History Characters / MCUHelmutZemo

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Villainous Individuals and Organizations > [[Characters/MCUOtherSupervillains Other Supervillains]] > [[Characters/MCUEmilBlonsky Emil Blonsky]] | [[Characters/MCUUltron Ultron]] | [[Characters/MCUDarrenCross Darren Cross]] | '''Helmut Zemo''' | [[Characters/MCUErikStevens Erik Stevens]] | [[Characters/MCUMysterio Mysterio]] | [[Characters/MCUKevinThompson Kevin Thompson]] | [[Characters/MCUAgathaHarkness Agatha Harkness]] | [[Characters/MCUMultiversalVillains Multiversal Villains]] ([[Characters/MCUNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]]) -]]]

!!''[[ComicBook/BaronZemo Baron Helmut Zemo]]''

* OutsideContextProblem: To the Flag-Smashers. They anticipated most of the threats they would face (the Power Broker, a few Avengers, the new Captain America, and the government) but not Zemo. As such, when he launches an attack on them, they don't see it coming [[spoiler:as shown when he manages to intercept Karli, destroy the serums she has and comes close to killing her, and when he orders his butler to blow up the prisoner transport containing the remaining Flag-Smashers, killing all of them at once.]]

* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: As part of his AdaptationalNiceGuy he's no longer a member of the [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Nazi-affiliated and fascistic HYDRA group]], but is a fan of Marvin Gaye and understands ''Trouble Man'' (Sam's favorite album) to be a condensation of the African-American experience. Also berates Sam for stereotyping himself as a "pimp" just because he's flamboyantly dressed.

* RedHerring: Initially, early in ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'', there were hints that he would double-cross Sam and Bucky and act as part of the BigBadEnsemble, [[spoiler:however, by Episode 5, it turns out not to be the case as he willingly turn himself in to the authorities without a fight. He does screw them over in small ways though, such as serving spoiled food and wine, and making them look bad in front of children]].
* {{Retcon}}: Downplayed. ''Civil War'' did not go out of its way to show he was particularly wealthy, with him seeming to just be a Sokovian soldier before the disaster. ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' reveals that he is well off and his family were 'like royalty' with him claiming the title of ''Baron''. This seems to have been done to push him to be more in line with his comic counterpart.

* GoneHorriblyRight: By the end of ''Civil War'', and despite Steve and Tony ultimately not killing each other, Zemo still technically succeeds in getting the Avengers to tear themselves apart. Sokovia has been avenged and Earth's Mightiest Heroes are no more...which then backfires on ''everybody'' 2 years later, because Earth's heroes are now unorganized and ill-prepared for Thanos.

** To the Power Broker, aka [[spoiler:Sharon Carter]]. Both of them are filthy rich adversaries to our heroes that want to stop the Flag-Smashers at all costs. However, Zemo was [[OldMoney born wealthy due to being a Baron]] and has no interest in acquiring more power for himself, whereas the Power Broker made their fortune by illegal means over the span of a couple of years, and wants to make themselves [[NouveauRiche even more powerful and rich]]. Zemo also opposes the Flag-Smashers for philosophical reasons, while the Power Broker only wants to stop them because they interfered with their business.

* SecretlyWealthy: He may have been living the gritty villain life in ''Civil War'' (probably to fly under the radar), but ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' reveals that he is a wealthy Baron like his comics counterpart. Of course, between his involvement with the criminal underworld and the loss of his status, that's not to say a portion of his wealth was obtained through illegal means. Sam even reacts with "So all this time, you've been ''rich''?"