Villains Wiki

Hi. This is Thesecret1070. I am an admin of this site. Edit as much as you wish, but one little thing... If you are going to edit a lot, then make yourself a user and login. Other than that, enjoy Villains Wiki!!!

READ MORE

Villains Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Villain Overview

I believe that art and science are entwined. The Devil, and God, is in the details. I don't want the people to see my work and know it works. If they gave a second glance, I want it to be out of awe, not disgust.
~ Radcliffe meeting Fitz and Simmons for the first time.
Though immortality may have eluded me, perhaps it's for the best. After all, what is eternity without my beloved Agnes by my side? This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a-
~ Radcliffe's final words before his consciousness is deleted along with the rest of the Framework.

Dr. Holden Radcliffe is a major character in Season 3 and the overarching antagonist of Season 4 in Marvel's Agents of Shield.

He is a transhumanist and robotics expert who was kidnapped by Hive to create the Primitives. After Hive's defeat, he becomes a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant and the inventor of the Life-Model Decoys ("L.M.D.s" for short), including Aida. He was later corrupted by the Darkhold to turn the Framework into a perfect world in a misguided effort to cure humanity of death and suffering.

He was portrayed by John Hannah, who also played Simon Moore III in the 1997 film The Love Bug, Richard Darian in I Accuse and Lord Nestor in The Last Legion.

Personality[]

Radcliffe is essentially a "mad scientist" who seeks the secrets of the universe however he can get them. Despite his up-front, sometimes kind, appearance, he can be incredibly deceptive, and even called his own ability to fool S.H.I.E.L.D. "Oscar-worthy stuff". In Season 3, he didn't trust S.H.I.E.L.D., thinking of them as the same as HYDRA, but was forced to rely on them when he was given a chance to escape from Hive, who had kidnapped him. While under Hive's captivity, he was determined to save his own skin, and justified his helping in his plans by saying he was kidnapped. He was very-much afraid of Hive, but wanted to prove to him that he has his uses. After creating the Primitives, who were horribly-deformed and lacked original thought (only what Hive thought for them, like a queen bee commanding her hive), Radcliffe considered them "abominations of science" and wanted to make more efficient, intelligent versions; despite his insistence, Hive believed that they were just perfect. After being rescued by S.H.I.E.L.D., he insisted to General Glenn Talbot and Agent Phil Coulson that he was doing Hive's work under duress, but they still held him accountable. After S.H.I.E.L.D. defeated Hive at the cost of Inhuman Lincoln Campbell's life, Radcliffe continued his scientific exploits.

In Season 4, Radcliffe showed Fitz his creation Aida, and thought that she could be used for missions that would otherwise cause mass casualties. Though this plan started out with good meaning, he slowly showed that he was impatient towards her, as she didn't understand slang and figures of speech. Nonetheless, Radcliffe detests bloodshed, and reprimanded Aida for killing Agent Nathanson after he saw May unconscious. After reading the Darkhold and being overwhelmed by its contents, Radcliffe became obsessed with it, abandoning most of his morality and becoming a sly, manipulative mad scientist who used Fitz and Simmons' affection for him to his own advantage. This went to the extent of kidnapping Agent May and replacing her with a May LMD. He argued with Aida a couple times regarding May's situation, and showed that he didn't want to kill anyone he didn't need to; however, he would later betray S.H.I.E.L.D. outright and side with Senator Nadeer to save his own skin and continue his plotting. After the May LMD discovered that she was not the real May, she confronted Radcliffe (his LMD counterpart), who told her that she could harm him at all and sent her back to the Playground, unable to tell anyone her discovery because she wasn't programmed to do so.

Despite his unethical behavior, he still relied on non-lethal methods to get the Darkhold; he deceived Agent Billy Keonig by putting him into his Framework device to map his mind, protesting against Anton's plan to torture Keonig. However, when the May LMD finally got the Darkhold and was nearly-destroyed, Radcliffe simply took the book and left her behind, saying that she wasn't "built to last", whereas Aida, the original LMD, was. He would later agree to help Anton track down Coulson and kill him, showing that he'd simply abandoned more of his sense of morality.

He begins to become obsessed with his invention, the Framework, and seemed to view it as an alternative to the real-world. He would spend entire days in it, and would be angry at Aida for taking him out of it, and viewed it as a way to keep the people inside content with their perfect lives. To this end, he put his faith in Aida to complete his plans and dealings with Anton Ivanov, despite his view of Aida as a soulless robot. He ended up becoming trapped in it by Aida after she found her opinions contradicting her programming to protect him and the Framework, leading to her betraying him and leaving him to die of blood loss (slitting his wrists with a knife), while his mind lived on in the Framework.

While in the Framework after Aida banished him there, he seems to be living comfortably with Agnes, though he does not like how out of control the framework has got, as he never intended the Framework to be like this. Things change after Fitz executes Agnes in cold blood, as he seems to become sad and depressed, as well as angry. He then seemed to view everything in the Framework as fake and surreal, and believed that life without Agnes is no life at all, going on to mock Alistair Fitz for neglecting his son in the real-world, despite that this isn't really him, as the real Alistair was apparently a "blowhard". He still held hope that Fitz could be saved through the back-door, and viewed all of the Framework as a punishment for him for all of his actions; living in a fake world programmed by Aida, who is not technically a real person. He managed to fool Fitz into going to a steel mill, where he admits how this was never his intention and throws him through the back-door, and even apologizes to Simmons for doing all of this. Eventually, as the Framework started deleting itself, Radcliffe accepted his end with peace, having some whiskey as the sun went down and he was deleted from the system forever.

Creations[]

Radcliffe, being an expert in robotics and a strong believer in Transhumanism, has built a variety of machines to help him in his goals:

  • The Framework is a holographic scanner device that can map an individual's brain and thoughts, allowing access to everything they've ever known and experienced. He used it on Agent May to scan her brain for damage caused by contact with Lucy Bauer, then used the information from her mind to program the May LMD. He later programs it to behave like the Matrix simulation from The Matrix trilogy, representing a parallel reality to what the real-world is like; in it, HYDRA takes S.H.I.E.L.D.'s place and keeps the public afraid of Inhumans. His consciousness is then trapped in it by Aida, who kills his real body with a knife and leaves him to die from the blood loss. After Aida forces the system to delete itself, Radcliffe accepted his end with peace, making this fake world his own undoing.
  • Robotic Implants are a prime obsession of his, having built a robot eye for himself that was apparently inspired by a "bird's eye view". He was also fascinated by Phil Coulson's Prosthetic Hand, which he would use as inspiration for his LMD program.
  • Life-Model Decoys (LMDs) are the most notable invention of Radcliffe's. They are all androids modeled after specific people and can be programmed with brainwave maps created by the Framework. Though the Keonigs had worked on an LMD program before, they admitted that Radcliffe's work had "put us to shame". They all appear to be powered by a "brain" system made up of light, made by Aida using her Laser-Coupling Gloves.
    • Aida: the first LMD, modeled after Radcliffe's previous lover, a cancer patient named Agnes Kitsworth. She behaves with only logic in her head, yet is driven by her own new emotions brought on by the Darkhold. Radcliffe has argued with her on occasion about what to do with Agent May, who they kidnapped, and defended her from Aida, believing that keeping her alive is illogical. There were two versions made; one that was corrupted by the Darkhold after reading it, and a second one that Radcliffe held onto.The corrupted one was destroyed by Coulson, while the second one began a journey to discover her place in the world. She manages to create a human body for herself, but is ultimately destroyed by Coulson while possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance.
    • Agent Melinda May (LMD) is the second-known LMD. Radcliffe modeled her after the real Agent May after kidnapping her and replacing her with the LMD, who was unaware of her true nature and was programmed with May's personality and memories. She was unable to harm Radcliffe or tell anyone her true nature, because she wasn't programmed to. Radcliffe considered her expendable after getting the Darkhold at last, saying she wasn't "built to last", while Aida was. She is turned-off and placed in S.H.I.E.L.D. storage, but is turned-on again by the Coulson LMD later. After debating the purpose of her existence and concluding that everything she has experienced is false, stolen from the real May, she lets Daisy and Simmons escape from the Playground on the Zephyr One and blows up the Playground, destroying all the LMDs, including herself.
    • Holden Radcliffe (LMD) is the third LMD. Radcliffe anticipated that his schemes would be discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D., so to make sure he would be able to continue his mission, he put his own memories and personality into an LMD modeled after himself. He believed himself to be alive, since he has all the brain power of an average human and all the same feelings.
    • S.H.I.E.L.D. LMDs, as he progressed in his plans, he started making more and more LMDs, including ones for Fitz, Coulson, Mace and Mack, and building several different Daisy LMDs, placing them in a storage container on the Zephyr One for the real Daisy to find. However, all the LMDs are destroyed by the May LMD, who sacrifices herself to save Daisy and Simmons after debating the purpose of their existence, blowing up the Playground with all the other LMDs in it.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Radcliffe seems to have characteristics shared with Tony Stark/Iron Man; they both use robotics to the degree of creating a full-fledged AI, and they both put their own AI into a physical body. They both had also been called out for immoral, unethical behavior, which was directly tied-in with their technological obsessions. Their respective AIs (Ultron and Aida) turned on their creators eventually and began their own journey, but Aida still had her programming to preserve Radcliffe in the Framework.
  • In the original comic books, Radcliffe owned a company called Holden Radcliffe Corporation, which developed cutting-edge robotics.
  • Radcliffe's boasts about the Darkhold giving him all the secrets of the universe are just like that of John Garrett, who previously appeared on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the main antagonist of Season 1, after he received the GH.325 serum; they had both become arrogant and seemingly-insane from the secrets of the universes that they were given. Radcliffe became overly-defensive of the Darkhold, taking offense when Anton Ivanov managed to read the book, unlike Garrett, who believed himself superior to all other people on Earth due to his knowledge.
  • Contrary to other villains on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., such as John Garrett, Daniel Whitehall and Hive, Radcliffe's motives did not relate to the subjugation of mankind, but rather to protect S.H.I.E.L.D. and others, albeit through morally-questionably means. Grant Ward similarly had little to do with these plans, only joining HYDRA due to loyalty to Garrett.
  • In the episode "Hot Potato Soup", Billy Koenig called Radcliffe Gollum because of his obsession with the Darkhold, just as Gollum was obsessed with the One Ring and was unwilling to part with it.

Navigation[]

           Marvel Cinematic Universe Logo Villains

Ten Rings
Mandarin | Raza Hamidmi Al-Wazar | Abu Bakaar | Ahmed | Omar | Ten Rings Agent | Jackson Norriss | HYDRA Buyer | Death Dealer | Razor Fist | Gao Lei

Strategic Operations Command Center
Abomination | Thunderbolt Ross | Kathleen Sparr

Hammer Industries
Justin Hammer | Jack | Hammer Drones

Frost Giants
Loki Laufeyson | Laufey | Grundroth | Hailstrum | Raze | Jotunheim Beast

HYDRA
Leaders: Hive | Red Skull | Arnim Zola | Daniel Whitehall | Baron Strucker | Grant Ward | Gideon Malick
Centipede Group: John Garrett | Ian Quinn | Raina | Edison Po | Deathlok | Debbie | Vanchat | Scorch | Kaminsky
STRIKE: Alexander Pierce | Crossbones | Jack Rollins
Winter Soldiers: Vasily Karpov | Winter Soldier | Josef | Wilfred Nagel
Others: Aida | General Hale | Wilfred Malick | Heinz Kruger | HYDRA Lieutenant | Velt | Jasper Sitwell | Russo | Senator Stern | List | Scarlet Witch | Quicksilver | Mitchell Carson | HYDRA Buyer | Sunil Bakshi | Absorbing Man | Agent 33 | Blizzard | Kebo | Werner von Strucker | Giyera | Lucio | Alisha Whitley | Primitives | Hero Mercs | Dr. Leopold Fitz | Alistair Fitz | Ruby Hale | Qovas | Senator Atwood | HYDRA's Champion

Nazis
Adolf Hitler | Roeder | Hutter | Schneider

Black Order
Thanos | Ebony Maw | Cull Obsidian | Proxima Midnight | Corvus Glaive | Nebula | The Other
Chitauri: Leviathans | Chitauri Gorillas
Others: Outriders | Sakaaran Mercenaries

A.I.M.
Aldrich Killian | Eric Savin | Trevor Slattery | Ellen Brandt | Sweat Shop Agent | Ponytail Express | Maya Hansen | Vice President Rodriguez | Extremis Soldiers

Dark Elves
Malekith the Accursed | Kurse the Strong

Marauders
Duhg | Kronan Marauder

Kree Empire
Leaders: Supreme Intelligence | Ronan the Accuser | Dar-Benn
Starforce: Yon-Rogg | Minn-Erva | Korath the Pursuer | Att-lass | Bron-Char
Kree Watch: Kasius | Sinara | Faulnak | Vicar | Tye
Others: Vin-Tak | Soh-Larr | Papp-Tonn | Ty-Rone | Sakaaran Mercenaries | Exolon Monks

Ravagers
Yondu Udonta | Kraglin Obfonteri | Horuz | Vorker | Tullk | Oblo | Taserface | Gef | Retch | Halfnut | Brahl | Narblik | Huhtar

Inhuman Afterlife
Jiaying | Gordon | Calvin Zabo | Raina | Alisha Whitley

Red Room
General Dreykov | Taskmaster | Madame B | Dottie Underwood | Black Widows

Kingpin's Criminal Empire
Leaders: Kingpin
Tracksuit Mafia: Echo | William Lopez | Clown | Ivan Banionis | Tomas | Enrique | Dmitri
Black Knife Cartel: Zane
Others: James Wesley | Leland Owlsley | Christian Blake | Carl Hoffman | John Healy | Bullseye | Vanessa Fisk | Tammy Hattley | Felix Manning | Eleanor Bishop

The Hand
Madame Gao | Nobu Yoshioka | Bakuto | Alexandra Reid | Elektra Natchios | Murakami | Sowande

IGH
Karl Malus | Miklos Kozlov | Leslie Hansen

Stokes Crime Family
Cottonmouth | Black Mariah | Shades

Maggia
Joseph Manfredi

Watchdogs
Felix Blake | Holden Radcliffe | Superior | Tucker Shockley | Ellen Nadeer | Victor Ramon | Hellfire

Zealots
Kaecilius | Lucian Aster

Orgocorp
Leaders: High Evolutionary | Theel | Vim
Hell Spawn: Behemoth and War Pig | Octo-Hyena
Soldiers: Controller | Karja | Kwol | Bletelsnort | Carrot Head | Phlektik | Orgosentries
Sovereign: Ayesha | Sovereign Admiral | Zylak | Sovereign Chambermaid | Adam Warlock

Celestials
Arishem the Judge | Eson the Searcher | Ego the Living Planet | Tiamut the Communicator

Bestman Salvage
Vulture | Tinkerer | Jackson Brice | Shocker | Randy Vale

Berserker Army
Hela Odinsdottir | The Executioner | Fenris Wolf

Sakaaran Guards
The Grandmaster | Topaz | Sakaaran Mercenaries

Fire Demons
Surtur | Fire Dragon

Cerberus Squad
Agent Orange | Blacksmith | Jigsaw | Morty Bennett | Carson Wolf | The Punisher

The Pride
Magistrate | Leslie Dean | Tina Minoru | Robert Minoru | Geoffrey Wilder | Catherine Wilder | Victor Stein | Janet Stein | Dale Yorkes | Stacey Yorkes

Sambisan Militants
Sambisan Captain

Skrull Resistance
Talos | Norex | Gravik | Pagon | Brogan | Raava | Zirksu | Nuro | Kreega

Mysterio's Crew
Mysterio | William Ginter Riva | Victoria Snow | Gutes Guterman | Janice Lincoln | Doug | Shanice
Elementals: Molten Man | Hydro-Man | Sandman | Elemental Fusion

Roxxon Corporation
Peter Scarborough | Terrors

Sarge's Squad
Sarge | Snowflake | Jaco | Pax

Chronicom Hunters
Sibyl | Atarah | Malachi | Luke | Baal-Gad | Abel | Isaiah

Sonny Burch's Gang
Sonny Burch | Uzman | Anitolov | Knox | Stoltz

The Coven
Morgan le Fay | Cassandra | Bronwyn

LAF
Georges Batroc | Ferdinand Lopez | Gerald Durand | Louie

Flag Smashers
Flag-Smasher | Dovich | Gigi | DeeDee | Lennox | Nico | Matias | Diego

Time Variance Authority
He Who Remains | Ravonna Renslayer | Miss Minutes | General Dox | Hunter D-90 | Hunter X-05 | Minuteman 90018371

Soul Eaters
Dweller-In-Darkness

Eternals
Ikaris | Sprite

Deviants
Kro | Enkidu

Disciples of Ammit
Arthur Harrow | Ammit

Clan Destine
Najma | Fariha | Aadam | Saleem

Intelligencia
Leader: Todd Phelps
Wrecking Crew: Bulldozer | Piledriver | Thunderball | Wrecker
Others: Ulysses Klaue | Josh Miller

Monster Hunting Cabal
Ulysses Bloodstone | Verussa Bloodstone | Joshua Jovan | Azarel | Liorn | Barasso

Talokanil Armed Forces
Namor | Attuma | Namora

Council of Kangs
Immortus | Rama-Tut | Scarlet Centurion | Kang the Conqueror | Mister Gryphon

Assorted Variants
Zombies: Iron Man | Captain America | Hawkeye | Falcon | Doctor Strange | Wong | Happy Hogan | Sharon Carter | Scarlet Witch
Earth-96283: Green Goblin | Doctor Octopus and his tentacles | Sandman
Earth-120703: The Lizard | Electro
Earth-29929: Infinity Ultron | Arnim Zola
Loki's variants: Loki Laufeyson (Variant L1130) | Loki Laufeyson (What If...?) | Sylvie Laufeydottir | Boastful Loki | President Loki | Glamshades Loki | Pokey Loki | Bicycle Loki
Doctor Strange's variants: Strange Supreme | Sinister Strange
Ego's variants: Ego the Living Planet (T'Challa Star-Lord) | Ego the Living Planet (What If...? Peter Quill)
Others: Red Skull | The Collector | Yellowjacket | Vision | Prince Killmonger | Venom | Baron Mordo | Nova Corps (Irani Rael, Garthan Saal) | Yon-Rogg | Ronan the Accuser | Yondu Udonta | Justin Hammer | Hydra Agent | Rustam and Sergei | Grandmaster | Topaz | Thanos | Red Room (Melina Vostokoff, Hydra Stomper, Black Widows) | Surtur | Spanish Armed Forces | Rodrigo Gonzolo | Queen Isabella I of Spain | Hela | Odin | Xu Wenwu | King Thor (1602) | Happy Hogan (1602) | Royal Yellowjackets

Others (Films/Disney+)
Phase 1
Iron Monger | Samuel Sterns | Tough Guy Leader | Whiplash | Anton Vanko | The Destroyer | Georgi Luchkov
Phase 2
Herman | White Power Dave | The Collector | Garthan Saal | Moloka Dar | Monstrous Inmate | Ultron | Ultron Sentinels | Yellowjacket
Phase 3
Baron Zemo | Karl Mordo | Dormammu | Abilisk | Mac Gargan | Prowler | Erik Killmonger | W'Kabi | Linbani | Linda | Dave | N'Jobu | Ghost | Goliath | Elihas Starr | Akihiko
Phase 4
Agatha Harkness | Tyler Hayward | Valentina Allegra de Fontaine | Power Broker | Alioth | Khonshu | Anton Mogart | Wendy Spector | Raoul Bushman | Ribbon Demon | Gargantos | Darkhold Castle Guards | Chthon | Sadie Deever | Gorr the God Butcher | Zeus | Black Berserkers | Habooska the Horrible | Hercules | Rapu | Iwua | Titania | Runa | Donny Blaze | Leapfrog | Leap Squad
Phase 5
Lord Krylar | Quantumnauts | Killer Snowbot | Vickie Tyson

Others (Pre-Disney+ TV)
Camilla Reyes | Franklin Hall | Lorelei | Blackout | Christian Ward | Jakob Nystrom | Lash | Katya Belyakov | Johann Fennhoff | Turk Barrett | Bill Fisk | Whitney Frost | Kilgrave | Will Simpson | Dorothy Walker | Audrey Eastman | Diamondback | Eli Morrow | Lucy Bauer | Harold Meachum | Jim Pierce | Maximus | Lewis Wilson | Auran | Mordis | Tony Gnucci | Lance | Paulie | Leo | Frank Dean | Darius Davis | Detective Flores | Graviton | Grill | Samuel Voss | Alisa Jones | Pryce Cheng | Detective Connors | Bushmaster | Steel Serpent | Typhoid Mary | Chen Wu | Joy Meachum | Ryhno | Ho | Rosalie Carbone | Topher | Anthony Wall/AWOL | Anderson Schultz | John Pilgrim | Eliza Schultz | Krista Dumont | Baker | D'Spayre | Mayhem | Lia Dewan | Izel | Shrike | Id Simmons | Hellcat | Foolkiller | Nathaniel Malick | Kora | Marduk Helstrom | Kthara | Basar | Magoth | Raum

           Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Logo Villains

Comics
Absorbing Man | A.I.M. | Apocalypse | Baron Wolfgang von Strucker | Batroc the Leaper | Black Widow | Boomerang | Bulldozer | Deadpool | Dormammu | Fixer | Galactus | Grant Ward | Graviton | Gorgon | HYDRA | Kree | Magneto | Mister Hyde | M.O.D.O.K | Mole Man | Norman Osborn | Ox | Piledriver | Ronan the Accuser | Scarlet Witch | Shocker | Songbird | Skrulls | Super-Skrull | Thunderball | Ultron | Valkyrie | Winter Soldier | Wizard | Wrecker

HYDRA
Leaders: Hive | Grant Ward | Daniel Whitehall | List | Wolfgang von Strucker | Gideon Malick | Wilfred Malick
High-Ranking Members: Jasper Sitwell | Sunil Bakshi | General Hale
Centipede Group: John Garrett | Ian Quinn | Raina | Debbie | Deathlok | Scorch
Operatives: Kaminsky | Absorbing Man | Blizzard | Agent 33 | Kebo | Giyera | Lucio | Alisha Whitley | Hellfire | Ruby Hale
Soldiers: Primitives
Other Officials: Werner von Strucker | Kirk Vogel | Nathaniel Malick
Framework: Aida | Dr. Leopold Fitz | Alistair Fitz
Affiliates: Vanchat | Qovas | Anton Ivanov

Watchdogs
Leaders: Anton Ivanov | Felix Blake
Operatives: Tucker Shockley
Affiliates: Ellen Nadeer | Hellfire | Victor Ramon | Holden Radcliffe | Aida
Life-Model Decoys: Melinda May L.M.D. | Phil Coulson L.M.D. | Alphonso Mackenzie L.M.D. | Jeffrey Mace L.M.D. | Leo Fitz L.M.D.

Momentum Labs
Eli Morrow | Lucy Bauer | Joseph Bauer | Hugo | Frederick | Vincent

Kree Empire
High-Ranking Officials: Kasius
Operatives: Vin-Tak | Sinara | Faulnak | Vicar
Affilitates: Tye

Sarge's Squad
Leader: Sarge
Operatives: Snowflake | Jaco | Pax

Chronicoms
Leaders: Atarah | Sibyl
Hunters: Malachi | Isaiah | Baal-Gad | Luke
Associates: Nathaniel Malick | Kora | John Garrett

Other
Calvin L. Johnson | Camilla Reyes | Christian Ward | Chthon | David Angar | Eva Belyakov | Francis Noche | Franklin Hall | General Androvich | Gordon | Grant Ward's Parents | Graviton | Grill | Izel | Jakob Nystrom | Jiaying | Karla Faye Gideon | Katya Belyakov | Lash | Lorelei | Marcus Daniels | Roxxon Energy Corporation | Samuel Voss | Shrike | Thanos | Wendell Levi

Advertisement