While Mark Millar’s Old Man Logan and its wasteland run by supervillains is one of the multiverse’s darkest alternate futures in Marvel Comics, it was made even darker when Red Skull was revealed to be the final owner of the Ebony Blade. Not only was it part of the Skull’s disturbing collection of relics that once belonged to fallen heroes, but he also tried to kill Wolverine with the dark and powerful sword. Furthermore, the Ebony Blade still has a dark past in this alternate timeline as in the primary Earth-616 universe, being used in the supervillains’ takeover of the United States.
During the supervillain takeover, the Avengers were betrayed by the Thunderbolts in Las Vegas who were secretly being led by Baron Zemo. During the massacre, the sorceress Morgana Le Fay used her magical abilities to take the Ebony Blade from its traditional owner Dane Whitman, the Black Knight. Using the powerful sword to decapitate Tigra, the Ebony Blade was then used to kill Whitman himself when Atlas picked him up and stabbed him with it. The Ebony Blade then became a part of the collection belonging to the new President Skull.
Years later when Old Man Logan decided to become a hero once more in the wake of Hawkeye’s death, the aged Wolverine managed to get into the Red Skull’s inner sanctum when his agents thought Logan was dead after they shot him. Discovering that that wasn’t the case in Wolverine #72 (Old Man Logan Part 7) from Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, Red Skull wielded the Ebony Blade against Wolverine as the two battled to the death. While their duel would ultimately be Red Skull’s last, the fact that he died wielding the Marvel Universe’s darkest sword is certainly a testament to his achievements as a supervillain in this bleak future (right along with wearing the remains of Captain America’s mask).
Considering the Ebony Blade’s recent retcons in Marvel Comics where it’s effectively become the opposite of Thor’s hammer, it makes sense that Red Skull would be drawn to the sword and its dark power, seeing as how the blade responds to the darkness within its wielder’s heart. While Dane Whitman has long sought to control and guide the sword’s power for good, Red Skull has no such inhibitions. However, the sword likely stayed mounted for years considering nearly all of the Marvel Universe’s heroes had either been killed or corrupted in this dark alternate future.
In any case, it seems as though Red Skull and the Ebony Blade were no match for Wolverine wielding Captain America’s shield, another relic in the Skull’s collection. While Red Skull didn’t believe Logan had it in him to kill anymore, Wolverine proved him wrong by decapitating the Skull with Steve Rogers’ shield. While the Ebony Blade likely remained in the wreckage of the Oval Office after Wolverine blew up, the Red Skull was certainly one of its darkest wielders, which probably meant he was one of its most fitting considering its own dark nature in Marvel Comics.
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