Hail

"Hail" is the second episode of United Galaxy's Captain America Series.

Synopsis
A young German named Johann Schmidt was abused as a child. Growing up, he becomes a ruthless and merciless man. He is recruited to the Nazi and rose to its ranks. However, his belief of a book made him greed for power.

Plot
In 1910, Johann Schmidt’s mother died of childbirth while his father committed suicide. He was taken to an orphanage in Munich and regularly disciplined by the headmaster for his actions viewed as cowardice. During late nights, Schmidt would read a book about an ancient creature that could re-generate its head after being cut. Its belief and culture greatly influenced Schmidt, becoming more brave and fearless. One night, while the headmaster was abusing him, he lost his temper and grabbed a knife. He strikes the headmaster countless times as the other kids watched in horror. Schmidt flees to the streets and becomes a street thug. One morning, he gets into a fight with Nazi cadets but instead of being executed, he was recruited by their commanding officer. Schmidt was trained as a Nazi soldier and quickly rose to its ranks. As he became a member of the Sturmabteilung, Schmidt would constantly thank the influence of the Book of Hydra.

Present Day 1941, Schmidt is now an officer of the Sturmabteilung and caught the attention of Adolf Hitler for successfully invading parts of Paris swiftly. He was requested in Berlin where Hitler commends him of his great work. While in the Fuhrer’s presence, Schmidt took the chance to tell the tale of an ancient artifact left by the Norse Gods on Earth. He tells Hitler that with the artifact in their grasp, they would easily win the war. Intrigued, Hitler promotes Schmidt to the Inner Circle. Ernst Kauffman, head of the SA Weapons Division, is irked by Schmidt’s claims and tells him that his tales are ridiculous and has no place for the Nazi’s.

While continuing to read the book of Hydra, Schmidt was summoned in Munich to meet with Heinrich Himmler. He is escorted to the Hanselbauer Hotel where he sees it being raided by Nazi soldiers. He enters the hotel and finds German soldiers and officers lying dead on the floor. He also sees a captured Ernst Kauffman. Himmler tells Schmidt that Kauffman and other Sturmabteilung officers were accused of planning a coup against Hitler. He orders Schmidt to shoot and kill Kauffman as his way of showing allegiance to Hitler and Third Reich. Without hesitation, Schmidt shoots Kauffman. Himmler tells Schmidt that he is now a member of the newly formed Schutzstaffel and is appointed head of the SS Weapons Division. His first mission is to capture and stopped German scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine from leaving Germany and to retrieve the super-soldier serum the doctor had created. He then travels to Castle Kauffman and meets Dr. Arnim Zola. He announces that Ernst Kauffman was a traitor and that he will be taking over the base. He soon orders the hunt for Dr. Erskine.

Dr. Erskine is in Dachau, with his wife and children, preparing to board a train. Nazi soldiers stopped the train and Dr. Erskine was arrested along with his family. Intrigued by his super-soldier formula, Schmidt neglected to turn Dr. Erskine over to Hitler. Instead provided Erskine with the necessary equipment to finish his work. However, Erskine refused to cooperate. To ensure Erskine’s cooperation, Schmidt sent his family to the Dachau Concentration Camp and will only be freed at the time he finishes the formula.

Dr. Erskine took several months working on the formula, that America has entered the war. Schmidt, now obsessed with the culture and beliefs of Hydra, wanted the serum for himself. He forced Dr. Erskine to test the serum on him but the latter refused as the serum is not yet finished and that it would have side effects. Ignoring Erskine’s warnings, Schmidt had him inject the super-soldier formula. Schmidt felt stronger and powerful but felt ill. He would spend the following days in a secluded room suffering the side effects according to Erskine. A maiden tried to bring food to Schmidt, who angrily throws a chair against the door in a feat of strength granted by the serum, demanding to be alone.

In the dungeons, Dr. Zola visited Erskine to announce his failure and mocked that the disfigurement inflicted upon Schmidt would result to his death and his family.

The maiden came looking for Zola, who pointed a gun at him. The maiden seized the opportunity to free Erskine, revealing herself to be agent Peggy Carter of the SSR. Carter locked Zola in Erskine’s cell and cleared the path, killing some of the men before the Allies began its bombing raid.

As Zola calls for the guards, Schmidt breaks the bars and frees him. Zola is shocked to see Schmidt’s face before escaping.

As they make their escape, Erskine asks Carter to free his family but Carter informs him that the Nazi’s slaughtered Dachau Concentration Camp. Saddened, Erskine breaks but Carter tells him to exact revenge by taking his serum to help the Allies. General Chester Phillips then extracts them; who welcomes Erskine to the Strategic Scientific Reserve.

In a post-credits scene, several months later, Schmidt and Dr. Zola would relocate their base in the Alps. They are overseeing the creation of prototype weapons and tanks for the Third Reich. A soldier enters and tells them that their spies have found Dr. Erskine. Schmidt then has an assassin dispatched to kill Erskine and destroy all his research. When Schmidt turns, Dr. Zola tells him that the Tesseract is ready, as it begins to emit energy to their weapons.

Cast

 * Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt
 * Bill Milner as Young Johann Schmidt
 * Toby Jones as Dr. Arnim Zola
 * Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine
 * Martin Wuttke as Adolf Hitler
 * Ulrich Noethen as Heinrich Himmler
 * Kenneth Branagh as Ernst Kauffman
 * Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
 * Tommy Lee Jones as General Chester Phillips

Events

 * Night of the Long Knives

Organizations

 * Third Reich
 * Nazi Party
 * United States Army
 * Strategic Scientific Reserve