Daniel Whitehall

"Freedom. Equality. Individual rights. These principles make mankind a plague on this planet. Think of a forest. It dries up and catches fire with the first spark. Now, mankind would fight that fire, believing every individual plant perfect in its own individual way. But it's the fire that's perfect."

- Daniel Whitehall

Daniel Whitehall is one of the most prominent members of HYDRA. Originally a high ranking officer of the Nazi Schutzstaffel known as Reinhardt, during World War II he led expeditions to recover mysterious artifacts for HYDRA. Despite his capture by the Strategic Scientific Reserve in 1945, he managed to escape and mysteriously kept his middle-aged appearance into the 21st century.

Youth and Early Career
Reinhardt joined the Nazis and became an officer of the Schutzstaffel. He rose in ranks until he became an, eventually joining HYDRA, the special science division led by the infamous Johann Schmidt.

The Obelisk
"Not everything we dug out of the ground was an antique, my friend. Some of it was quite advanced." "Is this the reason these men...? Hmm?" "Ja. The Red Skull said it may hold the answer... the answer to death itself."

- Reinhardt and HYDRA Officer

When World War II broke out, Reinhardt actively participated in German conquest of Europe, earning several high military decorations, including the, the , and the. As an officer of HYDRA, he was sent to search for mysterious artifacts. On one occasion, his team discovered the corpse of an alien organism and an Obelisk with the power to turn living creatures into stone. When he showed the object to his leader, Schmidt said that the Obelisk may hold the answer to death itself. Somehow, Reinhardt learned about Schmidt's disfigurement that earned him the nickname "Red Skull".

Defeat
"Herr Reinhardt, I-I fear Schmidt..." "Oh, there's no reason left to fear the Red Skull. He's dead. However, his vision is not. The work HYDRA has done will live on."

- HYDRA Officer and Reinhardt

By May 1945, Reinhardt was the commanding officer of a HYDRA Storage Facility in Austria that housed dozens of artifacts collected by HYDRA over the years, many of them held in the boxes marked with the logo of the. After he learned about the Red Skull's apparent demise at the hands of Captain America, he ordered his men to evacuate the facility. His plan was to escape with the artifacts and continue HYDRA's work.

However, just as his men gave him the Obelisk, the facility was attacked by the Strategic Scientific Reserve team led by Peggy Carter, Jim Morita, and Dum Dum Dugan. Reinhardt and all of his men were captured. Before he was taken away, Reinhardt warned Agent Carter that if one of HYDRA's heads was cut off, two more would grow in its place.

Uprising of HYDRA
"Creel has escaped and did indeed make off with the Obelisk. He should contact us shortly. I would have him come in, but I'm being overly discreet with this operation. I know how long you have been searching for this, Dr. Whitehall." "You have no idea."

- Sunil Bakshi and Dr. Whitehall

However, Reinhardt managed to escape and rejoined the reborn HYDRA. By 2014, somehow still alive and retaining the appearance of a middle-aged man, he was known as Dr. Whitehall. After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., his second in command Sunil Bakshi hired Carl Creel to reclaim the Obelisk from the United States Armed Forces. At first, Creel's mission was successful, but the Obelisk was stolen from him and he was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and turned over to General Glenn Talbot.

The New S.H.I.E.L.D. Strikes
"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s becoming a problem. Do we know who's in charge?" "I'm afraid not."

- Daniel Whitehall and Sunil Bakshi

When HYDRA captured a former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Agent 33, Whitehall personally oversaw her brainwashing, hoping to turn her into a loyal HYDRA agent. Despite her bold proclamation that she would never serve HYDRA, Whitehall was sure she would eventually comply.

When Sunil Bakshi returned from his mission in Morocco, he spoke with Whitehall. During their conversation, Agent 33 gave him paperwork that needed his signature. Whitehall then told Bakshi that Jemma Simmons can be reprogrammed if necessary.

Somehow, Whitehall found out that it was Raina who took the Obelisk. He and a few of his men confronted Raina in her car, where he planted a torture-device on her hand, and threatened her that if she didn't deliver the Obelisk to him in 48 hours, she will experience even more torture.

A New Alliance
"There were positives. Many of the deceased were enemies of HYDRA." "Some of us are pleased with these small triumphs. Others have loftier aspirations passion, even. Our founder, he had his Tesseract. As for me, well, it would be an understatement to say that I've waited my whole life to get possession of the Obelisk, to harness its power."

- Lingenfelter and Daniel Whitehall

Later, Whitehall and his scientists attempted to duplicate the Obelisk's power. HYDRA's demonstration at the wedding of Pete and Mariah Leitner ended with a few dead civilians and U.S. Navy officers, but that wasn't the result Whitehall hoped to achieve. Later, Whitehall had a meeting with his top scientists, including Dr. Lingenfelter, Jemma Simmons, and Kenneth Turgeon. He expressed his disappointment, but Simmons assured him that the Obelisk could be used for mass executions.

Later, after Bobbi Morse and Jemma Simmons escaped from the HYDRA Laboratories, Whitehall was discussing with Sunil Bakshi about moving to a new location when an unknown man broke into Whitehall's office. When the two guards tried to stop him, the stranger easily killed them. The man then opened the bag he was carrying to reveal the Obelisk inside. The man offered to teach Whitehall not only how to use the power of the artifact, which he called the Diviner, but how to survive it. Whitehall asked for his motives, and the stranger told him that the two had a common enemy: Phil Coulson.

Equipment

 * Weapons
 * : Whitehall was armed with the standard pistol used by members of the armed forces of Nazi Germany.
 * Uniform: During World War II, Whitehall used an official black SS uniform, wearing the rank insignia of . The SS runes on the right side of the collar were replaced with the HYDRA badge. He wore three military decorations on the left side of the uniform, the, the , and the . His officer cap also had the HYDRA badge instead of the SS Totenkopf badge.

Relationships

 * HYDRA (World War II) - Allies
 * Red Skull - Leader
 * HYDRA Officer - Subordinate
 * HYDRA (Second Incarnation) - Allies
 * Sunil Bakshi - Subordinate
 * Carl Creel - Subordinate
 * Agent 33 - Enemy turned Subordinate (brainwashed)
 * Skye's Father - Ally
 * Strategic Scientific Reserve - Enemies
 * Peggy Carter
 * Dum Dum Dugan
 * Jim Morita †
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. - Enemies
 * Raina - Victim

Appearances

 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Shadows
 * Heavy is the Head (mentioned)
 * Making Friends and Influencing People
 * Face My Enemy
 * A Hen in the Wolf House

Trivia

 * In the comics, Daniel Whitehall is a legendary member of HYDRA known as the Kraken.
 * Both Daniel Whitehall and John Garrett were members of the Great Wheel of the Zodiac, a collection of eleven of the most experienced espionage leaders in the Marvel Comics main continuity. Other prominent members that already appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan and Wolfgang von Strucker.
 * Though nearly seventy years has passed between his arrest by Peggy Carter and his hiring of Creel, Whitehall has not aged.