Falcon And Winter Soldier - Everything You Need To Know About Zemo
5. He Time-Travelled To Meet His Ancestors
In the four-part series, Born Better, Helmut Zemo went back in time to meet his ancestors, including the first to take on the Zemo name, Harbin Zemo.
In the year 1480, Harbin led a charge in Zeulniz, defeating Slavic invaders. The Roman emperor was so impressed by his fighting prowess, he dubbed Harbin as Baron Zemo the First. Harbin became a proud warrior but over time, was consumed by power.
As Zemo kept time-travelling ahead, he saw how all his ancestors became corrupt the instant they obtained the smallest amount of authority. The second Zemo, Hademar, was ecstatic when his father died since he was impatiently waiting to obtain the title for himself. Unfortunately, he was murdered by his 12-year-old son, Heller Zemo. His successor, Herbert Zemo, was killed by his generals after he tried to start a holy war. His child, Helmuth, was such a vile sadist, the modern Zemo killed him himself. (He might be the only person in Marvel to kill his his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather.)
After being unimpressed with his other progenitors, Hackett, Hartwig, Hilliard, Hoffman, Hobart, and Herman, Helmut Zemo vowed to rise beyond corruption and become better than any of his ancestors. Unsurprisingly, he failed.