John Garrett

"And here I thought I was getting to play bad cop."

- John Garrett

John Garrett is the turncoat S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who works for HYDRA. Also known as the Clairvoyant and the first Deathlok, he is the mastermind behind the Centipede Project. In his guise as a Level 7 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent he became close with fellow agent Phil Coulson.

Early Life
After joining S.H.I.E.L.D., John Garrett was taught by his Supervising Officer Nick Fury. John Garrett was partnered with Phil Coulson in many missions, had a mission with Victoria Hand in Lisbon, and later acted as Supervising Officer of Agents Grant Ward and Antoine Triplett.

In 1990, he stepped on an IED in Sarajevo. The blast left him in a mortally-wounded state, and his calls for extraction were met with excuses. Realizing that he was more loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. than S.H.I.E.L.D. was to him, Garrett swore that if he survived he would treat S.H.I.E.L.D. in the same manner in which they treated him. Garrett shoved his intestines back into place, duct-taped his wounds shut and made his own way to safety.

Garrett survived these wounds, and would soon be recruited into HYDRA, while maintaining his cover as a loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. With the help of the Cybertek corporation, he became the first test subject in Project Deathlok, a project carried out by Garrett's new allies in HYDRA and Cybertek to build a super soldier via cybernetic prosthesis. Decades later, Garrett's organs would start failing, and his biomechanical parts would be the only thing that kept him alive.

HYDRA and Centipede
"I work for a secret organization that's always looking to recruit young men like you."

- John Garrett to Grant Ward

As a member of HYDRA, Garrett became the mastermind behind the Centipede Project, a science group dedicated to the creation of Super-Soldiers. Garrett, however, saw it as a means of finding a way to reverse his failing health. Garrett recruited Edison Po into Centipede, and for a time, Po was the project's only means of contact with Garrett, even while Po was in prison. Garrett also recruited billionaire Ian Quinn to his cause.

Using his access to personal files, psych evaluations and other classified information, Garrett almost seemed to be able to read minds and foretell the future. Using this seeming ability, Garrett took on the alias of "The Clairvoyant" to those within Centipede.

In 1999, Garrett recruited a young Grant Ward out of a juvenile detention facility in Massachusetts to join HYDRA. Garrett trained Ward by leaving him to fend for himself in the Wyoming wilderness. For five years, Garrett taught Ward how to survive at all costs and trust in nobody. At the end of his training, before leaving for S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, Garrett ordered Ward to kill his dog Buddy.

When several of Garrett's officers, including Agent Damon Rowe, began to ask the wrong questions or get too close to the truth during Garrett's "investigations" of Ian Quinn, Garrett had them eliminated.

One secret Garrett did not know was the truth of the mysterious Resurrection of Phil Coulson after the Battle of New York, as that Level 10 file was beyond his access. Garrett arranged for Coulson's capture by Centipede and his interrogations by Edison Po and Raina and the painful use of a Theta Brain-Wave Frequency Machine, a device designed to bring out hidden or lost memories.

Deathlok
After Centipede delivered the latest Deathlok model, actually enslaved former S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee Michael Peterson, Garrett sought to have him outfitted with the latest technology. Arranging through Ian Quinn the purchase of a Cybertek Prosthetic Leg for Peterson through Cybertech Inc., Garrett lured Coulson and his team to Italy.

When Skye, a member of Coulson's team, infiltrated Quinn's Italian mansion, Garrett ordered Quinn to shoot Skye twice in the stomach, forcing Coulson to seek out his own answers about his return in order to save Skye.

The Guest House
"How was the drive from Istanbul?" "Pretty please, it is."

- Alpha and John Garrett

Once Coulson had Quinn in custody, Garrett rendezvoused with Coulson under the pretense of being under orders to bring in Quinn, thus putting himself in the center of Coulson's search.

Garrett assisted Coulson on his raid of the Guest House in order to obtain the mysterious miracle drug GH.325 as a part of Coulson's effort to save Skye's life hoping to gain the answers he sought. Garrett, unbeknowst to either Coulson or Fitz, had also taken the other drugs in hopes of finding the one that brought Coulson back from the dead and hid as many of them as he could in his vest.

Deflecting Suspicion
After Skye managed to recover from her wounds, she informed them of everything she saw in Ian Quinn's Italian compound, especially the survival of Michael Peterson and the Cybertek Prosthetic Leg acquired by Quinn.

Every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the United States was later informed about Peterson, and Agent Garrett and his team were appointed as running point in his search.

Hoping to throw off Coulson's search for the Clairvoyant, Garrett arranged for himself and Agent Antoine Triplett to be attacked by Deathlok and gave Coulson several false leads from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Index of gifted individuals.

Garrett was present with Coulson when he and his team were lead to an abandoned race track in Pensacola, Florida. During this raid a decoy Clairvoyant arranged by Garrett named Thomas Nash was found and killed by Agent Grant Ward.

Conflict with S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Phil, this is a battle for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s soul, and we're on the front lines. History will remember us this day." "That's right. It's for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s soul, and murder without consideration isn't..."

- John Garrett and Phil Coulson

Concurrent to the launch of Project Insight and HYDRA's subsequent exposure to the world, two UAVs were sent to attack Garrett's plane through orders of Agent Victoria Hand. Garrett survived this incident however with the help from Coulson and the Bus as it was being rerouted to the Hub.

Garrett returned once again to the Bus and Coulson's team after being saved from the UAVs. While being forced to the Hub, the team made the discovery that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by HYDRA, and theorized that Agent Hand is the Clairvoyant.

Once landed at the Hub, Garrett aided Coulson and his team into successfully sneaking past Hand's men, who had been ordered to open fire on the Bus's crew. Using technology designed by Fitz, the team were able to successfully escape the plane without detection.

Betrayal, Arrest and Escape
"Hail HYDRA!"

- John Garrett

When Coulson came to believe that Victoria Hand was the Clairvoyant, Garrett encouraged the notion and attempted to convince Coulson that she should be executed. This however backfired on Garrett when Coulson noted that he mentioned Raina being subjected to the same machine used on him during his capture; something Coulson never told anyone or wrote on reports. Coulson suddenly realized the reason behind Garrett's coincidental appearance: he had lead the Clairvoyant straight to the GH.325 drug.

This revelation was also met with the confirmation that Garrett was the Clairvoyant and an agent of HYDRA, after ordering four of Hand's guards to kill their colleagues. With thanks to Ward and Skye however, Garrett was arrested by Hand and her men after being attacked by the rest of Coulson and his team. It was confirmed by Hand afterwards that Garrett would be taken to the Fridge, with herself and Ward personally ensuring he is locked away.

While being transported to the Fridge however, Agent Hand and two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents guarding Garrett were killed by Ward, who was also a HYDRA sleeper agent.



S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War
After successfully escaping arrest from S.H.I.E.L.D, Garrett's next plan of action was to strengthen his HYDRA arsenal. After establishing a base of operations at the Barbershop Headquarters in Havana, Cuba, Garrett successfully had Raina released from prison with aid from Ward. Garrett personally oversaw a HYDRA infiltration mission to retrieve secret S.H.I.E.L.D. weaponry from the Fridge. With help from HYDRA Agent Kaminsky and Ward, Garrett was able to obtain weapons such as the 0-8-4 found in Peru and Gravitonium. Garrett also released the Fridge's population of prisoners as a means of keeping Coulson busy.

After discovering that Coulson and his team had fled to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base Providence, Garrett ordered Ward to return to his old team to once again pose as an ally to Coulson and to obtain pass codes from Skye, who encrypted data pertaining to the GH drugs.

Coulson's team believed that Garrett was dead from a false report given by Ward.

However, due to a message left by Skye and an autopsy on Agent Eric Koenig by Simmons, Coulson and Triplett figured out that Ward lied and that Garrett was alive. Meanwhile, Garrett sent Deathlok to tail Ward to assure that he completed his mission.

The GH.325 was synthesized by fellow HYDRA soldiers. Garrett revealed that he wanted the drug because his organs were failing. Raina ultimately injected the drug and Garrett claimed that he feels "the universe".

Relationships

 * HYDRA
 * Alexander Pierce - Ally †
 * Jasper Sitwell - Ally †
 * Grant Ward - Ally
 * Agent Kaminsky - Subordinate
 * Centipede Project
 * Ian Quinn - Ally
 * Raina - Ally
 * Deathlok - Thrall
 * Englishman - Thrall †
 * Edison Po - Ally †
 * Debbie- Subordinate †


 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Nick Fury - Enemy
 * Maria Hill - Enemy
 * Victoria Hand - Enemy †
 * Felix Blake - Enemy
 * Antoine Triplett - Trainee turned enemy
 * Anne Weaver - Enemy
 * Coulson's Team
 * Phil Coulson - Friend turned enemy
 * Melinda May - Enemy
 * Leo Fitz - Enemy
 * Jemma Simmons - Enemy
 * Skye - Enemy

Trivia

 * In Marvel Comics, Garrett is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that was later transformed into a cyborg to save his life as he sustained serious injuries in the line of duty. That is alluded to in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode Providence; and confirmed in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode Ragtag where Coulson's Team finds out, that Garrett was the first Deathlok. It is also revealed that he uses a small and internal Centipede Device that keeps him alive.