The Red Skull captures Captain America and devises a plan to transform America's greatest symbol into a weapon against the Allies. His strategy combines chemical manipulation and psychological conditioning, using Schultz's drug to wipe away Rogers' normal identity before replacing it with an imposed Nazi worldview.
The Red Skull's origin is also revealed. He began life as Johann Schmidt, a young German criminal whose life changed after an encounter with Adolf Hitler. Hitler recognized Schmidt's potential and placed him under Nazi influence, while Schmidt's transformation into the Red Skull became the physical and symbolic culmination of his hatred and his devotion to Nazi ideology. He ultimately attempts to use brainwashed Captain America to assassinate the Allied military leadership, but Rogers breaks free of his control.
