HYDRA

TALK PAGE

"HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize is that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded, and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew, a beautiful parasite, inside S.H.I.E.L.D. For 70 years, HYDRA has been secretly feeding crises, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."

- Arnim Zola to Captain America and Black Widow

HYDRA is a terrorist-military organization bent on world domination. It was founded shortly after the rise of Nazism in Germany by Johann Schmidt as the scientific branch of the Nazi Schutzstaffel. Its main purpose was to create advanced weaponry for the German armies, but over the years, members of HYDRA became loyal only to Schmidt himself. At the beginning of World War II, HYDRA still fought for the Nazi cause, but in 1943, Schmidt separated HYDRA from Nazi Germany to start his own conquest of the world.

After its defeat at the hands of Captain America in 1945 and the subsequent disappearance of Johann Schmidt, HYDRA was secretly rebuilt inside S.H.I.E.L.D. by Schmidt's top scientist Arnim Zola, who was recruited into the agency during Operation Paperclip. Though Zola's body died in 1972, HYDRA was already well established, and Zola's mind continued to live in a computer. In the following decades, HYDRA secretly fed crises around the world, aiming to create a society that would accept the fascist New World Order just to gain its security.

By the beginning of the 21st century, operatives of HYDRA managed to spread outside of S.H.I.E.L.D., infiltrating many important organizations, including the United States Senate, and establishing many secret bases around the world. One of HYDRA's top agents in S.H.I.E.L.D., John Garrett, secretly led the Centipede Project with the goal to recreate the Super Soldier. In 2014, HYDRA's plans for world domination almost succeeded through their agent Alexander Pierce and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Project Insight. However, their plan to eliminate 20 million people who posed a threat to HYDRA failed because of the efforts of HYDRA's oldest enemy, Captain America, who publicly exposed their infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. and destroyed their main tool of destruction, three of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarriers. However, HYDRA's leader Wolfgang von Strucker already had new plans for global domination, plans which included twins declared "miracles" and the Scepter.

With its existence publicly known, HYDRA started a war against the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D., taking over many S.H.I.E.L.D. bases. For many months, HYDRA's forces led by John Garrett fought a vicious fight against the small team of loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Phil Coulson. Despite its attempt to infiltrate the U.S. Armed Forces through Ian Quinn and Deathlok Soldiers, Garrett's group was ultimately defeated through the combined efforts of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s former director Nick Fury, Coulson's team, and the U.S. Marines.

However, even that defeat was only a temporary setback for HYDRA. S.H.I.E.L.D. was destroyed and publicly declared a terrorist organization, and many HYDRA agents continued with their work, including the high ranking member Daniel Whitehall who used the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. to start the campaign to recover the mysterious Obelisk. However, the campaign ended disastrously for HYDRA. Whitehall was killed before he could fully exploit the Obelisk, his second in command Sunil Bakshi was captured, and many other heads of HYDRA were killed by HYDRA itself when S.H.I.E.L.D. fooled them into thinking that there was a power struggle within HYDRA's ranks. The only remaining heads of HYDRA, Baron von Strucker and Doctor List, continued with their experiments on powered individuals. However, even their experiments came to an end when the Avengers attacked and captured Strucker's fortress in Sokovia. Despite the deaths of the leaders and destruction of most of the bases, Grant Ward decided to become HYDRA's new head, with the remaining operatives pledging their loyalty to him.

Foundation and First Actions
"Howard, the footage you're about to see was just smuggled out of Nazi Germany by "Agent 13", an undercover operative the British have planted deep within HYDRA, Hitler's advanced weapons program."

- Chester Phillips HYDRA has its roots in the special weapons division of the Nazi Sturmabteilung. Led by Ernst Kaufmann, the division was charged with developing advanced weapons for the German Army.

In June 1934, during the, Kaufmann was killed by the SS officer Johann Schmidt. Schmidt and his men eliminated Kaufmann's entire unit, except one man, Doctor Arnim Zola. Schmidt took over Kaufmann's weapons program and formed his own SS research division, naming it HYDRA. The new unit was formed with the official approval of the Nazi Führer, Adolf Hitler.

HYDRA was named after the mythological creature and used its original phrase: "cut off one head, two more will take its place". It was soon charged with science experiments and deep investigation of the occult. Due to contributions from Arnim Zola, HYDRA developed several extremely advanced weapons. When the started in 1936, the leaders of the Third Reich decided to support the  led by. HYDRA was among the German units sent by Adolf Hitler to assist the Nationalists on the battlefield.

In April 1937, HYDRA's tanks and soldiers equipped with powerful exo-skeleton battle suits destroyed the city of Guernica. At the time, it was believed the German air force, the Luftwaffe, was responsible for the destruction of the city. However, the footage of the slaughter was smuggled out of Germany by the British agent Margaret Carter and handed over to the US military in January 1940.

The Nazi Science Division
"HYDRA is the Nazi deep science division. It's led by Johann Schmidt. But he has much bigger ambitions." "HYDRA's practically a cult. They worship Schmidt, they think he's invincible."

- Peggy Carter and Chester Phillips to Senator Brandt In 1939, World War II broke out. HYDRA's leader Johann Schmidt actively participated in the Nazi conquest of Europe. Though the United States of America weren't yet involved in the war, Schmidt knew that was only temporary. In 1940, HYDRA assassins attempted to kill the American industrialist Howard Stark, but with the help of Colonel Chester Phillips, Stark was able to defeat the attackers, and decided to join the Strategic Scientific Reserve.

That November, at Castle Kaufmann in the, Schmidt injected himself with Abraham Erskine's Super Soldier Serum. He expected to become the superior man, but the unstable serum disfigured his face and turned him into a super strong megalomaniac villain. Erskine escaped with the help of Agent Peggy Carter, Colonel Phillips, and Stark. Adolf Hitler gave Schmidt a military base in the Alps, which he turned into a headquarters of HYDRA. Over time, HYDRA members became more loyal to Schmidt than the Third Reich.

Immediately after the start of the war, HYDRA began building several factories across the Nazi-occupied Europe. By 1942, they had factories in Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Poland, Italy, and Czechoslovakia. They used captured Allied soldiers to work in factories. They even had a U-boat base somewhere on the Mediterranean.

The Rise of HYDRA
"My apologies, Doctor, but we both knew HYDRA could grow no further in Hitler's shadow. Hail HYDRA!"

- Johann Schmidt to Arnim Zola

In March 1942, HYDRA stormed a castle in Tønsberg, Norway where the mystical object known as the Tesseract was buried 531 years ago by Odin. Schmidt saw to it that the Tesseract would be used to its full potential by Arnim Zola. Zola's outlandish designs of robotic power armor, massive vehicles and energy weapons and armor could find a functional use thanks to the Tesseract's power, and with the most advanced technology in the world, HYDRA began their conquest that counted Berlin in its targets.

In the meantime, a HYDRA officer, General Werner Reinhardt, was sent to search for other mysterious artifacts. Reinhardt's team was able to discover the blue-skinned extraterrestrial corpse in some unspecified location, possibly in the deserts of North Africa. The corpse was soon stored in HYDRA Research Facility Number 4 in Austria. Soon, HYDRA's goals would be challenged by America's own super-soldier, Captain America. In November 1943, Rogers attacked the HYDRA factory in Austria, and managed to free all Allied soldiers who were imprisoned there. This was the first direct conflict between Rogers and Schmidt, who activated self destruct mode and escaped in the experimental plane. Aided by his best friend, Bucky Barnes and the Howling Commandos, Captain America began a massive assault on HYDRA forces across the Axis lines, destroying numerous bases. During the first months of 1944, when the German air force launched the last "Blitz", Schmidt sent a group of HYDRA agents to London to steal some blueprints from the Strategic Scientific Reserve. The agents were successful, but they were soon discovered and chased by Captain America who managed to capture all of them.

In May 1944, the HYDRA submarine Leviathan destroyed an Allied merchant freighter in the Mediterranean with HYDRA's thunder lance torpedo, but Captain America, who was traveling on the sunken ship, boarded the submarine and captured it. Cap and Commandos infiltrated the HYDRA U-base where they discovered that the mysterious "Hydra serum" merged the entire base's staff into one octopus-like creature. Cap took the creature to Howard Stark to separate it back into individual men.

In April 1944, HYDRA took possession of an old castle on an island in the Nazi-occupied Danish Straits. Schmidt was interested in that castle because of an ancient Viking runestone that was hidden there. The same month, Captain Rogers and the Howling Commandos invaded the castle. Schmidt attempted to destroy them through his "vita batteries" but they survived. In the meantime, General Reinhardt managed to capture a group of people from China who had found the Obelisk, an object which could turn people into stone. When he showed the artifact to his leader, Schmidt said that the Obelisk may hold the answer to death itself. The Obelisk was soon stored in Reinhardt's fortress in Austria where he used it to experiment on his prisoners.

By the beginning of 1945, Arnim Zola had to be moved to another HYDRA facility. However, his train was attacked by the Howling Commandos and he was captured. He was later moved to London where he was interrogated by Colonel Chester Phillips.

Defeat
"Tomorrow, HYDRA will stand master of the world. Born to victory on the wings of the Valkyrie. Our enemies weapons will be powerless against us. If they shoot down one plane, hundreds more will rain fire upon them! If they cut off one head, two more shall take its place. Hail HYDRA!"

- Johann Schmidt

Despite the loss of Doctor Zola, in May 1945 Schmidt was ready to launch the offensive that would change the face of the planet. The same day on which Schmidt intended to launch the attack, the base was infiltrated by Captain America, who was captured and brought before Schmidt himself. However, before Schmidt could kill his nemesis, the base was attacked by the Howling Commandos and the U.S. Army detachment led by Colonel Chester Phillips. Outnumbered, Schmidt's men were eventually defeated, but not before Schmidt flew away in his Tesseract-powered bomber, the Valkyrie. He intended to nuke all bigger cities in America. Captain America managed to board the plane and came face to face with Schmidt. When it became clear that Rogers was gaining the upper hand in the fight, Schmidt attempted to use the power of the Tesseract with his bare hands. This only resulted in a beam of light, similar in design to the Bifrost Bridge, which caused Schmidt to disappear, and forcing Rogers to put the bomber plane down in the freezing waters below, freezing himself solid and causing the Tesseract to be lost to the seas. Immediately after Schmidt's disappearance, Werner Reinhardt had the Obelisk moved from his Austrian fortress to a more secure location, a research facility. A month later, he and his lieutenant attempted to empty the facility so they could escape with the artifacts and continue HYDRA's work. At that moment, Reinhardt's unit was the last active HYDRA cell. However, despite their hurry, the base was discovered and attacked by the US Army detachment led by the Strategic Scientific Reserve team composed of Peggy Carter, Dum Dum Dugan and Jim Morita. After a short fight, the garrison of the base surrendered. All HYDRA soldiers were arrested and the artifacts, including the Obelisk, were confiscated. However, before he was taken away, Reinhardt promised to Agent Carter that HYDRA would rise again.

After The War
"HYDRA died with the Red Skull." "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place."

- Captain America and Arnim Zola

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States started Operation Paperclip, a program used to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany for employment by the United States and deny their scientific expertise and knowledge to the Soviet Union. As part of the operation, Zola was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D., the newly formed peacekeeping organization. Agent Carter then interrogated Reinhardt about his experiments with the Obelisk, and the girl he experimented on. Carter then had Reinhardt sent to the Rat to serve his life imprisonment.

Many other former Nazis and HYDRA scientists escaped to South America, hoping to hide from justice. Several of them were employed by the government of Peru to make the new Tesseract-powered weapon. The government wanted to use the weapon against the rebels, but due to the instability of the Tesseract energy, the weapon ended up stuck in the undiscovered Incan temple.

Various HYDRA operatives who escaped justice after World War II infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. shortly after the agency was formed, working secretly in their ranks. Over the next decades, led by Zola, HYDRA worked from the shadows, directing their agents to complete the tasks that were assigned.

Shortly after the war, Arnim Zola found Sergeant James Barnes, Captain America's war-time partner who was presumed deceased after falling to an icy death from Zola's train in 1945. Zola and other scientists took Barnes to one of HYDRA's secret bases, presumably in the territory held by the Soviet Union, where they replaced his lost left arm with the new cybernetic limb. They brainwashed him, and since he was already injected with another version of the Super Soldier Serum, they turned him into the new fist of HYDRA. Though he was wearing the communist red star on his new limb, Barnes never fought for the Soviet ideals, instead becoming HYDRA's best assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Over the next decades, he did much on creating chaos in the world, assassinating those who could pose a threat to HYDRA's goals, and spending time between missions in cryogenic sleep.

Toward the New World Order
"HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's New World Order will arise."

- Arnim Zola

HYDRA's power eventually grew so much that they were able to orchestrate many Cold War events during the 1960s and 1970, including the, the rise to power of in Libya, the , and the.

With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, Zola managed to build an entire computer system which his mind was uploaded into as an artificially intelligent user interface. Though Zola's body died in 1972, his mind continued to live in cyberspace, from which he was able to provide easy passage into the agency for more HYDRA sleeper agents.

By the early 1980s, HYDRA managed to infiltrate the Soviet power structures, establishing a secret laboratory in East Berlin. They continued their memory suppression experiments from World War II with the goal to create an army of brainwashed soldiers who would follow every order. However, the laboratory was infiltrated by Henry Pym, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who used his size-changing Ant-Man Suit to ruin the laboratory, destroy the Memory Suppressing Machine, free the prisoner and knock down all the guards.

In 1989, undersecretary Alexander Pierce, an HYDRA sleeper agent, granted Werner Reinhardt a medical parole and made sure there were no records of him after this. Reinhardt was then taken back to his fortress where a group village elders from the Hunan province, which included the woman he experimented on, were brought in. Seeing that she had not aged a day, Reinhardt then performed surgery on her to find out why the Obelisk did not kill her and why she did not age. Although he did not find the reason behind Obelisk's reason for sparing her, Reinhardt was able to use her DNA to regress his body back to a younger age. Reinhardt then took the name "Daniel Whitehall".

HYDRA also oversaw Project Deathlok in 1990, using the turncoat S.H.I.E.L.D. agent John Garrett as their first test subject. He was the first Deathlok. However, only the cybernetic components worked, and the organs were severely affected, leading Garrett to look for a solution to perfect Deathlok and to prevent his slow-coming death. In 1991, Howard and Maria Stark were killed in an automobile "accident" secretly arranged by HYDRA on Long Island, this caused Tony Stark to inherit Stark Industries and become, at age 21, the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

The HYDRA weapons and technology captured by the Strategic Scientific Reserve during the war were studied by S.H.I.E.L.D.. In 2011, S.H.I.E.L.D. started a program called "Phase 2", which involved reactivating the HYDRA weapons with the Tesseract for use against super-powered or other-worldly forces. Several cases of HYDRA weapons were stored aboard the Helicarrier. However, the weapons weren't needed, because when the Chitauri led by Loki invaded New York City, the aliens were defeated by the Avengers. In the aftermath of the Battle of New York, HYDRA's leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker approached Mark Smith, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who worked on the Scepter with the scientist Nicholas Cooper, and offered him to join HYDRA. Dissatisfied with the way S.H.I.E.L.D. was led, Smith accepted the Baron's offer, killed Cooper, and stole the Scepter for HYDRA. Thanks to Smith's betrayal, HYDRA's scientists also got their hands on dozens of Chitauri Guns. Later, HYDRA built a research facility in the Eastern European country of Sokovia. Over the next two years, a team of scientists led by Doctor List and Baron von Strucker managed to use the Scepter to power the Chitauri Guns and HYDRA's own technology. They also conducted experiments on human volunteers, including the twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.

The "Clairvoyant"
"HYDRA always comes back."

- John Garrett

Following the Battle of New York, one of HYDRA's agents within S.H.I.E.L.D., John Garrett, going under the alias, the Clairvoyant,, recruited and funded the Centipede Project to provide them with super-soldiers and to help keep himself from dying. Garrett also recruited the boxer Carl Creel, by faking his termination off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Index. One of the first was Mike Peterson. In his Clairvoyant persona, Garrett made people like Ian Quinn and Raina believe that he could see everything such as what the President dreams about. Garrett also had another sleeper agent, Grant Ward, recruited by Phil Coulson for his team. Ward's mission was to find out about Coulson's revival. Garrett then had Coulson captured and interrogated for three days to find the secrets behind his revival in Tahiti. Garrett then ordered Quinn to shoot Skye. He then made sure that he would be the one to take Quinn in, and to have Coulson lead him to where he was revived. After getting inside, unbeknownst to Coulson and Leo Fitz, he took a few of the drugs and hid them in his vest before the place was destroyed. He then had Mike Peterson, going under the codename "Deathlok", turned into a cybernetic super soldier.

Project Insight
"Zola's algorithm evaluates peoples' past to predict their future." "And what then?" "Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me." "What then?!" "Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few millions at a time."

- Jasper Sitwell and Captain America

Two years after the Battle of New York, S.H.I.E.L.D. was much better armed than before, so it could easily repel any attack from other worlds. With new funds granted by the World Security Council, Nick Fury started Project Insight, an operation which involved three heavily armed Helicarriers that were designed to proactively strike out against potential threats before they actually happened.

However, HYDRA's agents used this opportunity to take control of the project. With Arnim Zola's special algorithm that could calculate who could be a threat to HYDRA in the future, the leader of HYDRA's S.H.I.E.L.D. branch, Alexander Pierce, intended to wipe out 20 million people from the face of the Earth.

The End of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA."

- Captain America

In 2014, the HYDRA infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. was finally exposed when corrupted senior official Alexander Pierce attempted to activate Project Insight early. Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff learned about the infiltration when they entered the secret bunker hidden beneath Camp Lehigh, which was housing Arnim Zola's mind, still alive on dozens of old computers. Though the camp was destroyed with the missile, Rogers and Romanoff survived the explosion. A day later, with the help of Sam Wilson they kidnapped Jasper Sitwell, but he was killed by HYDRA's best assassin, the Winter Soldier. The trio was captured by the STRIKE team, but they managed to escape with the help of Maria Hill. Alexander Pierce demanded a mission report from the Winter Soldier after the failed assassination attempt on Captain America. However he had become erratic and aggressive due to flashbacks to his past. As Pierce believed that he could become a threat if left like this, he ordered that the Winter Soldier's mind be wiped. The procedure caused the Winter Soldier great physical pain. A day later, Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson, and Hill infiltrated the Triskelion, publicly revealing HYDRA's continued existence. Alexander Pierce and his men then captured all the members of the World Security Council, but they were freed by Romanoff. When HYDRA's agent Brock Rumlow launched the Insight Helicarriers, Romanoff, Rogers, Hill, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury managed to reprogram the Helicarriers to target each other. The battle left the Triskelion in shambles and resulted in the deaths of many HYDRA agents, including Pierce. Rumlow survived the battle, but he was badly burned, and the Winter Soldier abandoned HYDRA.

The Age of Miracles
"There are other facilities doing HYDRA's good work around the world. We'll feed them to Captain America and his colorful friends, keep them off our scent." "What about the volunteers?" "The dead will be buried so deep, their own ghosts won't be able to find them."

- Wolfgang von Strucker and Dr. List Despite the failure of Project Insight, HYDRA continued with its operations. At the same time when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, at the research facility in Sokovia, HYDRA's scientists were still conducting experiments on the Scepter, eventually learning that its power was much greater than they originally thought. Many civilian volunteers exposed to the power of the Scepter died in horrifying deaths. However, the twin brother and sister Wanda and Pietro Maximoff survived the experiments, gaining super powers. Shortly after the Battle at the Triskelion, Dr. List came to Wolfgang von Strucker, afraid that the authorities would find their location, but von Strucker assured him that wasn't the case. As they walked toward the cells of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, von Strucker told the doctor that the age of miracles was upon them.

New Battles
"Out of the Shadows Into the Light HYDRA"

- Coded message for HYDRA sleeper agents within S.H.I.E.L.D.

In order to finish off S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA sent out an activation signal to all sleeper agents to target Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and seize power. During the Battle at the Hub, John Garrett broke his cover and attempted to eliminate Agent Phil Coulson and several members of his team, but he was stopped and later arrested by Agent Victoria Hand. Garrett and the remaining HYDRA moles in the Hub were taken into prison.

Meanwhile, HYDRA's sleeper agents in other S.H.I.E.L.D. bases were also activated. Several facilities fell into HYDRA's hands, including the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, the Treehouse, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s East African Headquarters. HYDRA's operatives also attempted to take control of the Cube, but they were outnumbered by the loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who managed to repel the attack. A fierce battle was fought for the control of the aircraft carrier Iliad, but HYDRA's moles were ultimately defeated. John Garrett, after escaping Agent Victoria Hand's custody with the aid of fellow HYDRA agent Grant Ward, continued to work on the Centipede Project at the HYDRA base in Havana, Cuba.

Garrett then raided the Fridge, stealing many items such as the Peruvian 0-8-4, the Berserker Staff, and the Gravitonium. They also freed a number of prisoners. Ultimately, his branch of HYDRA was defeated by the combined efforts of Phil Coulson, his team, and Nick Fury, with their prisoners also freed and most of the stolen items recovered.

The Winter Hunt
"A "gifted" that refuses HYDRA is a threat. And threats are taken care of quickly. That's why HYDRA will win. Because while a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is considering right and wrong, HYDRA's already taken the shot."

- Grant Ward

Despite Colonel Glenn Talbot's massive manhunt for S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA agents and bases, HYDRA continued its plans for world domination by retreating to the shadows. Despite its existence being publicly known, HYDRA was still determined as ever to conquer the world by any means necessary. Their plans could go much easier as they now heavily outnumbered S.H.I.E.L.D. in men, bases, and resources.

Whitehall's Campaign
"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

HYDRA agent, Sunil Bakshi, at the behest of Werner Reinhardt, now known as Doctor Daniel Whitehall, sent one of their assassins, Carl Creel to retrieve an 0-8-4. However, the Obelisk was then taken by Raina and Creel was then captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and turned over to General Talbot.

Following that, HYDRA recruited former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jemma Simmons. In reality, however, Simmons was actually undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D. under orders from Director Coulson himself. HYDRA's next move was to locate Donnie Gill, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy student who displayed freezing powers. They found him in Casablanca, Morocco, but when the two agents approached him, he froze them both, killing them. A team led by Sunil Bakshi and Jemma Simmons was sent to capture him. When Gill encountered them on HYDRA's cargo ship Maribel del Mar, they managed to activate his mind control trigger. A S.H.I.E.L.D. team suddenly appeared and Bakshi ordered Gill to destroy them. However, Gill was shot by Skye and he fell off the ship. Bakshi then ordered his men to retreat.

In the meantime, HYDRA managed to capture a former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Agent 33. Using the Faustus method, Whitehall brainwashed the agent to his cause. HYDRA also continued to investigate the Words of Creation that Garret had been carving. Bakshi, disguised as General Talbot, and Agent 33 were sent to Miami, Florida to retrieve a 500 year old painting that had the writing. However, in the ensuing battle, they lost the painting to Director Coulson and Agent Melinda May.

Weaponizing the Obelisk
"HYDRA does not tolerate traitors."

- Sunil Bakshi

HYDRA, using skin samples from an Obelisk's victim, created a toxin and used it on a Naval anti-HYDRA unit, killing some of them. HYDRA then had their security chief, Barbara Morse to hunt for a traitor in their midst. At first, Kenneth Turgeon was thought to be traitor, but the traitor was revealed to be Jemma Simmons. Fortunately for Simmons, Morse revealed herself to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and the two escaped. Whitehall and Bakshi then had the lab dismantled and relocated.

However, Whitehall then met The Doctor, who gave him back the Obelisk, and offered to give him and HYDRA its secrets in exchange for killing Coulson. Whitehall, using deceased HYDRA scientist Vincent Beckers's weapons designs, had Toshiro Mori weaponize the Obelisk, now known as the Diviner, incorporating its power into Splinter Bombs. Whitehall then had Marcus Scarlotti and his team attack the United Nations posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, killing several delegates and wounding General Talbot. Following the attack, Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Julien Beckers offered his country as a safe haven for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. However, it was revealed that he was Vincent Beckers' grandson and loyal to HYDRA, setting a trap for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Beckers then had Scarlotti kill S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Noelle Walters and her team. However, Beckers, Scarlotti and his team were apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Melinda May's and General Talbot's teams.

Sunil Bakshi took two operatives with him to meet Grant Ward in Goldbrix Tavern, a Boston establishment run by a HYDRA operative. Bakshi stated that he was surprised to hear from Ward because it was believed that he had died. Ward, knowing that Wolfgang von Strucker was operating overseas, asked if he could meet Bakshi's superior, but he was told that Whitehall was too busy for a meet-and-greet. Ward tempted Bakshi by saying that he could get him a face-to-face with Phil Coulson. However, Ward then killed the bartender and the two other operatives. He knocked Bakshi unconscious and left him tied to a chair with tape on his mouth with the words "To Coulson". Bakshi was later found by a S.H.I.E.L.D. team led by Melinda May.

Search for the City
"Mr. Bakshi's disappearance has everybody on edge."

- Daniel Whitehall to The Doctor

Meanwhile, Whitehall was upset that his scientists gave him information about the Diviner that he had known since 1945. When The Doctor was brought in at gunpoint, Whitehall explained to him that tensions were high since the capture of Bakshi. The Doctor asked to hear all Whitehall knew about the Diviner so he could edit the story appropriately. The Doctor informed him that there was a temple in a city that the Diviner screened for worthy candidates; the unworthy were petrified. He then requested a team to find that city.

Though originally hesitant, Whitehall allowed The Doctor to take a team to Laura Creek, Australia; there was a satellite relaying station in that location that was easy to infiltrate. During the mission, they ambushed Phil Coulson's team and Antoine Triplett was fatally shot. The Doctor offered to help him live so that he could meet Coulson personally.

The Doctor told Coulson that he was surprised that he was searching for the city since Whitehall did not know about it until he told him. Ultimately, Coulson let him escape in order to finish saving Triplett. When The Doctor returned to Whitehall, he was introduced to Grant Ward, who has rejoined HYDRA. Meanwhile, Bakshi, in a show of loyalty to HYDRA and Whitehall, used a cyanide pill lodged in his cheekbone to stop the interrogation of Bobbi Morse when she revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was researching the continued survival of Werner Reinhardt into the 21st century.

Battle for the Kree City
"We're here today in part because of the three of you. You delivered Raina as you promised. And I had my initial doubts about you, young lady, but you are slowly earning my trust. And your knowledge of the Diviner has led us to this historic moment. For that, I offer my gratitude."

- Daniel Whitehall to Grant Ward, Raina and The Doctor

A team of HYDRA agents led by Agent 33 was sent to Vancouver, Canada, where HYDRA finally managed to find Raina. However, when Raina saw and realized who Agent 33 is, she started running away from her. Though she temporarily escaped, Agent 33 located her at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Vancouver safehouse, where she got into conflict with Skye. She was eventually knocked down by Skye and Lance Hunter. A few minutes later, a group of HYDRA agents saw a S.H.I.E.L.D. team taking Raina into a van and escaping. Agent 33 informed Whitehall about Raina's escape and he told her that he would send his best man to take care of the situation. Later, four of HYDRA's Quinjets followed the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane which was carrying Raina. Grant Ward, who was commanding HYDRA's forces, threatened to shoot the plane unless S.H.I.E.L.D. hands over Raina. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents onboard the plane had to comply, but Ward also forced Skye to come with him, promising that he would spare the lives of her colleagues. When Ward's Quinjet flew away, Whitehall ordered the remaining aircraft to destroy the enemy plane. The Quinjets launched missiles at the plane, which was hidden in the cloud, seemingly destroying it. Meanwhile, thanks to the attack on the Laura Creek Station, HYDRA managed to discover the location of the ancient Kree City which was built thousands of years earlier. The city was hidden under the city of San Juan in Puerto Rico. Whitehall and Agent 33 immediately traveled to San Juan, where HYDRA quietly occupied the Ponce de León Theater, with their agents drilling a tunnel to the Kree City. Once Ward, Raina, Skye, and The Doctor came there, Whitehall forced Skye to touch the Obelisk. She survived the touch, and killed one HYDRA agent with it. Ward then aimed his pistol at Whitehall's men, while The Doctor killed one agent with his scalpel. But the mutiny was short lived, and they were all taken into custody. When the tunnel was finished, a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents infiltrated the theater. Raina went into the Kree City, while Whitehall and his men attempted to deal with the intruders. However, as The Doctor encountered Whitehall alone in the corridor and prepared to kill him, Whitehall was shot in the back by Phil Coulson. Agent 33 then arrived, shooting at them, and discovered Whitehall's dead body. Without Whitehall she did not know what to do, so she returned to the wounded Ward, who convinced her to help him to leave the scene.

Cutting Off the Heads
"You underestimate S.H.I.E.L.D.... constantly, it would seem. Von Strucker would like this mistake to stop happening, so I'm going to make it simple... S.H.I.E.L.D. will take this victory as a chance to move against us." "Come above ground." "Whomever can remove S.H.I.E.L.D. from the landscape permanently will win Whitehall's position."

- List and Octavian Bloom

After Whitehall's death, his seat in the HYDRA Council remained empty, and the remaining heads of HYDRA discussed who could take Whitehall's place. The gathered leaders were Dr. List, the Sheikh, the Baroness, the Banker and Octavian Bloom. Dr. List, acting on the order of Baron von Strucker, proposed Sunil Bakshi. Other leaders replied that he was probably captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and therefore dead, if he did his duty. Dr. List told them to stop underestimating S.H.I.E.L.D., and that the person that destroys S.H.I.E.L.D. will win Whitehall's position, while he personally would take a look at Whitehall's research of arcane artifacts. Meanwhile, Sunil Bakshi managed to escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. and went to Octavian Bloom's house. Convinced that other leaders of HYDRA wanted to eliminate them, he and Bloom contacted Doctor List, who assured them that he and Baron von Strucker were not involved in any attacks on them. Afraid that they could be the next target, Bakshi convinced Bloom to simply kill the other three leaders. Using the Splinter Bomb and other tools that weaponized the effect of the Obelisk, Bloom's men killed the Banker, the Sheikh, and the Baroness. However, Bloom's house was infiltrated by Bakshi's "rescuer", actually a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Lance Hunter, and his colleague Bobbi Morse. The two intruders killed Bloom and recaptured Bakshi, revealing that his escape was a ruse concocted by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director Phil Coulson to lead the organization to HYDRA's leadership. Some time later, Bakshi was kidnapped from General Glenn Talbot's base by Agent 33 and Grant Ward who decided to brainwash him with the Faustus method.

The New Threat
"Now we have the power. Now we are ready. Hail HYDRA."

- Dr. Jensen

A new threat to HYDRA's plans soon arose. The Avengers were officially reassembled, and they started tracking down HYDRA's operations. When Dr. Jensen in her secret lab in Port Sudan, Sudan managed to reverse engineer the obtained Chitauri tech, she informed her colleagues in Khartoum to come help her. The call was intercepted by Black Widow, and the Avengers quickly flew in their Quinjet to the location of Jensen's lab. Though HYDRA managed to shoot down the Quinjet, the Avengers fiercely attacked HYDRA's soldiers. Despite their tanks, guns, and numerical superiority, HYDRA soldiers decided to retreat. However, Dr. Jensen took the power gauntlets from one fallen soldier and attacked the Avengers with heavy energy blasts. Unfortunately for her, Hawkeye sneaked up behind her and destroyed her weapon with one of his explosive arrows.

The Hunt for the Enhanced
"Still no quantum signature?" "No, Doctor List." "That's a waste. Take the cadaver to the lab. Compare him to the other samples. Hail HYDRA!"

- Doctor List and Paula

Meanwhile, Doctor List became interested in powered people. List's soldiers started hunting them and managed to capture several of them, and List used the opportunity to experiment on them. One of his victims was Ethan Johnston, but he couldn't find the Quantum Entanglements he was searching for, the traces of a man who had the ability to teleport from one place to another. One day, List was called by Sunil Bakshi, and they had a meeting on List's plane. With Bakshi was Mike Peterson, and Bakshi offered him to List, saying that he could become a great asset to HYDRA. List agreed to take Bakshi to Baron von Strucker's base in Eastern Europe. During the journey, the plane made a stop in San Francisco, and Bakshi, Peterson, and numerous HYDRA soldiers entered one abandoned building. Once they were inside, they faced an unknown man, the Doctor who previously worked with Daniel Whitehall, and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Peterson managed to knock down the unknown intruder, but Bakshi then ordered his men to take Peterson down. In the end, HYDRA won the battle, taking the prisoner with them.

The both prisoners were taken to List's base in the Arctic, where the doctor continued his experiments. He also informed Baron von Strucker about the development of the situation, who was very pleased with the news. Suddenly, a plane approached the base. Realising the intruders were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, List ordered his men to shoot them out of the sky. The plane was destroyed, but the intruders managed to survive the crash and infiltrated the base. In the ensuing battle, all HYDRA agents in the base were killed, but Dr. List managed to escape and eventually rejoined Baron von Strucker in Sokovia.

Disaster in Sokovia
"Report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. We are under attack. We are under attack."

- HYDRA Soldier

Unfortunately for HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D. learned about the exact location of their Sokovian base from their facility in the Arctic and passed that information to Maria Hill, who gave it to the Avengers. The Sokovian base was attacked, and though HYDRA soldiers managed to slow down the Avengers, their tanks, armors and advanced weaponry were no match for the strength of the attackers. The base was ultimately captured, Dr. List was killed by Iron Man, and Baron von Strucker was captured by Captain America. The twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, though they briefly fought the Avengers, eventually abandoned the site of the battle.

The main laboratory inside the base was discovered by Iron Man who took the Scepter and had it transported to the Avengers Tower. Baron von Strucker and the remaining HYDRA soldiers were handed over to the NATO. Baron von Strucker was later killed in his prison cell by the insane robot Ultron.

New Leadership
"Whitehall, Strucker, List. The leadership is gone, man. Usually a head grows back, but not this time. The organization...disintegrated."

- Kebo to Grant Ward

After the death of Kara Palamas, Grant Ward came in contact with some HYDRA agents and ordered them to find the remaining HYDRA leaders. When the agents came back, they reported that most of the leadership was dead, and that the organization was disintegrated, meaning that no one was giving orders anymore, including Ward. Ward had an objection to that statement, knocking the lead agent unconscious. The rest of the agents accepted Ward as their new leader, asking for new orders.

World War II

 * HYDRA Headquarters (Primary HQ)
 * Austrian HYDRA Weapons Facility
 * HYDRA Fortress
 * HYDRA Research Facility Number 4
 * HYDRA U-Base
 * Castle Kaufmann

Modern Era

 * HYDRA Bank Facility
 * HYDRA Research Base
 * HYDRA Laboratories
 * Goldbrix Tavern

Taken from S.H.I.E.L.D.

 * Treehouse
 * Sandbox
 * Barbershop Headquarters
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. East African Headquarters

World War II Era Weapons
"HYDRA is assembling an arsenal to destroy my enemies in one stroke, wherever they are, regardless of how many forces they possess, all in a matter of hours."

- Red Skull

Before and during World War II, soldiers of HYDRA could rely on standard weapons used by the armed forces of Nazi Germany but also on several extremely advanced weapons developed by HYDRA's scientists.
 * : All officers of HYDRA were armed with the standard pistol used by members of the armed forces of Nazi Germany.
 * : This pistol was mainly used by HYDRA's assassins like Heinz Kruger.
 * MP 40: Since HYDRA's foundation and until the end of the war, soldiers of HYDRA used the MP 40 submachine gun.
 * Merkel S12ga Shotgun: Used only by select HYDRA units under the command of Baron von Strucker.
 * : Although it was mainly used by the Wehrmacht, the was also used by HYDRA's sharpshooters.
 * HYDRA Assault Rifle: One of many weapons developed by Arnim Zola after the discovery of the Tesseract, this rifle could fire energy pulses that could disintegrate enemy soldiers with one shot.
 * HYDRA Pistol: Similar in design to the Luger P08, this pistol was mainly used by the Red Skull.
 * HYDRA Cannon: A pulse cannon mainly used on HYDRA's heavier vehicles.
 * HYDRA Flamethrower: One of the few advanced weapons developed before the discovery of the Tesseract, the flamethrower was mainly used on HYDRA's mini tanks.
 * HYDRA Battle Rifle: To be added

Modern Weapons
By the beginning of the 21st century, thanks to its infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA could rely on all weapons available to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. All sorts of rifles, machine guns, handguns, and heavy weapons could be found in HYDRA's arsenal. After the Battle of New York, HYDRA's scientists got their hands on numerous Chitauri weapons, greatly upgrading and expanding HYDRA's already powerful arsenal.
 * : These rifles were used by HYDRA's soldiers during the assassination attempt on Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon, and the raid of the Fridge.
 * Colt Law Enforcement Carbine: Used by Scarlotti and his team in their attack on the U.N.
 * : Used by HYDRA's soldiers during the raid of the Fridge and during the battle at Cybertek.
 * : Used by HYDRA's assassins like the Winter Soldier.
 * : Used by HYDRA's assassins who attempted to kill Nick Fury.
 * : Used by HYDRA's assassins who attempted to eliminate Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon.
 * : Used by HYDRA's assassins who attempted to eliminate Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon.
 * : Used by HYDRA's security guards at the HYDRA Research Base.
 * : Used as the main sidearm by operatives working under Daniel Whitehall, such as the agent sent to capture Donnie Gill in Casablanca or the security guards at the HYDRA Laboratories.
 * Splinter Bomb: Used by Scarlotti and his team in their attack on the U.N. and the Bruges S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house.
 * Chitauri Guns: Used as the main sidearm by operatives working under Doctor Jensen.

World War II Era Vehicles
Thanks to the scientists like Arnim Zola, members of HYDRA could rely on all kinds of advanced vehicles.
 * HYDRA Mini Tank: an armored vehicle equipped with flamethrowers.
 * HYDRA Armored Personnel Carrier: a regular vehicle used to transport troops.
 * HYDRA Truck: a regular vehicle used to transport troops and equipment.
 * Focke-Wulf Triebflügel:
 * HYDRA Exo-skeleton:
 * Fieser Dorsch: a mini submarine used by undercover agents working overseas.
 * HYDRA Uber Tank: the biggest tank in HYDRA's arsenal.
 * HYDRA Parasit: a flying atomic bomb.
 * HYDRA Motorcycle:
 * : an armored car.
 * Leviathan: a regular U-boat.
 * Valkyrie: the gigantic plane armed with Tesseract powered cannons.

Modern Vehicles

 * Maribel del Mar: a regular cargo ship.
 * Quinjet: a plane taken from S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. 6-1-6: a modified Boeing C-17 Globemaster III temporarily used by John Garrett's HYDRA branch.
 * HYDRA Tank: a regular battle tank upgraded with the Chitauri tech. Used against the Avengers.

World War II Era Uniforms

 * HYDRA SS Uniform: As the SS division, HYDRA mostly used the standard grey and black uniforms of the Schutzstaffel. They also used the standard German . Their ranks insignia was identical to that of the SS. However, to distinguish themselves from other SS units, they wore HYDRA badges on their caps and collars, instead of the SS rune patches and Totenkopf badges. They also had HYDRA patches on the upper parts of their sleeves and cuff titles with Gothic style script on the lower parts. However, their uniforms lacked the Reichsadler patch on the left sleeve. Some members of HYDRA also used armbands similar to those of the Nazi party. However, their armbands had the HYDRA logo instead of the swastika. Some officers continued to use their black SS uniforms until the end of the war.


 * HYDRA Uniform: After 1943, soldiers of HYDRA adopted new, futuristic-styled green uniform. The same uniform, but in black color, was used by HYDRA's special troops and the crew of the Valkyrie.

Modern Uniforms
By the 2010s, HYDRA mostly used standard combat camouflage uniforms that were used by almost every army in the world. If the situation required, HYDRA's agents would masquerade themselves as civilians or policemen to easily approach and eliminate their targets.

Methods/Techniques
"In S.H.I.E.L.D., they train you to control yourself. HYDRA wants to control everyone else."

- Grant Ward to Skye


 * World War II Methods/Techniques: Before and during World War II, HYDRA scientists used certain methods to brainwash their soldiers and prisoners.
 * Experimentation: Scientists like Arnim Zola would experiment on unwilling test subjects such as Sergeant James "Bucky" Barnes.
 * Modern Methods/Techniques
 * ​Faustus: HYDRA scientists, such Dr. Daniel Whitehall and others, were able to indoctrinate gifted individuals such Carl Creel, Agent 33, and Donnie Gill.

Trivia

 * In the comics, HYDRA was organized by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in the Japanese-occupied territory in the final days of World War II.
 * HYDRA's abandonment of the Nazi cause is more elaborated in a Deleted scene from Captain America: The First Avenger where a HYDRA Uber Tank fires at regular German troops before it captures the future Howling Commandos. However, that scene contradicts the events of Captain America: First Vengeance, Volume 6 where HYDRA still works for the Nazis after the imprisonment of the Howling Commandos.
 * HYDRA appears briefly in X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Official Game.
 * In the comics, the HYDRA Oath is "Hail, Hydra! Immortal Hydra! We shall never be destroyed! Cut off a limb, and two more shall take its place! We serve none but the Master—as the world shall soon serve us! Hail Hydra!" In Captain America: The First Avenger, the oath was shortened and changed to "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place! Hail Hydra!"
 * The revelation of Senator Stern being a HYDRA member in Captain America: The Winter Soldier technically makes Iron Man 2 the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to feature HYDRA.
 * Among the events shown in Captain America: The Winter Soldier to illustrate how HYDRA fed crisis in the world were the rise of power of Muammar Khadafi, the Coup of Hugo Chavez, the economic crisis in 1980 or the Iran revolution in 1979, as seen when Arnim Zola gives his speech to Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff.

Behind the Scenes

 * For Captain America: The First Avenger, artist Ryan Meinerding and Charlie Wen wanted to play tribute to HYDRA's role in the comics by incorporating the signature 'H' from the comics into the uniforms in the film and were able to by using the straps and harness used to support the Tesseract technology.
 * According to artist Ryan Meinerding, it took a long time to design the HYDRA logo. Meinerding stated "I tried adding the suction cups to the tentacles and having the negative shapes they created to look like gears. Since HYDRA is all about advance weaponry and machinery, the gear theme seemed to fit."
 * With its pivotal roles in both the films and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series, HYDRA is currently the most recurring antagonistic force featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.