[center][img]http://comicbastards.com/wp-content/uploads/tumblr_kyt9ewYdjD1qznvt5o1_500.jpg[/img][/center] [color=9e0b0f][B]| Identity |[/B][/color] Albert Malik Red Skull [color=9e0b0f][B]| Origin & Backstory |[/B][/color] [hider=1909-1978: The Legacy of the Red Skull]The man who would come to be known as The Red Skull was born in Southern Germany in 1909 as [color=aba000]Johann Shmidt[/color]. By the time of WW2, Shmidt became enthralled by the strength of Nazi Germany and had served dutifully within the military ranks of the regime. Shmidt was selected to be part of Projekt Ubermensch— the Nazi’s first foray into genetic experimentation to streamline the ‘perfect’ soldier. Lead by scientists [color=aba000]Wolf Krieger[/color] and [color=aba000]Abraham Erskine[/color], the project was from one perspective a great success but in another perspective was a frightening failure. Shmidt already had the soul of a ruthless and sociopathic beast, a fact that the serum developed only exponentially worsened whilst it made Shmidt’s body stronger and faster. The way Shmidt changed was one of the many reasons Erskine would flee and defect to the United States. The administration of the Third Reich soon realized Shmidt’s success as a commander, operative, and soldier— a fact to the lead to the foundation of the organization that would come to be known as HYDRA by 1939. As the times teetered on, Shmidt had grown more fascinated by the science that created him as other soldiers who would be injected with the same serum never lived through the process. This fact cemented his belief that he was the pinnacle of humanity and as he was tasked with investigations regarding the occult by Hitler himself he began wondering why he was following orders from someone who was beneath ‘perfection’. He would begin to create plans for when the Axis forces won against the Allied forces to depose of Hitler and install himself as the fuehrer; nobody else was worth of such a great title after all. It was then in 1942 that the Red Skull met the first man to challenge him— Steve Rogers, [color=aba000]Captain America[/color]. The Red Skull would battle his nemesis over the course of the rest of the war until their both evident deaths. But he had planned for his death. Shmidt had given his trusted confidant, [color=aba000]Susan Scarbo[/color], the key to his DNA and the blueprint to all of his plans had it come to this scenario. Scarbo alongside other members of what remained of HYDRA like [color=aba000]Heinrich Melch[/color], [color=aba000]Raymond Terrill[/color], [color=aba000]Grosshorn Eule[/color], [color=aba000]Kurt Filpots[/color], and [color=aba000]Otto Netz[/color]. [color=aba000]Dr. Heinrick Strueber[/color] carried on as [color=aba000]Armin Zola[/color] “defected” to the United States to carry on his research into the Erskine serum that made Captain America whilst Strueber remained to try to improve upon the Krieger serum that had made the Red Skull. The rest of HYDRA went silent, waiting for the perfect time to re-emerge. In 1963, HYDRA returned in a brutal attack against the President of the United States which caused both the formation of SHIELD and the formation of the UNCLE Initiative. As a new Captain America, Jeffery Mace, began attacking HYDRA agents in turn HYDRA introduced [color=aba000]Albrecht Krieger[/color] as “Captain Nazi” – a survivor of the newly refined Krieger serum. The war with SHIELD and UNCLE would be a long and bloody affair that would come tumbling down in 1978 within HYDRA’s headquarters on the island of Madripoor where [color=aba000]Alfred Pennyworth[/color], [color=aba000]Marie Remarque[/color], [color=aba000]Frank Simpson[/color], and various others defeated the high council of HYDRA… sans Susan Scarbo, who disappeared as if she never existed at all. Not long after, Armin Zola made contact with her with the possibility of creating a new Red Skull with Shmidt's DNA and a maternal host. Scarbo was too old herself, thus she began a quest to find a suitable surrogate and when she was found the birth of [color=aba000]Sinthea Shmidt[/color] was achieved.[/hider] [hider=1979-2005: The Second Coming][b][1979-1997 REDACTED][/b] Albert Malik was born in the seventies and little is known about his childhood or early adulthood. Malik crossed paths with Sinthea Shmidt— the supposed daughter of the Red Skull. Opposed to the rise of mutants, America’s defiance as the world power, and the ‘downfall’ of ‘true idealism’ he seemed to agree that it was time that HYDRA returned to the world fiercer than before. Sinthea offered him true resources and a path that could make him the leader he wanted to be. To make him into the new Red Skull.[/hider] [color=9e0b0f][B]| Attributes |[/B][/color] [b]Krieger Serum-based Physiology[/b] - A genetically modified serum that has engineered Malik’s body to peak human conditions and perhaps near-metahuman levels. Alongside the strength, speed, and endurance that comes with the physiology it also wields a minute healing factor as well as decelerated aging. The mental effects of the Krieger Serum are known and detrimental however as it causes exponential bouts of insanity and mania. [b]Hand-to-Hand[/b] - Malik is an expert in unarmed combat having been talented at a young age before developing skills for polish. He is proficient in boxing, jujitsu, sambo, silat, krav maga, and systema. [b]Investigation[/b] - Malik is extremely aware of his surroundings and in combination with his uncanny reflexes as well as a tactical mind can be a tough opponent for even the most proficient operatives. [b]Marksmanship[/b] - Whether he has a sniper rifle, sub-machine gun, or a handgun Malik can hit a target from long range effortlessly, he has an experience in combat of various lengths and is as deadly with a gun as he is with his fists or with a blade. [b]Swordplay[/b] - Trained in fencing by his betters, Malik is a skilled swordsman although he does prefer knives to long swords or sabres. [color=9e0b0f][B]| Character Notes |[/B][/color] [hider=Supporting Cast] Otto Belzig - Anastasia Cisarovna - Adam DeCobray - Birgit Eisenmann - William Heller - Sinthea Shmidt - Drachen Scythe - Alexander Trent - [/hider] [color=9e0b0f][b]| Character Goals |[/b][/color] Red Skull, KOBRA commander, the fourth reich. What's not to hate? [color=9e0b0f][b]| References |[/b][/color] See above.