Daniel Whitehall

"I know how long you have been searching for this, Dr. Whitehall." "You have no idea."

- Sunil Bakshi and 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 remained young 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 Deutsches Afrikakorps. 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 his youthful appearance, 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.

Equipment
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)
 * Red Skull - Leader
 * HYDRA Officer - Subordinate
 * HYDRA (Second Incarnation)
 * Sunil Bakshi - Subordinate
 * Carl Creel - Subordinate
 * Strategic Scientific Reserve - Enemies
 * Peggy Carter
 * Dum Dum Dugan
 * Jim Morita

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 world. 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.
 * Daniel Whitehall wore a silver on his uniform, hinting that he may be a capable fighter.