Alexander Pierce

"To build a better world sometimes means tearing the old one down. And that makes enemies."

- Alexander Pierce

Alexander Pierce was HYDRA's top undercover agent inside S.H.I.E.L.D. and the World Security Council.

S.H.I.E.L.D.
Alexander Pierce is a HYDRA agent who infiltrated the World Security Council. Pierce once turned down the Nobel Peace Prize saying, "Peace is not a prize, it's a responsibility".

While serving as Secretary of Defense, a hostage situation in Bogota where he met S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury, who successfully saved the hostages, including Pierce's daughter. Pierce had hoped to win the situation through negotiation, but Fury disagreed. Disobeying direct orders, Fury ordered a military operation that rescued the hostages before they were to be killed. Impressed by Fury's actions, Pierce later made Fury the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The episode in Bogata caused a shift in Pierce's attitudes toward diplomacy, and soon after he was recruited by HYDRA.

Project Insight
"I can bring order to the lives of 7 billion people by sacrificing 20 million."

- Alexander Pierce

After gaining a seat on the World Security Council, Pierce used his influence and the database that housed the mind of Arnim Zola to develop Project Insight, outwardly an operation involving three heavily armed Helicarriers and network of targeting satellites that were allegedly supposed to form a security network to protect the Earth.

In truth, HYDRA actually desired to use them to target and kill approximately 20 million people selected by Arnim Zola's algorithm, any individual which was deemed to pose a threat to HYDRA's new world order.

After discovering the hijacking of the Lemurian Star by Georges Batroc was actually planned by Nick Fury in order to recover the confidential files related to the Project Insight, Pierce deployed the Winter Soldier to kill him with apparent success.

Following Fury's apparent demise, Pierce had a meeting with Captain America, and realized that Rogers was hiding something from him. Pierce deployed corrupt S.T.R.I.K.E. agents to capture Rogers, who escaped and went undercover along with Black Widow.

Pierce then gave the Winter Soldier the assignment to kill Rogers and Romanoff. After a pitched battle on the streets of Washington, D.C., S.T.R.I.K.E. teams manage to capture Rogers, Romanoff and their ally, Sam Wilson, but they were soon extracted from custody by an undercover Maria Hill.

Pierce proceeded with his plan, but as S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared to deploy the Helicarriers, Captain America infiltrated the Triskelion and revealed by loudspeaker the truth behind HYDRA's plans and Pierce's true loyalty, and prompted every clean agent to stand up against HYDRA.

While Captain America and Falcon infiltrated the Helicarriers to modify their programming to change the targets from the people selected by Zola's algorithm to the Helicarriers themselves, Black Widow infiltrated the Triskelion by impersonating Councilwoman Hawley of the World Security Council. Natasha forced Pierce to help her and Nick Fury, who revealed his survival to Pierce, to unlock every single one of S.H.I.E.L.D./HYDRA's secrets and upload them to the Internet.

The Helicarriers were destroyed, and all of S.H.I.E.L.D and HYDRA's secrets were released to the world. However, Pierce attempted to use a remotely-controlled miniature explosive he had hidden in Black Widow's clothes to force Fury to let him go. Using a micro-EMP, Black Widow disabled the bomb, giving Fury the opportunity to shoot Pierce, killing him. Pierce's last words were "Hail HYDRA."

Relationships

 * Nick Fury - Ally turned Enemy
 * Captain America - Ally turned Enemy

Trivia

 * In the comics, Pierce is a young field agent, but in the film he is one of the leaders of the agency.