1 MCU Line Made Captain America’s Evil Son Possible Again (Despite Fans Giving Up Hope)

While Captain America received a near-perfect ending in the MCU, movie fans may still get the chance to meet his despicable son, thanks to a throwaway joke in Marvel’s She-Hulk show. Secretly raised in a government installation, Steve Rogers’ son is a mercenary and terrorist associated with some of the most despicable regimes of the modern day. And whether accidentally or not, the MCU has perfectly set up his appearance as its second Red Skull.

In 2009’s ‘The Next Generation’ arc of Ultimate Avengers (from Mark Millar and Carlos Pacheco), Captain America clashes with the terrorist Red Skull, however this isn’t the version fans know. In fact, it’s revealed that this Red Skull is Steve’s son. The comic reveals that Steve and his fiancée Gail Richards spent one night together when he was home on leave during WWII. Shortly after, Gail discovered she was pregnant, but by then Steve had been lost to the ice.

Seeing Steve’s son as another chance at an American Super-Soldier, the government forced Gail to give up her child for ‘adoption,’ telling her that Captain America’s legacy would be tarnished by a child born out of wedlock. However, even this was just a cover story – Steve’s son was raised in a government installation where he was trained to enhance his superhuman body and mind. Unfortunately, when the young superhuman came of age, he killed his captors and struck out on his own.

Captain America’s Son Became the Ultimate Red Skull

The Government Stole Steve Rogers’ Son

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe is an alternate reality where Marvel’s most famous heroes begin their careers in the modern day, without decades of continuity. Widely seen as the direct inspiration for the MCU, the Ultimate Universe was famously grittier than Marvel’s main universe, often taking big swings that wouldn’t work in its larger, more sprawling continuity. In this world, Steve Rogers is a far harsher figure and thinks nothing of killing his enemies if he sees an opening. In the Ultimate Universe, Steve’s main WWII villain was Herr Kleiser, and he only encounters the Red Skull in the modern day.

Typical of the Ultimate Universe’s often excessively grim-and-gritty approach. the Red Skull is despicable even for a supervillain, carrying out heinous torture on his victims and psychologically destroying anyone unlucky enough to cross his path. However, his story is ultimately a tragedy – the story sees the Red Skull trying to access a Cosmic Cube and use it to rewrite reality, making it so that Captain America came home from the war and was there to raise him in a happy family.

While the Ultimate Red Skull is overblown in some ways, his personal connection to Steve and deeply tragic motivations make him a fascinating villain for the MCU to adapt, especially in the context of a world where Steve Rogers is so respected, even the Statue of Liberty holds a version of his shield. Thankfully, one surprising Phase Four moment could make that possible.

She-Hulk Made the Second Red Skull Possible Again

By Changing His Mother, Ultimate Red Skull Is Still Possible

MCU fans had assumed that the Ultimate Red Skull wouldn’t appear for two main reasons. First, the MCU already used the original version of the Red Skull – a WWII Hydra leader who opposes Captain America during the war. Second, because Steve’s relationship with Peggy Carter was explored in far more detail than his relationship with Ultimate Comics’ Gail Richards. Peggy’s adventures were explored in both Agent Carter and the wider MCU, including the reveal that she was one of the founders of SHIELD. A mysterious son stolen by the government doesn’t fit into her story. However, Phase 4 confirmed a second romance which could flip the script.

In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 1, She-Hulk and Bruce Banner banter about Steve Rogers’ sex life, with Jennifer Walters speculating that Captain America ‘died’ a virgin. Bruce later corrects her, stating that Captain America slept with a woman during his 1943 USO tour. The USO provides entertainment for service members, and fans actually saw Captain America performing for them in Captain America: The First Avenger.

The off-hand introduction of Captain America’s unknown partner once again makes it possible that Steve Rogers had a child he never met – one who might even have been taken by Hydra, who infiltrated SHIELD early in the MCU’s timeline via Project Paperclip. Given Arnim Zola’s prominence in Hydra and SHIELD during this time, the MCU could even merge the Ultimate Red Skull with Ian Rogers – Captain America’s adopted son from Marvel’s main universe, who is the biological son of Zola. It makes sense that in a world that celebrates Steve Rogers as its savior, his long-lost son might take the codename of his WWII enemy to try and strike back against his father.

Red Skull Is a Major Challenge to Steve Rogers’ Legacy

Captain America’s Son Gives His Lost Years New Meaning

The Ultimate Red Skull is so interesting because he transforms the meaning of Steve Rogers’ time in the ice. In both mainstream comics and MCU canon, Steve being frozen for decades is a straightforward sacrifice – he loses the life he knew in order to safeguard others. However, the existence of an unknown son complicates this framing. Steve being frozen allowed the government to take his son and raise him in an environment that unlocked his very worst self. Captain America’s sacrifice ends up creating a horrific villain, motivated by a sense of abandonment and twisted by the legacy his father left behind. In this context, Steve’s actions had hugely negative consequences he didn’t (and couldn’t) foresee.

This take on Red Skull isn’t just a personal complication for Steve Rogers – he’s a challenge to Captain America’s metaphorical embodiment of American virtue. Ultimate Avengers firmly connects Red Skull with the dark side of modern American history, stating that he solidified his reputation during Vietnam and worked alongside the Khmer Rouge. Making him Steve Rogers’ son is a way of pointing out that America’s finest hour can’t be compartmentalized from its darkest moments, with their physical fight also being a battle of worldviews.

While the MCU currently has a Red Skull, Johann Schmidt already got the perfect ending as a cosmic prisoner trapped on Vormir. Bringing in the Ultimate Universe’s Red Skull as a successor to the title would be a fascinating way to complicate Steve Rogers’ legacy, especially as a villain for his chosen successor Sam Wilson. Only time will tell if Marvel has any plans to involve Captain America‘s evil son in his movie story, but thanks to a throwaway joke from She-Hulk, it’s now 100% possible.