Red Skull Incarnate #1

When I saw the cover of Marvel Comics' Red Skull Incarnate #1 I immediately visualized the Nazi propaganda posters of WWII.  It's a chilling image with the face of the Red Skull overlooking an Allied city being bombed by the Nazi bombers-it's very Baus Haus.

Although Doctor Doom was the first true Marvel Modern Age super villain and is considered the ultimate Marvel bad guy by many I have always had a fondness (if you can call it that) for the Red Skull.

Doctor Doom personifies the sophisticated villain who doesn't see himself as a villain.  On the other hand, the red Skull is pure evil for evil's sake.  But, was he always that way?

There have been a few hints as to the Red Skull's past, most notably that he was handpicked by the Fuhrer himself because he saw in his eyes (even as a bellboy) pure unadulterated hatred.  Little has been explored about his early life as a child-until now.

Writer Greg Pak and artist Mirko Colak, along with colorist Matthew Wilson, delve into the troubled past of the youth who would one day become the most merciless and horrendous villain ever imagined. 

Johann Schmidt was an orphan.  His mother had died in childbirth and he was in the Munich Home For Wayward Boys.  The headmaster was a cruel man who considered Johann a mistake, a vermin and totally worthless.  Life was hard and his life in the Boy's Home made him even harder. 
One day he made his escape and on that day his life would change forever.  For on that day he learned what true hatred was.

Red Skull Incarnate simply tells a story.  No sides are taken.  In it readers witness how circumstances in life can shape a person-sometimes for the good and in the case of Johann-for the bad.  I was surprised that I came away feeling sorry for Johann.  Red Skull Incarnate is a brilliant piece of writing.  When a writer can make me actually feel sympathy for a bad guy it's a rare thing.