HYDRA

"Cut off one head, Two more shall take its place. Hail HYDRA!"

―HYDRA members^[src]

HYDRA was terrorist organization bent on world domination.

Initially, HYDRA started out as a cult who centered around the fanatical worship of the Inhuman, Hive, that was exiled to the planet Maveth by ancient Inhumans after being banished from Earth.

However, overtime, HYDRA evolved to the point that it become global terrorist organization with the goal of world domination.

During the events of HYDRA Uprising, it was revealed that HYDRA had secretly infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. around the time that the agency was founded, as the public (incorrectly) believed that HYDRA had been dissolved, following the apparent death of Johann Schmidt, but in truth, they were actually in hiding, until the time was right for them to reveal themselves to the public.

HYDRA then engaged in a war with a newly rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. led by Phil Coulson who took down John Garrett, and Daniel Whitehall before tricking many of the remaining heads into killing each other. Under the leadership of Baron von Strucker and Doctor List, HYDRA continued experiments on twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, only to be taken down by the Avengers, leading to List's death at Tony Stark's hands and the capture of von Strucker who would later be killed by Ultron. Strucker's demise marked the end of HYDRA's militaristic and scientific factions, allowing for its more ancient roots to take control.

Two of HYDRA's remaining leaders, Grant Ward and Gideon Malick, began a campaign to rebuild the organization and destroy S.H.I.E.L.D., finally completing HYDRA's ancient goal of bringing Hive back to Earth who took control of Malick's cell. However, this enabled S.H.I.E.L.D. to finally deal a seeming death blow to HYDRA: Hive's senseless murder of his daughter convinced Malick to turn on the organization and the intelligence that he provided allowed Brigadier General Glenn Talbot to lead the Advanced Threat Containment Unit and the United States Air Force in a full-scale assault on all known HYDRA bases, leading to the deaths or incarceration of many HYDRA agents. At least 17 bases and hideouts were captured, along with any equipment they could confiscate at these bases. Several HYDRA leaders and operatives managed to escape justice. Three members of the HYDRA faction that worshiped Hive, including Kirk Vogel, managed to evade the authorities, and assembled in Union City. They all died in Hive's unsuccessful attempt to turn them into Inhumans as a reward for their loyalty. Under the control of Hive, Daisy Johnson killed Malick while Hive was killed by Lincoln Campbell, seemingly severing the final heads of HYDRA. Through a covert operation similar in nature to Operation Paperclip, Tony Caine created new identities and new lives for scientists who were blackmailed into serving HYDRA, giving them a second chance.

HYDRA and the Winter Soldier Program in particular were targeted by Helmut Zemo who sought to prevent the creation of any more super soldiers. Using the data leaked to the world by the Black Widow during the HYDRA Uprising, Zemo spent years hunting down and killing everyone associated with the program, including Vasily Karpov and the five Winter Soldiers kept in stasis in the HYDRA Siberian Facility, dealing another major blow to the organization.

A single smaller HYDRA cell led by Brigadier General Hale and her daughter Ruby survived. The cell continued to hunt down S.H.I.E.L.D. while working with an alien alliance known as the Confederacy who promised safety for the planet in exchange for protection against a coming threat. Having seen the disasterous consequences of Hale's plans, S.H.I.E.L.D. refused to unite with HYDRA even with the impending danger. The death of Ruby followed by her mother shortly thereafter brought an end to their cell and plans for good.

The fall of Hale's faction spelled the end of HYDRA as an organization. Though most remaining HYDRA agents would go into hiding, join other causes, or try to abandon HYDRA altogether, a few members of defunct HYDRA cells would form new ones, trying to rebuild or at least continue the organization. The United States Armed Forces would continue to locate and apprehend HYDRA agents, dismantling the new HYDRA cells. As a part of his amends, Bucky Barnes would assist in the efforts to hunt down the remnants of HYDRA, aiding in the capture of a corrupt HYDRA senator whom he had helped to put in power as the Winter Soldier. Bucky would later suspect a resurgence of HYDRA to be behind the successful recreation of the Super Soldier Serum, but while the scientist responsible was ex-HYDRA, he was working for the Power Broker instead.

History[]

Captain America: First Vengeance[]

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Captain America: The First Avenger[]

During World War II, HYDRA was organized by Johann Schmidt after becoming the Red Skull. It served as the Nazi-German Military's deep science division. Their main purpose was to create advanced weapons for the Nazis. They stormed a castle in Norway where the mystical object known as the Tesseract was buried for hundreds of years. They used its power to create advanced technology weapons and tanks (its power could create laser ammunitions). After discovering such power they separated from the Nazi-German army and created their own Super-Army to rule over the world. HYDRA had many bases around Europe but the US army sent the SSR team with Captain America and the Howling Commandos to destroy the HYDRA factories. Then, after the Red Skull died HYDRA was dissolved and its advanced technology was studied by Stark Industries.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[]

"Shadows"[]

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Agent Carter[]

"Valediction"[]

The series picks up in 1946 after World War 2 has ended and HYDRA has been dismantled. After Peggy Carter stops Dr. Ivchenko, real name Johann Fennhoff, from committing a deadly terrorist attack on Time Square Fennhoff is imprisoned with Arnim Zola as his cellmate. Zola tells Fennhoff that he is aware of Fennhoff's work and his mastery of controlling the mind. He then tells Fennhoff that he wishes to collaborate with him and that even though he is imprisoned, he is in a American prison and that America is "the land of opportunity".

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[]

"Out of the Past"[]

"Sousa wasn't killed by the Russians. He was going to expose HYDRA's presence within S.H.I.E.L.D., so they took him out."

―Phil Coulson^[src]

By mid 1955, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Daniel Sousa realized that the organization had been infiltrated by HYDRA and reported it to his superior Wilfred Malick. However, Malick was HYDRA and on July 12, 1955, he had Sousa assassinated by HYDRA agents after he delivered a device for Howard Stark. Sousa's assassination was believed to have been the work of the Russians and he became the first fallen S.H.I.E.L.D agent.

Ant-Man Prelude[]

In 1975, S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered that the Soviets had a piece of old HYDRA technology. Howard Stark sent agents to Germany to stop them. The agents failed. However, a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant named Hank Pym used a suit he developed that allowed him to shrink and control ants, crossed Germany unnoticed and destroyed the HYDRA technology.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[]

"The Things We Bury"[]

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Captain America: Civil War[]

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The Avengers[]

Though HYDRA was thought to have been long since been disbanded, their weapons and technology still existed. What was left was kept by S.H.I.E.L.D. for their program "Phase 2," which involved reactivating the HYDRA weapons with the Tesseract for use against super-powered or other-worldly forces. Steve Rogers discovered several cases of HYDRA weapons aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.

Rogers also mentioned during a meeting that Bruce Banner should study Loki's staff while hunting for the Tesseract, as it functioned similarly to HYDRA's weapons.

Avengers: Endgame[]

"Who are these guys?"
"They are S.H.I.E.L.D. Well, actually HYDRA, but we didn't know that yet."
"Seriously? You didn't? I mean, they look like bad guys."

―A time traveling Scott Lang and Tony Stark^[src]

Strike agents working for HYDRA led by Brock Rumlow took possession of the Chitauri Scepter following Loki's defeat in the Battle of New York. They then delivered it to Doctor List.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[]

"0-8-4"[]

Agent Phil Coulson's team travels to Peru to investigate an "0-8-4", an unknown object of concern to S.H.I.E.L.D. The object is an anachronistically advanced metal device in an ancient pyramid. Coulson's team eventually discovers that it is a Tesseract energy-powered weapon designed by surviving Nazi/HYDRA scientists who escaped Allied justice after WWII and were recruited by Peru. A team of Peruvian military police attempts to kill the team in order to retrieve the device, but Coulson's ingenious team members foil them. In the end, the 0-8-4 is deemed too dangerous to be allowed to exist, and it blasted off on a rocket into the Sun.

"Seeds"[]

It is revealed by Fitz and Simmons that S.H.I.E.L.D. was formed to combat HYDRA.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier[]

It is revealed by the computerized brain of Arnim Zola that since S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded after World War II, they recruited him and other HYDRA operatives, where they conspired against their new employers. HYDRA secretly operated within its ranks, sowing chaos across the world in the hope that humanity would willingly surrender its freedom in exchange for safety.

They developed a data-mining algorithm that can identify individuals who might become future opponents to HYDRA's plans. The new helicarriers, created for Project Insight, would sweep across the country, eliminating these individuals with their satellite-guided guns, including President Ellis, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange and Tony Stark. However, Captain America, along with Black Widow and Falcon, managed to stop the plan and destroy the helicarriers with their own weaponry.

Later, at an undisclosed HYDRA underground lab, Baron Strucker is informed by one of his subordinates that Nick Fury has revealed their existence to the present world at large and some of there sleeper agents have been discovered. Strucker is not overly concerned as they have many more followers hidden around the world. Strucker has within his possession two secret weapons, including the Chitauri Scepter and "the twins" intending to use against Captain America and his friends.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[]

"Turn, Turn, Turn"[]

There were sleeper HYDRA agents hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. that were exposed when Captain America infiltrated the Triskelion and destroyed Project Insight. It was thought that Agent Hand was a HYDRA agent, but it turned out not to be true when Agent Ward, the true sleeper agent, guns her down to save the Clairvoyant, John Garrett from being terminated.

"Providence"[]

John Garrett, after escaping agent Victoria Hand's custody with the aid of fellow HYDRA agent Grant Ward, continued to work on the Centipede Project at the HYDRA base in Havana. Ward frees Raina from her confinement and introduces Garrett to her as the Clairvoyant. Garrett tasks her with conducting research on the Guest House drugs for Project Centipede, which was secretly backed by HYDRA. Garrett and Ward then raided the Fridge, freeing its prisoners and stealing weapons including the Berserker Staff and the 0-8-4 from Peru. Back at the HYDRA base, Raina informs Garrett that the hard drive containing all of Skye and Simmons' research is locked with a password only Skye holds, prompting Garrett to send Ward to Providence to obtain it. Later, Ian Quinn, who is angry at Garrett for his lies, is brought to the HYDRA base to reclaim his Gravitonium, which was retrieved from the Fridge.

"Nothing Personal"[]

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"Ragtag"[]

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"Beginning of the End"[]

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"Shadows"[]

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"Heavy is the Head"[]

To be added

"Making Friends and Influencing People"[]

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"Face My Enemy"[]

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"A Hen in the Wolf House"[]

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"A Fractured House"[]

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"The Writing on the Wall"[]

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"The Things We Bury"[]

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"...Ye Who Enter Here"[]

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"What They Become"[]

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"Aftershocks"[]

"Whitehall's dead. We cut off the head. And while HYDRA scrambles for a new one, I will crush them! I'm gonna make someone pay... whoever the hell it is."

―Phil Coulson^[src]

Following the death of Daniel Whitehall, the remaining leaders of HYDRA -- Octavian Bloom, the the Sheikh, the Banker, the Baroness and Doctor List standing in for Baron Strucker -- held their biannual meeting. The leaders argued about who would take control of Whitehall's cell with each wanting the power and position for themselves. Eventually, they agreed that whoever could destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. before it could make its move could lead Whitehall's faction.

Enraged by recent events, Phil Coulson decided to take advantage of the power vacuum to cut off the remaining heads of HYDRA. S.H.I.E.L.D. set up an elaborate scheme using the captive Sunil Bakshi to manipulate Bloom into believing that the other heads of HYDRA were making a power move to eliminate all of their competitors. As such, Bloom had the Sheik, Banker and Baroness assassinated before being killed himself by Lance Hunter, leaving Strucker and List as the last remaining leaders of HYDRA. Bakshi was then turned over to the custody of Glenn Talbot.

"Love in the Time of HYDRA"[]

To be added

Avengers: Age of Ultron[]

Following the information collected by S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers raided a HYDRA research base led by Wolfgang von Strucker in Sokovia. There the Avengers went up against two of Strucker's test subjects with superhuman abilities, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. During the battle, HYDRA leader Doctor List was killed by Tony Stark and his research was downloaded by J.A.R.V.I.S. with a copy being sent to Maria Hill.

After the battle, the Avengers recaptured Loki's scepter and Strucker was handed over to NATO. In prison, Strucker was killed in his cell by Ultron, bringing an end to the last of HYDRA's current leadership.

Ant-Man[]

Mitchell Carson was a member of HYDRA and partnered with Darren Cross to acquire the Pym Particles. Carson managed to make off with a derived version of the particles that Cross created.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[]

"Purpose in the Machine"[]

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"A Wanted (Inhu)man"[]

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"The Singularity"[]

"The head has been cut. I repeat, the head has been cut. HYDRA has been eliminated."

―Glenn Talbot^[src]

To be added

Captain America: Civil War[]

Using information from Black Widow's dump of S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA files, Helmut Zemo tracked down, tortured and killed Vasily Karpov, one of the final members of HYDRA who uttered the phrase "Hail Hydra" before he was killed. Zemo then tracked down the HYDRA Siberian Facility that had housed the Winter Soldier Program and killed the five Winter Soldiers who were still held in stasis there.

Spider-Man: Far From Home[]

A documentary called Hunting Hydra was included in the in-flight entertainment on Peter Parker's flight to Venice.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier[]

"New World Order"[]

"Senator Atwood. She was a HYDRA pawn for years. Helped her get into office when I was the Winter Soldier. And after HYDRA disbanded, she continued to abuse the power I gave her."

―Bucky Barnes to Christina Raynor^[src]

As part of his amends, Bucky Barnes aided in apprehending some of the final members of the once powerful organization, including a corrupt senator who Bucky had put into power as the Winter Soldier.

"The Star-Spangled Man"[]

African American super soldier Isaiah Bradley revealed to Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson that during his 30 year prison term, both HYDRA and the US government experimented upon him in an attempt recreate the Super Soldier Serum. This inspired Bucky to go to Helmut Zemo for more information on the possible source of the recreated serum as Zemo knew all of HYDRA's secrets.

"Power Broker"[]

"You are assuming HYDRA has something to do with this, which is why you came to me, which means you are desperate. Luckily for you, I know where to begin."

―Helmut Zemo^[src]

Suspecting that HYDRA was behind the recreation of the Super Soldier Serum, Bucky Barnes turned to Helmut Zemo for help with tracking them down, breaking Zemo out of prison. Zemo revealed that he had spent years hunting down everyone involved with the Winter Soldier Program in order to keep more super powered individuals from being created.

With Zemo's help, Bucky and Sam Wilson discovered that the Power Broker was behind the Serum being recreated, not a resurgence of HYDRA. The scientist responsible proved to be Wilfred Nagel, a HYDRA scientist who was brought in when the five Winter Soldier test subjects in Siberia failed. HYDRA was destroyed before Nagel could finish his work, so he was recruited by the CIA, ultimately succeeding while working for the Power Broker after the Snap.

Beliefs[]

Hive Paganism[]

The original purpose of HYDRA, when it was founded in ancient times was to Hive Paganism. Their sole purpose was to engineer his return and worship him. They would periodically sent over individuals through the monolith for hive to feed on and extend his health and longevity.

New World Order[]

HYDRA was rebranded as a branch of the Nazi Third Reich, founded by Johann Schmidt, but eventually left the organization under Schmidt's direction for a new world order. Whatever Nazi beliefs that were discarded from carried on from this division remains a mystery, though the HYDRA organization does believe itself superior to others. One of their recurring mottos is, "Cut off one head and two more shall takes its place," a tribute to the mythological creature on which it gains its name. This proves itself true time and again when many times their enemies have believed they have defeated HYDRA only to discover they have already arranged a contingency plan.

Colonel Phillips states that HYDRA is practically a cult and that Schmidt believes himself a "god".

According to Arnim Zola, HYDRA was founded under the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. When they realized they could not win through brute force during WWII, Zola and some of his fellow colleagues decided to infiltrate SHIELD and use acts of terror to slowly make the world desperate for protection. They believed in taking any and all potential threats, including assassinating Erksine when he had perfected the Super Soldier Serum and using Zola's data to target and eliminate anyone who could challenge any of the organization's future endeavors.

Weapons[]

At first, the soldiers of HYDRA were armed with standard weapons of the German armed forces of World War II. Many HYDRA troopers were armed with the MP 40 submachine guns. Johann Schmidt himself used the Luger P08. HYDRA's assassins like Heinz Kruger were armed with the Walther P38s. Even before they harnessed the power of the Tesseract, the scientists of HYDRA developed several advanced weapons, like flamethrowers. However, with the power of the Tesseract, the HYDRA scientists invented vaporizer rifles, pistols and cannons. They were able to vaporize HYDRA's enemies in a single shot

Equipment[]

HYDRA used a variety of advanced vehicles. Thanks to the scientists like Arnim Zola, members of HYDRA could rely on armored vehicles equipped with flamethrowers, futuristic armored personnel carriers, rocket planes, submarines, gigantic tanks, flying bombs, motorbikes, and super bombers like the Valkyrie.

Divisions[]

Members[]

Hive - HYDRA's primary deity and true founder.
Johann Schmidt / Red Skull - Commander-in-chief (Status Unknown)
Alexander Pierce - Commander-in-chief within S.H.I.E.L.D. (Deceased)
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker - Commander. (Deceased)
Daniel Whitehall - Senior HYDRA scientist and commander. (Deceased)
Dr. Arnim Zola - Scientist and Schmidt's second-in-command (Deceased)
Heinz Kruger - Assassin. (Deceased)
Jasper Sitwell - Sleeper agent within S.H.I.E.L.D. (Deceased)
Senator Stern - Government contact and ally. (In custody)
Strike - Tactical team of sleeper agents within S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Brock Rumlow - Sleeper agent within S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Jack Rollins - Sleeper agent within S.H.I.E.L.D. (Presumed Deceased)
Centipede Group - Sub-division working with HYDRA
- Jonathan Garrett - Sleeper agent within S.H.I.E.L.D. and leader of the Centipede project (Deceased)
- Grant Ward - Sleeper agent within S.H.I.E.L.D., gone rogue (Second in command to Malick) (Deceased); Host body for Hive
- Edison Po - Tactical specialist for the Centipede Project (Deceased)
Donnie Gill - Brainwashed agent
Agent 33 - Brainwashed agent, gone rogue (Deceased)
Sunil Bakshi - Whitehall's second in command. (Deceased)
Marcus Scarlotti - Agent (Incarcerated)
Mitchell Carson
Gideon Malick - Sleeper Councilman, advisor to President Ellis, currently in command.
Vasily Karpov - Winter Soldier Handler, killed by Helmut Zemo.

Former Members[]

Bucky Barnes - Under mind control, freed.
Raina - Recruiter and strategist with the Centipede Project, left after Garrett's death (Deceased)
Jemma Simmons - Scientist, actually undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D., cover compromised.
Bobbi Morse - Head of HYDRA security for Whitehall. Undercover for SHIELD, cover compromised.
Ian Quinn - Former ally of Centipede group through blackmail, cut ties shortly before Garrett's death.
Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver - Volunteered for von Strucker's experiments. Joined the Avengers (Deceased)
Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch - Volunteered for von Strucker's experiments. Joined the Avengers (Deceased)
Darren Cross - Former Business partner with Mitchell Carson. (Deceased)
Carl Creel/Absorbing Man - Former Brainwashed assassin/agent.

Enemies[]

Trivia[]

HYDRA was revealed to have sleeper agents within the Soviet Union in addition to those within the United States. In the wake of World War II, both the USA and USSR were considered the world's greatest 'super powers'.
HYDRA were featured in the script for Daredevil as an international arms cartel.
The HYDRA scribe "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place" has been altered a few times within the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series, with Whitehall stating "cut off one head, two more shall grow in its place"..