Doctor Daniel Whitehall was the main antagonist in the first half of Season 2 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He was originally known as Werner Reinhardt, a German scientist who worked for HYDRA during World War Two and was a disciple of the Red Skull. Having survived into modern times by experimenting on Inhuman tissue in order to regain his youth, Whitehall became HYDRA's top scientist and commander following the death of Alexander Pierce. He was portrayed by Reed Diamond.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Werner Reinhardt was born in Arnsberg, Germany on October 9th, 1904. Following the end of World War I, Reinhardt joined the Nazis and became an officer of the Schutzstaffel. He rose through the ranks until he became an Obergruppenführer (Lieutenant general), eventually joining HYDRA, the special science division led by Johann Schmidt. He was married for some time but his wife died, leaving him a widower.
When World War II broke out, Reinhardt actively participated in Germany's 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, during this time, Reinhardt learned about Johann Schmidt's disfigurement that earned him the nickname "Red Skull". Like his leader, Reinhardt knew about and searched for the Darkhold, a book that was said to contain infinite knowledge, but he never managed to find it.
Among the various myths HYDRA researched, to Reinhardt the most intriguing one was the story about an Obelisk with the power to turn the living into stone. Reinhardt became especially obsessed with the Obelisk, and came to learn of the myth behind it, an old story from the East about 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.
By March 1945, Reinhardt was the commanding officer of a HYDRA fortress in Austria. He personally discovered a mysterious item which would become known as the Obelisk in Chaves, Portugal. Reinhardt soon learnt that the Obelisk had the power to kill anyone who came into contact with it; in order to learn more, Reinhardt ordered his team to capture a group of people from China who knew about the Obelisk.
When he showed the object to the Red Skull, Schmidt told Reinhardt that the Obelisk may hold the answer to death itself and must be understood so it could be used against the United States Armed Forces. Reinhardt and his scientists 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, questioning if race, gender or age affected how the victim died but seemingly finding not one factor that changed its deadly effects.
Eventually, having killed several men and women, Reinhardt invited a woman named Jiaying to touch to Obelisk. As Jiaying resisted, Reinhardt's men forced her down and pressed her face against the artefact, only to discover that Jiaying could touch the Obelisk without dying, and instead triggered an unusual response whereas the Obelisk radiated a bright light. Before Reinhardt could begin his study of the woman, word of the Red Skull's apparent demise at the hands of Captain America became known, and he ordered his men to lock the woman in a cage and evacuate the fortress immediately.
Afraid that the United States Armed Forces would find and capture him now that HYDRA's strength had been weakened in the wake of the Red Skull's apparent death, Reinhardt and all his men moved to a more secure location, a HYDRA research facility within Austria. The facility housed dozens of artifacts collected by HYDRA over the years, many of them held in boxes marked with the logo of the Deutsches Afrikakorps.
Before Reinhardt and his men could escape, the facility was attacked by a Strategic Scientific Reserve team led by Peggy Carter, Jim Morita, and Dum Dum Dugan. Taken off guard by the sudden attack, General Reinhardt and all of his men were quickly captured and all their experiments were locked away, including the Obelisk. Before he was taken away, Reinhardt warned Carter that if one of HYDRA's heads was cut off, two more would grow in its place, although Carter assured him that the SSR would then continue cutting off the heads regardless. Reinhardt was then escorted out of the facility by Dugan while his experiments were found and captured.
Incarceration[]
After his capture, Reinhardt was taken to a top secret S.S.R. facility. While imprisoned, Agent Carter came to interrogate him, with Reinhardt noting that she had clearly tried to test him by leaving a pen for him to use however he pleased. As many former Nazi scientists had been recruited by the United States of America, Reinhardt expressed the wish to be recruited as well and use a pen to sign a deal, as he considered himself to be more valuable than those who would make parlor tricks by sending rockets into space.
Agent Carter then mentioned his many war crimes, including locking Jiaying in a cage for his planned experimentation on her, but he offered to help her understand the items the S.S.R. has confiscated from his last commanding post. Reinhardt told her about the myth he knew concerning "blue angels" and revealed the extraterrestrial origin of the artifacts. While visibly interested in this new revelation, Carter's disgust towards Reinhardt's actions proved stronger and she opted to let the man rot within prison for the rest of his days as punishment for his uncountable crimes against humanity.
Although Reinhardt attempted to convince Carter that together they could learn so much, she told him that instead they would forget all about him and his monstrous legacy. However, Reinhardt claimed that nothing would stay buried forever. Charged with making conspiracy to wage aggressive war and crimes against humanity, Reinhardt was sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent the next decades in a small cell in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison called the Rat. During this time Reinhardt could only pass the time by reading and playing chess alone, although he maintained his loyalty to HYDRA.
By 1970, Reinhardt learned that HYDRA was rebuilt and gained some influence in it, even though he remained locked in the Rat. He also learned about the legend of HYDRA's origin and the Monolith that was supposedly used to send people to Maveth. As a man of science, Reinhardt considered the belief in Hive to be nonsense. He also knew that the head of the Malick family regularly cheated when he and other believers assembled to choose the next unfortunate sacrifice to Hive.
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, not religion. The brothers called him a coward, saying that becoming a Traveler was a great honour, to which he replied that their rituals were foolish, unlike their father who survived many ceremonies by doing a parlour trick. The brothers did not believe him, but Reinhardt told them to take a look at Paradise Lost, a book in their father's study, which would soon confirm his story.
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 Undersecretary Alexander Pierce gave him a medical parole, citing that Reinhardt had joined 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 he was needed after so many years, the agent said that he would have to see himself.
Rejuvenation[]
Reinhardt was quickly returned to his old HYDRA fortress in Austria, where he expressed his sadness at all the years of work he could have achieved having been lost due to Peggy Carter locking him away in the Rat. Once he arrived, the other HYDRA agents presented him with the captured elders of the village where he had conducted his original experiments on the Obelisk many years earlier. As Reinhardt rose from his wheelchair and began looking through the group of terrified hostages, he was amazed to find Jiaying among them, looking exactly the same since he had last seen her during World War II. Reinhardt was both shocked and elated to discover that Jiaying was still alive and retaining her youth even after so many years while he had become an old man. Fascinated, he said that he would find out what made her so special by experimenting on her to learn exactly what had made Jiaying so special.
Having her tied down onto a table, he operated on the woman in an attempt to find the truth behind her immunity to the Obelisk as well as her youthful appearance, cutting her open and removing all her organs to be studied, yet finding little results as to the true reasons behind her own gifts. To ensure that he got the best results from the experiment, Reinhardt still kept Jiaying alive for as long as possible. Eventually, Jiaying died during the days of torturous operations; however, Reinhardt harvested her organs and kept them in jars for study and further experimentation into her incredible gifts.
Reinhardt was able to use Jiaying's DNA to physically regress himself back to his middle-age; when Hauer asked what Reinhardt had taken from Jiaying, he informed him that he had taken everything that he possibly could. He ordered his men to take her mutilated corpse and dump it outside. Reinhardt then officially rejoined the ranks of the new modern day HYDRA, and by the next year he had permanently taken up the identity of "Doctor Daniel Whitehall", becoming one of HYDRA's most prominent figureheads in the new modern world as he focused on locating the Obelisk to understand its power.
Modern times[]
In 2014, after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Whitehall had become the leader of the HYDRA forces in America and was a regular attendee at the biannual meetings of the terrorist organization, and had resumed his search for the Obelisk. He had his second in command, Sunil Bakshi, hire Carl Creel to reclaim the Obelisk from the United States Armed Forces. At first, Creel's mission was successful, but the Obelisk was stolen from Bakshi by Raina before Whitehall could get it, and Creel was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. before being turned over to Brigadier General Glenn Talbot.
HYDRA managed to capture former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Agent 33 after Bobbi Morse gave them the intel on the whereabouts of her secret safehouse. Doctor Whitehall decided to personally oversee her brainwashing, hoping to turn her into his own loyal HYDRA agent and assassin. Before he began, Whitehall poured himself a glass of extremely rare wine that he had first bought just before enlisting in the German army during World War II, explaining to her that he always liked to enjoy the finer parts of life. With Agent 33 refusing to surrender to Whitehall's control he continued his method while Bakshi took notes and she tried desperately to break free. A few hours into the session, Whitehall was questioning why Agent 33 was remaining loyal to the core values of S.H.I.E.L.D. which he deemed to be a plague upon mankind when he was interrupted by Bakshi, who requested permission to go on his own mission to recapture rogue HYDRA agent Donnie Gill whose powers they wanted to take advantage of. Whitehall allowed him to go, saying he trusted in his judgement absolutely.
With Bakshi away on the mission, Whitehall then continued to twist and corrupt Agent 33's mind by explaining to her the key details of HYDRA's intentions for causing chaos across the world, comparing it to a flower that would be reborn in a fire, claiming that HYDRA would burn down the world to rebuild it into something more beautiful than it ever was before. Whitehall then told Agent 33 that it was time for her to stop burning and be reborn as a loyal member of HYDRA working for him. Seeing that her mind was starting to break, Whitehall politely asked if Agent 33 was now ready to comply to him. Despite her bold proclamation that she would never serve HYDRA and her many attempts to break her handcuffs, Whitehall kept Agent 33 in her place and ensured that she continued staring down at the Faustus screen which burned her eyes while he implored her to give in, pushing the ideals of HYDRA into her mind. Eventually, in spite of her valiant battle for her own sanity, Whitehall succeeded in breaking Agent 33 after many hours of work and allowed her to be free and begin serving himself and HYDRA during his campaign to remake the world in HYDRA's own twisted image of perfection.
When Bakshi returned from his mission in Morocco, he spoke with Whitehall and informed him that he had been unsuccessful in returning Donnie Gill to HYDRA's control and Gill had seemingly been killed during a firefight with S.H.I.E.L.D.. During their conversation, the brainwashed Agent 33 walked into Whitehall's office and handed him paperwork that needed his signature, informing him that she was now happy to comply. Once Agent 33 had left, Whitehall asked Bakshi about Jemma Simmons' loyalty to HYDRA, telling him that she could be reprogrammed if they deemed it necessary.
Having learned of a painting with the Words of Creation craved into the back, Whitehall sent in Bakshi to collect it, disguised as General Glenn Talbot. During the mission, Bakshi reported that he had collected the painting but S.H.I.E.L.D. was also there, when Bakshi asked if he should come in, Whitehall ordered him and Agent 33 to attack and destroy the Bus using the Photostatic Veil to get past Phil Coulson's team and secretly plant a Hijacker bomb.
Whitehall discovered that it was Raina who took the Obelisk. Tracking her down, Whitehall and a few of his men confronted Raina in her car. She initially attempted to calmly 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 she encountered and would not be so easily swayed by her persuasion skills. He then threatened her that if she did not deliver the Obelisk back to him in 48 hours, she would experience even more torture and eventually, a very slow and painful death before turning off the device and leaving.
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 was not 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. Later, after Bobbi Morse and Jemma Simmons escaped from the HYDRA Laboratories when their covers were exposed, Whitehall was discussing with 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. He 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 he told him that the two had a common enemy: Phil Coulson whom they could finally kill together.
This new alliance quickly proved to be very fruitful for Whitehall's continued research into the Diviner. Whitehall and Zabo sent schematics based on the work of Vincent Beckers and adapted with the power of the Diviner to Toshiro Mori to create the deadly new weapon known as the Splinter Bomb. Also during this time, Sunil Bakshi mysteriously vanished, having seemingly been betrayed by someone and handed over into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, leaving Whitehall's men on edge and quick to the trigger.
Whitehall, however, remained frustrated by the lack of results his own researchers were having with the Diviner so he called in Zabo to explain it further, with his guards present to protect him. Zabo insulted Whitehall's efforts, calling them insane for just poking at the Diviner when he already had the answers, telling Whitehall to explain all that he currently knew of it for him to expand upon. When Whitehall claimed the Diviner was a weapon, Zabo corrected him by claiming that it was in fact a key that needed to be taken to a special place where it would do something much cooler than killing.
Whitehall explained the story about the blue angels who had come to conquer the Earth, but Zabo claimed that they had come to end mankind and replace them with a chosen few, who the Diviner chose to be worthy. When Zabo claimed he could get Whitehall into the secret city, Whitehall questioned this, vowing not to give him men and money on the off chance he would find it as he suspected Zabo would steal the power for himself. Zabo however insisted that he was not worthy to claim this power and promised that he would give it to HYDRA, leading to Whitehall asking about his motivations.
Zabo claimed he had lost everything and wanted to kill those who took it from him so he could be reunited with his family in the Afterlife. Later, on Whitehall's orders, Marcus Scarlotti led a team disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. to attack the United Nations Headquarters, creating more outrage against S.H.I.E.L.D.. Meanwhile, Julien Beckers, the Belgian Minister, declared Belgium a safe haven for all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The trap was not as successful as Whitehall had predicted. Only six S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were killed while Beckers, Scarlotti and his team were captured by General Talbot and his men.
Whitehall had a meeting with Grant Ward, who found him without the help of Bakshi. Whitehall spoke to Ward about second chances and allowed him to rejoin HYDRA before he showed him news footage of the alleged murder-suicide of his brother Christian Ward and his parents, which Whitehall was aware was a murder committed by Grant to destroy his brother's legacy and get revenge for the years of torment he had suffered. During their meeting, Zabo returned from his encounter with Phil Coulson and introductions were made. Whitehall stated that he believed that together, with their combined knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D.and the Diviner, there was much that they could achieve. Ward asked about Zabo's encounter with Coulson, explaining that he was a former member of Coulson's team. Zabo claimed it had not been wasted as it was always good to look your enemy right in the eye, before making eye-contact with Whitehall. Whitehall soon learned that Jiaying was Zabo's wife and that Zabo was there seeking revenge.
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.
When Whitehall met with Agent 33, she informed him that Ward successfully captured Raina but that he had also obtained Agent 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 authorize the destruction of the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane. Some time later, Whitehall was informed about the location of the Kree City, that it was buried under the city of San Juan in Puerto Rico. Whitehall then also learned that Skye was Calvin Zabo's daughter.
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 in order to finally discover what the Diviner could really do. When Whitehall arrived to San Juan, he came to the theater where he ordered a sudden meeting. With Zabo, Raina, Ward, and Skye assembled, Whitehall expressed his gratitude for Zabo's work, but then asked Ward why he did not order the destruction of the Bus from which Raina and Skye were taken. When Agent 33 brought in the Diviner, Whitehall ordered Skye to pick it up. When she did that and the symbols appeared, she attacked one agent with it while Zabo also killed another, and Ward drew his gun. The mutiny was short-lived and once all the mutineers were disarmed, Whitehall told Skye that he hoped she was special like her mother had been.
Later, in another section of the theater where Ward and Skye had been restrained and were being guarded by the HYDRA soldiers, Whitehall came in to gloat over Zabo, who had just awoken after being knocked out by Whitehall's soldiers. As Zabo attempted to charge at Whitehall and rip him apart with his bare hands, Whitehall calmly shocked him with the remote-controlled miniature device implanted on his neck, causing Zabo to fall on the floor in complete agony as Whitehall calmly kicked him aside to speak instead to Skye.
As Zabo fell down, Whitehall asked if Skye knew what her mother's special gift was. When Skye claimed that she did not, Whitehall told her about her mother's apparent immortality, he expressed his hopes that that was Skye's special ability too or if they would find another special gift within her, vowing to discover the truth through his usual horrific experimentation. But just as he told Zabo that he wanted him to watch as he butchered 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 with violence.
Death[]
In the main corridor, Whitehall gave orders to his men to search the theater floor by floor and kill any of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who they encountered, putting Agent 33 in charge the hunt for the attackers. Immediately after he was left alone, Calvin Zabo suddenly appeared, having escaped from his torturous control device and intending to finally kill Whitehall for murdering his wife years before. Instead of being threatened by the man who desired nothing more than to tear him apart with his bare hands, Whitehall turned and faced Zabo, with a smile on his face as Zabo began walking towards him.
Unthreatened by the bloodthirsty Zabo, Whitehall calmly aimed his pistol at the enraged doctor and prepared to execute him. However just as Whitehall was about to shoot Zabo, Coulson snuck up behind him and shot him twice in the back. Whitehall looked down at his chest as he began to bleed from his fatal wounds before falling down onto his back dead. Zabo became outraged for not being able to exact his revenge and killed Whitehall himself and vowed to get his revenge against Coulson for taking that away from him.