Dottie Underwood

"I used to be so jealous of girls like you. I would have done anything to walk like you, to talk like you. But now... I can be anybody I want."

- Dottie Underwood to Peggy Carter

The woman known as Dorothy "Dottie" Underwood is a Soviet assassin trained in the Red Room Academy. She subsequently adopted the persona of a small-town girl from Iowa and infiltrated the Griffith Hotel in New York City.

Early Life
"Russia has been training young women to be undercover operatives."

- Peggy Carter to Edwin Jarvis

Underwood was a part of a Russian program, which brainwashed and trained its subjects to become elite assassins. Along with hand-to-hand combat and tactical skills, she developed many habits there that would persist into adulthood, like cuffing herself to her bed when sleeping or sharing bread with others. In 1937, Underwood appeared to strike up a friendship with another girl in the program; together they watched American movies with subliminal messages while being taught English and they stole and shared bread together. However later the two friends were put together in a sparring match. Dottie managed to gain the upper hand and got Anya in a headlock. She looked at her tutor who gave Dottie a nod, and Dottie snapped her friend's neck, killing her instantly.

World War II
In 1944, Underwood stood beside Fyodor as he greeted four men, including Ivchenko, who were chosen to join Leviathan. She removed the bags from the bound men's heads so that they could see. When one of the men refused to join Leviathan, she stabbed him in the jugular vein and toppled his chair with a kick.

In December 1945, under the alias Ida Emke, Underwood dated Howard Stark, who took her to one of his vaults to impress her. There she saw that he owned a self-piloting airplane, among other inventions. Stark told Underwood that he had more inventions that would impress her if she saw the ones he kept in his mansion.

Introductions
"This place is pretty swell, huh? Seems like one big happy family."

- Dottie Underwood Pretending to be a girl from Iowa with aspirations to become a professional ballet dancer, Underwood came to the Griffith Hotel, moving into the room recently vacated by Molly Bowden. Landlady Miriam Fry was in the process of escorting her to her room when the pair happened upon Peggy Carter and Angie Martinelli, who were both reeling from a hard day at their respective jobs, in the hallway. Underwood introduced herself to the two women, though neither was much in the mood for conversation at the time.

When Jerome Zandow was arrested, Underwood followed Ray Krzeminski who was driving him to the New York Bell Company Office to be interrogated. As Krzeminski waited for a red light, she bumped her car against his. When he got out, Underwood quickly killed him with a suppressed gun. Underwood then killed a pleading Jerome Zandow before leaving the scene.

Procuring an Automatic Pistol
"Is that pistol an automatic? I want that."

- Dottie Underwood

Sometime later, Underwood ate supper with the other tenants as Peggy Carter, Angie Martinelli and Carol stuffed their purses with food. They began discussing the different methods that could be used to transport food to their rooms, with one of the women claiming Gloria, the woman sitting next to Underwood, possessed a pocketbook that had a compartment for holding a cup of gravy. After verifying this claim, Underwood asked Gloria if she could construct one for her, "to hold pickles", to which Gloria agreed. Later that evening, Underwood stumbled upon smuggler Otto Mink, who had come to assassinate Carter. Confused, she asked him if he was lost. Mink ordered her to return to her room and, when she did not comply, threatened her with his Automatic Pistol.

Observing the weapon, Underwood said she wanted it for herself and, abandoning her harmless country girl persona, attacked Mink. Using a set of acrobatic moves, she snapped his neck before he could retaliate, following which she confiscated the firearm. Hiding Mink's body under her bed, Underwood later posed with her newly-acquired weapon in front of the mirror, before being called down by Martinelli for dinner.

Investigating Peggy's Room
Meeting up with Peggy Carter at the L&L Automat the following morning, Underwood expressed her desire to see the city, marking several prominent locations like Central Park and the Empire State Building on a map. In response, Carter stated they were "tourist traps" and recommended Underwood start with Brooklyn instead, to get to know the city's people. Underwood then "accidentally" caused Carter's purse to fall off the table - she quickly picked up the items that spilled out, but pocketed the key to Carter's room. After Carter had gone to work, Underwood entered the agent's room using the key and began thoroughly searching it. Discovering a hidden compartment in the wardrobe, she pulled out a box that contained photos of Howard Stark's recovered inventions. Taking one of the pictures, Underwood then put back the box, placing everything exactly as it originally was, and moved to the vanity, where she observed a photo of pre-serum Steve Rogers. After briefly assuming Carter's bearing and accent, Underwood exited the room, carefully placing the string that Carter had in the lock as she closed the door.

That evening, Underwood handcuffed herself to the headboard of her bed, as she always did since her days at the Red Room Academy.

Target: Peggy Carter
"Gosh, I hope she's okay. Should I call an ambulance?"

- Dottie Underwood

The next day, Underwood took the subway to a dentistry office across the street from the New York Bell Company. The dentist working there assumed she was there for an interview and invited her in. During the interview he touched her leg and indicated he wanted a sexual favor from her. She killed the dentist by drilling into his eyeball then set up a high powered rifle in his office window.

Underwood aimed her rifle at the office window of Roger Dooley as he interviewed Doctor Ivchenko. As Ivchenko stood by the window, she sent beams of light for him to see. He sent back a coded message that Underwood translated; Peggy Carter was to be killed. Underwood returned to the Griffith Hotel as Strategic Scientific Reserve agents Jack Thompson and Daniel Sousa were leading a raiding party to capture Carter. She saw Carter as Carter was attempting to leave the building. Underwood pretended she seemed concerned for Carter's safety. Carter said she had to go and would not be able to attend dinner. As Carter tried to get past, Underwood gave her a hug and suddenly kissed her full on the lips. Underwood kissed her hard; she had a coating of Sweet Dreams Lipstick on her lips. Carter was knocked unconscious. Underwood pulled out her switchblade to kill Carter, but got interrupted by Thompson and Sousa who noticed them. When Thompson and Sousa saw the unconscious agent, Underwood told them that she found Carter like that. Underwood watched as Carter was arrested.

Afterwards, Angie Martinelli entered her room to announce a meeting that Miriam Fry was holding; Underwood had abandoned it.

Baby Carriage
Underwood went to a store and purchased a baby carriage, telling the salesperson that she wanted a pink blanket to go inside. The salesperson remarked that she must not be far along in her pregnancy, because she was not showing; Underwood silently quipped that she had an arrival coming soon.

She then returned to Seth Honicky's Dentistry Office where Ivchenko informed her through a Morse code message that she needed to prep for evacuation. Leaving the office, Underwood saw Agent Daniel Sousa inspecting various offices in the building. She attempted to walk silently past him, but she was discovered. They fought until Sousa held her at gunpoint; running to the stairs, she was seen by another Strategic Scientific Reserve agent holding a gun. Underwood used the banister of the stairwell to jump down ten flights to the bottom floor. She killed the agent waiting there for her, procured a car, and met with Ivchenko who was carrying Item 17.

Learning that Item 17 needed to be tested after its long dormancy, Underwood placed it in a baby carriage and activated it within a movie theater, causing the audience to brutally murder each other.

Target: Howard Stark
Underwood and Ivchenko drove in the car while they discussed the city. While Ivchenko was impressed by the city, Underwood considered it like any other. A police officer stopped them as Ivchenko told her not to attract attention. Using her innocent persona, Underwood managed to convince the officer to not give them a ticket. As the officer prepared to leave, he got informed over the radio to search for a woman matching Underwood's description and the car she was driving. As he went for his gun Underwood quickly held him at gunpoint and captured him.

Ivchenko and Underwood went to a warehouse of Howard Stark and she quickly killed an employee who tried to stop them. Ivchenko learned of the return of Howard Stark and told her they will go back to the city.

As Howard Stark attended a press conference, Underwood installed a rigged rifle to shoot at Stark. She then killed the two police officers at his car and Ivchenko hypnotized the captured cop to drive Stark away. Underwood later killed the hypnotized cop and she and Ivchenko took a captured Stark away by car. Underwood reminded Stark that they spent a weekend together; Stark tried to remember her name but was unsuccessful.

At the warehouse, Underwood tied him to a chair and beat him while he kept trying to come up with her name. Ivchenko confronted Stark and told him how his Item 17 killed countless Russian soldiers during the war including his brother, while Ivchenko could only watch. Ivchenko then hypnotised Stark to make him believe he had found Steve Rogers and flew towards him. However, in reality, he was flying a plane and was preparing to spread Item 17. Fennhoff and Underwood stayed in contact with Stark over the radio as he flew the plane. Carter entered with a shotgun and confronted them. Underwood quickly disarmed her with a kick and knocked the SSR Agent down. Underwood tried to kill her with her switchblade; however, Carter disarmed her with a sheet. Underwood ordered Fennhoff to go as she fought Carter and quickly overpowered her. Underwood mentioned that she used to be jealous of girls like Carter, but now she can be anyone she wants. Underwood prepared to finish Carter off with a baseball bat. Carter managed to duck the blow and kick her out a window. Underwood fell hard on a plane and kept laying down while bleeding. As Carter later looked for her, Underwood had disappeared.

Personality
Underwood is a cold-blooded operative. She is able to assume the guise of a harmless and innocent woman while completely hiding her true nature. Trained from a young age to be a ruthless killer and a spy, Underwood kills her targets without doubt or any regard for human life. She is able to fake multiple emotions to deceive her victims before striking; she was even able to befriend and trick Peggy without raising any suspicion.

Underwood often takes her targets' weapons for herself, having taken the Automatic Pistol from Otto Mink and the Sweet Dreams Lipstick from Peggy Carter.

Abilities

 * Master Acrobat: Underwood was a skilled acrobat, capable of building up momentum for an attack by jumping up against walls, and landing skillfully once the attack had been completed. She used the railings and banisters of a staircase to jump down ten flights of a building to avoid capture from the SSR.
 * Master Martial Artist: Underwood received extensive training in hand to hand combat, which, coupled with her acrobatic prowess, allowed her to easily kill Otto Mink before he had a chance to fire at her with his pistol. Her fighting skills allow her to quickly disarm trained agents. During her fight with Carter she was able to disarm and quickly overwhelm her before ultimately being defeated.
 * Master Spy: Trained to be a spy, Underwood convincingly assumed the guise of a harmless and slightly naive girl from Iowa, managing to fool even Peggy Carter, a trained intelligence agent. Aiding her in her deceptions was her ability to fake emotions and adopt various accents. Underwood slept with Howard Stark to learn the location of Midnight Oil for Ivchenko.
 * Expert Tactician: Underwood is highly skilled in tactics and able to outthink her opponents. She was able to abduct Howard Stark from a heavily guarded press conference by creating a distraction.
 * Expert Marksman: Underwood is skilled in the use of firearms, killing Ray Krzeminski and Jerome Zandow.

Equipment

 * Switchblade: Underwood uses this to kill her victims.
 * : Underwood used a the Korovin, the first semi-automatic pistol of Soviet origin, customized with a suppressor, to kill Ray Krzeminski and Jerome Zandow.
 * Automatic Pistol: Underwood stole this from Otto Mink.
 * : Underwood used this to observe Doctor Ivchenko.
 * Sweet Dreams Lipstick: Underwood stole this from Peggy Carter. If someone is kissed by Underwood while she has the lipstick on, then they will become lightheaded and eventually pass out.
 * Rigged Sniper Rifle: Underwood used this to create a distraction to kidnap Howard Stark.

Allies

 * Leviathan
 * Fyodor
 * Johann Fennhoff
 * Griffith Hotel
 * Miriam Fry - Landlady
 * Angie Martinelli - Neighbor

Enemies

 * Anya † - Friend and Victim
 * Pasha † - Victim
 * Howard Stark - Target
 * Jerome Zandow † - Victim
 * Otto Mink † - Victim
 * Seth Honicky † - Victim
 * Strategic Scientific Reserve
 * Ray Krzeminski † - Victim
 * Jack Thompson
 * Daniel Sousa
 * Peggy Carter - Target
 * Corcoran † - Victim

Appearances

 * Agent Carter
 * Season One
 * Time and Tide
 * The Blitzkrieg Button
 * The Iron Ceiling
 * A Sin to Err
 * Snafu
 * Valediction

Behind the Scenes

 * Bridget Regan studied Scarlett Johansson's choreography from the Marvel Cinematic Universe films to faithfully portray a "Black Widow" in her character's fight scenes.