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***''[[Aftershocks]]'' <small>(mentioned)</small>
 
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***''[[Who You Really Are]]'' <small>(mentioned)</small>
 
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***''[[One of Us]]'' <small>(mentioned)</small>
 
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Revision as of 02:09, 18 March 2015

"Freedom. Equality. Individual rights. These principles make mankind a plague on this planet. Think of a forest. It dries up and catches fire with the first spark. Now, mankind would fight that fire, believing every individual plant perfect in its own individual way. But it's the fire that's perfect."
―Daniel Whitehall[src]

Werner Reinhardt, later known as Daniel Whitehall, was one of the most prominent members of HYDRA. Originally a high ranking officer of the Nazi Schutzstaffel, during World War II he led expeditions to recover mysterious artifacts for HYDRA. Despite his capture by the Strategic Scientific Reserve in 1945, he was freed in 1989 by members of HYDRA within S.H.I.E.L.D. Back in his old base he used organs and DNA from a mysterious woman to de-age himself and have a middle-aged appearance into the 21st century. With the new identity he reclaimed his position in HYDRA and started the quest to recover the object of his lifelong obsession, the mysterious Obelisk.

Biography

Youth and Early Career

Born in Arnsberg, Germany on September 13, 1904, after World War I, Werner Reinhardt joined the Nazis and became an officer of the Schutzstaffel. He rose in ranks until he became an Obergruppenführer (Lieutenant general), eventually joining HYDRA, the special science division led by Johann Schmidt.[1]

World War II

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[src]

When World War II broke out, Reinhardt actively participated in German conquest of Europe, earning several high military decorations, including the Panzer Badge, the Close Combat Clasp, and the Iron Cross First Class. As an officer of HYDRA, he was sent to search for mysterious artifacts. On one occasion, his team discovered the corpse of a blue-skinned humanoid organism. Somehow, Reinhardt learned about Johann Schmidt's disfigurement that earned him the nickname "Red Skull".[1]

Among the various myths HYDRA researched, to Reinhardt the most intriguing one was the story about an Obelisk-like object with the power to turn living creatures into stone. Reinhardt became especially obsessed with the Obelisk, and came to learn of the myth behind it. It was an old story from the East about the "stars that fell from the heavens". Being an intelligent man, Reinhard realized the "stars" were actually extraterrestrials who came to Earth thousands of years earlier; Reinhardt was led to believe that the aliens intended to conquer Earth, but failed.[2]

Monstrous Experiments

Reinhardt doctors

General Reinhardt and his scientists conduct an experiment with the Obelisk.

"Discovery requires experimentation."
―Werner Reinhardt[src]

By March 1945, Reinhardt was the commanding officer of a HYDRA Fortress in Austria.[2] He personally discovered the Obelisk in Chaves, Portugal,[3] while his team captured a group of people from China who knew about the Obelisk.[2] When he showed the object to his leader, Schmidt said that the Obelisk may hold the answer to death itself.[1]

Reinhardt continually tested the Obelisk's power on various prisoners in order to find the reason behind the lethal effects, and why the effects differed from person to person. Eventually, one of his subjects, a young woman, was able to touch the Obelisk without dying, and instead triggered an unusual response whereas the Obelisk radiated a bright light. Before Reinhardt could study the woman, word of Schmidt's apparent demise at the hands of Captain America became known, and he ordered his men to evacuate the fortress.[2]

Defeat

Captured

Reinhardt and his men must surrender to the SSR.

"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[src]

Afraid the Allies would capture him, Reinhardt and his men moved to a more secure location, a HYDRA Research Facility in Austria. The facility 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. However, the Allied advance into Austria was faster than Reinhardt predicted, and he made a plan to escape with the artifacts from the facility and continue HYDRA's work.[1]

However, 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.[1]

Neat trick

Reinhardt at the Rat base.

Prisoner 63635

The Second Chance

"The US Government has recruited many German scientists."
"They'll send rockets into space. Maybe they can strap you to one of them."
"They'll show you parlor tricks. Giving me a second chance could save all of humanity."
―Werner Reinhardt and Peggy Carter[src]

After his capture, Reinhardt was taken to a secret S.S.R. facility. While imprisoned, Peggy Carter came to interrogate him. As many former Nazi scientists were already recruited by the US Government, Reinhardt expressed the wish to be recruited as well, as he considered himself far more valuable than those who would make parlor tricks by sending rockets into space. Agent Carter then mentioned his many war crimes, but he offered to help her understand the items the S.S.R. has confiscated from his last commanding post. He told her about the myth concerning "blue angels" and revealed the extraterrestrial origin of the artifacts. While visibly interested in this revelation, Carter's disgust towards Reinhardt's actions proved stronger and she opted to just let the man rot in prison for the rest of his days.[2]

Years in Prison

Old Reinhartd-TTWB

Werner Reinhardt gets released after 44 years in prison.

"Nothing stays buried forever."
―Werner Reinhardt[src]

Sentenced to life imprisonment, Reinhardt spent the next forty-four years in a small cell in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison called the Rat. In 1989, now a weak old man, Reinhardt was visited by two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who told him that he was free because Director Alexander Pierce gave him a medical parole, citing that Reinhardt had joined the SS and HYDRA under duress - though in fact Pierce was a member of HYDRA. As one agent left the cell, the other whispered "Hail HYDRA". When Reinhardt replied with the same salute and asked why is he needed after so many years, the agent said that he would have to see himself.[2]

New Experiments

We'll learn

Reinhardt is before experimenting on an ageless woman

"I see it's time we find out exactly what makes you so special."
―Werner Reinhardt to a woman[src]

Reinhardt was quickly returned to his old HYDRA fortress in Austria, where he was both shocked and elated to discover that the Chinese woman he had met years prior was still alive and young and had been captured and presented to him. Fascinated he said that he would find out what made her so special by experimenting on her.

Aos208 4036

Reinhardt regains his youthful appearance

He operated on the poor woman in an attempt to find the truth behind her immunity to the Obelisk, but found little results. However, he was able to use the woman's DNA to physically regress back to his middle-age. By next year, he took up the identity of Dr. Daniel Whitehall,[2] becoming one of HYDRA's most prominent figureheads alongside Wolfgang von Strucker.

21st Century

HYDRA Uprising

File:Doctor Whitehall.jpg

Dr. Whitehall in 2014.

"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 Daniel Whitehall[src]

In 2014, after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Whitehall's second in command Sunil Bakshi hired Carl Creel to reclaim the Obelisk from the United States Armed Forces.[1] At first, Creel's mission was successful, but the Obelisk was stolen from Bakshi and Creel was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and turned over to General Glenn Talbot.[4]

The New S.H.I.E.L.D. Strikes

33 Whitehall

Dr. Whitehall attempts to brainwash Agent 33.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s becoming a problem. Do we know who's in charge?"
"I'm afraid not."
―Daniel Whitehall and Sunil Bakshi[src]

When HYDRA captured a former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Agent 33, Whitehall personally oversaw her brainwashing, hoping to turn her into a loyal HYDRA agent. Despite her bold proclamation that she would never serve HYDRA, Whitehall was sure she would eventually comply.[5]

When Sunil Bakshi returned from his mission in Morocco, he spoke with Whitehall. During their conversation, Agent 33 gave him paperwork that needed his signature. Whitehall then told Bakshi that Jemma Simmons could be reprogrammed if necessary.[5]

Aos204 2186

Whitehall meets and tortures Raina

Somehow, Whitehall found out that it was Raina who took the Obelisk. He and a few of his men confronted Raina in her car. She initially attempted to talk her way out of the situation, but Whitehall instead planted a Control Device on her hand and told her that he was not like most men with whom she encounters. He then threatened her that if she did not deliver the Obelisk to him in 48 hours, she will experience even more torture and eventually, a very slow and painful death. With that he switched off the device on her hand and left the car.[6]

Duplicating the Obelisk

Our founder

Whitehall gives a lecture to his scientists.

"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[src]

Later, Whitehall and his scientists attempted to duplicate the Obelisk's power. HYDRA's demonstration at the wedding of Pete and Mariah Leitner ended with a few dead civilians and U.S. Navy officers, but that wasn't the result Whitehall hoped to achieve. Later, Whitehall had a meeting with his top scientists, including Dr. Lingenfelter, Jemma Simmons, and Kenneth Turgeon. He expressed his disappointment, but Simmons assured him that the Obelisk could be used for mass executions.[7]

Tell me

Whitehall negotiates with the intruder.

Later, after Bobbi Morse and Jemma Simmons escaped from the HYDRA Laboratories when their covers were exposed, Whitehall was discussing with Sunil Bakshi about moving to a new location when an unknown man broke into Whitehall's office. When the two guards tried to stop him, the stranger easily killed them. The man then opened the bag he was carrying to reveal the Obelisk inside. The man offered to teach Whitehall not only how to use the power of the artifact, which he called the Diviner, but how to survive it. Whitehall asked for his motives, and the stranger told him that the two had a common enemy: Phil Coulson.[7]

A New Alliance

"Can you tell me how to use it?"
"Better yet, I'll teach you how to survive it."
"And why would you do that?"
"We share a common enemy. A guy named Phil Coulson. I thought maybe together, you and I could kill him along with, you know, everyone else."
―Whitehall and The Doctor[src]
Aos208 2214

Whitehall studies the Obelisk

The new alliance soon proved to be very fruitful. Whitehall and his new ally sent schematics based on the work of Vincent Beckers and adapted with the power of the Diviner to Toshiro Mori to create the Splinter Bomb.[8]

Later, on Whitehall's orders, a group of HYDRA operatives led by Marcus Scarlotti and disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents attacked the United Nations Headquarters, creating the new wave of outrage against S.H.I.E.L.D. across the world. In coordination with Whitehall, Julien Beckers, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs and a secret member of HYDRA, declared Belgium a safe heaven for all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, attracting many of them to his country. However, the trap wasn't so successful as Whitehall predicted. Only six S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were killed and Beckers, Scarlotti and his team were captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United States Armed Forces under General Talbot.[8]

In a meeting with Sunil Bakshi, Grant Ward, who escaped the FBI's custody, wondered who was Bakshi's direct superior since Wolfgang von Strucker was working overseas so he could meet him. Bakshi told Ward that Whitehall was too busy for a meet-and-greet. Ward tried to entice Bakshi by saying that he could get Whitehall and Phil Coulson to meet so Whitehall could kill him.[9]

The bodies

Whitehall showing Grant Ward the news

Whitehall had a meeting with Grant Ward, who found him without Bakshi, and showed him news footage of the alleged murder-suicide of his brother Christian Ward and his parents. While in their meeting, the Doctor entered and introductions were made.[2] Somehow, Whitehall learned that the Chinese woman he killed in 1989 was the Doctor's wife.

Search for the Kree City

"They've got her, sir. I'm sorry, but she did mention that they implanted a tracker in her."
"How fortunate. I'll get my best man on it right away."
Agent 33 and Daniel Whitehall[src]

After learning that Raina was one of those who survived touching the Obelisk, Whitehall sent a few agents to find her. Led by Agent 33, they found her in Vancouver, but when they tried to kidnap her, she was saved by a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and taken onboard the Bus. Whitehall was called by Agent 33 who informed him about the failure of the operation. When Agent 33 said that Raina had a tracker on her, Whitehall replied that he would send his best man to take care of the situation.[10]

Aos209 2332

Whitehall listens to Agent 33's report

When Whitehall met with Agent 33, she told him that Grant Ward successfully captured Raina but he also obtained Skye from the Bus, promising that the four HYDRA quinjets surrounding the plane would not fire if she came willingly. Whitehall told her that Ward did not have the authority to give such a promise and ordered her to order an attack.[10] Some time later, Whitehall was informed about the location of the alien city. It was buried under the city of San Juan in Puerto Rico. Whitehall also learned that Skye was the Doctor's daughter.

Death

I'd like

Whitehall orders Skye to pick up the Diviner

"It's a pity that you won't get to fulfill that destiny, or that after all these years, you won't get your vengeance for what I did to your wife. Secure him. Remain alert around Agent Ward. He's a trained killer, one of the best. I have a feeling that, in time, I can make you comply."
―Daniel Whitehall to Skye, the Doctor, HYDRA Agents, and Grant Ward[src]

After scanning the city through the ground, Whitehall's men discovered the temple inside the city was located exactly a couple hundred feet beneath the Ponce de León Theater. They quietly occupied the theater and started drilling right through the volcanic rock.[11]

WhitehallDevice

Whitehall tortures Calvin Zabo

When Whitehall arrived to San Juan, he came to the theater, where he ordered a meeting. With the Doctor, Raina, Grant Ward, Skye assembled, Whitehall expressed his gratitude to the Doctor, but asked Ward why he did not order the destruction of the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane from which Raina and Skye were taken. As Agent 33 brought the Diviner, Whitehall ordered Skye to take it from its box. When she did that and the symbols appeared, she attacked one agent with it, killing him. The Doctor also killed one agent, and Ward pointed his pistol at Whitehall's men. However, the mutiny was short-lived. When the mutineers were disarmed, Whitehall told Skye that he hopes she's special like her mother.[11]

She didn't age

Whitehall tells Skye about her mother's special ability

Later, in another section of the theater, where Ward and Skye were restrained, Whitehall came to gloat over the Doctor. As the Doctor tried to kill him, Whitehall shocked him with the remotely controlled miniature taser implanted on his neck. As the Doctor fell down, Whitehall told Skye what was her mother's special ability. He expressed his hopes that that was Skye's special ability too. But just as he told the Doctor that he wants him to watch him butchering his daughter, Phil Coulson and a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents attacked the theater. Whitehall and Agent 33 then left the room to deal with the intruders.[11]

DW blood stain

Whitehall is shot and killed by Phil Coulson

In the main corridor, Whitehall gave orders to his men to clean the theater floor by floor. Immediately after he was left alone, the Doctor suddenly appeared. Whitehall then aimed his pistol at the Doctor, and just as he was about to shoot him, Phil Coulson snuck behind him and shot him twice in the back, killing him. The doctor became outraged for not being able to kill Whitehall himself.[11]

His death left a void in HYDRA's leadership ranks that S.H.I.E.L.D. believed raised Sunil Bakshi's value.[12]

Personality

Daniel Whitehall is completely amoral and capable of committing any crime that could help his or HYDRA's goals. He had no problems with killing dozens of people to test the Obelisk's power. He doesn't care about any of his lower henchmen, because he has hundreds of them at his disposal.

Whitehall constantly calculates and seeks a person's motive before applying action. When confronted by Zabo in his office, he stopped Sunil Bakshi from acting to learn why Zabo was there, though he witnessed Zabo kill two of his operatives moments earlier. Before he acted on Grant Ward's disobedience for not attacking the Bus, Whitehall met with him and asked his reasons.

Whitehall is dedicated to understanding and discovery. As a scientist, he is observant to and fascinated by new situations and will experiment endless to find solutions to his questions. He developed a mantra of "discovery requires experimentation" to justify his amoral experiments.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

  • Longevity: Whitehall was able to reverse the aging process transplanting Skye's Mother's blood and organs to himself, becoming the same man he was at the end of World War II. Until his death, his aging was slowed down so much that he looked like he had not aged between 1989 and 2014.

Abilities

  • Master Tactician: Whitehall possessed military knowledge and skills of a World War II general, improved with years of study while imprisoned at the Rat. Once he re-joined HYDRA following his liberation, he assumed a leadership role within the organization, harvesting resources for HYDRA while developing a long-term strategy to gain access to the Obelisk that was taken from him by the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
  • Master Scientist: Whitehall was one of the top scientists in HYDRA during World War II, focusing in the study of an ancient eastern myth that led to the discovery of the Obelisk, and once found, he sought to weaponize its effects, even killing countless human subjects to analyze its properties.
  • Expert Physician: Whitehall had advanced medical skills and knowledge, being able to vivisect Jiaying in order to analyze and harvest her blood and organs, later ordering to transplant her organs on himself.

Equipment

  • Weapons
  • Uniform: During World War II, Whitehall used an official black SS uniform, wearing the rank insignia of Obergruppenführer (Lieutenant general). The SS runes on the right side of the collar were replaced with the HYDRA badge. The cuff title on his uniform's left sleeve read HYDRA. His officer cap also had the HYDRA badge instead of the SS Totenkopf badge.[1] He wore four military decorations on the left side of the uniform.
    • The Panzer Badge - In recognition of a tank commanders' achievements during armored assaults.
    • The Close Combat Clasp - For taking part in 25 battles of close combat.
    • The Wound Badge - For being wounded three or four times.
    • The Iron Cross First Class - In recognition for bravery in battle or military contributions in a battlefield environment.

Relationships

Family

  • Wife †

Allies

Enemies

Appearances

Appearances for Daniel Whitehall

Trivia

References

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