Eric Koenig

Eric Koenig
Real Name	Eric Koenig
Alias(es)	Lightning Foot Steve Rogers
Species	Human
Citizenship	American
Gender	Male
Date of Death	Early 2014
Clearance	Level 6
Title(s)	Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Affiliation	S.H.I.E.L.D. *Life-Model Decoy Program
Status	Deceased
Appearances
TV Series	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2 episodes)
Actors/Actresses
Portrayed by	Patton Oswalt

"I guess living on the edge really pays off sometimes."

―Eric Koenig^[src]

Eric Koenig was a Level 6 S.H.I.E.L.D. operative that Nick Fury entrusted with some of his greatest secrets. He is also the brother of Billy, Sam, Thurston, and LT Koenig. He was killed by HYDRA infiltrator Grant Ward while he was assigned to the Providence facility.

Biography

Early Life

Growing up with Brothers

"Gaming online with my brother. We’re racking up major Call of Duty hours."

―Eric Koenig to Phil Coulson^[src]

Eric Koenig was a quadruplet and grew up with brothers Billy, Sam, Thurston and a sister, LT. One of them even gave him the nickname "lightning foot". Eric, Billy, Sam, and LT grew up and joined S.H.I.E.L.D., while Thurston became a slam poet activist. Eric, Billy, and Sam often puzzled agents with their similarities, such as when Antoine Triplett mentioned to Skye how similar Billy was to Eric and wondered if they were truly just twins., or when Skye mistook Billy for Eric when she first arrived at the Playground with the rest of her team.

HYDRA Uprising

Kept at Providence Base

"So how long have you been in here?"
"Since the Chitauri invaded New York."
"Oh..."

―Phil Coulson and Eric Koenig^[src]

Eric Koenig was stationed in Providence, a secret safe house belonging to Nick Fury, after the Battle of New York. Agent Koenig named the place himself and even decorated it over the two years that he had been there in total isolation, entertaining himself by playing online video games with his brothers who were stationed at the Playground.

Meeting Coulson's Team

Koenig greets Coulson's Team

"What is this place?"
"One of Fury's secret bases. I call it Providence, although technically it doesn't have a name, because technically it doesn’t exist, it being a secret base and all."

―Skye and Eric Koenig^[src]

Using information provided by Nick Fury, Phil Coulson and his team were able to locate Providence and get past security. As they stepped into the base, Koenig greeted them and showed them around the base. Koenig introduced himself and told them he would issue lanyards when the agents had been cleared; when Coulson asked about Nick Fury, Koenig claimed he had been killed by HYDRA during an assassination attempt in Washington, D.C. and informed them that the Fridge had been taken over by HYDRA, much to Coulson's shock as he revealed they had an agent at the Fridge.

Koenig speaks to Phil Coulson

Koenig asked to speak to Coulson alone while Skye called their other agent to confirm he had survived. Koenig told him how long he had been at the base before informing Coulson that Nick Fury was indeed alive. Although Coulson was furious about his lying, Koenig made it clear that Fury's orders were that only a select few people knew of his survival, including Captain America, Maria Hill and them. When Coulson expressed his discomfort at lying to his team, Koenig threatened him if he were to reveal the truth, noting that these were also Fury's direct orders. Coulson soon agreed and Koenig happily advised that Melinda May park the Bus inside the base.

Lie Detector

Koenig makes Coulson's Team pass his test

"Fury designed this himself. He wanted a lie detector Romanoff couldn't beat."
"Did she?"
"Like Fury would tell!"

―Eric Koenig and Grant Ward^[src]

Shortly after their arrival, Coulson's Team were joined by Grant Ward, their agent who was nearly killed during the Raid of the Fridge. When Coulson demanded to take some of his team after Marcus Daniels, an escaped inmate from the Fridge, Agent Koenig objected, claiming they had protocols. Coulson argued that if they did not act to protect people but Koenig insisted that Coulson's team needed to pass the Lie Detector.

Koenig and the Lie Detector Chair

While conducting the tests, Koenig questioned if the agents had ever heard of Project Insight or had met Alexander Pierce, testing if they had connections to HYDRA. Koenig found himself getting frustrated as many of the agents thought too hard about the questions, with Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons listing every difference between a rock and an egg and wanting to know more details about the box they were given on a hypothetical island. Skye confessed that she had changed her named as she did not know her mother or father. Koenig showed enthusiasm when he learnt that Antoine Triplett's grandfather was a Howling Commando in World War II.

Koenig questions Grant Ward

During his questioning of Agent Grant Ward, Koenig noticed that his heart rate and pulse were spiking, but Ward insisted that it was due to the pain he was in because of his broken ribs, so Koenig asked him to sit as still as possible. Koenig became more suspicious of Ward as his answers seemed questionable and Koenig questioned if Ward was a HYDRA sleeper. Drawing a gun, Koenig questioned his connections to HYDRA and demanded to know why Ward was there, asking if he had another motive for being there, but Ward eventually claimed that he had come for Skye, which was true, and passed the tests, giving him the right to a lanyard.

Working with Skye

Koenig allows Skye to hack the NSA

"All right. Color me impressed. Now impress me more. Get me that footage. These are the keys to the comm/sat room. The mainframe is in there. Start the hack but then send the feed to these monitors. Let's live dangerously."

―Eric Koenig to Skye^[src]

While Koenig was watching police reports with Skye about possible cases of escaped Fridge prisoners, Skye spotted Koenig's tablet and called him out on hiding trackers in their lanyards. This gave Skye the idea of hacking NSA satellites and reviewing the footage, although Koenig strongly recommended against the idea. Koenig was forced to give in once Grant Ward also claimed it to be a good idea and Koenig told Skye to start the hack.

Betrayed and Murdered

Koenig realizes that Grant Ward is a traitor

"Believe it or not, Skye got us in! We have access to the NSA's complete sat-feed history! That girl's good. I can see why you like her."

―Eric Koenig to Grant Ward^[src]

Skye's hack proved successful and Providence gained access to the NSA's complete satalight feed. Grant Ward came to check on the progress and the excited Koenig updated him, with Koenig noting that Skye had greatly impressed him. Ward however locked the door and revealed himself to be an undercover HYDRA agent working for John Garrett before slicing Koenig at the throat, eventually killing him and hiding his body in a storage room.

Koenig is murdered by Grant Ward

Eventually, Skye used the tracker that Koenig owned to know the locations of the other agents and found Koenig's body, realizing that Ward was a member of HYDRA. When half of Phil Coulson's team returned from Portland, they discovered the other half was gone. Jemma Simmons decided to make pancakes to calm everyone. While in the closet, she found Koenig's body and, after an autopsy, confirmed that "Ward is HYDRA" as written on the message left by Skye.

Sam and Billy Koenig asked Grant Ward what was the last words of Eric when they had him at gunpoint on the Bus. Though the brothers wanted revenge, they decided against it for the sake of the other agents who were surrounded by HYDRA operatives. He was avenged by Coulson when Ward was killed in Maveth.

Personality

"The NSA's already got S.H.I.E.L.D. on its watch list. Why poke the bear? The big, scary, waterboarding bear?"

―Eric Koenig to Skye^[src]

Koenig was a rather upbeat, friendly individual despite the seriousness of his job. Even so, he found espionage and secrecy to be essential to the foundation that S.H.I.E.L.D. was built on especially in light to the recent discovery of HYDRA infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. and remained very by-the-book even after S.H.I.E.LD.'s leadership fell as he refused to compartmentalize information to Coulson's team as he did not know them, only to Coulson himself. Following the Battle of New York and the beginning of the HYDRA Uprising, Koenig was highly cautious and only began to trust Coulson's Team after submitting them to a Lie Detector. Unfortunately when he began to trust the Team, he was also killed by the HYDRA sleeper operative, Grant Ward.

Abilities

"I thought you were a comms agent, not agent of playing video games while hiding in a bunker."

―Skye to Eric Koenig^[src]

• Expert Technician: Eric Koenig was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who specialized in Communications, working closely with computers and monitoring Coulson's team through their lanyards. However, he sometimes trusted them over his own instincts, as when he trusted the Lie Detector's readings more than his suspicions towards Grant Ward.

Equipment

Weapons

Koenig threatening Grant Ward with his gun

• Walther PPK/S: The Koenigs used a Walther PPK/S as their sidearm. Eric had his weapon by his side when submitting the members of Phil Coulson's team to "Orientation" at the Lie Detector, grabbing it when Grant Ward's answers made him believe he was hiding something, but Koenig did not shoot as Ward answered with selective truths to hide his true motives.

Other Equipment

• S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanyard: To be added
• Lie Detector: To be added

Facilities

• Providence: To be added

Relationships

Family

• Ernest Koenig - Grandfather
• Father
• Mother
• LT Koenig - Sister and S.H.I.E.L.D. Colleague
• Billy Koenig - Brother and S.H.I.E.L.D. Colleague
• Sam Koenig - Brother and S.H.I.E.L.D. Colleague
• Thurston Koenig - Brother

Allies

• S.H.I.E.L.D.
  • Nick Fury - Former Director
  • Coulson's Team
    • Phil Coulson † - Superior
    • Melinda May - Colleague
    • Jemma Simmons - Colleague
    • Leo Fitz - Colleague
    • Skye - Colleague
    • Antoine Triplett † - Colleague

Enemies

• HYDRA
  • Grant Ward † - Former Colleague turned Killer

Appearances

Appearances for Eric Koenig
In chronological order: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season One Providence The Only Light in the Darkness Nothing Personal (mentioned) Beginning of the End (mentioned) Season Two Shadows (mentioned) A Fractured House (mentioned) ...Ye Who Enter Here (mentioned) Season Three Closure (mentioned) Season Four The Laws of Inferno Dynamics (mentioned) Hot Potato Soup (mentioned)

Trivia

• In the comics, Eric Koenig was a Wehrmacht soldier and a former member of the Howling Commandos, who joined Nick Fury when he formed S.H.I.E.L.D..

Behind the Scenes

• Patton Oswalt on being offered the part--"When they first told me the character’s name, I’ll admit the first thing I did is I went on Wikipedia and looked up the M.O.D.O.K. character to see if Koenig was maybe his name before he became M.O.D.O.K., but it wasn't,” Oswalt told Marvel.com, laughing. “They keep on talking about the Clairvoyant in the show and I’m like, ‘is that M.O.D.O.K.? Am I M.O.D.O.K.?”
• Koenig enjoys the video game franchise, Call of Duty.

External Links

• Eric Koenig on Marvel Database
• Eric Koenig on Wikipedia