Daniel Sousa

"A chief's work is never done."

- Daniel Sousa

Daniel Sousa is an American soldier who fought during World War II. He had to abandon the warfield due to losing one of his legs, and became an agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve in one of their offices in New York City. After helping to stop Johann Fennhoff's Campaign, Sousa eventually became chief of the Los Angeles branch of the organization.

Early Life
Sousa fought overseas during World War II; during a firefight he was hit in the femur by some shrapnel, causing it to be amputated. For the rest of his life he walked with a false leg, using a crutch to steady himself. When Sousa returned to America, he found people would often applaud for his sacrifice, although he personally believed it was because people felt guilty and wanted to make themselves feel better.

SSR Agent
Howard Stark came to the attention of the SSR when he did not attend a Congressional hearing about how his supposedly stolen weapons ended up in enemy hands overseas. During the meeting, Sousa heard Ray Krzeminski question Peggy Carter's virtue since she was known as Captain America's "liaison" and was good friends with ladies' man Howard Stark. Sousa demanded that Krzeminski apologize to Carter; knowing that Sousa was handicapped, Krzeminski asked him if he was "standing up for Carter." Sousa acquiesced to the bigger man. Leaving the meeting room, Carter reprimanded Sousa, insisting that she could defend herself. While they were talking, Agent Jack Thompson told Carter to file his paperwork since she was better at it. Sousa pitied the superior agent but admired her strength.

The next day, Sousa obtained pictures of Stark on a boat with a woman; Carter distracted Sousa by lying about the picture. They then talked about how Thompson was having an important meeting about the Stark case but Sousa was not invited. Carter used the fact that Sousa was drinking coffee to infiltrate the meeting.

Detective Work
Peggy Carter learned that Sousa had photographs on his desk pertaining to a blond woman who was at La Martinique when Spider Raymond was killed; Carter knew that that was her disguise and she did not want the others to know that she was on the Stark case. Ray Krzeminski asked Sousa to help him take the imploded mass that was the Roxxon Refinery apart for clues. While Sousa was away, Carter tried to pick the lock of his file drawer to get the pictures, even hiding under his desk, but Sousa returned to answer his phone before she could get the pictures.

Sousa watched as Jack Thompson pummeled Miles Van Ert during his interrogation. When Thompson learned that Sheldon McFee was involved, Sousa got the address.

While the other agents were distracted, discussing that a woman was somehow involved in the death of Leet Brannis, Sousa walked the rest of the crime scene and found a key in the nearby dirt.

Night Shift
"Unbelievable. A known fugitive isn't answering his door." "Knock harder." "Sure. Can I use your forehead?"

- Daniel Sousa and Jack Thompson

Sousa and Jack Thompson went to Howard Stark's Mansion to retrieve Edwin Jarvis when Sousa learned that the license plate he recovered from the wreckage of the Roxxon Refinery belonged to Howard Stark. Sousa took notes as Thompson interrogated him. The questioning was ruined when Carter revealed that Dooley was lying to Jarvis and Jarvis overheard, allowing him to leave a free man. Later, Sousa was assigned night shift duty with Ray Krzeminski. An anonymous caller gave him a tip that Stark's inventions could be found on the boat called The Heartbreak; the two went there immediately. They were surprised to find not only the inventions but Jerome Zandow unconscious. Sousa wondered how their work is being done for them; Krzeminski only saw promotional opportunity. He called Chief Roger Dooley as Sousa secured the suspect.

The next morning, Sousa felt that the anonymous caller was involved in the murder of Krzeminski though Peggy Carter tried to convince him otherwise.

Interview with a Tramp
Chief Dooley traveled overseas to continue the Stark investigation, while he was gone Jack Thompson was put in charge. Thompson asked the Agents what Ray Krzeminski's middle name was; Sousa was the only one who knew it was Walter. Although Thompson wanted Sousa to follow his leadership, Sousa instead traveled to the dock-yard where Stark's weapons had been found. He found the pay phone used to call the SSR and attempted to pull a print from it. He heard a pair of homeless people talking and decided to investigate. He greeted them kindly and asked if they had previously heard any of the commotion the night before or seen anyone leaving the The Heartbreak. He paid each of them a nickle; one of the men said he was not there but said the other was. The homeless man, Frank, was unhelpful though, refusing to speak to any kind of policeman. Frank attacked Sousa, but Sousa was able to defend himself and arrested him.

Sousa brought the man into the New York Bell Company Office. Thompson mocked his efforts, joking that Sousa had found Howard Stark; Sousa remained sure it was a good lead. Sousa spoke to Frank and told him the tale of how he was once applauded coming into a diner, only to learn they were only clapping because he was walking with a crutch. Frank opened up to Sousa and told him how no one clapped when he came home, how he lost his wife and his job, but still refused to speak to the police. Jack Thompson decided to sit in with the interrogation, bringing with him a burger and a bottle of scotch. Sousa tried to make Thompson leave the room but Thompson offered Frank the burger and scotch in exchange for information. Frank took the offer and explained how he saw a fancy looking man and a woman walk onto the boat. Sousa asked if it was the same blonde woman from their photograph but Frank said the woman he saw had dark hair. Thompson handed Frank the burger and scotch and he took the scotch, drinking it all.

Sousa and Thompson spoke after Frank left; Thompson still congratulated Sousa by finding a witness. They briefly spoke about their war experiences. Sousa was asked if he was hit with lead in Germany or Russia during the war; Sousa joked that it was his femur. Once back at his desk, Sousa began to color in the photograph of the blonde woman, changing her hair from blonde to dark.

Finding a Lead
"I'm an SSR agent, sir; my job is my life."

- Daniel Sousa

Sousa told Peggy Carter when she came to work that the night before the Remote Typewriter sent an encrypted message; Chief Roger Dooley had a cryptographer there to translate. They went to the Chief's office where Carter decoded the message. As she wrote the coordinates, Sousa used a map to find the exact location described. As Jack Thompson and his team which included Carter were in the men's locker room changing for the mission to Belarus, Sousa gave Thompson intelligence files that he needed. Thompson told Sousa that he needed a compass as well and that it would be on the other side of the row of lockers. Sousa did not know that Carter was there changing; Thompson did and told his men to stay quiet. Sousa saw Carter in her underclothes and she quickly turned her back to him. Thompson laughed as he said that he had a compass, while Sousa and Carter felt embarrassed. Carter tried to rush Sousa from her side of the room by asking him to leave; as he did, he noted a scar on her back near her shoulder.

That evening, Sousa chose to work late. He looked through Carter's personnel file and learned that it was a gunshot wound. Sousa then looked through the pictures he had of the mysterious blonde that was in La Martinique the night Spider Raymond was killed; he found a picture where she had the same scar as Carter. He was shocked but still found it nearly impossible to accept Carter could be responsible.

Chase of Peggy Carter
"Peggy, don't run. If you run, then I know it's true." "I'm sorry, Daniel."

- Daniel Sousa and Peggy Carter Sousa went to the jailhouse that held Sheldon McFee and showed him a picture of Peggy Carter from her personnel file. McFee positively identified Carter as the woman who assaulted him; he went further and connected Carter to Leet Brannis and the truck load of Nitramene.

Sousa went to the office and interrupted a conversation that Roger Dooley was having with the Soviet psychiatrist Ivchenko, telling Dooley that they needed to talk immediately. SSR agents from Washington, D.C. came and evacuated the L&L Automat with Carter and Edwin Jarvis inside. Carter and Jarvis engaged them in a fight and managed to escape them, they even overcame Jack Thompson who was waiting outside to arrest them both, Sousa came round a corner and held Carter at gunpoint, seeing Thompson unconscious. They both however knew that he would not shoot her. Sousa begged her not to run, because if she did he would know for sure that she was guilty. She apologized as she ran from him. Thompson later demanded to know how she could have escaped him, Sousa got around the question by saying he couldn't outrun her with his leg. Sousa and Thompson lead a raiding party to the Griffith Hotel; ignoring Miriam Fry's disapproval they entered Carter's apartment and saw the hole in the wall where she had placed the Blitzkrieg Button. Sousa knew that Carter was in the building and a search was started. They decided to question the residents of the Griffith to see if they could find a lead. Inside the apartment of Angie Martinelli, during their questioning the girl began to cry and seek comfort from Thompson; this made the agents uncomfortable, so they left without realizing that Carter was outside of her window ledge. Soon, Sousa and Thompson came back upstairs only to came across Dottie Underwood standing over an unconscious Carter; she said that she found Carter on the floor and claimed to be concerned for her wellbeing. The agents took Carter into custody. Upon returning to the New York Bell Company Office, Carter was handcuffed to the desk in the interrogation room. The Blitzkrieg Button and other evidence was laid before her; Dooley told Sousa and Thompson not to go easy on the woman.

Johann Fennhoff's Campaign
Sousa was the first to start the three-man interrogation of Peggy Carter. Each agent used different tactics in an attempt to get her to confess to being a traitor: Sousa played on their friendship; Roger Dooley showed disappointment in a fatherly fashion; Jack Thompson reminded Carter that he used fisticuffs against interviewees. Carter told Sousa that he saw her as a "girl on a pedestal transformed into the daft whore."

Edwin Jarvis ultimately came in with a supposed confession from Howard Stark, claiming that Carter was a patsy to his traitorous activities. This stopped the interrogation, causing the three to talk about their next move. Sousa opted to believe in Carter and listen to what she had to say. This belief led Sousa, Thompson, and two other agents to cross the street and investigate when Carter said that Ivchenko was communicating in Morse Code with someone. In the building of Seth Honicky's Dentistry Office, Sousa found Dottie Underwood attempting to get by him unnoticed. The two fought, but when he had her at gunpoint, she fled. Sousa entered the dentistry office and found the corpse of Seth Honicky. He then found the kill order for Peggy Carter that Underwood had written down from when Ivchenko communicated with her. Hearing gunshots, Sousa looked out the window to see Roger Dooley explode.

Sousa returned to the New York Bell Company Office to learn that Item 17 was missing and that Ivchenko was their number one priority.

Massacre at the Cinema Theater
With Peggy Carter now reinstated as an SSR Agent, Sousa, Carter and Thompson investigated a case of the mass murder of 47 civilians in a cinema which they believed was connected to Leviathan. Sousa went inside the cinema room while Thompson and Carter inspected the bodies, all of whom suffered horrific fatal injuries, caused by each other. Sousa came across a baby's pram, he looked inside, realized to see no baby was inside or had been killed. What he did find was a small canister, with the Stark Industries logo on it. He picked it up and was sprayed a strange gas, he began to choke and cough so Thompson ran to his aid. As soon as Thompson came near him Sousa went into a murderous rage and attacked him, punching Carter and trying to strangle Thompson, only to be stopped when a police officer hit him, knocking him out. Sousa woke up in a hospital bed, tied down his restraints. Peggy Carter sat with him and helped him to remember what happened in the cinema. Although he struggled for a while, Sousa remembered how he found a gas with made him attack both Thompson and Carter, he recalled how he wanted to kill everybody in the room. He apologized for hitting Carter and assured her that he was feeling better, despite the fact he still had a mild urge to kill Thompson, which he usually felt.

Kidnapping of Howard Stark
Sousa returned to the SSR, suffering the joking remarks from Agent Thompson, he learned Ivchenko had ten canisters of the gas, meaning he could turn everyone in New York into a murderous rage. They were interrupted by Howard Stark's arrival, Sousa and the other Agents immediately put him under arrest. During their questioning Stark mentioned that he could offer Sousa a replacement false leg. Stark explained that the gas was called Midnight Oil, a failed experiment that caused a murderous rage. Stark agreed to be used as bait to draw Ivchenko, or as he was originally named, Johann Fennhoff, into the open. Sousa was present when Stark gave a press meeting to announce that all charges against him had been dropped. During the speech Stark was shot at. Sousa learned during the chaos Stark had been kidnapped by Fennhoff.

Raid of Howard Stark's Warehouse
"Did he say something?"

- Daniel Sousa to Jack Thompson Edwin Jarvis was able to work out that Stark would have been taken to one of his secret warehouses, to use a plane to fly the Midnight Oil over Times Square. Sousa and the team arrived, only to witness Stark already taking off in the plane, Sousa revealed that he was not a pilot and therefore could not chase him down, instead Jarvis volunteered. After Carter fought and defeated Dottie Underwood, she informed Sousa and Thompson that Fennhoff was escaping. Sousa witnessed Fennhoff knocking out Agent Thompson, he held a gun at the Russian and ordered him to step away. Fennhoff attempted to use his mind control powers to control Agent Sousa. It appeared to work and Fennhoff convinced Sousa to aim his gun at Thompson. Sousa instead hit Fennhoff in the face with his gun, revealing that he had been wearing ear plugs the entire time and had heard nothing. Fennhoff was arrested and Stark was convinced to fly back to the base. Back at the SSR Sousa witnessed Jack Thompson take all the credit for stopping Fennhoff's campaign. Disgusted that neither he nor Carter received any credit for the mission, Sousa wanted to tell Senator Walt Cooper the truth. Carter however said that she was not bothered by the lack of credit as she knew her own value. Sousa then built up the courage and asked Carter to join him for a drink after their shift, she explained she could not that night but promised to go with him another day.

Move to Los Angeles
Sousa and Peggy Carter started dating; eventually he was promoted to Chief and sent to Los Angeles, California to start a branch of the Strategic Scientific Reserve there. Though Carter called Sousa several times, he did not return them, later citing his work and how a three-hour time difference seemed longer than it really was. Agents Fisher and Rose Roberts received a transfer to the new Auerbach Theatrical Agency from the New York Bell Company Office, and Sousa received others, but it was still understaffed. In the meantime, Sousa began seeing a nurse named Violet.

The Lady in the Lake
Sousa received a call to go to Echo Park lake because a strange occurrence happened there. When he arrived, he saw that the Los Angeles Police Department cordoned the area; he met with homicide detective Andrew Henry who explained that though he could handle the case, his superior wanted the SSR involved because there might be a connection between his murder case and the freezing of the lake on the hottest day of the year. Sousa, feeling understaffed, called Jack Thompson, requesting another man to assist in the case. Thompson agreed, but neglected to tell Sousa that it was Carter he was sending. Carter arrived just as Henry was bringing files to prove that the Lady of the Lake Killer had returned and killed Jane Scott. After introductions were made, Sousa and Carter decided to proceed in the case as Roger Dooley had taught them, exploring all avenues. Going to Medical Examiner Meltzer, Sousa, Carter and Henry learned that, though Scott seemed to be murdered by the Killer based on superficial evidence, her frozen corpse glowed in the dark. Since Meltzer did not have an autopsy report ready, Sousa took a sample of the ice encasing Scott to Agent Samberly; Samberly learned that the substance was not ice, but did not know what it was. The lab technician also revealed that Scott glowed from exposure radioactive material, which led Peggy to deduce that she had been working with a Particle Accelerator; one was owned by Isodyne Energy which had a building in Pasadena. At Isodyne Energy Headquarters, the Receptionist would not allow the three to enter without a search warrant, but Carter snuck past, with Sousa distracting, and met Jason Wilkes, a scientist there who wanted to help in the case and revealed that Calvin Chadwick, the founder of the company, was the lover of Scott. Henry insisted that they follow his lead and pursue the Killer; Carter felt that approaching Chadwick was better. Sousa sent each person to follow their own lead. Sousa got a call from Meltzer, saying he finished his report; Sousa, Carter, Henry, Wilkes, and Edwin Jarvis all met there to learn his findings, but he was frozen and shattered when Henry caused his body to fall. As Sousa read the report that a copy cat made the body appear to be murdered by the Killer, he and Carter deduced that Henry knew more than he was sharing. However, Henry abducted Wilkes and left in Jarvis' car. Sousa drove as Carter attended to Jarvis' broken nose in the back seat; he told the police that he was chasing Henry, but did not want any guns involved because Henry was wanted for questioning. Sousa found the stolen car with its windows frosted and its steering column frozen, but without Henry or Wilkes. Sousa and Carter split up to find the two. Carter witnessed Henry get killed by an officer who said that he did not get the order about no gun involvement. When they returned to the Agency, Sousa ordered that the body of Scott should be transported there for further study. Carter asked Sousa to join her for a drink, but he refused politely; Sousa then left the building to see Violet who was waiting for him, not realizing that Carter was watching through the window.

Long Day
The next morning, Sousa and Rose Roberts commuted to Auerbach Theatrical Agency together. Roberts questioned Sousa as to why he chose not to tell Peggy Carter that he was now dating Violet; Sousa used chasing Andrew Henry as his excuse, but Roberts warning him that delaying the inevitable would make it even more awkward. When the two entered the agency, they found Carter and Violet already there, conversing and laughing. Violet was there to bring Sousa a snack before she went to work; she was so charmed with Carter that she invited her to their date that evening. Sousa reminded Violet that their reservations were for two, but Violet insisted that Carter come so that she could see the beaches of Los Angeles. Later, Sousa took Carter with him to where the bodies of Agents White and Beringer were found; they were the assigned transporters of the body of Jane Scott. Sousa received the search warrant for Isodyne Energy Headquarters that he requested from Jack Thompson and he and Carter went to investigate. There, the Receptionist told them that there was a radioactive accident and the place was off limits until the spill was contained. Just then Wilkes entered and confirmed the story, hesitantly. He passed Carter a note and the two left.

At the Agency, Sousa offered backup to Carter for when she met Wilkes at the Dunbar Hotel, but she cited that the note said for her to come alone. Sousa told Carter to change into a better wardrobe since the place was a nightclub; he took Violet there once to listen to. Sousa decided to cancel his date to give Carter backup, but she firmly insisted that he go after accidentally discovering the engagement ring he had planned to give to Violet that night.

Violet arrived at the Agency and Sousa, after changing his attire, prepared to leave for his date when the phone rang; Roberts called "Mr. Auerbach" to take the call. Edwin Jarvis was on the line, saying that Carter was in trouble at the Griffith Observatory. Meeting Jarvis there, Sousa saw the shell casings of the Attack on Jason Wilkes and the flattened tires of Carter's car. Sousa returned to the Agency and, much to Jarvis's surprise, flew into a small rage, smashing some things in his office and ordered his agents to spare no effort in finding Carter and Wilkes. Roberts explained to Jarvis that Carter had always been of special concern to Sousa.

Sousa and Jarvis went to Isodyne Energy Headquarters to learn that an explosion had taken place and the area was surrounded by the Los Angeles Police Department. Carter emerged, disheveled, wanting to give Chief Sousa a report of the occurrence, but Sousa suggested that she get some rest.

As the sun rose, Sousa returned home to find Violet leaving for work. He apologized to her for canceling their date, but she assured him that she understood. She offered him the pastry that she had bitten while awaiting his return and told him to rest.

Continuing the Investigation
Sousa took Agent Vega to the Wilkes Residence and asked Peggy Carter to meet him there; he wanted to know what connection Jason Wilkes had with the men who attempted to kill Wilkes and Carter earlier that morning. When Carter arrived, Sousa told Vega to make sure that the surrounding reporters and press did not compromise the area. Inside, Carter found a hollow section in the floor; it was filled with money and a Russian passport. As Sousa and Carter discussed the outlandish possibility that Wilkes was a communist spy, Vega brought the gun used to kill Agents Beringer and White, saying that all evidence points in that direction. Carter did not believe it because the evidence was too easy to find.

The agents saw that the newspapers already had articles accusing Wilkes of espionage, but they had not given them a statement, much less grounds for a headline article. While discussing this, Sousa and Carter found Jack Thompson sitting at Sousa's desk in the Auerbach Theatrical Agency, wondering why they were so late for work. Thompson said that he came there from New York City because he had business in Los Angeles; while he was there, he decided to revise the preliminary report Carter had made on the explosion at Isodyne Energy Headquarters, accusing Wilkes of espionage and with his death the case was now concluded. Carter refused to sign such a report, so Thompson said that, since she was on loan from the New York Bell Company, he was still her superior officer and he could sign it himself. Sousa watched as the two disputed.

Later, Carter entered the Strategic Scientific Reserve base saying that she snuck into the Arena Club to plant eavesdropping devices and found preprinted newspapers with a future date saying that Representative Anderson was "ankling" the election. No one knew what "ankling" meant but Sousa, who revealed it was Los Angeles speak for "resigning". Thompson was angered because he told Carter the case was closed and that she made the serious accusation of election rigging without evidence of the newspapers. Sousa said that when they listen to the eavesdropping devices that proof will be provided; Carter then revealed that she was unsuccessful in that mission. Sousa chased behind Carter after she and Thompson traded insults, in hopes of calming her, when he saw that objects were floating in Carter's presence.

The two went to Howard Stark's Estate to see if she was infected by Zero Matter. After a series of tests, where Sousa proved that he knew science, Howard Stark was able to make Jason Wilkes visible and audible before them. Wilkes explained that Whitney Frost was caught in the same explosion as he was; Carter decided to confront Frost, while Sousa planned to do background research to learn why Frost thought she knew so much about Zero Matter.

Late that evening, Thompson approached Sousa and told him that he was leaving for New York soon. Thompson wanted to know what it was about Carter that made Sousa go to Los Angeles; Sousa said he left because he got a promotion, not over heartbreak, citing his desire to marry Violet as proof. Sousa declined Thompson when he asked if they could get a drink together and bade his former superior farewell.

The next morning, Sousa learned that Carter had been attacked; when she came to work and showed Sousa her scars, he asked if she wanted a security detail. Carter wanted to know about Sousa's research. He discovered that Agnes Cully was the one who made Isodyne Energy prominent and Cully had changed her name to Whitney Frost.

Personality
Daniel Sousa is chivalrous and often tries to defend Peggy Carter from sexist remarks made by their co-workers, until he stopped once Carter reprimanded him for doing so. He seems to feel a kinship with Peggy due largely to the fact that both of them are belittled and openly looked down upon by their fellow agents, who deem them to have shortcomings: Peggy for being a woman, and Daniel for being handicapped.

Despite this, Daniel doesn't let it stop him from being good at his job, something he is 100% dedicated to and skilled at. He has managed to make breaks in the Howard Stark case. However, often his breaks have been undermined by those who use his kindness against him, including Peggy Carter, as she herself was trying to clear Stark's name behind the backs of the S.S.R..

Abilities

 * Expert Investigator: Sousa is an excellent detective. He told Peggy Carter that cases are usually solved within 72 hours as he documented pictures of Howard Stark on a boat. Later, while other agents were distracted with the body of Leet Brannis, Sousa looked around the rest of the crime scene to find a key.
 * Expert Martial Artist: Despite the fact that he is handicapped, Sousa easily subdued a tramp, and was even able to hold his own in a hand-to-hand combat fight with Dottie Underwood, a woman who has been trained as an assassin from a young age. Sousa takes advantage of his handicap and does not hesitate to use his crutches in combat when necessary, something his opponents rarely expect.

Weapons

 * : The Smith & Wesson Model 36 is the standard sidearm carried by the agents of Strategic Scientific Reserve. Sousa carried it while investigating an anonymous tip that pointed that Howard Stark's missing technology was inside a boat called The Heartbreak, and when he tried to arrest Peggy Carter when he believed she was a traitor
 * : A smaller revolver and Sousa's weapon of choice, that he carried while investigating the building in front of the New York Bell Company looking for a Leviathan operative. He also carried it to investigate Howard Stark's Warehouse when Stark was kidnapped by Johann Fennhoff and Dottie Underwood. Fennhoff tried to hypnotize Sousa and make him shoot at Jack Thompson, but Sousa was wearing cotton inside his ears and approached Fennhoff while pointing at Thompson, only to catch Fennhoff by surprise and hit him with the revolver.

Family

 * Father

Allies

 * Strategic Scientific Reserve
 * Roger Dooley † - Boss
 * Peggy Carter - Colleague and Friend
 * Jack Thompson - Colleague
 * Ray Krzeminski † - Colleague
 * Yauch † - Colleague
 * Corcoran † - Colleague
 * Rose Roberts - Subordinate and Friend
 * Fisher - Colleague turned Subordinate
 * O'Malley - Subordinate
 * Samberly - Subordinate
 * Beringer - Subordinate
 * White - Subordinate
 * Vega - Subordinate
 * Violet - Girlfriend
 * Frank
 * George
 * Griffith Hotel
 * Miriam Fry
 * Angie Martinelli
 * Howard Stark - Former Suspect
 * Edwin Jarvis - Former Suspect
 * Jason Wilkes

Enemies

 * Jerome Zandow †
 * Sheldon McFee
 * Leviathan
 * Johann Fennhoff - Ally turned Enemy
 * Dottie Underwood
 * Receptionist
 * Andrew Henry † - Former Ally