HYDRA (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place...Hail HYDRA."

- Heinz Kruger's last words about the HYDRA organization

HYDRA, or secretly going under the name of S.H.I.E.L.D (formerly), is a military terrorist organization and the main antagonistic faction of the superhero films Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, serving afterwards a major antagonistic role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in several following movies.

HYDRA is a evil Nazi terrorist organization founded by Johann Schmidt. He then sought to break free from Hitler's control and take over the world, but this is halted by the interference of Captain America. They are scattered after that, brought back when Arnim Zola started seeding agents throughout the Strategic Scientific Reserve's present-day reincarnation, S.H.I.E.L.D., and so they took over the agency. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., this infiltration is revealed to the world by the old nemesis of HYDRA, Captain Steve Rogers, and the agency was disbanded. However, Phil Coulson is slowly rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. so he can battle HYDRA, who are still striving for world domination. As revealed in the third season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, the group was founded centuries ago to bring the Inhuman known only as It back to Earth after being banished, succeeding eventually when It possesses Grant Walt's body.

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 Night of the Long Knives, 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 Spanish Civil War started in 1936, the leaders of the Third Reich decided to support the Nationalists led by Francisco Franco. 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.

Captain America: The First Avenger
HYDRA appeared as the main group of villains in the movie Captain America: The First Avenger, and were led by Johann Schmidt, the Red Skull. They were stated as being part of the Nazi's deep science division, and they had tech that was superior to anything created at that time. Most of their tech was powered by the Cosmic Cube. Eventually Red Skull revealed plans to bomb various cities in the world, including Berlin. As such in the movie HYDRA has broken of from the Nazi Party and seek to replace them.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
HYDRA returns in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as the true main antagonist faction, with Alexander Pierce as their new leader. They planned to launch Project Insight which was thought to be done by SHIELD as a security enhanced project. But it was revealed by the consciousness of Arnim Zola (who is the Red Skull's right-hand man) through a supercomputer that HYDRA infiltrated SHIELD and that Project Insight is all a HYDRA plan to launch the three SHIELD Helicarriers and target over a million lives according to a special algorithm that Zola developed for HYDRA to follow. HYDRA is also revealed to have found Bucky in between films and brainwashed him to becoming the [http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Winter_Soldier_(Marvel_Cinematic_Universe) Winter Soldier. ]At the end of the film HYDRA is now lead by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and have captured Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

Avengers: Age of Ultron
HYDRA returns again as the sole group of antagonists/quinary antagonists in The Avengers: Age of Ultron with their new leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. They plot to destroy the Avengers and form a Big Bad Ensemble with Ultron, who plots to take over Earth. While Strucker may not be an ongoing threat in the film, he will be responsible for bringing Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to the Avengers. Strucker and his right-hand man, Dr. List, are both killed by Ultron.

Ant-Man
Darren Cross made a partnership with HYDRA when they still had a conflict with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avengers as whole event in film occured almost simultaneously with events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. In hopes to turn the tide of battle, they had Mitchell Carson to aid Darren in his attempt duplicating the Pym Particle technology into the Yellowjacket. Thanks to Scott Lang's interference, HYDRA failed to gained the particle technology for the war against Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., but they managed to acquire particles that produced by the suit.

Captain America: Civil War
It can be assumed that HYDRA will return as main, if not major or supporting antagonists in ''Captain America: Civil War. ''Tony Stark, due to supporting the Superhuman Registration Act in the mainstream comics universe, will be the main villain of the film and will battle Captain America over the Act's controversial set of laws.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
While the twist that HYDRA was inside S.H.I.E.L.D. may have had an effect on the movies, it was a bigger terror in the TV series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC that set in the same universe in the movies, with the show running concurrently with the film series. They are revealed in the Season 1 episode "Turn, Turn, Turn" as the true main antagonists of the series, with John Garrett as the leader of a HYDRA cell commissioned to destroy all that remains of S.H.I.E.L.D. after Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Centipede Group representative Raina is working with Garrett to recover some samples of GH.325, a drug made from Kree blood, and stop Garrett's organs from failing completely.

It is also revealed that supporting protagonist Grant Ward is working with Garrett, having been taught "how to survive" by him. Daniel Whitehall appears in Season 2, seeking to find Kree artifacts and use them to conquer the world and rule over everyone, but is tricked by the Inhuman Calvin Zabo to get his daughter Skye into an ancient Kree city and receive an Inhuman mutation (becoming Daisy Johnson/Quake). Now, while S.H.I.E.L.D. is being rebuilt by Director Coulson (promoted by Nick Fury), HYDRA hunts for the various weak points in S.H.I.E.L.D. In Season 3, they are revealed to worship an Inhuman known as It and want to bring him back to Earth to conquer the world.

The Civil War's early stages
HYDRA
 * "Out of the Shadows, Into the Light"
 * ―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 (as shown in Captain America: The Winter Soldier). 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.

Civil War becomes direct war
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 (from Episode 2), 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. Garrett is also destroyed by Coulson wielding the 0-8-4 weapon in Episode 2 "0-8-4".

Whitehall's Campaign
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 Waltersand 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
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 on board 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 touching, 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
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. After the deaths of Strucker and List, Ward decided to take the helm and rebuild HYDRA.

It's return (Season 3)
In late 2015, after Ward took over HYDRA, they succeeded in bringing It back to Earth, though at the cost of Ward's life (his body was possessed by the Inhuman shortly after, taking a zombie-like appearance).

Current

 * It (Creator)
 * Gideon Malick (Leader)
 * Crossbones (Enforcer)
 * Carl Creel (Enforcer)

Former

 * Jemma Simmons (Scientist/Undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrator) (returned to SHIELD)
 * Bobbi Morse (Head of Security/Undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrator) (returned to SHIELD)
 * Scarlet Witch (Pawn) (Defected to The Avengers)
 * Winter Soldier (Brainwashed/Pawn)

Deceased

 * Red Skull (Commander in World War II)
 * Arnim Zola (Leader)
 * Alexander Pierce (Leader)
 * Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Leader)
 * Dr. List (Leader)
 * John Garrett (Enforcer and Founder/Leader of it's Centipede Project Branch)
 * Daniel Whitehall (Leader of a HYDRA cell and immortal scientist)
 * Grant Ward (Enforcer; Leader/Director)
 * Sunil Bakshi (Enforcer)
 * Jasper Sitwell (Enforcer)
 * Quicksilver (Pawn) (Defected to The Avengers)
 * Raina
 * The Baroness
 * The Sheikh
 * The Banker
 * Octavian Bloom

Allies

 * Calvin Zabo
 * Centipede Group (dissolved)
 * Darren Cross (deceased)

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."