Baron Zemo is one of Captain America’s oldest enemies in the comics, but he may not be the villain in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Daniel Brühl brought Zemo to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. His debut saw him orchestrate a series of events that led to the fallout of the Avengers and Tony Stark learning that Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) was responsible for the death of his parents. Zemo’s future with the MCU was nearly cut short with his attempted suicide, but Black Panther ensured that he would spend the next several years locked up.

While we don’t know what Zemo has done since the end of Civil War or if he survived Thanos’ snap, Marvel Studios confirmed last year that he was returning to the MCU. Brühl was announced as part of the cast for the first MCU show on Disney+, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. This was revealed through a short video of Zemo reciting the Hydra codes that turn Bucky into the Winter Soldier, which are no longer effective, and concluded with him putting on the purple mask Zemo is known for in the comics.

Everything pointed to Zemo moving to the forefront as a villain in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. After all, he is one of Captain America’s greatest foes and would make him a worthy adversary for Sam Wilson aka Falcon (Anthony Mackie) as he becomes the MCU’s new Cap. Brühl even confirmed that he will go by Baron Zemo in the series instead of Helmut Zemo. However, the evidence is starting to mount that Zemo may not be the real villain of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

Zemo May Be Working With Falcon & Bucky

Marvel has yet to reveal any official details about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s plot overall, but Zemo’s involvement at all is telling. Thankfully, set photos have been able to provide some looks at Zemo’s role, and the results have been surprising. Brühl has been spotted filming on multiple occasions and the oddity of them has been who he is filming with. Zemo was featured alongside Falcon, Bucky, and Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) that included some fighting, but they weren’t fighting each other. Instead, it appears that Falcon and Bucky are fighting with Zemo or even protecting him. Why would this be the case if he was their foe?

More recently, Zemo was once again included in set photos, this time alongside just Bucky and Sharon. Again, these photos don’t depict any fighting between them. The exact details of what they are filming is not known, but Zemo repeatedly being with the heroes of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier does not line up with the idea that they are working to stop him. The alternative to this then is that Zemo may be working with Falcon and Bucky instead of against them.

It’s important to remember that the last time Zemo was seen in the MCU he was being locked up by the Joint Terrorism Task Force. However, his role in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier means that he is no longer incarcerated. This would either require him to have been broken out of prison or freed. If he was broken out, he would surely be a target of Falcon and Bucky, but that doesn’t fit with what we’ve seen them film. Instead, it’s possible that Zemo has either been assigned to work with Falcon and Bucky on their mission or that the heroes have freed Zemo from captivity because they need his help. Either way, this would make Zemo an unlikely (and untrustworthy) ally for Falcon and Bucky, adding to the suspense of the story.

US Agent Could Be Falcon & Winter Soldier’s Villain

If Zemo is not the main villain of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, then someone else will have to fill that void - and our guess is that it will be John Walker aka U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell). Early details for the series mentioned that America’s government may not be too fond of the idea that Falcon is now Captain America. He has no superpowers to speak of and was chosen to carry the shield by Steve Rogers, and the government may want a say in who is the face of the country. This is where U.S. Agent can factor into The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s story.

As the appointed hero by the United States government, U.S. Agent is an ideal and natural antagonist for Falcon and Bucky to go up against in their series. Falcon earned the mantle of Captain America through his actions and will still be transitioning towards fully embracing the title and shield throughout the series. Meanwhile, US Agent can be an arrogant foe for him to face as he tries to take Falcon’s title. It is possible that the government itself that U.S. Agent is aligned with is what Falcon, Bucky, Sharon, and Zemon attempt to take down. Or, we could also see a scenario play out where Walker and Sam are both trying to accomplish the same goal, but US Agent is practically the villain of the series because of a possible rivalry.

What This Means For Baron Zemo’s MCU Future

If Zemo is working with the heroes, then The Falcon and The Winter Soldier could potentially help set up an exciting future for him in the MCU. No matter which path leads to him no longer being in prison, Zemo siding with the hero could lead to him forming the Thunderbolts. In the comics, the Thunderbolts are a team of supervillains recruited by Zemo to be a new version of his Masters of Evil team. But, the world is suddenly without many heroes thanks to Onslaught and leads to the Thunderbolt team masquerading as heroes to become more trustworthy. Zemo adopted the persona Citizen V. While these new identities were a secret in the comics, the MCU could see Zemo make a very public heroic turn to help his grand scheme.

There’s also the possibility that Marvel Studios could use Zemo with a good public perception as the centerpiece for a Dark Reign adaptation. This story is centered around Norman Osborn in the comics as he disbanded the Thunderbolts and was appointed the head of HAMMER right as Tony Stark was removed as the head of SHIELD. Osborn and HAMMER became the primary peacekeeping organization on Earth and made Osborn one of the most powerful people on the planet. This rise to power could be something the MCU’s version of Zemo could also achieve after playing the part of a hero, and Marvel Studios may be wary of doing an Osborn-heavy story just in case the Disney/Sony deal falls through again.

Zemo’s role in the MCU moving forward will always have an evil tinge to it, but The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has the opportunity to do the unexpected and show him doing something good. With the series set to arrive later this year, it hopefully won’t be too long before more details about The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s use of Baron Zemo are revealed.

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