Daniel Whitehall (Marvel Cinematic Universe)/Synopsis

The story of the sadistic HYDRA leader Dr. Daniel Whitehall from the TV series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Early Life
Werner Reinhardt was born in Arnsberg, Germany on October 9th in 1904. At some point, he was married to an unnamed woman who died and left him as a widower. Following the end of World War I, he joined the Nazi Party, became a member of the Schutzstaffel and rose to become an Obergruppenführer. He then joined the regime's special science division HYDRA led by Johann Schmidt, also known as the Red Skull.

After World War II broke out, Reinhardt actively participated in Germany's conquest of Europe, which earned him several high military decorations. As a HYDRA officer, he was sent to search for mysterious artifacts, including the Darkhold, a book containing infinite knowledge, which he couldn't find. On one occasion, his team uncovered the corpse of a blue-skinned humanoid organism.

Among the many myths HYDRA researched, Reinhardt came across an Obelisk with power to turn the living into stone, to which he became utterly obsessed with it, and the story from the East about how the "stars that fell from the heavens". Being an intelligent man, Reinhardt 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. When presenting the Obelisk to Skull, Schmidt told Reinhardt that it could hold the answer to death itself and must be understood so they could use it against the Allies.

Capture and Sentence
To learn more of its potential, Whitehall had his men kidnap a group of people from China who knew of the Obelisk and brought them to his fortress in Austria. Reinhardt and a scientist tested the Obelisk on them to see if there was any patterns in their deaths, questioning if age, race or gender would affect it. After several of the hostages were killed, he had a woman named Jiaying touch the Obelisk, only to learn that she could survive it. Before he could dissect her to learn more, he learns of Red Skull's death and the approach of the Allies. He then has her locked up for later research. As the Allies approached, Reinhardt had his men move their equipment to a new location. Just as they were almost finished, the S.S.R. stormed the base, arrested Reinhardt and his men and locked up the Obelisk along with all of the other items they've collected.

After his capture, Reinhardt was taken to the Rat, a top-secret S.S.R. prison. While imprisoned there, he was interrogated by Peggy Carter and noted how other Nazi scientists were being recruited by the United States of America for strategic value, and that he could be of value to them. Carter then mentioned his war crimes, including locking up Jiaying in a cage like an animal as he planned to experiment on her. Reinhardt offered to help her understand the artifacts that the SSR locked up and explained the story about the Obelisk and "blue angels" who came to conquer the Earth. Despite his attempts to convince her otherwise, Carter saw Reinhardt for the monster he truly was and denied his offer. He was then sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rat for his crimes against humanity.

In 1970, during his sentence, Reinhardt learnt of HYDRA's rebuilt and gained influence in it despite being locked up. He also learned about HYDRA's true origin that revolved around the Monolith and the parasitic god-like being Hive, which he considered to be nonsense. When the head of the Malick family died, Reinhardt, having already taken the alias "Daniel Whitehall", sent for Malick's sons, Gideon and Nathaniel. When they arrived, he openly told them that he expected them to reject their traditions and choose the path of science instead of religion. The brothers called him a coward, saying that traveling to Maveth was a great honor, to which he replied that their rituals were foolish, unlike their father who survived many ceremonies by doing a parlor trick. The brothers did not believe him, but Reinhardt told them to take a look in Paradise Lost, a book in their father's study, which would confirm his story.

New Experiments
In 1989, now an old man, Reinhardt was visited by two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who told him that he was free because Alexander Pierce gave him a medical parole, citing that Reinhardt had joined HYDRA under duress. As Rivera left the cell, Hauer whispered "Hail HYDRA". When Reinhardt replied with the same salute and asked why he was needed after so many years, the agent said that they found Jiaying and that he would have to see her for himself. After arriving in Austria in his old lab, he was presented with the captured elders of the village when he conducted his experiments. He then learns that Jiaying was still young and after becoming fascinated, he proceeds to dissect her to extract her power for a full week on-and-off while she was still awake.

After fully killing her and taking all of her organs and blood, he gained her longevity and ordered her body be disposed of. Little did he know, Jiaying's husband Calvin Zabo vowed to tear him apart for what he did, as well as being the one responsible for him being separated from his daughter, Daisy. During this time, Reinhardt became permanently known as "Dr. Daniel Whitehall" and dropped his German accent to cover up his true backstory and origins.

With his youth fully restored, Whitehall one of the fully active leaders of HYDRA. He began several projects, including one called Destroyer of Worlds, which was about bio-genetically creating the perfect leader of HYDRA that involved a particle infusion chamber, a device that could create the most powerful being in the world be infusing them with raw materials. He also became an instructor for young students at HYDRA Preparation Academy. His reputation also made him a legend among students, who would all praise his work. During one year, he approached a young student named Hale, for which he named her the subject to be pregnant with a genetically engineered child for the Destroyer of Worlds project, despite her protests.

Over the years, Whitehall began to brainwash several individuals for HYDRA's cause by using the Faustus Method, which was constructed by Johann Fennhoff during his campaign against Howard Stark. Many of the poor subjects of this method include former boxer Carl Creel and young S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist Donnie Gill, both of which had superpowers. He met Sunil Bakshi, who would become his loyal right-hand man.

Quest for the Obelisk
In 2014, several months after the HYDRA uprising, Whitehall set out to retrieve the Obelisk and continue his experiments with it. To that end, he had his right-hand man Sunil Bakshi send brainwashed operative Carl Creel to steal it from the United States Air Force storage, which was under the command of Colonel Glenn Talbot. Although he successfully took it, thanks to the interference of S.H.I.E.L.D., Creel was subdued and the Obelisk was stolen by Raina.

Thanks to Bobbi Morse, Whitehall and Bakshi successfully captured Agent 33 from a S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse. Whitehall then proceeded to brainwash her with the Faustus Method, hoping to turn her into his loyal HYDRA agent and assassin. During the process, 33 refused to surrender herself to Whitehall's control, which drove him to repeat the cycle over and over again until it worked. Concurrently, Whitehall entrusted Bakshi to handle the recapture of Donnie Gill, who was already subjected to the method. Although the mission failed, 33 was successfully subjected to Whitehall's control. As the two discussed the increasing problem of S.H.I.E.L.D., he granted Bakshi's request to a scientist in their lab, Jemma Simmons.

He then became interested in the Words of Creation and sent Bakshi to retrieve a painting with the carvings on the back of it, in which he was using a nano-mask disguised as Talbot. After S.H.I.E.L.D. got involved, Whitehall changed the plan and told Bakshi to capture May and use the nano-mask to switch her with 33. The plan ultimately failed and 33 got the mask stuck on her face. Afterwards, he found and confronted Raina while demanding the Obelisk. Using a Control Device to stun her, he gave her 48 hours to return it or he would torture her, using his torture of Jiaying as an example to intimidate her.

Over the next two days, Whitehall had Bakshi test a weapon that was meant to replicate the Obelisk's powers, in which it failed. He then met with his science division and voiced his disappointment, only for Jemma to assure him that the weapons would be used for mass executions. During this time, Jemma and Bobbi were revealed as undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Whitehall had his faction pack up and move to a new base. While discussing a new location with Bakshi, he was approached by Calvin Zabo, who presented him with the Obelisk (now revealed as the Diviner) and offered an alliance to help kill the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Phil Coulson.

New Alliances
The new alliance prove fruitful for Whitehall as he was able to use his full access to the Diviner as a means to replicate its powers into other weapons. Wanting revenge on S.H.I.E.L.D. for their constant interference, he assigned Marcus Scarlotti to attack the U.N. under the guise of S.H.I.E.L.D. and to test Splinter Bombs, which were designed by Vincent Beckers and built by Toshiro Mori. This event forced six agents to retreat to a safehouse with Julian Beckers, which was revealed to be a trap. Later on, Bakshi mysteriously disappeared and left Whitehall's men on edge.

Despite newfound success in his plans, Whitehall remained frustrated by the lack of results in the research of the Diviner. He then forced Zabo to explain his knowledge of it: it is a key that needs to be taken to an ancient city so it could do something "much, much cooler" than killing. A skeptical Whitehall explained the story of the Kree coming to Earth to conquer Earth, but Zabo corrected him that they actually came to destroy it and replace mankind with a few who the Diviner chose to be worthy. Whitehall question Zabo's request to find the city, voicing his belief on him stealing the power for himself. Zabo assured him that he actually had nothing to lose and wanted to reunite with his family in the "afterlife".

Whitehall then met with Grant Ward, who offered his assistance and chance to rejoin HYDRA. Whitehall didn't doubt his claims and revealed his knowledge of Ward killing his brother and parents while destroying the former's reputation. After Zabo returned and found the city, Whitehall introduced him to Ward and voiced how thanks to his control of his HYDRA faction, Zabo's knowledge of the Diviner and Ward's expertise on S.H.I.E.L.D., they could achieve so much.

In the drawing climax to find the city, Whitehall sent 33 to retrieve Raina due to being one of the few who could survive it as well. Although the mission failed, 33 told him about a tracking chip placed in Raina by S.H.I.E.L.D. Knowing who to send to collect her, Whitehall had Ward track Raina to the Bus, collect her and have the plane blown out of the sky. Although he did so successfully, he learned from 33 that Ward brought Skye along and didn't have it shot down. He then had 33 counter that order.

Final Battle and Death
Whitehall had his men take position in the Ponce de León Theater, which was located right on top of the ancient city's chamber, in which he used a powerful drill to burn a hole through. He then had a gathering with 33, Zabo, Raina, Ward and his new hostage Skye. Curious as to why Skye was there, he forced her to pick up the Diviner and she survived. She then kills an agent while Zabo and Ward then betrayed Whitehall, who revealed that he knows she is Jiaying and Zabo's daughter. The then brought the three into a room and kept Zabo at bay with a Control Device, and planned to dissect her in front of Zabo. He was then caught off guard by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attack and left. He was then seen in a hallway giving 33 orders until he noticed Zabo approaching him for the kill. Just as Whitehall was about to shoot him dead, he was shot from behind and killed by Coulson, thus ultimately ending his reign of terror for good.

HYDRA's Fallout
Whitehall's death left a void in HYDRA's leadership ranks that S.H.I.E.L.D. believed had raised Sunil Bakshi's value as List sought to replace him. Without any guidance now that Whitehall was dead, 33 joined with Ward, saving his life after he was shot by Skye. Over the next few weeks, Ward helped 33 overcome the damage Whitehall had done to her mind and the pair formed a relationship as a result. In get their final revenge, Ward and 33 kidnapped Bakshi and forced him to undergo the same treatment that he and Whitehall had previously done to her and many others, turning him into their own personal slave.

Zabo's Wrath
Losing his chance at killing Whitehall himself caused Zabo to vow revenge against Coulson for denying him his revenge against the man who took away his family and destroyed his life. To get his revenge against Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D., Zabo brought together a team he called the Slicing Talons and attempted to destroy Coulson and his agents; however, his plan failed. Despite finding some peace while at Afterlife, Zabo once again attempted to kill Coulson by injecting himself with his formula and thus turning himself into a beast. However, the desire of saving his own family, something started by Whitehall destroying his life years earlier, caused him to turn over a new leaf and let go of his anger.

Jiaying's Vendetta
The damage Whitehall had done to Jiaying was felt for decades after he had tortured and brutalized her in order to get to her DNA and gain his long life. The disgust at how the Inhumans had been treated by HYDRA caused Jiaying to wage a war on humanity, while planning on using poisoned Terrigen Crystals to wipe out the humans. The sore wound of Whitehall's actions was felt when Robert Gonzales inadvertently insulted her by comparing his own scars to hers, to which Jiaying furiously killed him with Terrigen Mist and explained how Whitehall had torn her body to pieces, which she refused to allow to happen to her daughter or any other Inhumans.

Destroyer of Worlds
Whitehall's death also meant the abrupt end of Project Destroyer of Worlds. The Particle Infusion Chamber remained hidden from everyone, including Whitehall's fellow HYDRA members like General Hale and Ruby, who were originally intended to participate in the project. The location of the facility where the chamber was hidden was eventually given to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents by Malick, who had turned on HYDRA after his daughter's death. Following HYDRA's destruction, the facility and its surrounding area was declared off-limits by U.S. Air Force General Glenn Talbot. However, the two continued with the project and attempted to use Gravitionium as a part of it, which resulted in Talbot being tortured. Ultimately, a broken Talbot fused himself with the element and became a villain that almost destroyed the Earth and reduced mankind to a future of enslavement by Kasius.