Roger Dooley

"I want action plans on my desk in one hour. Stay vigilant. I'm not losing any more of you."

- Roger Dooley to his agents

Roger Dooley was the Chief of one the Strategic Scientific Reserve's offices in New York City, and Peggy Carter's boss.

Early Life and Military Career
"I'm off risking my neck, serving my country, she cheats on me with some jerk from Hoboken." "You feel that it was more than a betrayal. Overseas, you rose to high-ranking officer and proved yourself again and again."

- Roger Dooley and Ivchenko

When World War II broke out, Roger Dooley joined the United States Armed Forces. Fighting against the Axis overseas, over the years he became a high-ranking officer. After the war, he returned home to discover that his wife Loretta was cheating on him. He eventually joined the Strategic Scientific Reserve.

By 1946, Dooley became the Chief of the New York Bell Company Office, a covert Strategic Scientific Reserve facility in New York City.

Finding Howard Stark
Howard Stark disappeared and did not go to a Congressional hearing about how his technology was stolen but appeared overseas in enemy hands. This brought Stark to the attention of the SSR and Roger Dooley.

During the meeting, Dooley told Peggy Carter to man the phones, but she gave that job to Rose. Dooley assigned Jack Thompson as lead investigator, but when Carter objected to Thompson's directives, Dooley reprimanded her.

Thompson sought Dooley's approval to infiltrate La Martinique with an SSR team. When he caught Carter eavesdropping on the "need-to-know" mission, he asked her what she wanted; ultimately, he complied to Carter's request for time-off.

Thompson reported to Dooley that he might have a lead as to who killed Spider Raymond.

Field Assignment
Dooley decided to go to the Roxxon Refinery with Agents Jack Thompson and Ray Krzeminski when it was reported that the building disappeared after an explosion. He told Krzeminski to take the imploded mass apart to see if any clues could be found as to how it happened.

He went with Thompson to see Hugh Jones at the Roxxon Oil Corporation Headquarters to learn what he knew. When Jones offered Dooley an alcoholic beverage, even giving ice, Dooley would not drink it; instead he stayed on duty, wanting permission to scan all the employees for Vita Radiation. He called Peggy Carter to bring the Vita-Ray Detector and to scan the females. Miles Van Ert was caught and Dooley offered him a deal to turn over a superior to be let go. When Van Ert refused the deal, Dooley gave Thompson the authority to interrogate the prisoner. He asked Carter to leave when the interrogation became intense.

Thompson learned where Sheldon McFee lived and Dooley rode with him. En route, they saw him tied to a chair, wandering the road. Eventually, he found the body of Leet Brannis.

Hard Day
"Whatever happened last night, don't any of you forget Krzeminski would still be with us today if it wasn't for Howard Stark, whether he pulled the trigger or not. We're only neck-deep in this mess because of him."

- Roger Dooley

Dooley and Ray Krzeminski went to Hotel Cosmopolitan and retrieved the Remote Typewriter and fake passports from the room of the Man in the Green Suit. He then sent Jack Thompson to research the man's background since he had contacts in Moscow.

Edwin Jarvis was brought in for questioning as to why the bumper and license plate of the car he drove was at the Roxxon Refinery. Fearing that he would tell her connection to the investigation when Anna Jarvis was threatened with deportation, Peggy Carter disturbed the interrogation. Dooley was clearly angered and made Carter apologize to Agent Thompson.

He assigned Daniel Sousa and Krzeminski to night shift duty; they called him when they eventually found a boat with the inventions of Howard Stark inside. Dooley warned the agents not to sink Manhattan through carelessly handling the items.

The next morning, Chief Dooley was saddened by the murder of Krzeminski and felt that the blame was on Howard Stark. He promised his agents that he will get the killer and no more of them would die.

Trip to Germany
"Chief, you're really gonna rely on the word of a Nazi?" "Son, I'd let Goering give me a hickey if he'd get me to the bottom of this. Till I get back, you're in charge." "Good luck, chief."

- Jack Thompson and Roger Dooley

As part of his investigation into who Leet Brannis and Sasha Demidov were, Chief Dooley decided to go to Nuremberg Prison to see Colonel Ernst Mueller, the Nazi war criminal connected with the Battle of Finow. Dooley left Jack Thompson in charge of the New York Bell Company Office while he was overseas. In Nuremberg Prison, Dooley saw Colonel Mueller being fitted for a noose. He told Mueller that he would give him a cyanide pill to defy his jailers and die on his own terms, if Mueller told him what truly happened in the Battle of Finow. Mueller told Dooley that it was not his regiment that killed the Soviets; they were already massacred when his people arrived. Dooley went into his watch and gave Mueller a pill.

Upon leaving, Dooley went into his watch and offered the prison escort a pill also, a breath mint.

Dooley returned to the Office and relieved Thompson of command. As he was there late reviewing paperwork, he heard the keys of the Remote Typewriter typing a message.

Further Investigations
The next morning, Dooley had a Cryptographer from Virginia come to decode the message that the Remote Typewriter produced. Peggy Carter deciphered the code, however. The translated message stated that Howard Stark would be in Belarus to receive a check for one of his inventions. Dooley appointed Jack Thompson to take a team to the Soviet Union to retrieve Stark; Carter insisted to go also, saying that she could get the 107th regiment to escort them. Dooley and Thompson did not believe that she knew the famous soldiers, but Dooley said that if she did get their assistance, she could go, despite Thompson's protest. Carter made a phone call; Dooley kept his word.

Later, Dooley noticed that Daniel Sousa was working late. After a brief conversation with him about women, Dooley went to a nearby bar, meeting a New York Times Reporter. They talked about the Battle of Finow and a fist fight that Howard Stark had with General John McGinnis. The two agreed that there is more occurring than they knew.

Dooley approached Edwin Jarvis; Jarvis was uncooperative in revealing any information pertaining to Stark's fistfight, because he wanted an apology from the Strategic Scientific Reserve for threatening to deport him. Dooley gave him his business card, saying that he would listen when Jarvis was ready to talk.

Thompson and Carter returned from Belarus with Ivchenko, reporting that Agent Mike Li was killed in battle. Dooley listened to the report and asked for the psychiatrist to enter his office.

A Day with the Doctor
Chief Dooley, Peggy Carter, and Jack Thompson listened as Doctor Ivchenko told them how he was captured by Leviathan and forced to cooperate to save his and his family's lives. Carter was more interested in the Red Room Academy she saw in Belarus and if female spies were being used to infiltrate the United States. Dooley told Carter to leave his office; he told her to follow her lead, while he followed his to learn more about Leviathan. Carter left the office, stunned.

Dooley tried to get information from Ivchenko about the Photonic Amplifier, but Ivchenko said that he was a psychiatrist, not an engineer, so he could tell him little. Taking a break from the interrogation, the two had a drink and began talking about New York City and its skyscrapers. Ivchenko opened a window and beckoned Dooley to show him landmarks; Dooley refused to leave his seat.

Ivchenko then spoke to Dooley about the chief's home life. Dooley listened to the doctor as he tried to advise him about how to fix his relationship with his wife and children. Dooley was captivated by what the doctor was saying; Ivchenko started rubbing his ring as he spoke in a hypnotic tone. Suddenly, Daniel Sousa entered the room, wanting to talk to his leader immediately.

Later, Agent Yauch brought the news that the Strategic Scientific Reserve Agents who were deployed from Washington, D.C. failed to capture Peggy Carter at the L&L Automat. Dooley was so angry that he said that everyone would be demoted to grade school hall monitors if Carter was not apprehended. Ivchenko exited Dooley's office and heard the threat; Dooley told Yauch to babysit Ivchenko while he dealt with the Carter debacle.

When Thompson and Sousa brought the handcuffed Carter before him, Carter said to Dooley that she could explain it all as he looked at her silently. Thompson handcuffed Carter to the desk of the interrogation room as Sousa laid out the evidence against her; Dooley told his men not to go easy on the woman.

Final Instructions
"Promise me that you will get the son of a bitch who did this. Say it!" "We'll get him." "Attagirl."

- Roger Dooley and Peggy Carter

Dooley, along with Jack Thompson and Daniel Sousa, questioned Peggy Carter but made little headway, until Edwin Jarvis managed to bluff his way into the SSR office with a supposed signed confession from Howard Stark, accepting responsibility for the sale of his weapons and claiming Carter had been a patsy. Dooley agreed to the exchange for Stark, but told Carter she would be dismissed from the SSR. After observing Ivchenko communicating with someone across the street in Morse Code, however, Carter admitted the "confession" had been false and admitted to Dooley, Thompson, and Sousa the entire story of what had happened since Stark first approached her. Deciding to trust her, Dooley sent Thompson, Sousa, and several other agents across the street to investigate, while Dooley stayed with the doctor.

Ivchenko witnessed the men crossing the street. Knowing he had been discovered, Ivchenko brainwashed Dooley into helping him obtain two of Stark's inventions: a substance labelled Item 17 and a self-heating vest that had proven to be explosive. Using Dooley's memories of his family, Ivchenko manipulated Dooley to put on the vest and go back to his office as a distraction, while Ivchenko escaped with the other device. After being brought back to his senses by Carter and apprized on the nature of the vest by Jarvis, Alex Doobin informed him the vest could not be safely removed. The suit continued to heat up and burnt his skin. Realizing his fate, he told Carter to go after Ivchenko, before jumping out a window, as the vest exploded.

Personality
One of the leaders of Strategic Scientific Reserve, Roger Dooley was observant, hardworking and principled, but, unfortunately, he was also filled with sexism and stereotypes. When he saw Peggy Carter eavesdropping on a meeting, he quickly asked her to leave; when that did not happen, he wanted to know her real purpose there. Carter was able to fool him by playing his stereotypes to her advantage.

Though determined and single-minded, Dooley was not unwilling to reassess his opinions in the face of new evidence. After hearing of a run-in between Howard Stark and a general during World War II, Dooley reached out to Edwin Jarvis to tell Stark that he was willing to hear his side of the story. He also permitted Carter to follow up on her theory that the robbery of Stark's vault and the murder of Agent Krzeminski were both the work of a female Leviathan operative.

Dooley did not judge his co-workers, but, with a look, he showed his disapproval. He gazed at Jack Thompson when he took a drink while on duty; when a prostitute spoke familiarly with Ray Krzeminski, he looked at the agent. When the handcuffed Carter was brought before him, his look of disgust was more frightening than his words later.

Dooley was bothered by ongoing problems in his personal life as well as the challenges of his day job. Though he felt betrayal after his wife had an affair, he still loved Loretta and their children, and dreamed of the day that they could be a reunited family.

Family

 * Loretta Dooley - Wife
 * Emmett Dooley - Son
 * Daughter

Allies

 * Strategic Scientific Reserve
 * Peggy Carter - Subordinate
 * Jack Thompson - Subordinate
 * Daniel Sousa - Subordinate
 * Ray Krzeminski † - Subordinate
 * Butch Wallace - Subordinate
 * Yauch † - Subordinate
 * Howard Stark - Former Suspect
 * Edwin Jarvis - Former Suspect
 * Roxxon Oil Corporation
 * Hugh Jones
 * Winston

Enemies

 * Leviathan
 * Leet Brannis †
 * Sasha Demidov †
 * Ivchenko - Killer
 * Miles Van Ert
 * Ernst Mueller †

Appearances

 * Agent Carter
 * Season One
 * Now is Not the End
 * Bridge and Tunnel
 * Time and Tide
 * The Blitzkrieg Button
 * The Iron Ceiling
 * A Sin to Err
 * Snafu
 * Valediction (mentioned)

Trivia

 * In the comics, Roger Dooley is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.