It’s hard to believe now, but at one point, this man broke up the Avengers. Baron Zemo, who is portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War), went viral after the third episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, “Power Broker”, aired due to his awkward dancing. After being featured in memes across the internet, Marvel released an extended cut of the dancing scene which is being affectionately referred to as The Zemo Cut, according to The Mary Sue.
Marvel posted the extended clip of Zemo on Madripoor on their social media accounts alongside dancing emojis.
According to The Mary Sue, the meme escalated online when Brühl confessed there was more to the dancing scene than was included in the episode. After such an admission, Marvel fans rallied online to get the studio to release more footage of the dancing Baron. When referencing the unseen footage, fans began calling it The Zemo Cut, which stems from the fan name for Zach Snyder’s Justice League, The Snyder Cut. Fortunately, when Marvel fans speak up, they tend to listen; one hour video of Zemo was released to the Marvel Entertainment YouTube channel Thursday.
Zemo first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Univers in 2016 when Captain America: Civil War premiered. In the film, Zemo, a HYDRA sympathizer, kidnaps Bucky (played by Sebastian Stan, Captain America: The First Avenger) and triggers his Winter Solider protocol. Because of the damage Bucky inflicts while operating under Zemo’s control, the Avengers are pressured to sign the Sokovia Accords which restrict their jurisdiction as superheroes. When Captain America (played by Chris Evans, Knives Out) and Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes) disagree about whether or not to sign the Accords, the Avengers end up divided, just as Zemo intended.