While surprising, the absence of Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo during the cast reveal of Marvel’s Winter Soldier, Taskmaster, and US Agent, but no Zemo.
In the MCU, Zemo is a wealthy member of Sokovian nobility, incensed by the Avenger's actions during in the MCU Thunderbolts movie.
Initially, in the comics, Zemo's intention in making the Thunderbolts was to trick the public into trusting the team and then using their position to take over the world. To lead this new group, Helmut Zemo needed to take a new moniker, and he chose Citizen V. The superhero name had been used multiple times before, originally by a war hero named John Watkins, and Zemo took the name to taunt the legacy of the Watkins family. Under the alias Citizen V, Zemo successfully brought together the Masters of Evil/Thunderbolts and gained the public's trust. While it’s not clear if and how Zemo could appear in Marvel’s Thunderbolts, it could be through the introduction of Citizen V.
Citizen V Explained: Powers, Backstory & Zemo Differences
After John Watkins/Citizen V was killed by Helmut Zemo’s father, Heinrich, in WWII, the mantle was picked up twice more by other of the Watkins family. Eventually, Zemo assumes the identity of Citizen V to lead the Thunderbolts and subtly mock his family's history with the Watkins family. He takes the name twice, once during his tenure leading the Thunderbolts and a second time after he's decapitated and his mind is put in the body of John Watkins III. Visually, Citizen V and Baron Zemo are completely different. Baron Zemo’s iconic purple mask is dropped for a silver faceplate, molded into a V, while his cape is adorned with the American flag. He poses as a noble and heroic superhero, in stark contrast to the villainous Zemo.
Both Zemo and his alter-ego, Citizen V, don’t have any superpowers per se, but are skilled fighters and innovative thinkers. Zemo’s penchant for being a master manipulator transferred over during his time as Citizen V and the differences between Zemo and Citizen V are mainly surface level. Unlike Zemo, Citizen V is notable for wielding a long sword that he uses in combat. Other than that, how he operates as Citizen V is very much how he operates as Zemo.
While the MCU’s version of the Thunderbolts has now been revealed and the lineup has neither Zemo nor Citizen V, the full Thunderbolts team might not yet be complete. If Marvel’s Thunderbolts ends up including characters yet to be revealed, it's not a stretch to believe that Baron Zemo could return to lead the group he started in the comics. This time, though, it might just be through the introduction of Citizen V.
