Eli Morrow

"From high school to grad school, no one believed in me! They thought I was cheating. They thought I wasn't capable! Shut me out. Well, guess what ... guess what I'm capable of now. I can create a city out of nothing, or I can cover it in volcanic rock. Robbie, I am becoming a god."

- Eli Morrow to Robbie Reyes

Elias "Eli" Morrow was the maternal uncle of Robbie and Gabe Reyes and a former employee at Momentum Labs. Witnessing the experiments being done by his coworkers, Morrow began to crave the power for himself, and betrayed his colleagues, turning them into ghost-like entities before attacking Joseph Bauer in order to find the Darkhold, but Bauer fell into a coma before revealing its location, and Morrow was imprisoned at South Ridge Penitentiary. He was later kidnapped by Bauer's wife, Lucy in order to force Morrow to use the Darkhold and reverse the process. However, Morrow tricked her and managed to fulfill his original plan, entering the machine and obtaining the power of creating matter at his own will. In the final battle against the S.H.I.E.L.D., Morrow was killed by Ghost Rider, who revealed himself to be Robbie.

Under-Appreciated Scientist
"I'm sure it wasn't easy growing up where you did, but you were one in ten from your high school to graduate from college, and the only one to go on and get a PHD. You worked hard to provide for your sister and her kids so I think you're a decent guy."

- Phil Coulson to Eli Morrow

Morrow grew up in Southern California where, despite some petty theft as a kid, he proved himself as a exceptional scientist by not only being one of the very few from his high school to graduate from college, but the only one to get a PHD afterwards. Despite his education and brilliant scientific mind, Morrow continued to struggle to find his way in the world of science, finding himself disrespected by others due to his poor upbringing. He continued living in Los Angeles with his nephews Robbie and Gabe Reyes, raising them like they were his own when their parents died.

Working for Momentum
"He's insane, changing the specs without consulting us! We gotta get that book away from him." "You have to trust us." "Trust?! Did you just see what happened?! This is about safety!"

- Eli Morrow and Lucy Bauer

While Morrow was at Momentum Labs working as a top engineer, Doctor Lucy Bauer and her husband Joseph spearheaded a project to build a machine that could defy the laws of physics to generate materials. Despite being months away from a beta test, Morrow was called into work as the team had seemingly had a sudden breakthrough and were ready for a test, using Quantum Batteries which Joseph had built. Morrow watched a test in which the Bauers seemingly created some carbon out of fine air with a blast of energy. While the team celebrated the breakthrough, Morrow was horrified, noting that such power was impossible and should not be done as it broke the first law of thermal dynamics. Expressing his thoughts to Lucy, Morrow was informed that the plans for the machine came from a book known as the Darkhold, however Joseph pulled Lucy away before she could explain anymore about the book, warning Morrow to keep it quiet and not ask too many questions about it. Morrow became captivated by the book and planned to give himself powers by using it, even if that meant betraying the Bauers. Morrow watched as Joseph slowly had a mental breakdown due to his work with the Darkhold, fearing for their own safety, Morrow tried to get the book away from him only to be attacked with mugs Joseph threw at him. Morrow confronted Lucy, claiming the power cells they were working with could kill them all if misused. Lucy revealed to Morrow that the Darkhold had revealed it was possible to generate matter themselves, without the machine. While Morrow desired this power for himself, he lied and told Lucy he wanted to destroy the book, claiming he only wanted to protect them.

Betraying his Co-Workers
"Where is Frederick? Where are the others? What have you done with them?" "Same thing that I'm going to do to you!"

- Lucy Bauer and Eli Morrow

Fearful of Morrow's growing obsession with the Darkhold, Joseph Bauer hired the Fifth Street Locos to assassinate him, but the gang instead attacked Morrow's nephews, Robbie and Gabe Reyes. The incident left Gabe a paraplegic and Robbie to be the new Ghost Rider unknowingly although both brothers did survive the shooting. Furious, Morrow decided to steal the book and used the Quantum Batteries to kill all the other scientists, Frederick, Vincent and Hugo, leaving no remains behind for anybody else to discover. Morrow made his play for the Darkhold, using the Quantum Particle Generator to seemingly kill Lucy Bauer, but the experiment in fact turned them into ghost-like entities contained within four boxes designed by the Darkhold. He then went after Joseph and tried to beat the Darkhold's location out of him, but Joseph stubbornly refused to give it up. Morrow's assault put Joseph into a coma, and Morrow was then sent into South Ridge Penitentiary for attempted manslaughter, claiming that he had attacked Joseph because his experiments had killed the rest of their team.

Visit in South Ridge Penitentiary
"I'd like to keep the past where it is." "Well, unfortunately your past has come back to haunt you, because your colleagues, turns out they didn't die that day." "The hell are you talking about?"

- Eli Morrow and Phil Coulson

While serving him in South Ridge Penitentiary, Morrow was visited by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson. Coulson asked Morrow about his time working at Momentum Labs but Morrow refused to answer, claiming he did not want to look back on the past. Coulson however explained the ghosts of Lucy Bauer and several of their co-workers had returned to terrorize Los Angeles. Morrow did not want to believe what Coulson said and stonewalled him, despite Coulson suggesting that his cooperation could get him out of jail. Morrow was more open when Robbie Reyes arrived later that same day to talk to him on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s behalf, promising that they only wanted to help and protect the world. Once they had briefly had a chat about the Hell Charger's condition and how Gabe Reyes was doing, Morrow told him about what happened at Momentum Labs and why he put Joseph Bauer in a coma, claiming that it was Joseph who was responsible for the team's deaths by conducting dangerous experiments that had caused an explosion. He also claimed that Bauer would be looking for the Darkhold, although he also advised that his nephew not to go anywhere near it.

South Ridge Penitentiary Riot
"I told you to stay away from this!" "Mr. Morrow, Dr. Bauer can walk through walls so we've got to go." "Walk through walls? Yeah S.H.I.E.L.D. said she had abilities."

- Eli Morrow and Alphonso Mackenzie

Morrow soon became the target of Lucy Bauer, who intended to capture him to read the Darkhold. Upon the revelation of this danger, Morrow was found by Robbie Reyes and another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Alphonso Mackenzie, who were working together to rescue him. Once his cell door had been opened with a Pick-Lock Device, Morrow expressed his horror and Reyes getting involved, although decided to come when he realised he could reclaimed the Darkhold for himself. Morrow was quickly escorted by the pair through the prison and towards the exit of the South Ridge Penitentiary, all amidst the widespread chaos of prisoner riots and fights. Mackenzie was soon forced to leave the pair in order to use his Shotgun-Axe to assist several trapped workers. Before they could get outside, Reyes made the choice to leave his uncle to then deal with some personal matters involving Santino Noguera, telling Morrow to head for the exit and regroup with S.H.I.E.L.D. out there who would be waiting to collect them both, promising he would catch up with him. As Morrow made his way out and searched for Phil Coulson and the other Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., he was instead intercepted by Lucy Bauer, who ordered him to march towards an ambulance to escape. As he followed Bauer's orders, Morrow paused, leading to Bauer threatening to put her ghostly hand through his head which would cause his brain to become infected by horrific visions until his heart gave out. Knowing Bauer wanted him dead, Morrow did as he was instructed and they made their escape from the prison before S.H.I.E.L.D. found them and could rescue him. He was then forced to travel to the Pasadena Momentum Laboratory, where Bauer killed the guards and led him into the reactor room. Bauer revealed her intentions for Morrow: he was to read the Darkhold and return her to human state before completing their work on the Quantum Batteries as, due to her current ghostly form, she was unable to read the book. Hesitantly, Morrow opened the book and began to see words form on the pages in Spanish, enticed him with its knowledge and giving him the information he needed to become powerful and gain superhuman abilities.

Gaining Power
"Took a lot longer than I had hoped, but... all those years in jail, I had to plan very carefully." "The attack of Joseph Bauer. That wasn't payback. You just wanted the Darkhold." "Yeah, he was a lot tougher than he looked."

- Eli Morrow and Phil Coulson

Escaping from their Pasadena Momentum Laboratory before they could be discovered, Morrow and Lucy Bauer found a new laboratory in a Roxxon Power Plant. There they recreated the Quantum Batteries and prepared to complete the experiment, when Morrow noted how unstable the plant was, Bauer ignored his warnings and just told him to work faster. As Bauer noted how she wished Joseph Bauer could have been there to see it, Morrow reminded her of her husband's many crimes, including putting Gabe Reyes into his wheelchair by hiring the Fifth Street Locos to assassinate him. As Bauer continued to ignore Morrow's warnings, he simply reminded her that everything that had happened was due to the Darkhold's influence on them, however as he was still unable to stop Bauer, he continued his work in order to complete the device and finally gain the power that he had secretly desired ever since learning of the Darkhold. Stepping back into the labratory, Morrow discovered that Bauer was gone and agent Phil Coulson had arrived, seeking to bring him to safety. When Morrow demanded to know where the Darkhold was, Coulson responded it was in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody for safe keeping. Morrow then refused to be rescued, as he was now very close to finally achieving his goals. Morrow sealed himself inside the machine, revealing his true intentions before he recommended that Coulson escape the facility and activated the chamber, embracing his final moments before he would receive his powers. The result blasted a wave of incredible inter-dimensional energy across the facility which had seemingly destroyed all remains of life except for Morrow's, with Coulson vanishing without a trace along with Leo Fitz and Robbie Reyes who were also on the mission to rescue Morrow. Emerging out of the chamber, Morrow tested his abilities and found that he could create matter seemingly from nothing, looking down at his hand as he created a shard of pure carbon. Assuming Coulson and the others were dead, Morrow left the room before Melinda May and Alphonso Mackenzie could find him. While fleeing the facility, Morrow was stopped by a S.H.I.E.L.D. squad who were ordered to apprehend him. Morrow demonstrated his newfound abilities by creating a stick of carbon, which defied the laws of conservation of mass. When one of the agents had asked him to drop the carbon, Morrow did so but then abruptly murdered all members of the S.H.I.E.L.D. squad, causing carbon shards to materialize though their bodies to rupture the bones out of their bodies and impale them. Morrow fled the facility before anyone could stop him, leaving a thick wall of carbon behind to cover his tracks, leaving the bodies to be found by May and Mackenzie.

Los Angeles Decimation Plot
"You're right, hard days work deserves a hard days pay. Hope you take diamonds, they're unrefined but they're priceless once properly cut. Speaking of which, you may have to cut the rest out of his lungs. If S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to see what I'm creating... I'll show them. I'll show them all!"

- Eli Morrow to the Chinatown Crew

While Morrow was creating an enlarged version of a Quantum Battery with a Demon Core inside, he was interrupted by Peng, who warned him that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were surrounding their headquarters and were preparing to attack. When Morrow ordered Peng to keep them all busy, Peng turned to the other members of the Chinatown Crew and noted how Morrow had not yet paid them for their work and therefore they would not fight for him any longer. Morrow responded by demonstrating his new powers by lodging diamonds in Peng's throat and ordered his men to cut his lungs if they wanted any for their payment. This terrified the other members of the Chinatown Crew into working without question while Morrow continued constructing his Quantum Battery, saying that he'll show S.H.I.E.L.D. what he was making. Knowing that he the headquarters would soon be attacked, Morrow lay a trap in which any agents stepping inside would set off a bomb, almost killing Yo-Yo Rodriguez in the process when the bomb was set off.

Confronted by Ghost Rider
. "They looked at me like they were better, like they were smarter! The condescension in their eyes, they got what they deserved." "You had to get vengeance." "Not vengeance, respect!"

- Eli Morrow and Robbie Reyes

Returning to the Quantum Battery, Morrow discovered to his horror that Robbie Reyes was there. Despite Morrow trying to convince Reyes to leave now, he discovered that Reyes was in fact there to kill his uncle and began transforming into the Ghost Rider. Left with no other choice, Morrow impaled Reyes with a shard of carbon which went through Reyes' chest, however did not kill him, seeing his survival, Morrow noted that Reyes had clearly been keeping this secret identity from everybody, including his very own family. Morrow noted how he had heard stories of the Ghost Rider while inside the South Ridge Penitentiary, when he questioned how it had happened, Reyes explained it was the night of the drive-by shooting, although Morrow still tried to put the blame on Lucy and Joseph Bauer. Reyes confronted Morrow over the deaths he had caused, noting how Gabe Reyes looked up to him as a father, however Morrow refused to accept Reyes' accusations, and he instead ranted about the lack of respect he had gotten while he had been working for Momentum Labs under the Bauer's leadership. Morrow explained how throughout his entire life he had never gotten respect and that nobody believed in his abilities, seeing him as a failure and a cheater. As he explained what his powers had become, Morrow told Reyes that he had now become a god, Reyes noted the devil was coming for him as he attempted to turn back into the Ghost Rider, so Morrow was forced to impale him again. As Reyes stood trapped in the battery in utter agony, Morrow reminded him he had been given the chance to leave and whatever happened would be his fault before walking away from the room.

Battle at Chinatown Crew Headquarters
"The Darkhold has shown me the way. I can create life, even after death. Can a petty thief do that, huh?" "That bomb isn't a fail-safe, is it? It's your end game." "It's not my end... it's yours."

- Eli Morrow and Phil Coulson

As Morrow showed off his new power to Robbie Reyes, he was then interrupted by the arrival of the Chinatown Crew who had brought in the captured Phil Coulson, who claimed Morrow was not a god, but still merely a petty thief. While Morrow questioned how Coulson was still alive, he was insulted as Coulson noted that he clearly knew nothing about what was really happening while also checking on Reyes' condition, before confronting Morrow for causing such agony to his own nephew. Coulson explained to Morrow that he was not creating matter from nothing, but was stealing it from another dimension which was causing earthquakes that would soon cause a massive explosion that could destroy Los Angeles. Morrow however insisted that the Darkhold had shown him how to create life after death and that's what he was planning, to use the Demon Core in order to wipe out the world and replace it with new life. As Reyes transformed back into the Ghost Rider, Coulson then called on his S.H.I.E.L.D. team to charge into the room and attack all of Morrow's men. The team led by Jeffrey Mace stormed in and attacked Morrow and the Chinatown Crew, with Melinda May and Alphonso Mackenzie taking them on in hand-to-hand combat before Yo-Yo Rodriguez charged through the battle with her super-speed, giving her allies the advantage they needed to easily overpower the team and known Morrow into the Quantum Battery. As a gateway to hell opened up underneath them created by the other members of Coulson and Mace's team, Reyes completed his transformation while Morrow attempted to escape before he could fall into their trap. While Coulson used to Hellfire Chain to and free Ghost Rider from the shards of carbon he was still impaled with, Morrow tried to get out of the core before he died of Palladium poisoning. Unwilling to allow Morrow to escape without being punished for his actions however, Ghost Rider let go of the chain and instead grabbed ahold of Morrow, trapping him inside the core. Ghost Rider then proceeded to engulf Morrow's entire body in flames, causing him to scream in agony as he burned to death before they were both dragged into the other dimension and seemingly disappeared forever.

Personality
"You know how hard I had to work to get here? To achieve what I've achieved, and you're calling me a thief, a fraud?" "Eli wake up! Don't you see what's happening? Don't let your ego blind you to the truth!" "What you call truth Agent Coulson, I call theory."

- Eli Morrow and Phil Coulson

To be added

Powers
"Eli Morrow just wiped out an entire S.H.I.E.L.D. tac team with a few shards of carbon that he created out of thin air." "And that's just what we've seen; what else is he capable of?"

- Phil Coulson and Melinda May


 * Matter Creation: After his successful use of the Quantum Particle Generator on himself, Morrow gained the ability to create and manipulate matter, and to shape and move objects even at a distance from himself. Originally only able to create, he later learned to produce elements more complex, like and , and even compounds like water. Morrow erroneously assumed that he was creating matter from nothing, violating the ; in reality, he was channeling and transforming the quantum energy of another realm of existence.

Abilities
"I have a damn PHD in engineering!"

- Eli Morrow


 * Master Engineer: To be added
 * Bilingualism: Eli Morrow is fluent in both English and Spanish, which was his first language.

Family

 * Sister †
 * Brother-in-Law †
 * Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider - Nephew and Killer
 * Gabe Reyes - Nephew

Allies

 * Chinatown Crew - Employees
 * Chen † - Former Cellmate
 * Peng † - Employee turned Victim

Enemies

 * Momentum Labs - Former Employers
 * Lucy Bauer † - Former Colleague, Captor, and Attempted Victim
 * Joseph Bauer † - Former Superior and Attempted Victim
 * Vincent † - Former Colleague and Attempted Victim
 * Hugo † - Former Colleague and Attempted Victim
 * Frederick † - Former Colleague and Attempted Victim
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. - Former Allies
 * Phil Coulson
 * Alphonso Mackenzie
 * Melinda May †
 * Yo-Yo Rodriguez
 * Jeffrey Mace †
 * Spirit of Vengeance

Appearances
In chronological order:
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Season Four
 * The Good Samaritan (flashbacks)
 * Meet the New Boss (photo)
 * Uprising (photo)
 * Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire
 * Lockup
 * The Good Samaritan
 * Deals With Our Devils
 * The Laws of Inferno Dynamics

Trivia

 * In the comics, Eli Morrow was the estranged paternal uncle of Robbie Reyes and Gabe Reyes, a serial killer, and a . After being shot by the police, he merged his soul with his nephew Robbie Reyes, becoming the Ghost Rider.
 * As of now, Eli Morrow is the only main antagonist in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that is neither a member of HYDRA (John Garrett and Daniel Whitehall) or an Inhuman (Jiaying and Hive) nor was his integration into the series tied with either group in any way (Holden Radcliffe and Aida).
 * Eli Morrow's ability to create matter involved drawing energy from the Hell dimension is akin to the Ancient One's explanation of Magic.