RICK: Red Skull is Captain America's badass villain during WWII. Without a doubt an evil man bent on destroying the world. I wanted to do a version of the climatic last scene with the two characters facing off. This is rough. If you understand the dynamic it fits nicely with how comics operate as a serial form of storytelling. Red Skull must be defeated soundly and Captain America must be triumphant. Yet, Cap must be frozen in ice at the end which is not much of a victory. AND the Red Skull must be able to limp away to plot again, which also is not much of a victory... Note the cliffhanger moments and pulpy, movie serial feel.

BEN: What I'll be doing afterward is commenting on Rick's rough here about character and dialog and refining it into the film script.

The following five part series takes place after Teaser Trailer: The Cold (Emails #28). Cap has been soundly beaten by the Red Skull, Bucky has been killed and all seems lost even though Hitler is dead...

RED SKULL: ENDINGS - PT. 1

ARCTIC CIRCLE, EXT. NIGHT.
The wind howls and tears at the camera. We are in the frozen wasteland. It is snowing very hard.

CLOSE UP
A single open pipe measuring four to five inches around sticks up out of the ice.

CAMERA
Goes into the pipe and we follow it down a long way unto we start hearing voices, German voices. We now CUT TO the interior of what appears to be a compartment on a submarine. It has metal portal doors and bolts everywhere. Cap lays unmoving on a metal bunk bed and four beautiful girls dressed as barmaids are moving about the room taking turns kissing Cap and giggling while he sleeps.

SOUND EFFECT: Loud knocking at the door, metal on metal. The hatch handle spins and a giant man in Nazi uniform steps in followed by another. The girls line up against the far wall. Next through the hatch is the Red Skull looking very menacing. He gestures with his hand for them to be quiet and steps toward the bunk where Cap is motionless. He produces a cigar, lights it and takes a few long drags.

RED SKULL
Wake him.

The two burly Nazis pound Cap mercilessly with their fists. Cap snaps awake and it is then that we realize he is bound hand and foot. He gasps for air and blinks. It is obvious that he does not know where he is. One goon pulls off Cap's face mask and continues the beating.

RED SKULL
Nein. Hold him up. [Takes a long drag off the cigar] Hilda, fetch him some water.

The goon holds a very groggy Cap. Hilda returns with a metal pail of water and a metal cup. Cap is so tired, water spills out of his mouth. At last he takes a full metal cup and drinks it greedily. Hilda smiles at Cap. The Red Skull notices this and knocks the water from her hand and it clangs against the far wall.

RED SKULL
Enough.

Red Skull grabs Cap by the jaw and turns his face in every direction.

RED SKULL
Why were you able to keep your face? Plain, ordinary. Blond hair and blue
eyes. I am the only other survivor of the Master Race Formula yet
I am hideous, grotesque. Why are you so lucky? Was your formula so
different? It is only a question, only a curiosity.

Cap's eye flick all the way open.

RED SKULL
Awake now. Perhaps some answers are in order. To the staging area. Everyone except for you dear Hilda.

The compartment empties out.

RED SKULL
I told mein Fuehrer over and over again to leave Russia alone or wait for
summer weather. He was too proud and wouldn't listen. Now it appears
that he has shot himself in disgrace. The Allies have taken over
everything and the war is over.

CAPTAIN AMERICA
M-must take you back-k, to ssstand trail... (Cap exhausted)

RED SKULL
The war is over but my dreams of building a Master Race have not died.
They live on in me! I am the Master Race. Soon I will raise an army of indestructible soldiers the
likes of which mankind has never seen. The answer is in my own blood. You want me
to stand trial like a common thief? The world will tremble soon enough at my might.
And you... your time has long since past. I was always superior to you. You must realize this.

CAPTAIN AMERICA
Evil must be punished...

RED SKULL
Why are you alive right now? Who brought you in from outside? Surely you would have
frozen to death. Or don't you remember. The cold freeze your inferior brain? I want to know what
kept you going. What was motivating you to crawl to me on your hands and knees?

CAPTAIN AMERICA
You must pay...

Cap weakly lunges toward the Red Skull and falls face down onto the metal floor, still bound hand and foot. Red Skull uses his boot to kick him face up.

RED SKULL
Pathetic, weak American. You could never hope to defeat me.
You are beaten. Perhaps your inferior intellect will not allow you to
admit these facts. Perhaps it is pride that motivates you.

Red Skull draws a luger and presses it to Captain America's temple.

RED SKULL
Maybe you would like to share mein Fuehrer's fate? How humiliating for him.
You will be thrown out of a hatch and never found.

Red Skull cocks his weapon. Hilda covers her face in horror.

RED SKULL
You have been my only challenging opponent Captain America.
I admit to having dreamed of pulling this trigger many times. Yet I want the world to
see you die at my hand. I want the world to know you are inferior and
I am the one true Master Race. This is not mercy I give you nor a reprieve.
You are simply too weak for me to care about.

Red Skull turns away from Cap and kisses Hilda long and hard. She is trembling with fear. When they part, he speaks to her.

RED SKULL
Hilda, when I have gone I want you to slit his throat then join us
below for departure. It is what I command.

He tosses an SS dagger at their feet. Red Skull takes a big draw on his cigar. He blows a smoke ring in Hilda's face then turns and exits through the hatch. It clangs shut loudly. She picks up the dagger and holds it to her chest. Her voice is almost a whisper.

HILDA
I will do as you command Herr Skull.

END PT. 1

---

This is rough, rough, rough. First time through. Yet, it indicates several things. First it creates the setting - a vessel, perhaps a submarine somewhere under the ice in the arctic circle. I take the idea of Cap pursuing Red Skull in the snow and I push ahead a little in time. Cap is obviously hurting and has suffered a recent defeat to The Red Skull. While Cap is helpless, Red Skull explains his feelings on the "end" of the war and how he alone shall rise triumphant.

All right. Let's take a look! Some very cool stuff here, Rick. I understand the rough nature of what you've written but I'll comment on structure and other elements because it's a good opportunity. I won't get into page formatting (margins and the like) because there are many resources and applications for that. Let's begin!

---

ARCTIC CIRCLE, EXT. NIGHT. << For film, list Interior/Exterior first and add a hyphen:
EXT. ARCTIC CIRCLE - NIGHT
The wind howls and tears at the camera. We are in the frozen wasteland. It is snowing very hard. << Styles differ but for reading scripts, I was trained to not mention the camera or say "we" as in "we see" etc. The concept is that you're already tell the reader what they're seeing so, describe what's on the screen. It works just like this: "The wind howls and tears at the the frozen wasteland whipping heavy snow." That sentence could be refined further, but you get the point.

CLOSE UP
A single open pipe measuring four to five inches around sticks up out of the ice. << Be definitive! Saying it's five won't hurt.

CAMERA<< My script writing teacher would say "save shots for the shooting script." but in this case, it makes sense to tell the reader what you're envisioning. You may need a special Slug Line for this as well.
Goes into the pipe and we follow it down a long way unto we start hearing voices, German voices. We now CUT TO the interior of what appears to be a compartment on a submarine. It has metal portal doors and bolts everywhere. Cap lays unmoving on a metal bunk bed and four beautiful girls dressed as barmaids are moving about the room taking turns kissing Cap and giggling while he sleeps. << Sometime shorthand like "beautiful" works. This is probably that time, but you may want to single out Hilda and let us know how she stands out.

SOUND EFFECT: Loud knocking at the door, metal on metal. The hatch handle spins and a giant man in Nazi uniform steps in followed by another. The girls line up against the far wall. Next through the hatch is the Red Skull looking very menacing. He gestures with his hand for them to be quiet and steps toward the bunk where Cap is motionless. He produces a cigar, lights it and takes a few long drags. << Sound effects are bolded themselves like LOUD KNOCKING. Also, is Skull smoking a cigar in celebration? He's normally a cigarette smoker (with the holder.)

Putting it all together it might look something like...

EXT. ARCTIC CIRCLE - NIGHT
The wind howls and tears at the the frozen wasteland whipping heavy snow. A single open pipe measuring five inches around sticks up out of the ice.

CAMERA FLIES INTO PIPE.

INT. PIPE

The dingy metal pipe is long, rust and grime whip by. MUFFLED VOICES FADE IN.

CAMERA FLIES OUT OF PIPE.

INT. SUBMARINE - BRIG

The metal room is cramped with a thick portal door and bolts everywhere. Cap lays unmoving on a metal bunk and four voluptuous girls dressed as barmaids take turns kissing Cap and giggling.

LOUD KNOCKING AT THE DOOR, METAL ON METAL.

The hatch handle spins and a giant man in Nazi uniform steps in followed by another. The girls line up against the far wall.

The Red Skull steps through the hatch. He holds up a hand for quiet and the girls hold their breath. He steps toward the bunk unconscious Cap. He produces a cigar, lights it and takes a few long drags.

RED SKULL
Wake him.

Skull's first line is excellently trite. This informs us of the power he has over his minions.

The two burly Nazis pound Cap mercilessly with their fists. Cap snaps awake and it is then that we realize he is bound hand and foot. He gasps for air and blinks. It is obvious that he does not know where he is. One goon pulls off Cap's face mask and continues the beating.<< Interesting that they beat him. You may consider Mr. Rick waiting to pull the mask off. It's another opportunity for Skull to show power by making a point of pulling it off. Have them pick him up and then reveal him.

RED SKULL
Nein. Hold him up.
(takes a long drag)
Hilda, fetch him some water.

You can put in a return and (takes a long drag) in parenthesis or put that text in action and break up the dialog.

The goon holds a very groggy Cap. Hilda returns with a metal pail of water and a metal cup. Cap is so tired, water spills out of his mouth. At last he takes a full metal cup and drinks it greedily. Hilda smiles at Cap. The Red Skull notices this and knocks the water from her hand and it clangs against the far wall. << I may have gone with a metal ladle, but writer's choice!

RED SKULL
Enough.

Red Skull grabs Cap by the jaw and turns his face in every direction. << This is where Skull can make a point of unmasking him, I think.

RED SKULL
Why were you able to keep your face? Plain, ordinary. Blond hair and blue
eyes. I am the only other survivor of the Master Race Formula yet
I am hideous, grotesque. Why are you so lucky? Was your formula so
different? It is only a question, only a curiosity.

Cap's eye flick all the way open.

RED SKULL
Awake now. Perhaps some answers are in order. To the staging area.
Everyone except for you dear Hilda.

The compartment empties out.

RED SKULL
I told mein Fuehrer over and over again to leave Russia alone or wait for
summer weather. He was too proud and wouldn't listen. Now it appears
that he has shot himself in disgrace. The Allies have taken over
everything and the war is over.

I really like this! Skull is smarter or more savvy than Hitler. Dang! Through the editing process of course we'd have to trim most of this dialog way down. The thing Rick pointed out years ago was that comic book scripts, with their very limited bubble space, and film scripts were very similar in that there is little time for talk. Interestingly television scripts, known as a writer's medium, can have much more dialog (whereas in film, they'd be called "too talky.")

CAPTAIN AMERICA
M-must take you back-k, to ssstand trail... (Cap exhausted)

RED SKULL
The war is over but my dreams of building a Master Race have not died.
They live on in me! I am the Master Race. Soon I will raise an army of indestructible soldiers the
likes of which mankind has never seen. The answer is in my own blood. You want me
to stand trial like a common thief? The world will tremble soon enough at my might.
And you... your time has long since past. I was always superior to you. You must realize this.

I think there is some great stuff here, but some of Skull's dialog through here could probably be saved for a later scene. We have to be aware that this little room may not afford a limited amount of visual interest. Overall though, the scene is excellently short and sweet.

CAPTAIN AMERICA
Evil must be punished...

RED SKULL
Why are you alive right now? Who brought you in from outside? Surely you would have
frozen to death. Or don't you remember. The cold freeze your inferior brain? I want to know what
kept you going. What was motivating you to crawl to me on your hands and knees?

CAPTAIN AMERICA
You must pay...

Cap weakly lunges toward the Red Skull and falls face down onto the metal floor, still bound hand and foot. Red Skull uses his boot to kick him face up.

RED SKULL
Pathetic, weak American. You could never hope to defeat me.
You are beaten. Perhaps your inferior intellect will not allow you to
admit these facts. Perhaps it is pride that motivates you.

Red Skull draws a luger and presses it to Captain America's temple.

RED SKULL
Maybe you would like to share mein Fuehrer's fate? How humiliating for him.
You will be thrown out of a hatch and never found.

Red Skull cocks his weapon. Hilda covers her face in horror.

RED SKULL
You have been my only challenging opponent Captain America.
I admit to having dreamed of pulling this trigger many times. Yet I want the world to
see you die at my hand. I want the world to know you are inferior and
I am the one true Master Race. This is not mercy I give you nor a reprieve.
You are simply too weak for me to care about.

Red Skull turns away from Cap and kisses Hilda long and hard. She is trembling with fear. When they part, he speaks to her.

RED SKULL
Hilda, when I have gone I want you to slit his throat then join
us below for departure. It is what I command.

He tosses an SS dagger at their feet. Red Skull takes a big draw on his cigar. He blows a smoke ring in Hilda's face then turns and exits through the hatch. It clangs shut loudly. She picks up the dagger and holds it to her chest. Her voice is almost a whisper. << Interesting choice having him drop the dagger. Perhaps include how he looks down on her. That might cement the image in our minds.

HILDA
I will do as you command Herr Skull.

Excellent! I can't wait for Friday's installment!