznov on top was his single minded determination to wipe out the Nazi scourge.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Niko Bellic (by Wassboss)[]

Niko bellic is walking through New York City, minding his own business. He is still in shock after his battle with the very irritable black man and always carries a weapon on him. Little does he know he know he is being stalked...

Red skull moves without a sound, sticking to the many alleyways and shaded areas of New York. He has the MG-42 in his hands and the ray gun holstered by his side. He watches as niko enters a shop and waits for him outside. He aims at the door, poised and ready to attack.

Meanwhile niko has just brought some cigarettes and is about to leave when he sees red skull through the shop window. He pulls out his shotgun and loads it with bullets. Red skull wonders what is taking so long and looks through the window. He sees niko aiming his shotgun at him. Before niko can react red skull quickly switches his aiming position and fires.

Niko jumps to the floor and the glass around him shatters. He waits till the gunfire stops then peeks over the top of the little cover he has. He quickly fires, without aiming, and misses red skull by a long shot. He is drove back down when red skull fires again. He peeks up again and this time aiming lands a direct shot on the MG shattering the barrel and rendering it useless.

Red skull cusses under his breath and unholsters his ray gun aiming at niko. He fires disintegrating the shotgun in his hands. Niko pulls out his pistol and fires hitting red skull in the arm. Red skull shouts in pain and fires the ray gun again but niko dodges and it hits a dustbin behind him, reducing it to dust. Niko fires once again this time hitting red skull in the hand making him drop the ray gun which niko then shoots to make sure he can’t use it again.

Niko smiles thinking he has won. But he has not counted on the insanity and determination of his opponent. Red skull snarls and lunges forward trench knife in hand scraping niko’s hand. He then uses the knife to wrench the gun out of niko’s hand and kicks him in the face with the brass knuckles on the handle of the knife. Niko stumbles back and takes out his baseball bat.

For a tense moment the both stand opposite each other, not moving eyeing each other up. Red skull makes the first move lunging forward knife in front of him. Niko swings the baseball bat but red skull dodges and stabs niko in the stomach badly injuring him. Niko yelps in pain and pushes red skull away. He looks down and sees that he is bleeding profoundly.

Red skull laughs and lunges forward but this time niko is ready and waits until red skull is too near to avoid his swing and, taking a stance like a professional baseball player, swings the bat. Red skull is not able to dodge this swing and is hit square in the face sending him sprawling to the floor. Niko looks at red skull but he does not move. Thinking he has won niko starts to limp away but the fight is far from over.

Red skull awkwardly stands up and leaps at niko knocking him to the floor causing him to drop the baseball bat. Niko punches red skull in the face and then kicks him momentary stunning him. Niko then gets up and runs back to his car. Red skull gets up and follows him smiling. Niko opens his boot and pulls out his RPG-7. He then runs into a abandoned theatre and waits for red skull.

Red skull walks into the theatre and sneaks around trying to find niko. Suddenly he is hit in the face by niko and falls to the floor. Niko runs out the front door and, turning around, aims at the front doors. Red skull gets up and runs up to the front door. He opens it and sees niko standing RPG in his hands. He turns and runs back into the theatre and niko fires, the grenade hitting the side of the theatre causing it to collapse.

Niko sure that red skull is dead drops his RPG and starts to walk home. Just as he gets out of sight the rubble starts to move and red skull emerges from the derbies. He smiles evilly and, pulling out a strange canister heads straight for niko’s house.

Later that evening niko is lying in bed trying to get too sleep after his eventful day. Suddenly he hears the sound of something opening. He opens his eyes and looks over the bed and sits up in shock. A wired gas is filling up the room. Niko jumps up and tries to open his bedroom door but it has been blocked from the outside. Niko struggles with the door but it just won’t open. But by now the gas is upon him and he suffers a terrible fate.

Meanwhile outside red skull watches and the gas seeps out of the open window. Smiling to himself he gets up and walks away.

WINNER: RED SKULL

Expert's Opinion[]

Red skull won because of his amazing arsenal of weapons and because of his determination to kill and maim.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Indiana Jones (by Thats random369)[]

Indy: 123456 Red Skull: 123456

Red Skull and 5 nazis are breaking into an ancient viking tomb in Norway in search of an ancient crystal that will be able to power their "Death Ray" Gun. The nazis break open the casket, Red Skull grins as he takes the crystal out of the rotting corpes' hand. Suddenly he hears a whip crack through the air. "I'd put that back if I were you." says a voice. The skull turns to see Indiana Jones and 5 OSS members.

"No one threatens me!" yells Red Skull. Red Skull signals something to one of his nazis, the nazi shoots at Indy with his P38. Indy dodges and shoots the Nazi directly inbetween the eyes with his python.

Red Skull: 12345

Red Skull screams in anger, "Time to even the odds!" and with that the red skull riddles a OSS with a hail MP28 bullets.

Indy: 12345

The Nazis and OSS spread out through out the cave. A nazi pursues Indy shooting his shoulder causing him to drop his python. Indy grabs his shoulder and takes cover behind a tombstone.

When the nazi gets to the tombstone Jones is not there. The puzzled nazi gets choked from behind by Jones with his whip.

Red Skull: 1234

Meanwhile, Red Skull puts crystal in his death ray and shoots a OSS agent in the head with it instantly disintigrating him.

Indy: 1234

A nazi is taking cover behind a large stone waiting for some one to walk by. He readies his wealther P38 and jumps from his cover, but it is another nazi. The other nazi tells the gunman to move along and sets a dust of death box (set with a detonater) and starts to move along but once he has his back turned he gets his legs shot out by an OSS with a MP40. The rookie OSS shoots the nazi in the stomach, thinking it o be an insta-kill. The nazi (knowing he wont survive) pulls out the detonater and presses the button, killing him and the OSS.

Red Skull: 123

Indy: 123

An OSS mounts his Lewis on a flat rock and keeps his eye open for any nazis, after a minute or two a bullet whizzes past his head. He looks to see the nazi with the P38 aiming his pistol for another shot. The machine gunner mows down the nazi with ease. The OSS smirks, but his pride is cut short by a stab to the neck with a trench knife.

Red Skull: 12

Indy: 12

The nazi knifer smiles and starts chuckling at his stealth, but the cocky nazi fails to notice an RPG rocket heading right for him. At the last minute he spots the rocket and barely gets out of its way fast enough. The seriously injured nazi crawls to his MG 42 and shoots the RPG rocket when its fataly close to the shooters face, blowing him to bits. The nazi then goes to regroup with his leader.

Indy: 1

Meanwhile, Jones finds one of his fallen comrads and finds a machete and sheath. He takes it and moves along. Red Skull and his final nazi minion head threw a dark tunnel, the farther they go the darker it gets. When it is near pitch black, Red Skull lights a match so he and the nazi will be able to see, but the nazi in on the ground with a slash to the neck.

Red Skull: 1

Red Skull runs to the end of the tunnel to where Jones had dropped his python. "That thing belongs in a museum, not a gun!" says a voice. Red Skull turns to see Jones standing there. Jones grabs the death ray and punches the skull in the face. Red Skull shrugs it off and roundhouse kicks Jones in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. "Did you really think you could stop me, the greatest super soilder to ever live!" taunts the skull. "Lets see if a super soldier can survive a bullet to the head." says Jones who frantically grabs his python and shoots Red Skull in between the eyes.

Red Skull:

"This will look great in a museum." says Jones as he gets to his feet and takes the crystal out of the death ray.

Winner: Indiana Jones

Expert's Opinion[]

Red Skull may have been stronger but Indiana Jones was no stranger to supernatural enemies and pulled through with his better sanity and deceptive nature.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Battles here were deemed to be unfair or otherwise not in accordance with wiki standards, and have been removed from the statuses of the warriors and displayed below.

Battle vs. Rorschach (by Wassboss)[]

Rorsarch is walking though a deserted alleyway. He has heard rumours that a crazed Nazi follower who has been killing innocent people in this very alley. Suddenly he hears the sound of a dustbin being knocked over he pulls out a can of hairspray and holds a lighter ready underneath it. He jumps round the corner but sees only a cat licking at the contents of an overturned dustbin. Little does he know that red skull is hiding behind a doorway. He slowly peaks the barrel of the MG-42 round the side of the door and aims at rorsarch. Rorsarch however sees something glint out of the side of his eye and jumps for cover as a barrage of bullets fly at him.

Having lost the element of surprise red skull kicks down the door and fires wildly all of his shots missing his opponent. Rorsarch pops up from behind a skip and starts up the lighter. He then presses down on the can lightning the hairspray on fire and sending the flames speeding towards red skull forcing him back and rendering MG useless. Rorsarch runs out of fuel but pulls out another can and gets ready to fire again. Red skull is no one’s fool however and whips out his ray gun and disintegrates the hairspray can. Rorsarch throws the lighter at red skull giving him enough time to run back out of the alleyway. Red skull laughs and gives chase. Rorsarch runs out but in his haste to get away he trips over the over turned dustbin.

Red skull turns the corner and points his gun at rorsarch laughing manically. “You’re pathetic” he says smiling at rorsarch. “Excuse me but do you know the whoa” says a jogger turning at the exit of the alleyway. “You have ruined my gloating” screams red skull and fires disintegrating the poor civilian. “You killed him” says rorsarch a look of horror in his face. “Of course i did” says red skull glaring at him “and you’re next”. “Not on my watch” says rorsarch and pulls out and fires his grapple gun knocking red skull off his feet. He then jumps at him grabbing the ray gun and throwing it away. Red skull punches him in the face and rorsarch stumbles back.

Red skull pulls out his trench knife and lunges at rorsarch who blocks it with his butcher’s knife. They begin to duel but rorsarch gets the upper hand slashing red skull in the leg. He yells in pain and punches rorsarch with the brass knuckles knocking him back. He then tries to slice his neck but rorsarch dodges the attack. He then stabs forward but red skull easily dodges and snaps the blade in half with a powerful punch from the brass knuckles. He then stabs forward but rorsarch grabs the blade and tries to turn it around but red skull twist it free and stabs rorsarch in the hand. Rorsarch kicks red skull in the face and runs into an open doorway looking for a weapon. Red skull laughs and limps after him.

Rorsarch runs into the building and finds himself in a carpenter’s workshop. He hears red skull coming and hides in a storage room. Red skulls turn the corner and sees the storage room door close. He smiles and walks over to the storage room door and reaches for the handle when he hears a noise from behind the door. He steps to the side as rorsarch kicks down the door power saw in hand. He swings at red skulls face but red skull ducks and stabs upwards but rorsarch brings the power saw down knocking it out of his hands. Red skull jumps back as rorsarch swings the power saw wildly around. Suddenly he remembers the dust of death container he has in his pocket. He sets it off and throws it at rorsarch. It hits him in the head and he falls over. He sees the gas seeping out and screams as his head shrinks and turns a nasty shade of crimson.

Meanwhile red skull has escaped from the workshop before the gas went off. He turns and sees rorsarch dead on the ground. He laughs too himself and turns to see a hobo sleeping by a bin. “Ah” he says pulling out his ray gun “Target practise”.

WINNER: RED SKULL

Expert’s Opinion[]

Red skull won because his weapons were more powerful and more reliable than rorsarch’s.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Reason[]

The battle has been declared unfair for Rorschach because of the Red Skull's vast arsenal of firearms.

Battle vs. Edward Richtofen (by Thundrtri, BeastMan14, and Goddess of Despair)[]

No battle was written.

Expert's Opinion[]

TBD

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Reason[]

The battle was deemed invalid due to the nerfing of the Wunderwaffe.

Battle vs. Adam Jensen (by Tomhawk23)[]

After hering about the technology and advancements at Sarfi Industries he comes up with a plan to Rob it.

He plans to start a massive Riot to distract police.

He uses the Super bowl to his advantage he sends 4 of his men to break into the locker rooms and drug the Detroit Lions gatoraid with sleeping pill's and the terrible performance combined with them loosing and the Patriot's constantly scoring touchdowns heavily pisses off the Lions fans.

The The Red Skull sends 50 of his men to start rioting on the otherside of town away from the Lab this causes more and more Fans to start rioting

The Red Skulls men throw 1000's of gas masks all over the ground to pervent the use of Tear Gas

His men then throw weapons all over the ground to cause shootings and Police to haveta use weapons and t cause a shootout to heavily distract Police and this is 10 miles from the lab keeping them far away from the Lab

The Large criminal element in the city causes more and more rioters

Police Arrive on the scene some criminals start shooting on sight others run away from the police others just start panicing and shoot

6 Police cars pull up surounding the main area of thr Riots and sprey Tear Gas

right when they sprey it they realize they have gas masks the Rioters start shooting at the Police with only 56 Police on the scene with only half carrying weapons they are out matched and forced to retreat and call back up

The Riot starts to get bigger and spred through town

30 minutes later SWAT and Riot Control teams arrive on the scene

A Police officer says through a Mega Phone two the Rioters this is your last warning if you do not stop rioting we will shoot

A young punk shouts at the cop and says Fu*%ck you Cop

With a Death Ray that HYDRA droped he shoots the cop killing him

A Cop yells open fire open fire shit what the F&%ck was that A Cop shoots the punk who shot the cop

A shootout begans

Rioter's with Death Rays shoots the Police cars disintegrating them

A Massive shootout begans

Some Rioters flee and Rob stores wall other try not to get involved

However it just gets bigger and bigger Robbers Muggers and Rapists who are and aren't rioting use this oppertunity do Rob Steel and Rape

The Riot stops and just becomes a shootout and people getting Robed Murderd and Raped

It then spreds all over Detroit

The HYDRA operators then drope homemade panic gas bombs all over the city

People start panicing and seeing things everything becomes mad

Police are unable to control the situation fortuenetly for them they were whering gas masks when they went to stop the riot

Everyone starts shooting the Mugging Rape and Murder stops and it all becomes shooting

No one shooting at specific people just anyone they see

It spreds all over Detroit however it is not at large in the area with the lab since it was started 10 miles away

All Police stations get involved to try to stop it but they just can't

The Red Skull and his men where gas masks

The situation becomes much like the Riot in Batman begans

The Crimes move to the part of town with the lab but a very low element with little Police element their just as the Red Skull planned

now The Red Skull moves to the lab knowing though that with this Riot the Guards will be on high alert and he is aware that security guards here are well trained and have advanced weapons and armor and some are agumented

The Security at the lab not yet infected aware of whats going on puts on gas masks

everyone not in a building that doors have not been opened and is not whering a gas mask is infected

The Red Skull moves to the Sarfi Lab knowing that the Security here most likely has Gas Masks and is on high alert. Trying to avoid being spoted by a, Sniper he moves from building to building. 2 of Jensens men a Sniper team on a building spot The Red Skull and, his team moving to the otherside of the street on a main street from 1 mile away. The Sniper takes aim at the Red Skull and fires the shot misses my just a inch. The HYDRA operators get to the other, building The Red Skull uses the Crackbang method to catch the Snipers location. The Skull has the sniper location, they move behind the building hidden from the sniper. They get close to the side of the building and one of the HYDRA operators throws a stick grenade on the building, the sniper grabs it and throws it back it explodes in mid air a piece of shrapenl flys right into the sniper head killing him. Unknown to The Red Skull their was a spoter who was not hit by the grenade. He radios their position to Jensen and the rest of their team. He then takes the Sniper Rifle as they move up he takes aim at, The Red Skull at the last moment the Red Skull looks behind him and sees him right when he sees him the Sniper takes the, shot. A mila second before he takes the shot, The Red Skull ducks and the bullet hits a HYDRA operator behind him they run into a building right next to them. Right then the door is kicked open and 8 mean storm in shooting. The HYDRA operators shoot right when they kick the door, open and back up and run up the stairs tacticly running backwards 5 of Jensens men are killed 6 of The Red Skulls are killed. As they run up the stairs one of the HYDRA operators is shot in the head through the window by, the Sniper another HYDRA operator runs infront of the window backwards spreying and preying with his MG42 shockingly it pays off and kill the Sniper. The Red Skull climbs a ladder to the attic the HYDRA operators, moving backwards two of Jensens men run up the stairs they are quickly gunned down by the HYDRA operators he turns around and Jensen and one of his men come up the stairs and shoot him. As the guy who shot the HYDRA operator runs up below the attic the Skull shoots him, from above. As the Skull waits for Jensen to come into him crosshairs Jensen moves hugging the wall and sees the barrel of the Death Ray, he then shoots the barrel destroying the gun he then climbs up the ladder. As he climbs up, the ladder the Skull grabs him and throws him against the wall. He then walks to wards him Jensen gets up and uses his, Arm Blades, he trows a thrust at the Skull he jumps back and lunges at him with his Trench Knife. Jensen throws a stab at the Skulls Kidney the Skull uses a drastic messure and lets the Arm Blades stab through his hands stoping, them from getting to his kidney. The Skull with control of the Arm Blades giving that their all the way through his hands runs forward forcing Jensen to move back he then slams him, against the wall. With the Arm Blades inside his hands he move Jensens arm to his neck to cut it off Jensen ducks as, both Arm Blades hit the wall. he headbutts the Skull in the chin and jumps onto the ground putting him ontop of the Skull, on the ground. The Skull roles over and pulls his hands out of the Arm Blades and, gets up. He walks back and trips onto the ground on a upward piece of wood. Jensen charges at him the Red Skull kicks him and makes him go flying forward and hits the wall head first and his head goes right through the wooden wall. As Jensen pulls him self out of the wall, The Red Skull pulls out another Trench Knife from his leg and right when Jensen gets his head out the Skull stabs him in the Neck then in the heart and the head just to be safe. He then calls a helicopter to take him to a Medic and orders all of the men who were not with him to move to the Lab

WINNER The Red Skull

Expert's Opinoin[]

TBA

To see the orignal battle, weapons and votes, click here.

Reason[]

The battle was declared unfair for Red Skull because of Adam Jensen's futuristic weaponry.

Battle vs. Joker (DC Comics) (by Drayco90)[]

The Joker couldn’t help but laugh at the image before him- This “New-Gotham” had proven far easier to take control of than his old home. A map lay out in front of him, with small pieces to represent the various players, all vying for control of New-Gotham. The Penguin and Two-Face didn’t make it a week in here; they couldn’t adapt fast enough, but this Parker Robbins fellow had proven himself surprisingly tenacious, and his powerful resistance had left the Joker essentially locked out of the entire York Towers district, but despite this, the Joker had control of the criminal underworld in most of the rest of the city, and a large portion of the second island was completely in his pocket. Never had his control been so absolute. And never had he been so…bored. He certainly hoped ol’ Bats hadn’t kicked the bucket yet. He took a look around his room, his eyes catching the strange cube that Harley had salvaged for him as a trophy when the locked down control of Yancy Street. Sure, he didn’t know what it was… but it made one hell of a lamp for the dark, dingy warehouse that he had converted into his little “palace”- “Emperor Joker” he laughed to himself. The concept elated him. “Soon.” He thought, before turning his attention to his security cameras. It had become his hobby, watching his idiotic goons, hoping for his Bat to appear and break them for his amusement.

Today, his perseverance would pay off. At the south entrance, there of his guards were quickly obliterated by a man- no BATman, but no normal man for sure. His head was the twisted image of a crimson skull, and his guards were dead within seconds. Joker smiled, howling with laughter- maybe this new enemy would put up enough of a fight to help fill the emptiness the Joker felt. “Ah well.” He sighed to himself “If he doesn’t, I’ll just cut open his throat, bleed him out, and leave him in a body back in some vermin-ridden gutter.”

The Red Skull decided to take the south entrance because it was the one with the lightest guards. No point in letting the Clown know he was here, and ruin the surprise. Only three men stood in his way- one unarmed, one with a pipe and the other with a shotgun. Red Skull took a deep breath- he always loved this part. He never felt more alive than when his blood howled with the rush of combat. His fist collided with the unarmed man’s face first, before they even had time to react to his presence. The Skull felt the man’s face as it seemed to crumple around his fist, blood spraying everywhere like a violent geyser. He grinned- these clowns may as well be moving in slow motion. Sidestepping a blow from the pipe, the Skull delivered a quick jab to the side of the shotgun in the hands of the other man, just enough, as the clown-painted henchman pulled the trigger. The blast rang out, but it also rang hollow, as the shotgun had been knocked far enough off course that the blast didn’t even touch the Skull, allowing him to seize the moment and head butt the guard so hard, it snapped his neck, causing him to stagger backwards and crumple, dead. The last two tried to take him at the same time, but the Skull batted away the blow of the pipe-wielding clown with the back of his hand while simultaneously catching the unarmed man’s punch, snapping his arm. Grabbing the man’s Ulna, the Red Skull snapped the bone, tearing a large piece of the arm bone free, allowing him to drive the fractured bone into the pipe-wielding man’s throat. The man gasped for air as blood drained from the wound, but his struggle ceased with a sharp twist of the bone, and he too dropped dead. The final clown was howling with pain, tears forming in his eyes. There was already a crimson puddle forming beneath him, and his entire arm was drenched in blood. In one motion, the Skull picked up the pipe and delivered a powerful kick to his knee, shattering it as well. As the final guard stumbled backwards, the Red Skull swung the pipe downwards, crushing in the clown’s head.

The Red Skull paused for a moment, observing his work. “Undisciplined.” He scoffed. “But what can you expect…from clowns.” He waved a signal for his HYDRA back-up to move in- the first three, armed with assault rifles, gave the two-armed salute with a shout of “Hail, HYDRA!” before moving to secure the doors. Before they could, a shrill, mocking voice rang out across the warehouse-base.

“Well, well boys- looks like we’ve got some visitors at the back doors, and you all know how much I just HATE uninvited guests. One of you be a dear, and get the door…and then put those Christmas colored bastards down.”

“Scheiße!” Red Skull cursed under his breath in his native German as he kicked down the door, blind firing his luger into the darkness ahead. A bullet found its mark, sending blood up into the air as the man fell down, chunks of his head following suite. The room they entered into was huge, with two sets of stairs leading to various corridors and rooms filled with god-only-knows how many traps and lethal jokes. His other two men followed up the rear, carrying his beloved MG-42 machine gun, which they layed out on the railing on the stairs, overlooking the entire room.

“Hold this position.” Red Skull growled in his thick German accent. “I will deal with the clown…personally.”

With that he was off. Finding the Joker’s personal room was not a difficult task- it was the one with a faint blue glow illuminating it, and being pointed to with neon arrows and green spray-painted “Ha”s. Slowly opening the door, he leveled his Luger at the figure inside. The Joker was sitting in his chair, facing the wall, and a map that lay before it. He fired, twice through the back of the chair, once through the shoulder, but the Joker just sat there- making no sound. No final laugh. The Joker’s last laugh, it seemed, was not so humored after all. He stepped into the cluttered room, his boots echoing with each step. As he turned the chair, however, the Joker’s head fell off with a hollow thud- and the purple suit fell back, revealing his chest- a large silver container with a smiley face crudely painted on it.

The Joker smiled as he watched the Red Skull’s reaction to the old Fake-Joker trick. He leveled one of his revolvers and carefully planned a shot…but then, careful was never exactly his modus operandi. He took the shot, piercing the shoulder of the Red Skull’s uniform. The German grunted with pain, as he turned to face the Clown Prince of Crime. He charged at the Joker, just as the second shot from the Revolver pierced the container. It began making a shrill shrieking noise, just as the Skull’s shoulder made contact with the Joker’s stomach. With a loud crack, the container exploded in a green poison mist.

Sprawled out in the hallway, but safe from the Joker Venom for now, the Red Skull barely had time to draw his Trench Knife before he felt another blow knock him backwards. This clown looked lanky and weak, but he had some surprising strength behind his punches, the Skull had to give him that much. But as he recovered, he saw only an empty hallway. His adversary was gone…

Another Clown fell to his death in a hail of bullets as the Hydra troops rained death from their position at the top of the stairs. They had a massive advantage- the room was funneling in these witless idiots by the dozens, and none of the Clowns even had a chance of dealing any damage to them. The Hydra guards were almost getting bored of this “fish in a barrel” mission. At least until the doors cracked open, and a massive one-armed man with a sledgehammer walked in. The MG-42 blazed to life, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off the man’s massive frame. “Meet Mister Hammer.” A woman’s voice mocked behind the Hydra troops. “He’s going to teach ya’ some manners!” One of the troops turned to face the woman, his assault rifle raised high, but a crack to the head sent him flying from atop the stairs to the ground below. Harley Quinn, a massive mallet in-hand, leapt into the crowd of Hydra troop with a laugh, while Mr. Hammer placed one of his feet on top of the fallen soldier, pinning him. The man squirmed for a few seconds, but when he realized the struggle was useless, he growled. “Cut off one head- two more shall rise to take its place. HAIL HYDRA!” His final words were punctuated as a massive hammer crushed in his skull.

The Joker had to stifle another laugh as the Red Skull walked into the hall of mirrors. He knew that the Skull couldn’t place his location from the sound of his voice, not in this room, at least. “Y’know- I think you guys should be paying me royalties for all of this!” He called out, laughing again as the Red Skull looked about, confused as he sought out the direction of the Joker’s words. “First, Batman’s little rat who just wouldn’t stay dead took my old identity, and now you- but when I was the Red Hood, I brought a sense of class to the character.”

“My name is Johann Schmidt- but I am known as the Red Skull. I seek only what is mine, clown.”

“What is yours? Herr Skully-“ the Joker mocked. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this, but EVERYTHING here belongs to me! And soon, this whole city’ll burn, and whatever it is you own with it!”

The Red Skull paused for a moment. “You don’t even know what it is? You idiot. You absolute, blabbering idiot. You literally hold the powers of a god in your very hands, and you don’t even realize it!” Now it was the Skull’s turn to laugh. And the Joker did not like that- not one bit. “Of course, it makes so much more sense, why you haven’t already curb-stomped Robbin and Taskmaster’s little bands of criminals out of ‘your city’ yet.” The Red Skull listened for a response- he was at least satisfied he had shut up that horrid laugh. He raised his Pulse Cannon high into the air, the weapon was a prototype back during the second world war, when he last had possession of the Cosmic Cube. A hold over, from an era that would soon be coming again, once this little pr- His thoughts were cut off as the Joker leapt from the ceiling, crowbar in hand, landing on the Skull’s back. The clown was laughing hysterically as he clubbed Schmidt with the crowbar, striking multiple places on his back and ribs before the German slammed him into the wall behind him. The glass mirror burst into pieces that rained, mostly harmlessly, down upon them, shaking the Joker off. Crouched on one knee, the Joker took a second to get ahold of his laughter again. “You know – that’s a pretty good one, Herr Skully. That’s actually really funny. I guess once you’re bleeding out in a gutter somewhere, I’ll have to give a closer look to my new desk-lamp.” “You think it will be that easy to kill me? I have been doing this little game since the second World War- If the great ‘Captain America’ himself could not kill me, I doubt some clown with delusions of grandeur will put a damper on my return to power.”

Red Skull grimaced. The Hall of Mirrors made it hard to see where The Joker really was. Fortunately, the Clown Prince of Crime charged with his crowbar raised high- just as the Red Skull predicted, as he fired a blast from the Pulse Cannon. The blue blast rippled across the hallway, shattering dozens of the mirrors, and sending the real Joker crashing into the wall again. Quickly slinging the rifle behind his back, the Skull pulled out his Trench-Knife and took a swinging punch that slammed into the Joker’s cheek. He felt bones crack- the brass knuckles built into the knife and the Skull’s natural enhanced strength were powerful , and while the Joker was quite resilient, he was still a normal man- and there is only so much a normal man can possibly take before reaching a breaking point.

The Joker coughed up blood, laughing as he did so- this really was a thrill for him. Hell, even Batman never tried to hit him THAT hard! He almost regretted the fact that he had to kill the Skull- after all, this German bastard could provide DECADES of fun. He leapt up, and spit his blood in the Skull’s eyes, temporarily blinding him. While the Red Skull jabbed forward with his knife, while the Joker grabbed for the Skull’s throat. They both hit true, with the Trench Knife digging all the way to the hilt into the Joker’s side, while the Joker’s hand wrapped around the Skull’s throat.

“You’re going to try and choke me to death? You must have a death wish, clown.” Johann sneered. “Yeah, yeah- I like to think it’s part of my charms. But really, Herr Skully, I’m disappointed in you.” With that, a shocking blast coursed through the Skull’s entire body. Try as he might, the Red Skull could not move- but silently, he cursed himself for not spotting the Joker’s Electric Joy Buzzer before now. “But then I shouldn’t be SHOCKED. After all, we’ve only known each other for a few minutes now.” He drew a razor-sharp playing card. “But then, I’ve always said that in their last moments- a person will show you just who they really are. In a way, Herr Skully, I’m going to know you better than all your friends ever have.” He made a slow, deliberate cut across the Red Skull’s throat- just enough to draw blood. The Red Skull glared at him- but there was no resignation in those eyes. They almost reminded him of Batman’s, but only for a brief moment, before the Red Skull suddenly slammed his head into the Joker’s face, knocking him backwards. “I. Will. Not. Be. Toyed with!” he growled as he punched the Joker so hard, the clown went flying across the hallway. Drawing his Luger, he aimed it for a direct headshot, but before he could pull the trigger, the Joker whipped out a small detonator and pressed the button. All the Red Skull heard before the explosions rocked the hallway was “Why so serious?” and then the floor collapsed. And all he could see was darkness.

The Hydra troops scrambled from their positions as Harley Quinn’s assault pushed them back. Two of them broke off to engage Mister Hammer, while the other two remained to fight Harley. One of the troops drew a long knife from his belt and took a stab at Quinn, but she was too fast, ducking under the blow and swinging her mallet at the man’s knee- shattering his leg. The other troop behind her took advantage of this to take his handgun a fire a shot into her back. She screamed as the bullet struck her between the shoulder blades, and she collapsed.

“Ah, bitch broke my leg, I think.” The knife-wielding Hydra troop moaned as he struggled to get back up, but was failing miserably. “Arnold? Arnold- give me a hand here.”

The other Hydra agent gave his injured friend a sympathetic look, but his response lacked any such weakness. “Sorry, Ron- you’ve become a liability.”

“Dammit Brown! You can’t just leave me here!”

“I have no intention of doing that, Takimoto.”

“…I’ll see you in hell, Arnold Brown. Do you hear me!”

“It won’t be the first time I’ve been there, Ron.” The uninjured Hydra troop fired his gun into the wounded soldier’s head, killing him.

Meanwhile, the other two agents were struggling with Mister Hammer. Their bullets had no effect as they bounced off harmlessly. One of the two threw his rifle to the ground and drew his knife, sidestepping the hammer as it hit the ground next to him. He tried to saw Mister Hammer’s wrist, hoping that he could wound the monster of a man enough to make his hammer useless. Instead, the man’s hand slid off with almost no resistance. There was no blood. The Hydra agent took a step back, surprised and confused, but Mister Hammer only laughed.

“Well, well- I guess the cat’s out of the bag, then.” He said, as his body seemed to dissolve into a formless mass. A formless mass that suddenly began to expand and grow larger, towering over the two Hydra agents. Clayface roared as his hand morphed into a mace head, and he slammed it down on the knife-wielding Agent. The man’s bones shattered on the impact, and clay filled his throat and blinded him. He couldn’t see, couldn’t hear- he felt everything hurt…until nothing ever hurt again. Clayface turned his attention to the other agent and laughed. “I wasn’t sure about working long time with these clowns…but the look on your faces, truly there is no better measure of a man’s acting talent, and that makes this all worthwhile!” and with that, he seemed to devolve into a shapeless mass that rushed into the Hydra agent, catching bullets without care…

The Red Skull struggled to stand up. The collapsed floor’s rubble had him pinned in the dark basement level of the Joker’s little “palace”. He reached for his Dust of Death pistol and decided to find the Clown and end this little game.

Not far away, the Joker watched. A normal man would probably be on their deathbeds from the injuries he had sustained so far- a gaping stab wound in his stomach, a couple broken ribs, massive damage to his face and shards of glass embedded in his back. But the Joker hardly felt anything but joy. He aimed his heavily customized TAR-21, the smiley-face shaped laser sight shot through the darkness as obviously as a lantern. The Red Skull was sure to see it, but at this point, the Joker didn’t care.

The green light shone from across the room. Skull knew he didn’t have a lot of time before the Joker saw him, but he did take the time to observe the environment. The ‘walls’ and ‘floor’ of this room were all large grey cylinders, bound together by some kind of rope. Joker Venom. Skull ran toward Joker just as the smiley face was drawn to his forehead. Grabbing the gun by its extended barrel, he pulled the Clown forward and on to his feet to receive another punch to the face. Ripping the TAR-21 from the Joker’s hands and snapping it in two with ease, the Red Skull grabbed the Clown by the front of his jacket, spraying him in the face with the Dust of Death handgun.

Fire. That’s all the was running through the Joker’s mind- it felt like his entire face was on fire. He had never met a poison he couldn’t take from a shot glass, but whatever this was, it was enough to still bring him to his knees. He hardly felt as the Red Skull jumped on his shoulders, leaping out of the hole in the ceiling that had been left from the explosion that brought them down to his Joker Venom storage room to begin with.

“Well, Clown, like I told you- I only seek what is mine. Fortunately, it is easier to search the rubble of your little warehouse for my Cosmic Cube than to deal with you. Tschüss, Joker.” The Red Skull mocked as he dropped a lighter into the room. The flame ignited around Joker’s face where the Dust had been most prevalent, and quickly spread, igniting the entire supply of Joker Venom. Quickly clearing the warehouse by leaping from a window, the blast still sent the Red Skull flying as the entire Warehouse went up in flames.

Dragging himself upwards, the Red Skull stifled a laugh- most unusual behavior for him. He could see across the rubble, the bright blue glow of his Cosmic Cube, but as he began to make his way there, the Joker burst out of the rubble. His face was scarred and he had a nasty cough, but there were two revolvers in his hands. The Red Skull spun around to face the Harlequin of Hate, one last time.

A bullet struck him in the gut, but it did nothing to slow the Red Skull down as he grabbed the Joker’s arm and gave a forceful push forward, dislocating his shoulder. With another punch to the face, the Joker was knocked the ground, his revolvers falling from his hands.

“You know Joker, you’re a persistent little bastard. I could use a man of your talents in my employ.”

The Joker laughed, convulsing blood with each sharp movement of the body. “Sorry, Herr Skully- I may be a psychopathic, mass-murdering, child-killing terrorist…but I’m an AMERICAN psychopathic, mass-murdering, child-killing terrorist. You nazis…you didn’t have any style. Holocaust camps? Boooring! I could never work with someone with so little creative vision!”

“A shame.” The Red Skull drew his luger and leveled it at the Joker’s head. “Very well, Joker- I may lack your ‘creative vision’, but only one of us is walking away from this.” The Joker made a desperate dive, grabbing the revolver nearest to him. He wasn’t sure which one it was, but with hope- it would work. He raised it and fired, with a loud crack.

…

And a flag popped out of the gun, reading ‘BANG!’. The Red Skull shook his head. “Joker, this is simply bad comedy. But if you wish this to be your final joke, then I- AGH!” he growled, as the Joker pulled the trigger again, firing the sharpened flag into the Red Skull’s eye. The nazi stumbled backwards as the Joker picked up a sharp piece of glass from the explosion. Burying it deep into the Red Skull’s throat, the Joker finally watched as the Red Skull’s eyes, filled with hate, anger and acceptance, faded into death.

“It’s been a blast Herr Skully, but if you excuse me…”he looked over towards the Cosmic cube “I have a universe to burn.”

- Aftermath -

The Joker sat in his chair, in the place his office had once been, looking out over the ruins that were once his palace. The Cosmic Cube sat in his hands. He still wasn’t sure what it was, really, or what it could do. But now? He was going to find out. Out of the rubble, a figure seeped out- Clayface. Inside his shifting mass was Harley Quinn, whom he had covered to protect from the blast.

“Did those Nazi goons slap around my Harley? That’s MY profession!” the Joker half-joked when Clayface layed her still unmoving body at his feet.

“One of those Hydra mooks shot her in the back. Fortunately, she was wearing that leather vest thing you like so much under that costume, or it would’ve killed her. She’ll be fine.” Clayface answered. “So…what now, boss?”

The Joker pondered this for a moment- his base was in ruins, a large number of his gang just died- recruitment in occupied territory would be down and Parker Robbins was sure to take advantage of this weakness- but he had the most powerful weapon in the universe in his hand, he just needed someone with the brains and the tech to check it out and get it working for him. “Get in contact with Calculator- I gots a little present for him.”

Hydra Agent Arnold Brown stood up in the rubble. How he survived the blast was beyond him, but he knew what needed to be done. Scooping up the body of his fallen leader, Brown vowed to ensure Hydra would become even stronger. There was certain to be a secret to bring the Red Skull back again- this was only the fourth time he could recall the Skull dying, after all- if there was anyone who could shrug this off it was him.

“Madam Hydra- bring I need an evac.” He spoke into the comm on his web-gear. “The Red Skull has fallen. Take me back to the Terror-Carrier…the Imperial Hydra has a new mission. Cut off one head…”

The woman on the other end paused for a few moments, allowing the information to sink in, before replying. “…and two more shall take its place.” Behind her, he could hear as every Hydra soldier in the Terror-Carrier snapped to attention, raising the two-armed salute as the they all shouted at the same time-

“HAIL HYDRA!”

WINNER- THE JOKER

Expert's Opinion[]

Many voters believed that Joker and his gifted intelligence, creativity, and unpredictable style gave him a vital edge. Red Skull had professional training and great physical strength, but he wasn't as unpredictable or creative as his opponent. While Joker was easily the less mentally healthy warrior, there is an old saying; "There is a method to your madness." This gave Joker the edge that allowed him triumph against the Nazi, albeit just barely.

To see original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Reason[]

Battle was declared invalid due to Joker being given weapons he did not use.

Battle vs. Karl Ruprecht Kroenen (Films) (by Samurai234)[]

No battle was written.

WINNER: RED SKULL

Expert's Opinion[]

While Kroenen dominated up close, the Red Skull's cunning and supieor weapons (mostly his sub-machine gun and Dust of Death) gave him the victory. In addition, the Skull succeeded in assassinating Captain America. Kroenen, on the other hand, has never been able to bring down Hellboy.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.