Civil War Already Revealed Why The MCU Cannot Kill Off Zemo

Zemo has returned on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but Captain America: Civil War already revealed why he won’t meet the same fate as Marvel’s other villains. Baron Zemo is the first person to instigate a war between the Avengers simply by framing Bucky Barnes for King T’Chaka’s death and very subtly pitting the superheroes against each other. While his actions are egregious, his tragic past dictates that the MCU will likely not kill him off.

Zemo is so determined in his dedication to break up the Avengers because he is seeking justice for the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. A significant part of Civil War shows the team grappling with the aftermath of the Sokovian capital’s destruction. Tony Stark is struck by the American student studying overseas who died when the city fell and encourages the rest of the Avengers to sign the Sokovia Accords. Loss is felt most prominently in Zemo, whose family was killed in the chaos, which in turn spurs him to enact vengeance against the Avengers.

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Killing someone off with Zemo’s history would not only be reductive, but it would also be a disservice to his character. Many MCU fans seem to prefer Zemo over the new Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and it wouldn’t make sense to dispose of him so soon in this continuation of his story. Zemo’s trauma is what drives him to do what he does in Civil War, however condemnable those actions may be. At the end of Civil War, he is portrayed as a grieving family man, which T’Challah recognizes soon after confronting him. Zemo mentions that the Avengers were able to pick up and go home while the rest of Sokovia was left to gather the remnants of their destroyed lives and country. Horrifyingly, it took two days for Zemo to find the bodies of his wife, son, and father.

T’Challa sees this rage, as he felt it himself when Zemo killed his father. After Zemo successfully turns the Avengers against each other, his attempt to take his life is thwarted by T’Challa, who says “The living are not done with you yet.” This ties directly into Zemo’s post-Civil War return in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and his tenuous relationship with Sam and Bucky. By all accounts, Zemo is still mourning the loss of his family, though he hasn’t talked about them much.

Now that Zemo is an established character, the MCU cannot kill him off because there still seems to be so much left of his narrative beyond The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. T’Challa’s sentiment confirmed this. While his villain status may have been disputed in Civil War, Zemo may very well be on his way to becoming an antihero in the MCU.

Key Release Dates
  • Black Widow (2021)Release date: Jul 09, 2021
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release date: Sep 03, 2021
  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
Thor: Love & Thunder Trailer Release Teased By Voice Over Actor

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