HYDRA

**HYDRA** was an authoritarian paramilitary-subversive terrorist organization bent on world domination. It was founded in ancient times, formerly as a cult centered around the fanatical worship of Hive, a powerful Inhuman that was exiled to the planet Maveth by ancient Inhumans. Ever since his banishment, the cult had been determined to bring him back to Earth to commence a planetary takeover. Currently all of the organizations leaders are deceased.

## History

### HYDRA Society

#### Foundation

*"Thousands of years ago, an Inhuman was born on this planet that was destined to rule it, so powerful, so fearsome that others were consumed with dread, and so they banished it from the Earth, sent it through the portal to a distant planet. HYDRA was founded with the sole purpose of engineering its return."*
―Gideon Malick

More than five thousand years ago, a rogue faction of Kree came to Earth, seeking to create an army of super soldiers. They conducted experiments on humans they captured, manipulating the genetic codes of these souls, who would thus become the progenitors of the Inhuman race, who would pass the strange traits and abilities given to them by their captors' experiments down to their descendants. The first of these Inhumans, Alveus, or "Hive", was intended to command the Kree's army, for he had been wired with the ability to influence the minds of his fellow Inhumans in accordance with his will. Hive's ambitions went higher, however, and he rebelled against his creators, leading the other Inhumans in an insurgency and driving the Kree from Earth. The other Inhumans grew weary of Hive's power, however, and allied with some of the humans Hive intended to subjugate, banishing him to a distant planet through a Kree Monolith that the extraterrestrial race had originally intended to use to dispose of the Inhumans after its ruling hierarchy deemed their creation a mistake, although the revolution that Hive had previously led waylaid this plan.

Hive had managed to cultivate a strong cult of personality with certain humans who worshiped him as a god. Believing he was destined to conquer the Earth, these disciples thus indoctrinated their descendants into their ideology, teaching them to believe that should they ever succeed in returning their Inhuman master to Earth, they would reap the rewards for their loyalty. Such individuals in turn continued to pass down and adhere to the beliefs of their antecedents, who established a secret society dedicated to bringing him back and, in the meantime, destabilizing Earth so that the world would be ready for him when he did return, they and their kinsmen, including the Malick family, becoming the founding members of their organization's earliest incarnation.

Over the millennia, the society grew and evolved, taking many different shapes and being called by many different names. Eventually, the society came in possession of the Monolith and started sending men through the portal, hoping to save or at least serve their leader on the other side. But none of those that the sect sent ever came back, having been stranded on Hive's place of banishment and ultimately killed by the ancient Inhuman, who proceeded to possess the bodies of those sent to save him as his only means of survival. As its symbols changed, the society became known as HYDRA, with its final and best-known symbol being inspired by the Inhuman's true form.

#### Centuries of Attempts

*"Will he come back?"
"Our best minds are working to understand this. But as far as we know, in all of history... no one has ever returned."*
―Younger Lord and Thornally
The story of HYDRA's attempts to bring their leader back to Earth was eventually spread through the world, influencing groups obsessed with death and ritualistic killings, becoming intertwined with the origin of pagan devil myths. Their initial symbol was one for a sacrificial ram, which would continue to serve as the inspiration for symbols used by Hive's modern-age disciples.

In 1839 at Gloucestershire, England, a group of HYDRA members assembled in a castle to have a lottery. He who grabbed the white stone from the bag was to enter the room housing the Monolith. Lord Manzini grabbed the white stone and was sent into the room with a few weapons and some equipment that were provided to supposedly see the nobleman through his journey to Maveth, although his fellow lord, Thornally, openly confessed to a younger member of the HYDRA society that there was little hope of Manzini returning. The portal opened and swallowed Manzini who was never seen again. Apparently, he was but one of many to be sent as a sacrifice, for though HYDRA's best minds were employed to understand how the Monolith functions, they never gathered enough data to bring anyone back.

Eventually, however, HYDRA's scientists managed to construct a machine that could create powerful vibrations. In the late 1800s, they put the Monolith in a hole in the floor of their castle and activated the machine, turning the Monolith into its liquid form, creating a stable portal. For some reason, the castle and the machine were abandoned, while the Monolith itself would change hands several times over the following centuries before ultimately winding up in the hands of HYDRA cultists, who continued included in their numbers members of the Malick family and possibly the ancestors of other adherents belonging to the organization's inner-circle, such as Kirk Vogel, who others identified as being descended from HYDRA's original founders. Five smaller pieces were cut off from the Monolith and given for safekeeping to the most powerful leaders of HYDRA, one of which would eventually be passed down into the possession of the family of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.

### HYDRA-Abteilung

#### In Hitler's Shadow

*"Howard, the footage you're about to see was just smuggled out of Nazi Germany by Agent 13, an undercover operative the British have planted deep within HYDRA, Hitler's advanced weapons program."*
―Chester Phillips to Howard Stark
When the Nazis came to power in Germany, Johann Schmidt, secretly a member of the ancient HYDRA society, attempted to join the special weapons division of the Sturmabteilung led by Ernst Kaufmann so he could work on developing advanced weapons for the Wehrmacht. However, he was violently rejected and instead joined Schutzstaffel as the protégé of Heinrich Himmler, leader of the SS and a man that harboured views regarding the authenticity of certain elements from the ancient Norse legends that were similar to the beliefs held by Schmidt.

In 1931, Abraham Erskine was already working on a Super Soldier Serum for HYDRA. A key ingredient for the serum was given to a HYDRA member in the United States of America, Wilfred Malick, and he was tasked to deliver it to Germany by Viola. After the serum was provided, Malick became an influential member in HYDRA.

In June 1934, during the Night of the Long Knives, Kaufmann and his entire unit was eliminated by Schmidt's SS troops, sparing Arnim Zola. Schmidt took over Kaufmann's weapons program and formed his own research division, naming it HYDRA-Abteilung, which would be a new incarnation of the HYDRA society under his leadership. The new unit was formed with the official approval of the Nazi Führer, Adolf Hitler.

When the Spanish Civil War started in 1936, the leaders of the Third Reich decided to support the Nationalists led by Francisco Franco. HYDRA was among the German units sent by Adolf Hitler to assist the Nationalists on the battlefield.

In April 1937, HYDRA's tanks and soldiers equipped with powerful exo-skeleton battle suits destroyed the city of Guernica. At the time, it was believed the German air force, the Luftwaffe, was responsible for the destruction of the city. However, the footage of the slaughter was smuggled out of Germany by Peggy Carter and handed over to the United States Armed Forces in January 1940.

#### World War II Begins

*"HYDRA is the Nazi deep science division. It's led by Johann Schmidt. But he has much bigger ambitions."
"HYDRA's practically a cult. They worship Schmidt, they think he's invincible."*
―Peggy Carter and Chester Phillips[src]
In 1939, World War II broke out and HYDRA actively participated in the Nazi conquest of Europe. Though the United States of America were not yet involved in the war, Johann Schmidt knew that was only temporary. In 1940, HYDRA assassins attempted to kill the American industrialist Howard Stark, but with the help of Chester Phillips, Stark was able to survive, and decided to join the Strategic Scientific Reserve.

That November, at Castle Kaufmann in the Alps, Schmidt injected himself with Abraham Erskine's Super Soldier Serum. He expected to become the superior man, but the unstable serum disfigured his face and turned him into a super strong megalomaniac villain. Erskine escaped with the help of Peggy Carter, Phillips, and Stark.

Adolf Hitler gave Schmidt a military base in the Alps, which he turned into a headquarters of HYDRA. Over time, HYDRA members became more loyal to Schmidt than the Third Reich. HYDRA then began building several factories across Nazi-occupied Europe and the territories of Germany's allies. By 1942, they had factories in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. They used captured Allied soldiers to work in factories. They even had a U-boat base somewhere on the Mediterranean.

#### The Rise of HYDRA

*"My apologies, Doctor, but we both knew HYDRA could grow no further in Hitler's shadow."*
―Johann Schmidt to Arnim Zola[src]
In March 1942, HYDRA stormed a castle in Tønsberg, Norway where the mystical object known as the Tesseract was buried 531 years ago by Odin. Schmidt saw to it that the Tesseract would be used to its full potential by Arnim Zola. Zola's outlandish designs of robotic power armor, massive vehicles and energy weapons and armor could find a functional use thanks to the Tesseract's power, and with the most advanced technology in the world, HYDRA began their conquest that counted Berlin in its targets. By that time, HYDRA had millions of foot soldiers located all around the world from small town to large cities.

In the meantime, Schmidt had his apprentice, General Werner Reinhardt to search for other mysterious artifacts. Reinhardt was able to discover the blue-skinned extraterrestrial corpse in some unspecified location, possibly in the deserts of North Africa. The corpse was soon stored in HYDRA Research Facility Number 4 in Austria.

Soon, HYDRA's goals would be challenged by America's own super-soldier, Captain America. In November 1943, Rogers attacked the HYDRA factory in Austria, and managed to free all Allied soldiers who were imprisoned there. This was the first direct conflict between Rogers and Schmidt, who activated the self destruct mode and escaped in the experimental plane. Aided by his best friend, Bucky Barnes and the Howling Commandos, Rogers began a massive assault on HYDRA forces across the Axis lines, destroying numerous bases.

During the first months of 1944, when the Wehrmacht launched the last "Blitz", Schmidt sent a group of HYDRA agents to London to steal some blueprints from the Strategic Scientific Reserve. The agents were successful, but they were soon discovered and chased by Rogers who managed to capture all of them.

In May 1944, the HYDRA submarine *Leviathan* destroyed an Allied merchant freighter in the Mediterranean with HYDRA's thunder lance torpedo, but Rogers, who was traveling on the sunken ship, boarded the submarine and captured it. Rogers and Commandos infiltrated the HYDRA U-base where they discovered that the mysterious "HYDRA serum" merged the entire base's staff into one octopus-like creature. Rogers took the creature to Howard Stark to separate it back into individual men.

In April 1944, HYDRA took possession of an old castle on an island in the Nazi-occupied Danish Straits. Schmidt was interested in that castle because of an ancient Viking Runestone that was hidden there. The same month, Rogers and the Commandos invaded the castle. Schmidt attempted to destroy them through his "vita batteries" but they survived.

In the meantime, Reinhardt managed to capture a group of people from China who had found the Obelisk, an object which could turn people into stone. When he showed the artifact to his leader, Schmidt said that the Obelisk may hold the answer to death itself. The Obelisk was soon stored in Reinhardt's fortress in Austria where he used it to experiment on his prisoners.

By the beginning of 1945, Zola had to be moved to another HYDRA facility. However, his train was attacked by the Howling Commandos and he was captured. He was later moved to London where he was interrogated by Chester Phillips.

#### Defeat

*"Tomorrow, HYDRA will stand master of the world. Borne to victory on the wings of the* Valkyrie*. Our enemies' weapons will be powerless against us. If they shoot down one plane, hundreds more will rain fire upon them!"*
―Red Skull[src]
Despite the loss of Zola, in March 1945 Johann Schmidt was ready to launch the offensive that would change the face of the planet. The same day on which Schmidt intended to launch the attack, the base was infiltrated by Captain America, who was captured and brought before Schmidt himself. However, before Schmidt could kill his nemesis, the base was attacked by the Howling Commandos and the United States Army detachment led by Chester Phillips. Outnumbered, HYDRA soldiers were eventually defeated, but not before Schmidt flew away in his Tesseract-powered bomber, the *Valkyrie*, with the intent to bomb the United States of America.

Rogers managed to board the plane and came face to face with Schmidt. When it became clear that Rogers was gaining the upper hand in the fight, Schmidt attempted to use the power of the Tesseract with his bare hands. This only resulted in a beam of light, similar in design to the Bifrost Bridge, which caused Schmidt to disappear, and forcing Rogers to put the bomber plane down in the freezing waters below, freezing himself solid and causing the Tesseract to be lost to the seas.

Immediately after Schmidt's disappearance, Werner Reinhardt had the Obelisk moved from his fortress to a more secure location, a research facility. A month later, he and his lieutenant attempted to empty the facility so they could escape with the artifacts and continue HYDRA's work. At that moment, Reinhardt's unit was the last active HYDRA cell. However, despite their hurry, the base was discovered and attacked by the US Army detachment led by the Strategic Scientific Reserve team composed of Peggy Carter, Dum Dum Dugan and Jim Morita. After a short fight, the garrison of the base surrendered. All HYDRA soldiers were arrested and the artifacts, including the Obelisk, were confiscated. However, before he was taken away, Reinhardt promised to Agent Carter that HYDRA would rise again.

### Rebirth

#### After The War

*"The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded, and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew, a beautiful parasite, inside S.H.I.E.L.D."*
―Arnim Zola to Steve Rogers[src]

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States government started Operation Paperclip, a program used to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany for employment by the United States and deny their scientific expertise and knowledge to the Soviet Union. As part of the operation, Zola was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D., the newly formed peacekeeping intelligence agency. Carter then interrogated Reinhardt about his experiments with the Obelisk, and the girl he experimented on. She then had Reinhardt sent to the Rat to serve his life imprisonment.

Many other former Nazis and HYDRA scientists escaped to South America, hoping to hide from justice. Several of them were employed by the government of Peru to make the new Tesseract-powered weapon. The government wanted to use the weapon against the rebels, but due to the instability of the Tesseract energy, the weapon ended up stuck in the undiscovered Incan temple.

Various HYDRA operatives who escaped justice after the war infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. shortly after it was formed, as well as other positions of power within the American government, working secretly in their ranks. Led by Zola, HYDRA worked from the shadows, directing their agents to complete the tasks that were assigned.

Shortly after the war, Arnim Zola found Bucky Barnes who was presumed deceased after falling to an icy death from Zola's train. Zola and other scientists took Barnes to HYDRA Siberian Facility where they replaced his lost left arm with the new cybernetic limb. Forming an alliance with the Soviet Union, HYDRA brainwashed him, and since he was already injected with an experimental version of the Super Soldier Serum, they turned him into the first subject of the Winter Soldier Program. Over the next decades, Barnes did much on creating chaos in the world, assassinating those who could pose a threat to HYDRA's goals, and spending time between missions in cryogenic sleep.

In 1951, HYDRA deployed Winter Soldier to aid the Soviet Armed Forces during the Korean War, where he encountered a super soldier named Isaiah Bradley. Despite his best efforts, Winter Soldier was unable to kill Bradley, with Bradley being able to nearly destroy his metal arm, although they both survived the encounter. Later, Bradley was imprisoned by the United States Armed Forces for three decades. During that time, scientists of HYDRA under disguise ran tests on him.

In 1955, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Daniel Sousa grew suspicious that the agency had been infiltrated by HYDRA. He informed his superior officer, Wilfred Malick, regarding his suspicions, unaware that Malick was a high ranking HYDRA member himself. When Sosua was tasked to deliver an item to one of Howard Stark's men at Hotel Roosevelt, he successfully accomplished the mission. However, a HYDRA agent followed him to the hotel and shot him after the delivery, thus keeping the infiltration a secret.

#### Toward the New World Order

*"For seventy years, HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."*
―Arnim Zola[src]
Still in league with the Soviet Union, HYDRA's power eventually grew to the point that they were able to orchestrate many Cold War events during the 1960s and 1970s, including the Cuban missile crisis, the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, the rise to power of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the early 1980s recession.

In 1970, after Wilfred Malick―a head of HYDRA―passed away, his sons Gideon and Nathaniel Malick visited Werner Reinhardt in the Rat. He suggested the two to neglect the old belief on the Inhuman leader and be focusing on science, but they refused, claiming that becoming the Traveler to Maveth was a great honor. Later in the evening, Nathaniel was chosen to be sent through the Monolith to Maveth, and never came back.

With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, Arnim Zola managed to build an entire computer system which his mind was uploaded into as an artificially intelligent user interface. Though Zola's body died in 1972, his mind continued to live in cyberspace, from which he was able to provide easy passage into the agency for more HYDRA sleeper agents.

By the early 1980s, HYDRA managed to infiltrate the Soviet power structures, establishing a secret laboratory in East Berlin. They continued their memory suppression experiments from World War II with the goal to create an army of brainwashed soldiers who would follow every order. However, the laboratory was infiltrated by Hank Pym, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who used his size-changing Ant-Man Suit to ruin the laboratory, destroy the Memory Suppressing Machine, free the prisoner and knock down all the guards.

In 1989, undersecretary Alexander Pierce, a HYDRA sleeper agent, granted Werner Reinhardt medical parole and made sure there were no records of him after this. Reinhardt was then taken back to his fortress where a group village elders from the Hunan province, which included the woman he experimented on, were brought in. Seeing that she had not aged a day, Reinhardt then performed surgery on her to find out why the Obelisk did not kill her and why she did not age. Although he did not find the reason behind Obelisk's reason for sparing her, Reinhardt was able to use her DNA to regress his body back to a younger age. Reinhardt then took the name "Daniel Whitehall".

HYDRA also oversaw Project Deathlok in 1990, using John Garrett as their first test subject, making him the first Deathlok. However, only the cybernetic components worked, and the organs were severely affected, leading Garrett to look for a solution to perfect Deathlok and to prevent his slow-coming death.

Future members of HYDRA were educated at the HYDRA Preparatory Academy, where each student's position was determined. One of the students was Hale, who was assigned by Whitehall to be in the United States Air Force, but also, via Project Destroyer of Worlds, to carry an enhanced child who would be the most powerful person on Earth and the future leader of HYDRA.

In December 1991, Vasily Karpov, a high-ranking HYDRA agent within the Soviet Armed Forces, woke up Winter Soldier from suspended animation and sent him to retrieve the recreated Super Soldier Serum from Howard Stark. Barnes killed Howard and his wife Maria in an automobile "accident" on Long Island. HYDRA used the serum to expand the Winter Soldier Program, creating five more Winter Soldiers. However, the five soldiers started to attack and kill their superiors, who were forced to bring them back to the Cryostasis Chambers. Ten days after the Starks' deaths, the Soviet Union dissolved, ending their affiliation with HYDRA.

Even without Soviet backing, HYDRA continued their assassinations against their enemies, sending the Winter Soldier to eliminate a target in Hotel Inessa. The Winter Soldier successfully killed the target, his personal bodyguards and even a witness.

By 1995, S.H.I.E.L.D. had established a facility in Ohio to study the brain function. However, it was actually run by HYDRA operatives, who were assisted by the Winter Soldier Program. In order to posses the data of this facility's research, Russia had sent two of their spies, Alexei Shostakov and Melina Vostokoff, to retrieve the data from HYDRA. Eventually, they were able to steal a secret file and even destroy the facility, but they were spotted by S.H.I.E.L.D., forcing the two and flee to Cuba.

In 2007, HYDRA orchestrated the Great Recession.

#### Facing the Other Worlds

*"The Tesseract is where it belongs, out of our reach."
"That's not your call."
"I didn't make it. I just didn't argue with the god that did."
"So you let him take it and the war criminal, Loki, who should be answering for his crimes."*
―Nick Fury and Gideon Malick[src]
In the meantime, Gideon Malick was working on Project Distant Star Return, hoping to bring HYDRA's ancient Inhuman leader back to Earth, as he was a firm believer in HYDRA's original beliefs. Using his connections, he orchestrated the passage of the Monolith to NASA, with the hope that their technicians could send people on the other side. In 2001, a four men team was sent through the portal, never to return. Eventually, Malick became a member of the World Security Council.

The HYDRA weapons and technology captured by the Strategic Scientific Reserve during the war were studied by S.H.I.E.L.D.. S.H.I.E.L.D. started a program called "Phase 2", which involved reactivating the HYDRA weapons with the Tesseract for use against super-powered or other-worldly forces. As the Chitauri led by Loki invaded New York City, Malick ordered Nick Fury to nuke New York, which Fury refused, so Malick committed the order by himself.

As soon as the Avengers defeated Loki, Alexander Pierce tasked Jasper Sitwell and the STRIKE unit to deal with the aftermath of the battle. Sitwell and Brock Rumlow took the Scepter from the Avengers and contacted List who was interested in researching the alien technology. Meanwhile, Pierce himself confronted the Avengers, demanding them hand Loki and the Tesseract to S.H.I.E.L.D. The Avengers refused to listen to Pierce's demands, as Fury allowed Thor to take Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard, which Malick later criticized.

Eventually, Baron Strucker approached Mark Smith and offered him to join HYDRA. Dissatisfied with the way S.H.I.E.L.D. was led, Smith killed Nicholas Cooper, and stole the Scepter for HYDRA. Thanks to Smith's betrayal, HYDRA's scientists also got their hands on dozens of Chitauri Guns. At the research facility in Sokovia, Strucker and List managed to use the Scepter to power the Chitauri Guns and HYDRA's own technology. They also conducted experiments on human volunteers, including Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.

Using transceivers found in the wreckage of one of the Chitauri cruisers, a group of HYDRA infiltrators within the US Air Force led by Fischer established contact with the Confederacy which warned them about the incoming threat of Thanos what will affect the whole humanity.

#### The Clairvoyant

*"The Clairvoyant doesn't have abilities. He has security clearance! He's an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!"*
―Phil Coulson to Skye[src]
Following the Battle of New York, John Garrett, known as the Clairvoyant,, recruited and funded the Centipede Project to provide them with super-soldiers and to help keep himself from dying. Garrett also faked the termination of Carl Creel, Baron Strucker's previous test subject, off the Index and recruited him too. One of the first Centipede's test subject was Michael Peterson.

Garrett made people like Ian Quinn and Raina believe that he could see everything such as what the President dreams about. Garrett also had Grant Ward, recruited by Phil Coulson for his team, in order to find out about Coulson's revival. Garrett then had Coulson captured and interrogated for three days to find the secrets behind his revival in Tahiti.

Garrett ordered Quinn to shoot Skye and then made sure that he would be the one to take Quinn in, and to have Coulson lead him to where he was revived. After getting inside, unbeknownst to Coulson and Leo Fitz, he took a few of the drugs and hid them in his vest before the place was destroyed. He then ordered to turn Peterson into a cybernetic super soldier, known as Deathlok.

### HYDRA Uprising

#### Project Insight

*"HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise."*
―Arnim Zola[src]
Two years after the Battle of New York, S.H.I.E.L.D. was much better armed than before, so it could easily repel any attack from other worlds. Nick Fury started Project Insight, an operation which involved three heavily armed Helicarriers that were designed to proactively strike out against potential threats against the United States before they actually happened. However, HYDRA used this opportunity to take control of the project. With Arnim Zola's special algorithm that could calculate who could be a threat to HYDRA in the future, Alexander Pierce intended to wipe out 20 million people from the face of the Earth.

#### The End of S.H.I.E.L.D.

*"S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA."*
―Captain America[src]
HYDRA's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. was finally exposed when Alexander Pierce attempted to activate Project Insight early. Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff learned about the infiltration when they entered the secret bunker hidden beneath Camp Lehigh, which was housing Arnim Zola's mind, still alive on dozens of old computers. Though the camp, along with the mainframe housing Zola's mind, was destroyed with a missile, Rogers and Romanoff survived the explosion. A day later, with the help of Sam Wilson they kidnapped Jasper Sitwell, but he was killed by the Winter Soldier. The trio was captured by the STRIKE team, but they managed to escape with the help of Maria Hill.

Pierce demanded a mission report from the Winter Soldier after the failed assassination attempt on Rogers. However, he had become erratic and aggressive due to flashbacks to his past. As Pierce believed that he could become a threat if left like this, he ordered that the Winter Soldier's mind be wiped.

Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson, and Hill infiltrated the Triskelion, publicly revealing HYDRA's continued existence. Pierce and HYDRA operatives then captured all the members of the World Security Council, but they were freed by Romanoff. When Brock Rumlow launched the Insight Helicarriers, Romanoff, Rogers, Hill, and Nick Fury managed to reprogram the Helicarriers to target each other. The battle left the Triskelion in shambles and resulted in the deaths of many HYDRA agents, including Pierce.

#### New Battles

*"He must've uncovered our secret. Top brass did what they had to do. Explains why we've suddenly come 'out of the shadows.'"*
―John Garrett to Phil Coulson[src]
In order to finish off S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA sent out an activation signal to all sleeper agents to target remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and seize power. During the Battle at the Hub, John Garrett broke his cover and attempted to eliminate Phil Coulson and several members of his team, but he was stopped and later arrested by Victoria Hand. Garrett and the remaining HYDRA moles in the Hub were taken into prison.

Meanwhile, HYDRA operatives in other S.H.I.E.L.D. bases were also activated. Several facilities fell into HYDRA's hands, including the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, the Treehouse, and S.H.I.E.L.D. East African Headquarters. HYDRA operatives also attempted to take control of the Cube, but they were outnumbered by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who managed to repel the attack. A fierce battle was fought for the control of the *Iliad*, but HYDRA's moles were ultimately defeated.

Escaping Hand's custody with the aid of Grant Ward, Garrett continued to work on the Centipede Project at the HYDRA base in Havana. Garrett then raided the Fridge, stealing many items such as the Peruvian 0-8-4, the Berserker Staff, and the Gravitonium. Ultimately, his branch of HYDRA was defeated by the combined efforts of Coulson, his team, and Nick Fury, with their prisoners also freed and most of the stolen items recovered.

#### The Age of Miracles

*"There are other facilities doing HYDRA's good work around the world. We'll feed them to Captain America and his colorful friends, keep them off our scent."*
―Baron Strucker to List[src]
As the failure of Project Insight, HYDRA reassigned its operation to the research facility in Sokovia where HYDRA scientists were conducting experiments on the Scepter, eventually learning that its power was much greater than they originally thought. HYDRA had found some genetic oddities among Sokovia's inhabitants, which ideally made them candidates for experiments with the Mind Stone. Many civilian volunteers exposed to the power of the Scepter died in horrifying deaths, beside Wanda and Pietro Maximoff survived the experiments.

#### The Winter Hunt

*"A 'gifted' that refuses HYDRA is a threat. And threats are taken care of quickly. That's why HYDRA will win. Because while a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is considering right and wrong, HYDRA's already taken the shot."*
―Grant Ward[src]
Despite Glenn Talbot's massive manhunt for S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA, HYDRA continued its plans for world domination by retreating to the shadows. Despite its existence being publicly known, HYDRA was still determined as ever to conquer the world by any means necessary. Their plans could go much easier as they now heavily outnumbered S.H.I.E.L.D. in men, bases, and resources.

#### Whitehall's Campaign

 File:Our founder.webp

*"There were positives. Many of the deceased were enemies of HYDRA."
"Some of us are pleased with these small triumphs. Others have loftier aspirations, passion, even. Our founder, he had his Tesseract. As for me, well, it would be an understatement to say that I've waited my whole life to get possession of the Obelisk, to harness its power."*
―Lingenfelter and Daniel Whitehall[src]
Tasked by Daniel Whitehall, Sunil Bakshi sent Carl Creel to retrieve the Diviner. However, the Diviner was then was taken by Raina and Creel was then captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and turned over to Glenn Talbot.

Following that, HYDRA recruited Jemma Simmons, who was, in fact, undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D. HYDRA's next move was to locate Donnie Gill who was hiding in Casablanca, Morocco where he killed two HYDRA operatives. A team led by Sunil Bakshi and Simmons was sent to capture him at the *Maribel del Mar*. Activating Gill's mind control trigger, Bakshi ordered him to eliminate S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. However, Gill was shot by Skye and he fell off the ship, while Bakshi ordered his men to retreat.

 File:33 Whitehall.webp
Meanwhile, HYDRA managed to capture Agent 33, as Daniel Whitehall brainwashed her with the Faustus method. HYDRA also continued to investigate the Words of Creation that Garret had been carving. Bakshi, disguised as Glenn Talbot, and Agent 33 were sent to Miami to retrieve a 500-year-old painting that had the writing. However, in the ensuing battle, they lost the painting to Coulson and Melinda May.

#### Weaponizing the Obelisk

*"HYDRA does not tolerate traitors."*
―Sunil Bakshi[src]
Using skin samples from an Diviner victim, HYDRA created a toxin and used it on a Naval anti-HYDRA unit, killing some of them. HYDRA then had Bobbi Morse hunt for a traitor in its midst. At first, Kenneth Turgeon was thought to be the traitor, but the traitor was revealed to be Jemma Simmons. However, Morse revealed herself to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and the two escaped, so Whitehall and Bakshi had the lab dismantled and relocated.

However, Whitehall then met Calvin Zabo, who gave him back the Obelisk, and offered to give him and HYDRA its secrets in exchange for killing Coulson. Whitehall, using deceased HYDRA scientist Vincent Beckers's weapons designs, had Toshiro Mori weaponize the Obelisk, now known as the Diviner, incorporating its power into Splinter Bombs.

Whitehall then had Marcus Scarlotti and his team attack the United Nations posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, killing several delegates and wounding General Talbot. Following the attack, Julien Beckers offered Belgium as a safe haven for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. However, it was revealed that he was Vincent Beckers' grandson and loyal to HYDRA, setting a trap for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Beckers then had Scarlotti kill Noelle Walters and her team. However, Beckers, Scarlotti and his team were apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United States Armed Forces.

Sunil Bakshi took two operatives with him to meet Grant Ward in Goldbrix Tavern in Boston. Bakshi stated that he was surprised to hear from Ward because it was believed that he had died. Ward, knowing that Baron Strucker was operating overseas, asked if he could meet Bakshi's superior, but he was told that Whitehall was too busy for a meet-and-greet. Ward tempted Bakshi by saying that he could get him a face-to-face with Phil Coulson. However, Ward then killed the bartender and the two other operatives. He knocked Bakshi unconscious and left him tied to a chair with tape on his mouth with the words "To Coulson". Bakshi was later found by Melinda May.

#### Search for the City

*"Mr. Bakshi's disappearance has everybody on edge."*
―Daniel Whitehall to Calvin Zabo[src]
Meanwhile, Whitehall was upset that his scientists gave him information about the Diviner that he had known since 1945. When Calvin Zabo was brought in at gunpoint, Whitehall explained to him that tensions were high since the capture of Bakshi. Zabo asked to hear all Whitehall knew about the Diviner so he could edit the story appropriately. Zabo informed him that there was a temple in a city that the Diviner screened for worthy candidates; the unworthy were petrified. He then requested a team to find that city.

Though originally hesitant, Whitehall allowed Zabo to take a team to Laura Creek, Australia; there was a satellite relaying station in that location that was easy to infiltrate. During the mission, they ambushed Phil Coulson's team and Antoine Triplett was fatally shot. Zabo offered to help him live so that he could meet Coulson personally. Zabo told Coulson that he was surprised that he was searching for the city since Whitehall did not know about it until he told him. Ultimately, Coulson let him escape in order to finish saving Triplett. When The Doctor returned to Whitehall, he was introduced to Grant Ward, who has rejoined HYDRA.

Meanwhile, Bakshi, in a show of loyalty to HYDRA and Whitehall, used a cyanide pill lodged in his cheekbone to stop the interrogation of Bobbi Morse when she revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was researching the continued survival of Werner Reinhardt into the 21st century.

#### Battle for the Kree City

*"We're here today in part because of the three of you. You delivered Raina as you promised. And I had my initial doubts about you, young lady, but you are slowly earning my trust. And your knowledge of the Diviner has led us to this historic moment. For that, I offer my gratitude."*
―Daniel Whitehall[src]
A team of HYDRA agents led by Agent 33 was sent to Vancouver, Canada, where HYDRA finally managed to find Raina. However, when Raina saw and realized who Agent 33 is, she started running away from her. Though she temporarily escaped, Agent 33 located her at the safehouse, where she got into conflict with Skye. She was eventually knocked down by Skye and Lance Hunter. A few minutes later, a group of HYDRA agents saw a S.H.I.E.L.D. team taking Raina into a van and escaping. Agent 33 informed Whitehall about Raina's escape and he told her that he would send his best man to take care of the situation.

Later, four of HYDRA's Quinjets followed the Bus which was carrying Raina. Grant Ward threatened to shoot the plane unless S.H.I.E.L.D. hands over Raina. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on board the plane had to comply, but Ward also forced Skye to come with him, promising that he would spare the lives of her colleagues. When Ward's Quinjet flew away, Whitehall ordered the remaining aircraft to destroy the enemy plane. The Quinjets launched missiles at the plane, which was hidden in the cloud, seemingly destroying it.

Meanwhile, thanks to the attack on the Laura Creek Station, HYDRA managed to discover the location of the ancient Kree City which was built thousands of years earlier. The city was hidden under the city of San Juan in Puerto Rico. Whitehall and Agent 33 immediately traveled to San Juan, where HYDRA quietly occupied the Ponce de León Theater, with their agents drilling a tunnel to the Kree City. Once Ward, Raina, Skye, and The Doctor came there, Whitehall forced Skye to touch the Obelisk. She survived the touch and killed one HYDRA agent with it. Ward then aimed his pistol at Whitehall's men, while The Doctor killed one agent with his scalpel. But the mutiny was short-lived, and they were all taken into custody.

 File:DW blood stain.webp
When the tunnel was finished, a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents infiltrated the theater. Raina went into the Kree City, while Whitehall and his men attempted to deal with the intruders. However, as The Doctor encountered Whitehall alone in the corridor and prepared to kill him, Whitehall was shot in the back by Phil Coulson. Agent 33 then arrived, shooting at them, and discovered Whitehall's dead body. Without Whitehall she did not know what to do, so she returned to the wounded Ward, who convinced her to help him to leave the scene.

### Under Attack

#### Cutting Off the Heads

*"S.H.I.E.L.D. will take this victory as a chance to move against us."
"Come above ground."
"Whomever can remove S.H.I.E.L.D. from the landscape permanently will win Whitehall's position."*
―List and Octavian Bloom[src]
With Whitehall dead, his seat in the HYDRA Council remained empty, and the remaining heads of HYDRA discussed who could take Whitehall's place. The gathered leaders were List, the Sheikh, the Baroness, the Banker and Octavian Bloom. List, acting on the order of Baron Strucker, proposed Sunil Bakshi. Other leaders replied that he was probably captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and therefore dead if he did his duty. List told them to stop underestimating S.H.I.E.L.D., and that the person that destroys S.H.I.E.L.D. will win Whitehall's position, while he personally would take a look at Whitehall's research of arcane artifacts.

Meanwhile, Bakshi managed to escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. and went to Bloom's estate. Convinced that other leaders of HYDRA wanted to eliminate them, he and Bloom contacted Doctor List, who assured them that he and Baron von Strucker were not involved in any attacks on them. Afraid that they could be the next target, Bakshi convinced Bloom to simply kill the other three leaders. Using the Splinter Bomb and other tools that weaponized the effect of the Diviner, Bloom's agents killed the Banker, the Sheikh, and the Baroness.

However, Bloom's house was infiltrated by Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse who killed Bloom and recaptured Bakshi, revealing that his escape was a ruse concocted by Phil Coulson to lead S.H.I.E.L.D. to HYDRA's leadership. Later, Bakshi was kidnapped from United States Air Force facility by Agent 33 and Grant Ward who decided to brainwash him with the Faustus method.

#### The New Threat

*"Now we have the power. Now we are ready."*
―Jensen[src]
Jensen and her agents managed to reverse engineer the obtained Chitauri tech, so she informed her colleagues in Khartoum to come to help her. The call was intercepted by Black Widow, and the Avengers quickly flew to Port Sudan. Though HYDRA managed to shoot down the Quinjet, the Avengers fiercely attacked HYDRA's operatives. Despite their tanks, guns, and numerical superiority, HYDRA soldiers decided to retreat. However, Jensen took the power gauntlets from one fallen soldier and attacked the Avengers with heavy energy blasts. However, Hawkeye sneaked up behind her and destroyed her weapon with one of his explosive arrows.

#### The Hunt for the Enhanced

*"Still no quantum signature?"
"No, Doctor List."
"That's a waste. Take the cadaver to the lab. Compare him to the other samples."*
―List and Paula[src]
Meanwhile, Baron Strucker and List became interested in powered people. List's operatives started hunting them and managed to capture several of them, and List used the opportunity to experiment on them. One of his victims was Ethan Johnston, but he couldn't find the Quantum Entanglements he was searching for, the traces of a man who had the ability to teleport from one place to another.

One day, List was called by Sunil Bakshi, and they had a meeting on List's plane. With Bakshi was Mike Peterson, and Bakshi offered him to List, saying that he could become a great asset to HYDRA. List agreed to take Bakshi to von Strucker's base in Sokovia.

During the journey, the plane made a stop in Milwaukee, and Bakshi, Peterson, and numerous HYDRA soldiers entered one abandoned building. Once they were inside, they faced Lincoln Campbell, Calvin Zabo, and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Peterson managed to knock down the unknown intruder, but Bakshi then ordered his men to take Peterson down. In the end, HYDRA won the battle, taking the prisoner with them.

The prisoners were taken to List's base in the Arctic, where he continued his experiments. List also informed von Strucker about the development of the situation, who was very pleased with the news. Suddenly, a plane approached the base. Realizing the intruders were S.H.I.E.L.D., List ordered his men to shoot them out of the sky. The Bus was destroyed, but the intruders managed to survive the crash and infiltrated the base. In the ensuing battle, all HYDRA agents in the base, and Bakshi, were killed, but List managed to escape and eventually rejoined von Strucker in Sokovia.

#### Disaster in Sokovia

*"Report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. We are under attack. We are under attack."*
―HYDRA Soldier[src]
Unfortunately for HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D. learned about the exact location of their Sokovian base from their facility in the Arctic and passed that information to Maria Hill, who gave it to the Avengers. The Sokovian base was attacked, and though HYDRA soldiers managed to slow down the Avengers, their tanks, armors and advanced weaponry were no match for the strength of the attackers. The base was ultimately captured, List was killed by Iron Man, and Baron Strucker was captured by Captain America. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, though they briefly fought the Avengers, eventually abandoned the site of the battle.

The main laboratory inside the base was discovered by Stark who took the Scepter and had it transported to the Avengers Tower. Baron von Strucker and the remaining HYDRA soldiers were handed over to NATO. Von Strucker was later killed in his prison cell by Ultron.

### HYDRA Strikes Back

#### Raising the Inhuman Army

*"Now we're building an army for It to command when It returns, and you and I will rule beside It."*
―Gideon Malick to Grant Ward[src]
Despite the fall of most of HYDRA's cells and the abrupt end of many of HYDRA's operations, Gideon Malick remained in his public position undetected, still incredibly powerful. Eventually, he became an advisor to Matthew Ellis and used his connections to continue with Project Distant Star Return. He even expanded the project, manipulating the US Government to authorize the creation of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit, an agency that would replace S.H.I.E.L.D. and collect and study the newly transformed Inhumans. Overseeing the ATCU's science division, Malick aimed to create an Inhuman army for HYDRA's first leader to command when he returns from his exile on Maveth. Malick's men in the ATCU gave the fish oil pills contaminated by the impure Terrigen Crystals to many people so they could create as many Inhumans as they could.

#### Dealings with Darren Cross

*"Mr. Carson introduced me to these fine gentlemen here; they're representatives of HYDRA."*
―Darren Cross to Hank Pym[src]
HYDRA representatives led by Mitchell Carson, made a deal with Darren Cross, the leader of Cross Technologies. Cross offered to sell them Hank Pym's Pym Particle technology, the same technology that Carson failed to get his hands on in 1989 when Pym abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. With the Yellowjacket Suit, Carson intended to reassert HYDRA's dominance, but his efforts were squashed by Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man. However, during the chaos, Carson did escape with a vial of Cross' modified Pym Particles.

#### Project Ultimo

With many destroyed Ultron Sentries from the Battle of Sokovia, HYDRA collected many of the parts and took them to an undisclosed location in Eastern Europe, where they used the parts to create a giant robot called Ultimo. HYDRA then used the Ultimo to attack a small village. The Avengers reacted to the attack and destroyed Ultimo.

### Two Heads, Two Goals

#### New Members

*"HYDRA is fractioned. In pieces. We're gonna rebuild it. The right way. By force."*
―Grant Ward to Werner von Strucker[src]
Devoid of leadership, HYDRA operatives were reluctant when Grant Ward decided that he would take the reins of leadership. Ward was forced to physically engage Kebo to show his control.

For months, the bank accounts and financial transactions of HYDRA known by S.H.I.E.L.D. had no activity. Lance Hunter did research to find any activity but found nothing.

Meanwhile, Ward recruited new members for his own HYDRA cell, continuing his private war against Phil Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D. Ward made it known that he was to be addressed as Director, mirroring Coulson's position with S.H.I.E.L.D. He also decided to clean HYDRA from weak and corrupt members who cared only about the money. He kidnapped and eventually convinced Werner von Strucker to join HYDRA so they could rebuild the organization and make it stronger than ever. To ensure that HYDRA's ranks were filled only with the strongest and the toughest men and women, Ward and Kebo began organizing fights for the new volunteers, accepting as new members only the winners.

#### Attack on the Director

*"Turn around, Richy."
"Yeah, Richy. Why so shy?"
"My name isn't Richy, Director."*
―Kebo, Grant Ward and Lance Hunter[src]
One of the winners in the fight club was Richy who killed Spud during his fight. Richy worked under Kebo's orders and brought to HYDRA a large weapons cache and even agreed to join a mission with Kebo. When he was brought to Ward's base, he opened fire on Ward and his men, revealing himself as Lance Hunter who was on a revenge mission to kill Ward. A firefight started between Ward's men and Hunter and Melinda May soon appeared on the scene. Ward ordered Kebo to call Werner von Strucker and order him to get closer to Andrew Garner so he could kill him and threaten May.

Despite the video, Hunter continued advancing on Ward and Kebo. The pair managed to escape by jumping through the window and running onto a truck, but not before Hunter managed to fire a shot which wounded Ward in the shoulder. When Ward did not cancel his order, von Strucker attempted to continue with his mission, but failed due to unexpected circumstances.

#### Tensions between the Heads

*"What can I do for you?"
"That's not the correct question. The correct question is, what I can offer you? The answer, in case you're wondering, is redemption."
"Oh, no, thanks. I don't need redeeming."
"Oh, I think you do. You've made some mistakes in your gameplay."*
―Grant Ward and Gideon Malick[src]
While Grant Ward, Kebo, and their men moved to another base, Werner von Strucker went to Gideon Malick, the head of another HYDRA cell and the only modern HYDRA leader that all other heads feared. Von Strucker informed Malick about Ward's actions and he was not pleased with the news. To make the situation clear, Malick called Ward and offered him redemption for his mistakes, such as making von Strucker a pawn on the chessboard before schedule, but Ward arrogantly replied that he did not need redemption. However, knowing that von Strucker was now a damaged good that couldn't be left to run around knowing HYDRA's secrets, Malick gave his location to Ward to prevent internal fights within HYDRA's ranks and ensure Ward's cooperation in HYDRA's resurgence.

Sent by Ward, Kebo and two of his men caught up with von Strucker in Lisbon and captured him. However, the torture session was interrupted by the arrival of two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Melinda May and Bobbi Morse, who were also looking for von Strucker. In the ensuing fight, Kebo was electrocuted to death in a swimming pool and his men were beaten by the intruders. Before he went into a coma, von Strucker told May that he saw Andrew Garner transforming into Lash.

Though Grant Ward's cell lost three men, the mission was a partial success. Shortly after, Ward and Malick organized a meeting to discuss joint operations against S.H.I.E.L.D. Ward revealed to Malick that he was planning the assassination of Phil Coulson, both for revenge and the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D.

#### The Secret Origins of HYDRA

*"You just might be HYDRA's second head that's grown right next to me."
"I should kill you."
"Then you'd miss that history lesson we've been talking about."*
―Gideon Malick and Grant Ward[src]
As Grant Ward and Gideon Malick had a dinner, Malick revealed to him that he knew he was looking for the von Strucker family vault, which by the rumors contained HYDRA's greatest power. Ward suggested they would find and use it together, but Malick refused and ordered his men to kill Ward. However, Ward managed to defeat all of them and questioned the survivors about the location of the vault. They told him that the vault was in Zepkow. Ward came to the vault a few minutes after Malick.

Ward threatened to kill Malick, but instead, he listened as Malick explained the whole history of HYDRA, including its true origin. Malick offered Ward a leadership next him when they finally accomplish what HYDRA started, to bring their leader back to Earth and create for him an Inhuman army so he could rule the world as he was meant to. Ward agreed and Malick asked him to find out who S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to bring back from Maveth. After that, Ward visited Andrew Garner in the Containment Module and tried to transform him into Lash.

#### Bringing the Inhuman back

*"You're the finest we ever made. You're the only one that can do this. And if you cross over to that other side, you will finally see that your faith in HYDRA was never misplaced. It's real. You will look it in the eye."
"And then?"
"And then we'll be able to do whatever the hell we want."*
―Gideon Malick and Grant Ward[src]
Gideon Malick suspected that Rosalind Price might know that he was HYDRA, so he sent Grant Ward to kill her. He sniped her when she was in her apartment and then he called Phil Coulson, who was also in there, and told him that was a revenge on the death of Kara Palamas. He ordered his men to kill Coulson, but he escaped. Ward returned to the HYDRA Castle, where Malick greeted him, but also warned him that his actions could jeopardize the return of Hive. Yet, Ward promised him that the plan would succeed, because he knew Coulson better than himself.

In an abandoned Project Distant Star Return facility, R. Giyera ambushed Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons and Luther Banks, who searched for the Monolith there. Giyera killed Banks and kidnapped Fitz and Simmons. They were brought to the castle and Malick asked them to help them bring the Inhuman back from Maveth, but after the two refused, they were separated and Giyera tortured Simmons to get from her the information they needed. Fitz could not hear the screams of Simmons, so he volunteered to assist the HYDRA delegation to Maveth.

As Ward prepared for Coulson, who had informed him that he came for him to kill him, Malick convinced him to lead the delegation in Maveth and accomplish the goal of HYDRA. Ward agreed and he, Fitz and the team jumped through the portal to Maveth. However, a Quinjet flew above the castle, so HYDRA tried to shoot them out of the sky. As Malick ordered to close the portal, he saw Coulson jumping from the Quinjet directly to the portal. The team on Maveth dealt with a sandstorm.

After a few hours, Fitz tried to take Ward's gun, but Ward prevented him from to do it and threatened that if he would not come back, Simmons would die. Then, one of the soldiers called Ward and they saw a structure shaped as the HYDRA symbol. Later, Fitz found a hole in the ground and escaped through it. Ward ran after him and found him along with what was supposedly Will Daniels, who had been on the planet for years. Fitz promised that "Daniels" would show them the way to the portal and begged Ward not to kill him. Ward agreed and Fitz helped "Daniels" walk.

On Earth, HYDRA brought dozen Inhumans inside Suspension Gel, so they would serve the leader as his army. Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrated the castle, freed Simmons and barricaded themselves inside the portal chamber. Malick also discovered that Lash had escaped from the Containment Module and killed all the Inhumans. He ordered his soldiers to break in the chamber. They tried to do so, but the doors were reinforced. At the same time, "Daniels" led the team to the location of the next portal.

He told Ward that the leader had used to live in the structure they saw. However, another sandstorm occurred and they had to hide. "Daniels" killed some of the soldiers and he and Fitz escaped. After the sandstorm was over, Ward saw the soldiers' bodies, when suddenly the rest of his men were killed by Phil Coulson. Coulson pointed his gun at Ward and forced him to lead the way to the portal. Fitz and "Daniels" were close to the portal's location, when Fitz discovered that "Daniels" was actually Hive, possessing Daniels' corpse. The two then fought each other.

Coulson saw Hive ready to kill Fitz and he shot him. Ward used the distraction and attacked Coulson. The portal was reopened and Hive tried to reach for it. When a standard firearm proved completely useless on Hive, Fitz shot the dark Inhuman with a flare gun, burning Daniels' body to a crisp. Coulson managed to defeat Ward and stood over him and thought about all the lives he had taken, including Victoria Hand, Eric Koenig and the Assassination of Rosalind Price for which Coulson was seeking revenge for. Coulson, using his robotic hand, he crushed Ward's chest, causing his death.

However, Hive survived the destruction of Daniels' body and made use of Ward's body as his new host. The dark Inhuman followed Coulson and Fitz, escaping back to Earth through the portal moments before the HYDRA Castle was destroyed by Zephyr One. When Gideon Malick was being driven to the airport, he encountered Hive on the road, still holding Phil Coulson's Prosthetic Hand. Malick looked on in amazement, knowing that he had finally accomplished the ultimate goal of HYDRA.

### Hive's Reign

#### Hive's Recovery

*"You want to believe, but you don't know if you can."
"Coulson survived. Could be you're not who I thought you were."
"You'll believe, once I make a believer out of him."*
―Hive and Gideon Malick[src]
For three months, Hive recovered in Gideon Malick's base, struggling to speak and stand. However, Hive eventually spoke and ask from Malick food. At the same time, HYDRA received reports on a new Inhuman in Bogotá, so R. Giyera sent a team to recover him. Later, Malick received a phone call from Phil Coulson who tracked everywhere the line was connected. Malick insured him that although he would have to close some of his offices, he could not be defeated so easily. An HYDRA QuadCopter then flew over a station of the National Police of Colombia and captured Lucio in its cargo bay and returned to Malick's base.

Lucio was brought to Hive's room, where the latter infected the former with his parasites. He later asked Giyera to find for him five living humans. He brought them into his room. Using his power, Hive healed Ward's body by consuming the five humans' skins and flesh, leaving only their scorched skeletons.

#### Building an Army

*"Why go to all this trouble?"
"I'm building an army."
"And another army will stand to fight them. You won't be able to convert them all."
"I won't have to."*
―Phil Coulson and Gideon Malick[src]
Gideon Malick learned that Glenn Talbot had been appointed as the new head of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit; he kidnapped George Talbot and extorted him to cooperate with him. As a symposium about the Inhumans was convened, Malick ordered Talbot to betray Phil Coulson during it. After Talbot did it, Malick entered the room and to gain the delegates' trust by accusing Coulson of being the Director of HYDRA. He took Coulson and Talbot to the basement and revealed to Coulson that he was building an army of Inhumans. He ordered his men to kill him, but Carl Creel freed them. Together they freed Talbot's son from the Suspension Gel. Malick exploited his connection with Anton Petrov and flew with him to Russia.

Malick and Petrov eventually arrived at a decommissioned facility in Siberia where Petrov introduced Malick to several other Russian leaders and they discussed the plans to build a sanctuary state for Inhumans. Petrov revealed to Malick that Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Olshenko was against the idea as his opposition was in support. When Malick learned that the captured Androvich who was also in support of the sanctuary, Malick suggested that they free Androvich and allow him to assassinate Olshenko, as a way to get control of Inhumans for Hive. With this in place, Malick left Russia, but shortly after he departed, S.H.I.E.L.D. intervened, saving Olshenko and killing Androvich.

#### Supporting the Watchdogs

*"If everything goes as planned, we'll all get what we want Mr. Blake. Our common enemies will be dead and you'll have troops armed to the teeth at your command."*
―R. Giyera to Felix Blake[src]
Through R. Giyera, HYDRA came in contact with Felix Blake who founded the Watchdogs to fight the recently transformed Inhumans. Not knowing that he was becoming HYDRA's pawn, Blake and his men raided an ATCU facility, stealing a nuclear warhead. Blake later gave the warhead to Giyera, expecting improved weapons in exchange to deal with the Inhuman Outbreak and kill them, although Giyera did not inform him of his own Inhuman powers.

#### Transia

*"Look, I've dedicated my life, surrendered my life to a higher power."
"That's the word. Power! And that's what you seek. Not wealth or control or clout, no. True power."*
―Gideon Malick and Hive[src]
HYDRA managed to kidnap Charles Hinton. Meanwhile, Gideon Malick and Hive had a dinner, in which the latter was able to tell that Malick was after true power. Hive informed Malick that he planned to take over Transia Corporation in order to achieve his desire. As men brought in Hinton, Hive told Malick it was time to reveal themselves, setting Phil Coulson's Prosthetic Hand on the table and informing Malick that he planned to take over Transia Corporation to achieve his desire.

Hive and Malick met with Transia managers at the Transia headquarters to buy the company. At first, they refused, but with Hinton's power, they saw their death. They eventually agreed to hand it over to Malick and Hive killed all of them, leaving Rowan Hamilton. By Hive's command, Malick wore the Transia Corporation Exoskeleton which increased his strength. With Hive's encouraging, Malick killed the CEO with his bare hands. As S.H.I.E.L.D. attacked the building, Malick dueled with Daisy Johnson who came to save Hinton. Malick, using the Exoskeleton, killed him and almost killed Johnson, but she destroyed the suit with her power.

Once safe in Malick's Headquarters, Hive ordered R. Giyera to find another piece of Transia technology. Malick called Giyera, scared, reminding him he was working with him. Giyera answered that he was meant to be with Hive now.

#### Change of Loyalties

*"It's been a long time, but today, we're not here for a ceremony, but a celebration. We've devoted our lives to bringing the HYDRA God back from exile, and I know some in this room have doubted that he'd ever return. You doubted me. Well..."
"They were wrong. My exile's over."*
―Gideon Malick and Hive[src]
Hive invited the inner circle members of HYDRA to the Malick Mansion, without informing Gideon Malick. He also ordered R. Giyera and a team of HYDRA agents to raid the GT Agrochemical Facility, to destroy the research take out equipment and papers. As the inner circle members arrived, Hive revealed his actual appearance to the HYDRA members. Later, Hive, with Malick's brother's memories, reminded him of his betrayal on his brother years ago. He accused Malick of not knowing what true sacrifice was, so he killed his daughter in front of his eyes.

Meanwhile, Giyera was kidnapped by S.H.I.E.L.D. and was brought to Zephyr One. However, he managed to take control of the plane with his power and brought it to Malick's base.

#### Attack on Malick's Base

*"With what we did to his daughter, I worry Malick will turn on HYDRA."
"That won't be a problem. Gideon is dead. HYDRA's evolved."*
―R. Giyera and Hive[src]
As Gideon Malick's men tried to kill every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on Zephyr One, the Secret Warriors attacked the base to rescue their friends. With Malick as a captive and Lucio's death, S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to retake the plane and escaped the base. Nevertheless, Hive had infected Daisy Johnson during the battle; he gave Johnson orders that included assassinating Malick to prevent him from giving up secrets. However, despite Johnson's success, her opportunity to kill Malick came too late; disillusioned with Hive and HYDRA, Malick had given up the locations of HYDRA bases that he knew to Phil Coulson.

### New Defeats

#### Talbot's Offensive

*"Can't be HYDRA. I thought you and Talbot put those guys to bed."
"We dismantled their network, but that just sent the rats scurrying off the sinking ship."*
―Jeffrey Mace and Phil Coulson[src]
With the information Gideon Malick had given to Phil Coulson before his death, the latter passed them to Glenn Talbot. Using the full power of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit and the United States Air Force, Talbot led a full-scale assault on all known HYDRA bases, resulting in the deaths or incarceration of many HYDRA operatives. At least 17 bases were captured along with the equipment at the bases.

He personally came to arrest Fischer but not before the latter had passed Hale her next assignment and had committed suicide. With her true allegiance still a secret, Hale continued HYDRA's exchange of messages with the Confederacy. Hive's cell escaped the decimation of HYDRA, but the dark Inhuman was too focused on creating a better world for Inhumans and raising an Inhuman army to care about reforming HYDRA. Without a head that cared about reforming it, the majority of HYDRA was in shambles; its original purpose having turned out to be a dangerous mistake.

#### Loss of the Heads

*"Your ancestors started HYDRA. You fought to bring me back, yet are the only faithful to evade being captured after Gideon Malick's spineless betrayal. Well, the time has come for your reward."
"Thank you, but what does that have to do with your story?"
"Isn't it obvious? We've been working hard to re-create the Kree experiment. And you're next."*
―Hive and Kirk Vogel[src]
Kirk Vogel and the other two remaining members of the HYDRA faction that worshipped Hive assembled in Union City, the town in Wyoming bought by Hive with Gideon Malick's money. Hive promised to turn them into Inhumans as a reward for their loyalty. However, when Holden Radcliffe injected them with Hive's DNA, all three of them melted down. The former HYDRA operatives stationed at the Schoonebeek Oil Field were moved to Union City to serve as security personnel, and many of them were slaughtered by the Kree Reapers. Following repeated conflicts with S.H.I.E.L.D., Hive's cell was taken down and Hive himself was ultimately killed with a nuclear warhead in space, thanks to the sacrifice of Lincoln Campbell, who steered the Quinjet containing Hive and the warhead into space.

#### End of the Winter Soldier Program

*"HYDRA deserves its place on the ash heap, so your death would not bother me. But I have to use this book and other bloodier methods to get what I need."*
―Helmut Zemo to Vasily Karpov[src]
Using the HYDRA data, leaked by Black Widow, Helmut Zemo hunted down and executed multiple HYDRA members who worked on the Winter Soldier Program to prevent the super soldier production from restarting. Eventually, Zemo tracked down and tortured Vasily Karpov, interrogating him about the assassination of Howard and Maria Stark. After killing Karpov, Zemo retrieved the Winter Soldier Book and used to discover the Winter Soldiers at HYDRA Siberian Facility, before executing them.

### Working with the Confederacy

#### Preparations for the Apocalypse

*"So, the shadow guy will save humanity from the alien warships?"
"Provided we meet certain terms."
"Let me guess. Gravitonium."
 "Amongst other things. And Inhumans, or engineered warriors as they call them."*
―Phil Coulson and Hale[src]
As the only remaining high-ranking member of HYDRA, Hale took the leadership of the organization and operated from the shadows to prepare for the impending alien invasion. With a constant communication with the alien alliance known as the Confederacy, specifically Qovas, Hale operated to provide him what he demanded, so he would protect Earth from the invasion, so she managed to get Gravitonium from the ship *Principia* for him. He also demanded Inhumans for an army, so Hale took adventage of her new position to hunt down the key S.H.I.E.L.D. agents following the failed assassination attempt on Glenn Talbot, which was seemingly done by them, and use them to track down Inhumans.

However, Hale wanted to alter the deal by showing Earth's strength. She planned to use the Project Destroyer of Worlds on Ruby Hale to make her the strongest person on Earth. She also surrounded herself with enhanced individuals, such as Carl Creel,, Werner von Strucker, and Anton Ivanov, which was forced to build for her an army of Sleeper Mechs. Hale searched for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents but found nothing. For a short period of time Hale had Leo Fitz in her custody only to lose him again.

#### Return of S.H.I.E.L.D.

*"You ever consider they may not hold up their end of the bargain? That, maybe, something called the Confederacy will just enslave us all?"
"The thought has occurred to me."
"Then, why cooperate with them? We need to fight back."
"Finally. Someone who gets it. Altering the deal has always been my goal. Now you see why we have to stop fighting each other."
"And work together."*
―Phil Coulson and Hale[src]
When Hale managed to capture Piper, they struck a deal to lure out the missing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. By activating the Kree Orb at St. Louis Aerospace Facility, Piper hoped the agents would come to investigate the signal. After months, the agents eventually came to the facility, where Piper was waiting for them. Ruby Hale and Sleeper Mechs attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, as Yo-Yo Rodriguez's hands were cut off by Ruby and the agents escaped from the facility with the orb. Disappointed at her daughter, Hale activated the orb remotely to explode, hoping it would kill some of the agents.

Hale and Candice Lee came to the town of River's End to track down the agents. They follow the lead of the mysterious Deke Shaw, but only found he was blood-related to Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. A few days later, the Sleeper Mechs at the *Principia* ship were reactivated when the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were taking the renaming Gravitonium. Hale let herself and Carl Creel to be captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. as an attempt to speak with Phil Coulson. She was on Zephyr One when she convinced him that she was working to save humanity and to come with her so she would explain to him more. Anton Ivanov took Hale, Creel, and Coulson with a Quinjet to the HYDRA Preparatory Academy. Later, Hale was meeting Qovas to brief him, but he was not impressed and offered her Odium if ever she would fail.

Hale told Coulson that HYDRA still existed and she was working with the Confederacy to prevent the galactic war from reaching the Earth. After they met with Qovas, Hale revealed to Coulson her true intentions and Ruby's part in her plan. However, now that she had doubts about her, she asked Coulson about Daisy Johnson. When Coulson learned that the name of the project was Project Destroyer of Worlds, he was suddenly horrified and claimed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been in the future and had seen the outcome of her plans, which was the Destruction of Earth. Hale did not believe him, locked him in his room and showed him a broken Glenn Talbot, who had been in her custody for months and was tortured for not revealing the location of the Particle Infusion Chamber.

#### Losing Everything

*"I found what you're looking for."
"My Gravitonium."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has it."
"Then you failed. Perhaps our deal has reached its end."*
―Hale and Qovas[src]
Hale intended for Carl Creel to absorb the Gravitonium, but instead he had voices in his head of Franklin Hall and Ian Quinn. As Creel came to Phil Coulson's room to confront him, Coulson convinced him to escape the HYDRA Preparatory Academy with Glenn Talbot. Ruby Hale tried to stopped them, but Creel stayed behind while Coulson and Talbot escaped via the Phase Harmonic Teleportation Device. Ruby chased the two in the forest but encountered Quake, who was able to knock her out and escaped with the fugitives.

Later, Werner von Strucker informed Ruby that he figured out how to make the Particle Infusion Chamber work. Ruby tricked her mother and locked her in her own room so she and Strucker could go to the HYDRA Herefordshire Facility. There, Anton Ivanov and his Sleeper Mechs located Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons and Yo-Yo Rodriguez in the room where the Particle Infusion Chamber was. The three took down the Sleeper Mechs and Rodriguez killed Ivanov. However, Ruby and Strucker came and force Fitz and Simmons to fix the Particle Infusion Chamber. When Talbot called his wife, Candice Lee was with her and manipulated her to activate Talbot's Faustus programming.

Talbot followed his new orders and tried to kidnap Robin Hinton from S.H.I.E.L.D., but he was stopped by them and the mission failed. Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. also invaded the HYDRA Preparatory Academy, so Hale took the advantage and surrender willingly to Daisy Johnson and Melinda May. She told them about Ruby's intention to infuse herself with Gravitonium, so they hurried to HYDRA Herefordshire Facility. Once the Particle Infusion Chamber was fixed, Ruby got into it and infused herself with Gravitonium. However, she could not handle the pain, so Strucker stopped the process after 8% of the matter was infused.

Hale, Johnson, and May came to the facility and tried to calm Ruby down, but she lost her composure due to hearing the voices in her head. She also had no control of her new powers, as she accidentally killed Strucker. As they were about to calm her down, Rodriguez cut Ruby's throat with her own Chakram. With the loss of her daughter and her rage against S.H.I.E.L.D., Hale went to meet Qovas and told him the Gravitonium was with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Hale was on Qovas' Ship and waited for the outcome of the Confederacy's invasion on the Lighthouse. Following the failure of the attack, Coulson entered her room and told her that Talbot had infused himself with the remaining Gravitonium. Hale learned from Talbot that the attack on Earth was by Thanos. When S.H.I.E.L.D. reached the ship, Talbot got angry, so Hale lied and blamed Coulson on that in order to save her life. After Johnson and May stormed the room and Talbot levitated Coulson in the air, Hale tried to activate Talbot's Faustus programming. However, Talbot had broken out of the programming and crushed Hale's body parts with his gravity powers and she was killed.

### The Downfall of HYDRA

Keeping true to its oath, HYDRA would continue to operate following the death of Hale and the collapse of her HYDRA cell, though they were scattered and a husk of its former self. Though most 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.

In 2024, Bucky Barnes, having been pardoned by the U.S. government assisted them in locating HYDRA members who had eluded capture, such as L. Atwood.

By that summer, *Hunting Hydra*, a documentary about the search for HYDRA members who were still active was produced.

## Facilities

* Triskelion
* Sandbox
* HYDRA Headquarters
* HYDRA Research Base
* Schoonebeek Oil Field
* HYDRA Preparatory Academy
* Barbershop Headquarters
* S.H.I.E.L.D. East African Headquarters

## Members

### 19th Century Members

 English Nobleman | Nobleman. Attended the Meeting at the HYDRA Castle and partook in the selection ceremony, drawing a black stone. Subsequently bore witness to Manzini's farewell and listened without comment as Manzini was consumed by the Monolith.

### Modern Era Members

#### Winter Soldier Program

 James Buchanan Barnes | Brainwashed Assassin
 Josef | Test Subject, Assassin
 Wilfred Nagel | Scientist

#### Round Table

 Banker | High-Ranking Member, Branch Leader