Werner von Strucker

"My father, so rarely, let me see any of his world."

- Werner von Strucker

Werner von Strucker is the son of HYDRA's leader Wolfgang von Strucker. A few months after his father's death, he was persuaded by Grant Ward to join HYDRA and help him rebuild the organization. When he failed in his first mission, he abandoned Ward, seeking help from his father's old acquaintance Gideon Malick, but he was betrayed and tortured by Ward's thugs, causing him to fall into a coma.

Early Life
"Mr. Braun needs to see the world for what it really is."

- Grant Ward

The son of HYDRA's leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, Werner von Strucker was raised away from his father's work and he felt resentment towards him, often going to Gideon Malick for support instead. Although he was aware of what his father did, he was not allowed to enter into that world of terrorism and world domination. Instead, von Strucker lived a life of luxury, using his father's money to purchase large boats and host parties with beautiful women. When his father was murdered by Ultron, HYDRA was destroyed and von Strucker inherited all of his father's money, with which he continued to fund his party life-style, using the name Alexander Braun to hide his family's connection to HYDRA.

Captured by Grant Ward
"It's been a good run kid, now let's just get to the end. Come on." "Okay, you win. No one treats me like that and lives. Do you even know who I am? Do you?"

- Kebo and Werner von Strucker

While hosting another party, von Strucker's boat suddenly became infested with rats which poured onto deck. While the women ran away in fear, Grant Ward appeared and began attacking von Strucker's security team. Despite their best efforts, the guards could not defeat the highly trained HYDRA agent and before long almost every guard was unconscious. When the final guard hit Ward in the face, von Strucker watched as Ward shot and killed him. Ward then turned his attention to von Strucker and captured him. Ward brought von Strucker to a secret warehouse where he began to berate the young millionaire over never having earned a single thing in his life, instead wasting all of his father's money on parties and expensive items like boats. Ward demanded that he hand over all his wealth to them by giving over his banking passwords; when von Strucker resisted, Ward punched him in the face and made it clear that he was not asking for his money but was going to get it. In order to force the passwords from him, Ward ordered his soldier Kebo to begin torturing him. Kebo began to mercilessly beat von Strucker, mocking him for his cowardliness. However, von Strucker pretended to crawl away from Kebo out of fear, but instead grabbed a blade and stabbed his torturer in the leg before grabbing a solid item and hitting him repeatedly. Ward then entered the room; when von Strucker tried to use his family as leverage, Ward made it clear that he knew who he was, noting that Baron Wolfgang von Strucker was one of HYDRA's greatest leaders before dying a meaningless death. Ward told him that he had earned his respect and gave him tacos as a reward.

Return to HYDRA
"My father would have had you shot." "Your father kept you in the dark then died a meaningless death, leaving you a HYDRA face with no answers."

- Werner von Strucker and Grant Ward

Grant Ward and von Strucker then explored the HYDRA base where they discussed their family histories, with von Strucker noting that he should have Ward killed for what he had done to him, as his father would have done. Ward insulted von Strucker's father before he explained that since Baron Strucker's death HYDRA had become fractured and he intended to rebuild it, offering von Strucker a place with him as he had earned his respect and proved his worth.

First Mission
"You know why most people take Psych, right? They're trying to figure out families." "You got me there, you wouldn't believe how messed up mine is."

- Andrew Garner and Werner von Strucker

For his first mission working for the new HYDRA, von Strucker was instructed to enroll at Culver University to study Psychology 101. Arriving at the university, von Strucker introduced himself, keeping his alias of Alexander Braun, to his new instructor: Andrew Garner, the ex-husband of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Melinda May. Garner spoke to von Strucker, noting that most people take Psychology because of family issues; von Strucker assured him that his family was very special.

Attack on Andrew Garner
"Hey professor, where you been? You know you're a tough guy to track down." "What's going on here Alex?"

- Werner von Strucker and Andrew Garner

Working under the order of Grant Ward, whose base of operations was under attack by Lance Hunter and Melinda May, von Strucker was ordered to corner Andrew Garner in a store. As the encounter was filmed for May to watch, von Strucker entered the shop alongside two other HYDRA agents and trapped Garner, who was confused by von Strucker's presence. The agents and von Strucker then revealed they were carrying fuel and a lighter.

When Ward did not order him to stand down due to Hunter firing upon him and causing him to escape, von Strucker's orders remained to kill Garner. However, one of the shoppers was revealed to be an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent who defended Garner but was soon shot and killed. As von Strucker hid from the gunfire, he horrifically watched as Garner stepped forward and suddenly transformed into Lash, a monstrous being with grey skin and long dreadlocks who massacred the HYDRA agents by using blasts of energy to rip open their chests. In the resulting struggle, all of von Strucker's guards were killed by Lash and he barely managed to make it outside, despite being punched in the face by Lash as his first offense. Garner resumed his human form and looked over the chaos, using the lighter to set fire to the store. Having escaped the violence, von Strucker managed to run outside and duck behind a car moments before the entire store erupted in a huge fireball, leaving von Strucker in a state of shock at having witnessed the seemingly impossible and knowing he had failed Grant Ward, who would undoubtedly be furious at the failure.

Seeking Help
"He's a monster." "You were right to ask me to come." "I didn't know where else to turn, I figured you and my father must have dealt with guys like Ward all the time."

- Werner von Strucker and Gideon Malick

Knowing that Grant Ward would have him killed for failing to kill Andrew Garner, despite the circumstances of the failure, von Strucker took what money he had and flew to Lisbon, where he sought the help of his father's old HYDRA ally Gideon Malick. Strucker explained what had happened to Malick, calling Ward a monster who would stop at nothing to have him killed, and begged him to help him to kill Ward; Malick seemed sympathetic and agreed to take care of everything.

Tortured
"I tried to do what Ward wanted. I tried to kill him." "Him? Professor Garner?" "We had him. But I didn't know he'd change into that thing."

- Werner von Strucker and Melinda May

Gideon Malick instead betrayed von Strucker and gave up his location to Grant Ward, who sent Kebo to find him. Strucker was quickly overpowered by Kebo and his soldiers. Kebo tied him to a ceiling and proceeded to torture him by beating him mercilessly and cutting into his skin. Suddenly the door was kicked down by Melinda May and Bobbi Morse who were armed and ready for a fight. Kebo stabbed von Strucker in the gut before leaving May to fight the guards. May subdued the guards and took off von Strucker's handcuffs, holding the bleeding boy in her arms before asking him where she could find Ward. Strucker told her what had happened when he had tried to assassinate Andrew Garner, revealing that he had witnessed Garner transform into a monstrous beast who had massacred the HYDRA guards. Knowing he was dying, von Strucker asked May what Garner was and she told him she did not know; von Strucker then closed his eyes, going into a coma.

Family

 * Wolfgang von Strucker † - Father

Allies

 * HYDRA
 * Gideon Malick
 * HYDRA Arsonist †
 * HYDRA Assassin †
 * Melinda May - Savior

Enemies

 * Andrew Garner - Target turned Attempted Killer
 * Grant Ward † - Ally turned Enemy
 * Kebo † - Ally turned Attempted Killer

Appearances
In chronological order:
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Season Three
 * Purpose in the Machine
 * Devils You Know
 * Among Us Hide...
 * Chaos Theory (mentioned)
 * Many Heads, One Tale (mentioned)
 * Bouncing Back

Trivia

 * In the comics, Werner von Strucker was the eldest child of Wolfgang von Strucker's three children where he was the half-brother of Andrea Strucker and Andreas Strucker.