Superior

"These Inhumans. They did not suffer, labor, to become what they are. They have great power, but they didn't earn it. They are unnatural things. We will destroy them, and then the thing that brought them upon us."

- Anton Ivanov

Anton Ivanov, known to his subordinates as the Superior, is the current leader of the Watchdogs and a former member of the SVR who sought revenge against S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson for indirectly causing the executions of his unit members and for being the alleged root of Earth's extraterrestrial problems. After being crippled by Quake, his head was severed by Aida and placed in a jar, but he also gained the power to remotely control a robotic duplicate of himself so he could protect the Framework.

Losing Respect
"My father worked an oil drill. He was a son of a bitch, but he worked hard for not much, so I admired him. The richest man in my town, on the other hand, inherited his money from his father who built airplanes. He wore furs, was entitled. When I saw my father with this man, complimenting him, licking his boots, my admiration for my father evaporated."

- Anton Ivanov to Jeffrey Mace

Raised in Russia, Anton Ivanov's father was a script and cruel man, described by Ivanov himself as a son of a bitch, however his father's great dedication and hard work on an oil rig allowed Ivanov to greatly respect him. However, Ivanov lost all respect for his own father upon seeing him suck up to another man from their town who had never worked for his fortune. His moment reinforced Ivanov's view that money and power was something that should be earned through hard work, not inherited or stolen.

Encountering Phil Coulson
"They were killed for not retrieving the object stolen from our soil. When I looked for who did, I found S.H.I.E.L.D.. And after years of looking behind S.H.I.E.L.D., I found you. That face. The man there at the very beginning. What a coincidence."

- Anton Ivanov to Phil Coulson

While working for the SVR, Anton Ivanov and his unit were sent to collect the Russian 0-8-4 from an old military compound called the Burkov Mining Facility, however upon arriving they found Phil Coulson was already there, claiming he had been sent to be investigated a bio-hazard leak, although Ivanov's commander remained highly skeptical of his true reasons for being there. However, while they were speaking, Melinda May, then seemingly betrayed her partner Coulson and stole the 0-8-4 for herself before escaping, causing Ivanov's commander to take Coulson captive, with Ivanov looking at his hostage as he closed the doors of the van. However Ivanov and his unit were soon attacked by May who freed Coulson and escaped, as a direct result, Ivanov's unit were tortured and executed for the failure, although Ivanov managed to escape the same punishment. Ivanov went on to directly blame Coulson and all of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the incident which killed his allies.

Collecting Weapons
"A reclusive industrialist with interests all over the globe." "Could be the source of Nadeer's financing." "He's also an avid collector of military antiques so guns, tanks and a submarine."

- Quake and Phil Coulson

Anton Ivanov built his fortune working as an industrialist and spent much of his cash on military antiques, including a submarine. Upon learning of the Inhuman Outbreak, Ivanov was disgusted by the notion of Inhumans gaining power they did not earn and funded the Watchdogs in their mission to eliminate them, gaining the title of the Superior. Ivanov supported the work of Senator Ellen Nadeer, but gave her an order to execute her own brother when he underwent Terrigenesis. Nadeer at first refused, so Ivanov sent Tucker Shockley to complete the work until Nadeer shot and seemingly killed her brother as he had ordered.

Work with Holden Radcliffe
"The old ways are better, simple, built to last like this submarine. Modern machines all software, no hardware, you put too much faith in them. Man is the superior machine, and I, am the superior man. I'm told you refuse to talk, and that you welcome pain, I too love pain, and I love to make others feel it, using the old ways."

- Anton Ivanov to Billy Koenig

With the assistance of Holden Radcliffe, Ivanov learned of the location of the Darkhold which could help their war agains the Inhumans. Having kidnapped the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Billy Koenig who had hidden the book, Ivanov had Radcliffe pretend to be held hostage beside Koenig and greeted them both. Ivanov soon made it clear that they were to cooperate with him or die a horrifically painful death, while he drank some vodka and discussed it's taste. Ivanov told Koenig that S.H.I.E.L.D. put too much faith into machines and that man was the superior machine, removing his jacket while claiming that he was the superior man. Ivanov then noted how he had been told that Koenig refused to talk and welcomed pain, so he smashed his glass and prepared to cut out his eye while Radcliffe watched, telling him that he enjoyed causing people pain. However Radcliffe stopped him, reminding Ivanov that Senator Ellen Nadeer had promised that Koenig would not be harmed in a way that would cause permanent damage during the interrogation. While Ivanov watched as Radcliffe then used the Framework to scan Koenig's mind. When Ivanov questioned if the Darkhold was truly worth all this work, Radcliffe assured him that it held the answers to wiping out the Inhumans and would also help Radcliffe build a better world. While both Ivanov and Tucker Shockley became impatient waiting for the machine to finish it's work, Aida assured them it would be done soon and Radcliffe questioned their hatred of Inhumans. Ivanov explained he hated how the Inhumans gained great power without earning it which had personally enraged him. Just as Ivanov vowed to destroy the thing that brought the Inhumans to them, Aida then revealed that the scan was complete. Shockley removed Koenig while Radcliffe wore the Framework and began searching for the answers about where the Darkhold was. Despite false alarms and seeing Koenig hand the Darkhold over to Sam Koenig, eventually Radcliffe learned it had gone back to him and it was stored in the Labyrinth. However, unconvinced by Radcliffe's faith with machines, Ivanov got his knife and prepared to torture the information out of Koenig using his own torturous methods. However, just as Ivanov ordered Radcliffe and Aida to be removed, Aida fought back and used superhuman strength to kill Leo Babikov by punching through his stomach and ripping out his insides before she proceeded to crush Shockley's hand. As Ivanov then furiously confronted Radcliffe for bringing an Inhuman onto his submarine, Radcliffe corrected him and revealed that Aida was in fact his Life-Model Decoy robot. Ivanov was now highly impressed by Radcliffe's creation and when Radcliffe yet again ordered that the submarine be turned around, Ivanov agreed with a nod of the head.

Gaining the Darkhold
"I believe it is responsible for all of the alien problems on this planet, the Chitauri, Kree, Inhumans." "What is it?" "A man, he is always there, standing by, out of focus, in the shadows. He is dead, yet he is everywhere."

- Anton Ivanov and Holden Radcliffe

Having returned to his submarine having completed their mission to successfully steal the Darkhold book away from S.H.I.E.L.D. at the Labyrinth, Ivanov drank vodka with both Doctor Holden Radcliffe and Tucker Shockley, complimenting them on their successful mission. Taking the vodka, Radcliffe noted that Ivanov was correct that it did taste better when drunk with some onions, with Ivanov once again noting that the old ways were still always the best. When Radcliffe questioned Ivanov about the thing that brought the Inhumans to Earth that he mentioned earlier, Ivanov revealed he was referring to Phil Coulson, who had been at every recent major event involving an alien attack over the last few years, including the battle at the Labyrinth the night before. Ivanov also blamed for the recent Chitauri and Kree attacks against Earth, noting how he had even somehow returned from the dead. Radcliffe then confirmed that Coulson was not dead and agreed to assist Ivanov in his mission to find and kill Coulson and finally end the alien threat. Ivanov allowed Radcliffe to continue his own work on the Framework and, while Radcliffe slept during the night, Ivanov read the Darkhold, being told the way to wipe out the Inhumans was through Radcliffe. Once Radcliffe and Aida returned, Ivanov revealed what he had done much to Radcliffe's horror, as he had insisted on being the only one to examine the Darkhold. Ivanov however explained that he had only glanced at the pages and been told that Radcliffe was the solution to his and the Watchdogs' own plans for create a better world without Inhumans once they had wiped them from the Earth. They discussed destroying S.H.I.E.L.D. and Radcliffe informed Ivanov that although Inhumans were difficult to come by, he had a solution, revealing that he had a stockpile of Terrigen Crystals which he had obtained during his recent time with Hive who he explained had the opposite goals to Ivanov. Radcliffe explained that he had improved the compound so the Terrigen Mist within was completely harmless to humans but would cause Terrigenesis in any potential Inhumans exposed to it, with Ivanov then noting that they were counting on that being the case in order to continue their own plans.

Shockley's Terrigenesis
"I leave the city now, you've made it far too great a risk to even be in this country. We both know S.H.I.E.L.D. will come for you and try to take you down." "And I will take them down with me."

- Anton Ivanov and Tucker Shockley

Ivanov sent Tucker Shockley to use their Terrigen Crystals against Senator Ellen Nadeer in order to see if she was an Inhuman. However this seemingly triggered an explosion which had killed Nadeer and her staff. Once Shockley returned having someone survived, Ivanov furiously confronted him over Nadeer's death. Shockley claimed Nadeer had undergone Terrigenesis and had exploded, blaming it on Holden Radcliffe's crystals being faulty, although he said he could not remember how he survived the blast. When Ivanov asked how he could trust him, Shockley said that Ivanov was his superior. Accepting this, Ivanov let Shockley go and hugged him, claiming that was all he needed to hear. Ivanov then informed him that he intended to leave the United States of America as he knew Radcliffe would soon be found by S.H.I.E.L.D. and therefore it was too dangerous for him to stay. While Ivanov left to return to the Watchdogs Submarine to hide out, Shockley volunteered to stay behind in order to confront S.H.I.E.L.D. when they arrived, vowing to soon kill them all. Ivanov accepted this and left, leaving his men to be captured by Quake and other agents while he and the others soldiers got away. While on the road, Ivanov was contacted by Shockley who made a confession, that Nadeer had not been the one who had undergone Terrigenesis, but he had, becoming the Inhuman he despised so much. Although Ivanov instantly rejected Shockley as a result, he was told that Shockley still intended to be a soldier fighting for the lives of the Humans, so Ivanov then continued to listen to him. Shockley then vowed to bring S.H.I.E.L.D. to the Watchdogs and help them attack, using his new powers to destroy a cafe to attract S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention while Ivanov and his men came to him. As part of the plan, Shockley had a showdown with Quake, in which she used her powers to continually cause him to explode, all as a tactic to distract her while the Watchdogs made their approach to confront and kill Quake. However their convoy was attacked by Patriot, who used his incredible strength to stop Ivanov's jeep in it's tracks. While Shockley was being captured by Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons, Ivanov greeted Patriot and ordered all his men take the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. into their custody, using their Taser Rods to then subdue him while Ivanov watched on.

Testing a Director
"You're the one they take orders from?" "Da." "Then I'm placing you under arrest in the name of S.H.I.E.L.D." "With what power? Surely, you have used the last of yours."

- Jeffrey Mace and Anton Ivanov

With Director Jeffrey Mace now as his hostage, Ivanov removed his Patriot Suit and had it taken to Nome where it would be discovered along with his obsessive wall depicting the actions of Phil Coulson throughout his years. While Coulson followed his leads, Ivanov continued with his own plans in his base, looking over his men and the Watchdogs Submarine, ensuring that everything was still running smoothly for his men. Returning to his submarine, Ivanov found Holden Radcliffe in a sleep state while locked inside the Framework. When Ivanov attempted to pull Radcliffe out of the Framework to speak with him, Aida appeared and stopped him by grabbing ahold of his arm, warning that this could damage his brain. Ivanov demanded to have his arm back so he could speak to Radcliffe, refusing to talk to Aida at all, forcing her to comply with her commands and unlock Radcliffe's mind for the Framework, much to Radcliffe's annoyance until he realized Ivanov was also there wishing to speak privately with him. With Radcliffe now free, Ivanov told him he spent too much time inside the Framework while Radcliffe argued that he worked better when left alone, noting that he had completed much of the work required by Ivanov and the Watchdogs. When Radcliffe noted that Aida was on hand to assist, Ivanov reminded him that he did not made a deal with a Life-Model Decoy, but a scientist. Radcliffe then logged back into the Framework, promising that Ivanov would get what he wanted, with Ivanov threatening to both Radcliffe and Aida that he better get it before then leaving the submarine. Having now learned that Mace was not actually an Inhuman as had believed as he had been using a modified version of Calvin Zabo's Formula to gain his own powers, Ivanov allowed him to escape his cell using the remaining amounts of Patriot Serum he had left in his veins when he broke through his chains and subdued a single guard. Having let Mace break free, Ivanov greeted him in the hallway of his base as Mace tried to place him under arrest under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s leadership for his and the Watchdogs' many terrorist crimes against both the humans and the Inhumans alike. However Ivanov confidently noted that Mace had no power left to arrest him as he had used the last of all his own strength to free himself from his own chains and subdue the one guard Ivanov had left for him. As Mace charged forward with full confidence, he struck Ivanov in the chest, only for Ivanov to then prove that he had enough real strength to absorb the blow before dodging Mace's offer attacks with ease. Mace continued to fight back but Ivanov used his own superior SVR training to subdue the Director and then knock him out before having him dragged back into his prison cell.

Torturing Jeffrey Mace
"You see, there is something lower than scum, that which strives to be it, like you. You allow S.H.I.E.L.D. to fill your veins with poison and parade you around as an example, of what? S.H.I.E.L.D. claims to be a beacon for humanity, what it really is is a safe haven for Inhumanity."

- Anton Ivanov to Jeffrey Mace

Taking Jeffrey Mace back to his cell, Ivanov waited for his to awake before telling him the story about how his own family and how it had shaped his own outlook on his. Ivanov then compared this to Mace, who allowed Brigadier General Glenn Talbot to inject his body with the poisonous Patriot Serum which was now destroying his body. Ivanov then proved his point by digging a knife into Mace's chest, drawing blood from the seemingly indestructible director. As Mace noted his men would come for him, Ivanov said he was waiting. As Ivanov left the cell, Aida greeted him to report on how his work in interrogating Mace was going. When Aida made a reference to a metaphor, Ivanov made not that the Life-Model Decoys were still impressing him even now. Ivanov then questioned if his methods in interrogating Mace disturbed Aida, to which Aida acknowledged that Ivanov's method's of interrogation were unusual to her. Aida then questioned when Ivanov would be finished with Director Mace, at which point he claimed even filth had a purpose, sexually touching Aida's face before walking away from her. Knowing that Phil Coulson was now in Nome having discovered the corpses of his fallen SVR comrades, Ivanov then called Coulson, having left a phone is the mouth of his friend. As they spoke to each other, Coulson blamed Ivanov for having Melinda May and others kidnapped while Ivanov blamed Coulson for the deaths of his allies searching for an 0-8-4, years earlier. Despite Coulson insisting that he did not kill them, Ivanov noted that they were killed because of him and what he did all those years ago, noting he dug up all their bodies to pay his respects, promising to kill Coulson's allies. Having hung up on the call, Ivanov turned his attention back onto Mace, as he noted how Coulson hid behind S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as Tony Stark and the Avengers while he continued to pursue his own secret alien agenda. However Mace noted that Ivanov was merely pursuing an insane conspiracy theory which had since been installed into the Watchdogs who had since who that hate to hunt down the Inhumans. Ivanov however insisted that Coulson had opened up a world and allowed aliens onto the planet, vowing to make Mace and Coulson finally confess their sins to him very soon. Walking around him, Ivanov gave Director Mace a final chance to finally denounce S.H.I.E.L.D. and confess to any last regrets he may have. However, Mace insisted that he still believed in Coulson as well as S.H.I.E.L.D. to protect the Earth. Mace then noted that while Ivanov claimed to protect the Humans, he had clearly lost his own humanity many years ago. As a result, Ivanov then claimed to respect Mace's choice as he untied him, however he then walked out of his cell, leaving several of his own Watchdogs to beat him to death while he was gone, walking away while this was happening.

Showdown with S.H.I.E.L.D.
"I've been looking forward to facing one of you, readying myself. I strive for perfection. You are a genetic cheater." "I'm not a cheater. You're just playing by the old rules."

- Anton Ivanov and Quake

As S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stormed his base, Ivanov waited for a chance to finally confront Phil Coulson. Finding Coulson shooting his men with an I.C.E.R., Ivanov moved forward and disarmed him before knocking him to the floor, noting that he had waited a long time for a face to face with the agent, while Coulson mocked Ivanov's efforts. Pointing toward his Prosthetic Hand, Ivanov noted that Coulson had enhanced himself as well as many others to give himself an edge in their fight. Ivanov explained that throughout his research in understanding alien threats like the Chitauri Invasion, Coulson had been the one thread through it all while Coulson had realized Ivanov was one of the SVR agents he had encountered while searching for the Russian 0-8-4 years earlier. Ivanov explained that his unit had been tortured and killed for failing to gain the 0-8-4, which he blamed S.H.I.E.L.D. and Coulson for. Coulson however demanded to know where he could find both Melinda May and Jeffrey Mace, despite Ivanov continuing to play all his mocking mind games with Coulson. Coulson told Ivanov that he did not even remember what the 0-8-4 was that had killed the SVR agents, calling Ivanov just another who would fail to stop him from saving the world. As they were speaking Quake burst through the doors and Coulson left them alone, noting that Quake's main mission for the last few months was stopping the Watchdogs. With Ivanov and Quake now alone, he challenged her to fight against him, only for her to strike him with a shockwave which sent Ivanov flying backwards and into a pillar with incredibly painful force, which he soon recovered from. Ivanov soon recovered as Quake explained that she had followed the Watchdogs through their crimes, funding and deals with Ellen Nadeer until she had found Ivanov, who insisted that they stop talking and begin to fight as he drew his knives. Ivanov threw a blade a Quake who struck him with another shockwave, despite Ivanov's knife embedding itself in her shoulder. Ivanov and Quake recovered and continued their fight, with Ivanov using his blades to try and cut her, claiming that being one of the powerful Inhumans made her a cheat in the fight due to her own new superhuman powers. Ivanov had managed to maintain a good fight throughout the battle, despite Quake using her gauntlets to block his blades and even taking a headbutt without slowing down. However, despite Ivanov noting that he had trained for a long time to face an Inhuman and kill it with his bare hands, Quake told him that the game had changed before hitting him with another shockwave. While Ivanov quickly got back onto his feet, Quake fired another shockwave which destroyed the pillar he was standing by, causing rubble to collapse and crush Ivanov as Quake escaped to rejoin her own allies again. While Ivanov remained unconscious underneath all of the rubble, S.H.I.E.L.D. still continued on their mission, despite unknowingly having their top agents replaced by Life-Model Decoys while Holden Radcliffe managed to escape onboard the Watchdogs Submarine with the now captured agents. With Ivanov hardly breathing, Aida arrived and confirmed that he was still alive, only just barely. Aida updated the unconscious Ivanov on their plan, telling him he would still be important before repeating what he had said to her earlier, about filth still having a purpose for their plans.

New Body
"I don't want to live as a festering cripple, and you better not be talking about messing with my brain. I don't want to be a thing like you." "Don't worry. You'll be many things."

- Anton Ivanov and Aida

Due to his battle against Quake, Ivanov was mortally wounded and found himself unable to move below his waist. He was cared for by Aida who played Ivanov's favourite song by The Moody Blues, with Ivanov claimed he thought it was a good song to be born to, or maybe for him to die to. Aida told Ivanov that he would not die, with Ivanov warning that he did not want to live the rest of his life as a broken cripple. Ivanov also furiously claimed that he would not allow his body to be replaced by a Life-Model Decoy like her as this disgusted him, or be locked inside the Framework as he had seen it as an addiction held by Holden Radcliffe, with all this excitement causing Ivanov great pain as he collapsed back with his heart raising. Aida however told Ivanov that he would become many things before lifting up a large electric saw while Ivanov could only look on in utter horror, incapable of getting away. Aida then lowered the blade to Ivanov's flesh and cut away, causing Ivanov to scream out in utter agony. As Ivanov endured horrendous pain, Aida tore his body apart piece by piece, all while still keeping him alive for her own plans. Eventually she removed his body parts and replaced them with a recreated body, cutting off his head and keeping his brain active by locking it to the new body, which Ivanov could now control. Eventually Ivanov awoke, finding his body repaired and able to move again, making him at first believe he had been locked into the Framework with infuriated him as he confronted Aida and grabbed her by the throat in a bitter rage, reminding her that this is not what he wanted. Aida however calmly informed Ivanov of what had just happened, explaining that his body was mechanical while his mind was not, showing him his own severed head and noting that his strength had now been enhanced. Aida explained she had discovered how to do this by reading the Darkhold and explained that she needed Ivanov to continue to live and be walking around in order for him to protect the Framework. Aida noted that Ivanov was now a machine that could still feel all the emotions such as love and anger, which was what she intended to find for herself very soon.

Personality
"I am the captain of this ship, and you are my prisoners. If you cooperate, you will be treated as welcomed guests. If not, you will be removed piece by piece."

- Anton Ivanov

As a young boy, he greatly admired his abusive father because he worked hard for what he earns. But all of this was lost upon seeing him sucking up to a wealthy man who inherited his fortune. This gave him a sense of just that people would work for what they want to achieve and it should never be given to them. This could be one of the reasons why he views Inhumans in a hateful perspective and even thinks of them as abominations, calling them genetic cheaters because they inherited their abilities.

Powers
"See, good as new...and stronger it seems."

- Aida to Anton Ivanov


 * Android Physiology: Ivanov was granted a cybernetic body by Aida, remotely controlled by his own human brain.
 * Superhuman Strength: Aida commented on him having superior physical strength.

Abilities
"Let those animals destroy each other. We have the Inhuman Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

- Anton Ivanov to Patriot


 * Expert Tactician: To be added
 * Expert Combatant: To be added
 * Knife Mastery: To be added

Equipment

 * Knives: To be added

Family

 * Father

Allies

 * SVR
 * Watchdogs
 * Ellen Nadeer †
 * Tucker Shockley
 * Leo Babikov †
 * Holden Radcliffe †
 * Aida

Enemies

 * Vijay Nadeer
 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Phil Coulson - Target
 * Melinda May
 * Billy Koenig
 * Jeffrey Mace † - Hostage
 * Daisy Johnson/Quake - Attempted Killer

Trivia

 * In the comics, Anton is the seventh person who uses the mantle of the Red Guardian, the Soviet counterpart of Captain America. Unbeknownst to anyone, Anton is actually a Life-Model Decoy, and after he was decapitated by an alien, his head was kept alive in a storage.
 * Ivanov is a fan of The Moody Blues.

Appearances
In chronological order:
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Season Four
 * The Man Behind the Shield (flashback)
 * Broken Promises (mentioned)
 * Wake Up (mentioned)
 * Hot Potato Soup
 * BOOM
 * The Man Behind the Shield
 * Self Control
 * Identity and Change (mentioned)
 * All the Madame's Men