Wilfred Malick was a villainous character that appeared in the seventh season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He was a member of HYDRA between the 1930's and 1960's and was the father of Gideon and Nathaniel Malick. As one of HYDRA's leading members post-World War II, Malick had partaken in the sacrificial ceremonies to select an offering for the Inhuman Hive, ceremonies that he always survived by cheating. His cheating was only revealed in 1970 after his passing.
In an alternate timeline engineered by the Chronicoms, Wilfred rose to prominence in HYDRA due to the Chronicoms' interference. He also survived three years beyond his previous death date, eventually being killed by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from the future.
History[]
The following information is a biography of Wilfred Malick's life in the Chronicom-altered timeline as shown in Season 7 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Early life[]
Wilfred Malick was born into a wealthy family with roots in the ancient cult known as HYDRA. However, when the Wall Street Crash happened in 1929, he then witnessed his father commit suicide by jumping out of his window. When his father died, Malick not only lost the family money, but also the respect of people within HYDRA, including Viola, which had profoundly impacted Malick. Malick had to live on the street, until he was found by Ernest Koenig, who gave him a job inside The Krazy Kanoe, as well as a discounted rate to live above his bar.
1931[]
Encountering S.H.I.E.L.D.[]
In 1931, Malick was working at The Krazy Kanoe when he answered a knock on the door, greeting Phil Coulson, as well as Alphonso Mackenzie. Malick immediately requested the password, which Coulson gave as "Swordfish" allowing Malick to give them access into the bar. Malick then took Coulson and Mackenzie's hats, as they went to the bar to find a person known as Gemini, who they believed would often be found working there behind the bar. However, when Coulson and Mackenzie spoke to Tillman, Malick witnessed Tillman draw his gun and threaten the pair, as Malick locked the doors behind them.
Malick kept watching while Tillman had questioned why Coulson and Mackenzie had come there on the same day that Jimmy Bottles just disappeared, although they had insisted that they had not killed him. However, Malick then witnessed Coulson and Mackenzie subdue all of the guards and demand to speak to the man in charge, until Ernest Koenig stepped out and introduced himself. While Koenig sat down with Coulson and Mackenzie, he defended his character by pointing out Malick's situation, while Malick moved several bottles of alcohol behind the bar, dropping one, much to Koenig's annoyance.
Malick was recruited by Koenig to bartend the campaign party held for Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had their party personally catered by Koenig. While Roosevelt gave his speech, Malick noticed that Mackenzie was in awe of Roosevelt, as he questioned what his fascination with their Governor was, as had Mackenzie claimed that Roosevelt would soon fight against discrimination within the workplace and was way ahead of his time, much to Malick's considerable confusion.
Changing the subject, Malick was then asked by Deke Shaw how he had begun working for Koenig, as Malick explained that he had been hustling work in the streets following his father's suicide, until Koenig offered him a job at The Krazy Kanoe, with Shaw then expressing his sympathies to Malick as he noted that his father had also died, while claiming that they simply had to do what they had to do to survive as the result. While Malick continued working behind the bar during their party, he then eventually noticed that both Mackenzie and Shaw just simply vanished, leaving him to work on his own behind the bar.
As Malick had continued working behind the bar on his own, he was then approached by Viola, as he politely offered to make a drink for her, only for Viola to explain that she was his HYDRA contact who he had been ordered to meet with, as Malick noted that he had started to believe that she would never turn up there. Seeing that there were too many people around them at the party, Viola then told Malick that they needed to discuss their business in private, and then invited him to follow her into the back room so that she could give him HYDRA's instructions, as Malick did as he was instructed and followed her.
Once they were alone, Viola then told Malick that she worked with his father and viewed him as powerful, before she changed her view and considered him as a coward following his suicide. Malick questioned why Viola had wanted to meet with him, to which she explained that she had a job for him, as she presented Malick with a vial containing the final ingredients for the Super Soldier Serum, telling him that if he took it to Hell's Harbor, HYDRA would reward them, promising that it would restore his family's glory. As Malick then questioned what their substance was, Viola would only tell him that it was the future.
However, as Viola was handing over all their vials of the Super Soldier Serum to Malick for this mission, they were then suddenly ambushed by Luke and Abel, who were now disguised as New York City Police Department officers. While Malick got behind covering, he witnessed Abel shooting Viola in the gut, before Luke had calmly stood over him and prepared to shoot him into the head, while Malick just remained completely unprotected and defenseless. As Malick then questioned why they were attacking him, Luke calmly explained that Malick was the thread, before then preparing to pull the trigger and kill him.
However, before Luke could kill Malick, Daisy Johnson arrived as she fired her shockwave that threw Luke and Abel through the door in the kitchen, while Malick remained hidden. While Johnson fought against his attackers in the kitchen, Malick was rejoined by Mackenzie, Shaw and Coulson, as he questioned what was going on, before Shaw had then offered him his hand, and promised that they were currently attempting to save his life. With no other choice, Malick took Shaw's hand and escaped from the building with Shaw and Mackenzie, while Coulson and Johnson fought against Luke and Abel together.
Protected by strangers[]
Malick was taken into a car and driven away from the battle by Shaw and Mackenzie, as they questioned why Malick was being targeted for assassination by Luke and Abel. However, Malick insisted that he did not know, claiming that he was simply ordered to make a delivery, as Shaw and Mackenzie agreed to help him complete the delivery. As Malick looked at a vial of Super Soldier Serum he had been given, he chose not to tell his new allies about it.
While they drove through New York City together in order to escape from their attackers, Malick and his allies were followed by one NYPD car, as Malick told Mackenzie to drive faster and give the police the slip, noticing that Shaw misunderstood the term "slip", which added to Malick's suspicions about his newest allies. Mackenzie eventually was able to lose these police by driving into an alleyway and turning off their car's lights, as Malick celebrate this success when the police cars drove past. Mackenzie questioned what was next, as Malick told him they had to deliver the goods.
As they opened up the car trunk, Malick suggested that they take off their tuxedos to avoid unwanted attention, before noticing that Shaw had attempted to call Daisy Johnson from his wireless phone, as he questioned what it was. While Mackenzie claimed that Shaw was an inventor, Malick had noted that the phone was poorly designed as it needed to be plugged in to work correctly, resulting in Shaw mocking Malick's New York accent. Mackenzie then questioned Malick about the delivery of bottles of La Respuesta, with Malick insisting that this was their finest alcohol which men would be willing to kill for.
Mackenzie then insisted that, if they were to protect Malick, he would need to be completely honest with them, to which Malick had invited them to leave if they wanted to, only for Shaw to insist that they were bootleggers like him and would be willing to take him where ever he needed to go. While Mackenzie and Shaw prepared to leave, Malick quietly took out the vial of Super Soldier Serum, and placed it inside of one of the bottles of La Respuesta, hoping that he could transport it to his HYDRA superiors without Mackenzie and Shaw noticing this, while commenting to himself that the future was going to be his.
Once they arrived into the train yard, Malick worked with Mackenzie and Shaw to unload all of their bottles from their car, before getting questioned about who would be buying all the alcohol from him, with Malick simply explaining that he did not know. Malick then explained that he would be meeting the buyer several hundred miles away, and explaining that he did not intend for Mackenzie or Shaw to rejoin him, although he expressed his gratitude for them saving his life. However, Mackenzie and Shaw refused to leave, despite Malick insisting he did not need any bodyguards, which Malick had reluctantly agreed to.
As they rode on the train together, Malick asked Shaw if he had really invented his wireless telephone, with Shaw claiming that it was a prototype, while Malick questioned how it worked. As Shaw noted that tech was his thing, confusing Malick over the term "tech", Mackenzie asked Malick what his thing was, to which he noted that he was never good at school but he had made friends before Shaw questioned how Malick's father died, to which Malick then explained that he committed suicide by jumping from a tall building.
Malick explained how his family had once been rich, before losing it all during the Great Depression, noting how this then resulted in his father's suicide and his mother losing her sanity, although Malick had remained optimistic about his situation. While Malick insisted that he did what he had to do to make friends and became a bootlegger, he insisted that he did not always want to do this line of work, since he dreamed of something bigger. As Malick noted this job would change his life, he was asked by Mackenzie how bottles of alcohol would do that, with Malick noted that it would not really change the world.
As the journey continued, Malick eventually fell asleep and awoke to the sound of Shaw's wireless telephone, only to find Mackenzie and Shaw going through their bottles of La Respuesta. While Mackenzie spoke on their phone and tried to get through to Enoch, Malick then questioned Shaw about what they had been doing to all the alcohol. However, Mackenzie had then told Malick that he wanted to find out what they were dealing with, since he believed there was more to the deal than they thought. When Mackenzie requested to look inside the bottles, Malick had simply insisted that this would get him killed.
While Mackenzie had questioned if Malick was curious about the job, Malick claimed that being curious would get him shot faster than any trust. Despite Shaw insisting that they should simply assist Malick to complete his job, Mackenzie stepped up to Malick, as he noted that nobody would ever know that they searched all the bottles, ordering Malick to step aside, which he reluctantly did. However, Malick then instead responded by aiming his gun at Mackenzie and Shaw, while insisting that he could not allow them to look through all their bottles, while also telling them to simply allow him to complete this job.
While Malick continued holding Mackenzie and Shaw at gunpoint, he questioned why they did not just explain who they really were, noting that they were clearly not bootleggers and were never from New York City, as Shaw simply commented that they had traveled a long way to ensure that Malick did not die. Malick had questioned the reasons, noting how Luke had referred to him as the thread, which he did not understand. Mackenzie noted that it was complicated but that Shaw was right, that they had to protect Malick, questioning if Malick knew that the man he would do the deal with would not murder him.
Malick explained how Viola had known his father, and she was giving him the opportunity to become what his father never could, while he noted that they would never kill him, unless he did something stupid. However, as Malick said this, their train came to it's sudden stop, as Mackenzie took advantage of this to charge at Malick, knocking him to the ground while Shaw was able to take his gun away from him, as they retook control of the situation. When Shaw questioned why they had stopped unexpectedly here, Malick then explained that they had just arrived at Hell's Harbor, where he was due to make his deal.
Ambush at Hell's Harbor[]
Upon arriving at the Hell's Harbor, Malick had been forced to look on as Mackenzie began searching through all the bottles of La Respuesta, searching for any clues about what their deal really could be. As he began to lose his patience, Malick questioned if Mackenzie was satisfied with his search yet, before Mackenzie then found the bottle containing their key ingredient for the Super Soldier Serum, which Malick had hidden earlier. When he was asked what it was, Malick claimed that he never asked.
Malick watched as Mackenzie then poured out their alcohol to get to the vial, as he continued to question what it was, although Malick had refused to answer. However, they were then interrupted by Deke, who noted what Malick's full name was, with Mackenzie noted that he was the father of Gideon Malick, which Malick had denied as he insisted that he was nobody's father. When Mackenzie noted that he was a future head of HYDRA, Malick had been shocked that they knew the name of the organization, before witnessing Shaw raising a gun at him, explaining that he had been ordered to shoot him.
Malick questioned what he did to deserve death, noting how he had thought that Mackenzie and Shaw had come with him to protect him, while Shaw noted that Daisy had given the order for Malick to be assassinated. However, Shaw had then continued to note what Malick would become in the future, noting how many people would die because of him, while Malick had insisted that he had never hurt anyone, while he begged Shaw not to kill him. With Mackenzie then ordering him to stand down, Shaw eventually lowered his weapon, unwilling to shoot Malick in cold blood, much to Malick's relief.
However, just as Malick relaxed, Shaw raised his gun again and shot behind him, as Luke and Abel had returned to the Harbor and then began shooting at Malick with their Chronicom rifles. Malick was able to quickly get behind cover while Mackenzie and Shaw attempted to protect him, with Malick questioning what Luke and Abel really were, to which Mackenzie had noted that they were from the future. When Mackenzie attempted to wrestle a rifle away from Abel, Malick saw his chance to escape, as he grabbed the vial of Super Soldier Serum and ran, moments before the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived.
Having taken back his gun, Malick had been able to find somewhere to hide, as he reloaded the gun, fearful of Luke and Abel finding him. However, Malick was soon greeted by Koenig, who advised Malick not to make this decision, as he had insisted that Malick was better than that. Malick advised Koenig to escape, as Koenig noted that Malick was a good kid, but told him not to make the same bad choices as his father had, although Malick had insisted that he was making these choices so that he could be somebody, and not be the coward like his father had been, just as a HYDRA car arrived.
In response, Koenig placed his gun on the floor as he suggested that he and Malick just go get a drink and discuss their situations calmly, to which Malick responded by raising his gun and ordering Koenig to stop. When Koenig smirked, and noted that he believed Malick was not a killer, Malick responded by shooting Koenig in the shoulder, insisting that Koenig did not know him. With that, Malick then walked away from a wounded Koenig and stepped into the car, ignoring Koenig's continued advice as the car drove away.
HYDRA leader[]
Infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D.[]
With their Super Soldier Serum ingredient provided, Malick had become a loyal member of HYDRA, and allowed them to wage war against the entire world, and in return, HYDRA restored Malick's family fortune. However, as S.H.I.E.L.D. rose up in response to HYDRA's actions during World War II, Malick's HYDRA cells infiltrated the organization, with Malick swiftly becoming a high ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, able to manipulate the organization for HYDRA's benefit. In 1955, Malick received information that Daniel Sousa had been tasked with delivering an important device for S.H.I.E.L.D. to Howard Stark. He also learned of Sousa's suspicions of S.H.I.E.L.D. having become infiltrated by HYDRA, as Sousa had informed Malick of his belief, since he had mistakenly believed that Malick was his ally. In response, Malick had his subordinates kill Sousa before he exposed HYDRA's infiltration, while also sending in Joe to capture Niles Lindmore, to learn about the device Sousa was delivering. Malick also got an anonymous tip that Sousa was on the train to Los Angeles, leading Malick to order Lana to ambush Sousa there.
Reunion with Deke Shaw[]
Eventually, Malick's subordinates returned with a man, who they had kidnapped from the Lindmore Residence. However, Malick had been unconvinced that the man was Niles Lindmore, as he stepped over to him and introduced himself, before noting that the man did not look like any scientist. The man claimed to be a salesman who had been taken by Malick's men, although Malick merely scoffed at these claims and had questioned where Howard Stark's device was.
With the man still insisting that he was merely a toaster salesman, Malick's henchman noted that they had been instructed to capture the man in that house, and this was the only person there, although Malick claimed that they clearly had not looked hard enough. As the man then suggested that he had no hard feelings about being kidnapped, acknowledging that Malick's henchman had screwed up the plan, which Malick agreed with as he drew his gun and shot his own henchman, with Malick thanking the man for helping him to find a bum employee, as the man remained horrified by the shooting.
Malick had then turned the weapon on the man, noting that nobody would miss his henchman nor a toaster salesman. However, the man told Malick that he did not have to kill him, as he called him Freddy, which Malick noted that nobody had called him that, only for the man to note that he called him that back in 1931, which Malick noted was the year his life had begun. The man noted that Malick had delivered the Super Soldier Serum and he had helped him to do that, as Malick realized that the man was Deke Shaw, although he had claimed that it was impossible that he could be there without having aged.
Malick recalled that Shaw once held his gun on him, to which Shaw noted that he did not shoot him, and instead shot Luke and Abel as they had attempted to kill him. With that, Malick put down his gun, asking Shaw to forgive his memory, while noting that he often found it difficult to recall the people who helped him reach his high position within HYDRA. Malick acknowledged that he owed Shaw a debt, to which Shaw claimed to be happy that his life had worked out. Malick told Shaw that life was working in his favour as well, as he would let Shaw to leave the Malick Mansion, without getting dragged out.
Malick gave Shaw his bag back, telling him that his debt to him was now paid, but vowed that if they ever saw one another again, Shaw would not be so lucky. Before he left, Malick called back to Shaw as he questioned what he had been doing at the Lindmore Residence, since he was clearly not a toaster salesman, to which Shaw claimed that he had been looking out for his future, while Malick claimed that they were all doing the same thing. With that, Shaw had then left the mansion, while Malick then continued to focus on Daniel Sousa and ensuring that he would not be able to expose HYDRA's secret.
Deal with the Chronicoms[]
Malick's plan to protect HYDRA's secrets appeared to be successful, since Joe informed him he managed to shoot and kill Daniel Sousa in the Hotel Roosevelt. While Malick thought about Sousa's death, he was alerted to another presence in the mansion, as Malick quickly drew his gun to defend himself from the potential attacker. However, the intruder then calmly revealed himself to be Luke, and promised that it would not be necessary to threaten him, explaining that he had been left behind to help him.
While Malick kept his gun raised, he recognized Luke's voice as the man who had called to tell him that Sousa was on the train towards Los Angeles. Luke had then explained that they shared a common enemy, and that the only difference was that his was from the future, with Malick acknowledging that Deke Shaw was likely one of them. Luke explained that it was certain that S.H.I.E.L.D. would eventually destroy everything that Malick had built, and it was time for them to prevent that, while Malick questioned how they would be able to do that, to which Luke told Malick to do exactly as he told him to.
Project Insight[]
Following the advice from the Chronicoms, Malick had continued to rise within the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D., while truly serving HYDRA's goal of world domination. During this time, Malick had two sons, Gideon and Nathaniel, who followed in their father's footsteps of becoming loyal to HYDRA, although Nathaniel struggled to find his place. With the help of Luke, Malick survived the date of his original death, and became the superior of Rick Stoner, manipulating him into assisting him with the creation of Project Insight, a plan to eliminate HYDRA's enemies. As part of their plan to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D., Malick was provided the list of names for Project Insight to target, which had included Nick Fury, Robert Gonzales, and Bruce Banner among many other targets, which would then allow the Chronicoms to achieve their goals. Malick had also been warned by Luke that he would eventually be targeted by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents of the future once again, as they would attempt to stop Project Insight.
Reencountering S.H.I.E.L.D.[]
In 1973, Malick attended the celebration at The Krazy Kanoe for the creation of Project Insight. During the party, the guests were silenced by a speech given by Rick Stoner, during which he had introduced Malick, calling him his friend, as Malick then stepped forward to applause from the attendees. Thanking Stoner, Malick told their crowd that it was an honour to be there, noting how he got his start inside The Krazy Kanoe while working for Ernest Koenig back in 1931.
Malick then commented on how far S.H.I.E.L.D. had come over their years, noting how they had once been hiding underground while they protected the world, before now they had satellites in the sky which were designed to ensure the Earth's complete safety. Malick went on to explain how Project Insight could target all S.H.I.E.L.D.'s enemies before they posed a threat, despite the plan being for the satellites to actually target HYDRA's enemies. Malick and Stoner had then been presented with a cake, depicting their Project Insight satellite, as the efforts were applauded by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in attendance.
During the party, Malick noticed that Phil Coulson was in attendance with Melinda May, as he then approached Coulson and introduced himself, acting as though he did not remember him from the 1930s, thanking Coulson for attending the party. Maintaining his cover story, Coulson then told Malick that it was an honour to serve S.H.I.E.L.D., before Malick questioned what his name was, to which Coulson had introduced himself as Patrick Kutik, claiming that he came from the processing department of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Malick had invited Coulson to come to River's End, noting that he just bought an estate there.
Malick then revealed the truth, once the Chronicoms surrounded his enemies, with Malick noting that he still remembered Coulson from their last encounter. Malick noted that they had last met forty years earlier, questioning how he could have lived an entire lifetime while Coulson appeared to have not aged a single day. The Chronicoms then drew their rifles on them, as Malick advised them to surrender so they could go easy on them. However, Malick then noticed that Daisy Johnson and Daniel Sousa were holding his son Nathaniel as their hostage, as Coulson advised Malick to allow them to walk.
While Malick insisted that Nathaniel had nothing to do with their fight, May noted that Nathaniel was a ripple in their timeline, and therefore should not exist, while Coulson warned that they were willing to kill him if required. Despite Luke ordering that they finish this and kill the agents, Malick demanded that the Chronicoms stand down, unwilling to risk the life of his sons. Malick was then forced to watch while the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents escaped the bar, leaving Nathaniel behind, while Luke commented that Malick's behaviour was strange, while Malick insisted that he had no choice as Nathaniel's life was in danger.
Launch of Project Insight[]
Malick continued working towards the creation of Project Insight until the date of their launch in 1976, where he was visited by Luke inside of his estate next to the Lighthouse, where the Insight satellite would be launched. Malick commented to Luke that he had the best view before the launch, only for Luke to insist that he was not there for that, but to discuss Malick's actions in 1973 at The Krazy Kanoe, although Malick questioned if Luke was really angry about something that had happened three years earlier.
Luke had told Malick that Chronicoms did not get angry, but instead would adapt to their situation, noting that Malick had taught them all something about human behaviour on that day. Malick then listened as Luke commented on how he had been handed his victory and the chance to eliminate thousands of their foes on that day, but had just thrown it away in order to save his son's life. When Malick insisted that he had no choice but to save his son, Luke insisted that it had only appeared that way, calling this the fatal flaw in the human condition, which he had wanted Malick to assist him to exploit.
Malick was told by Luke that their predictor, Sibyl had already seen that S.H.I.E.L.D. would find Malick in his estate, and when they did, Malick would have leverage against them. Luke then handed Malick a photograph of John and Lilla Mackenzie, who would be replaced with Chronicoms and used against the agents, but Malick questioned why they would not simply put the Mackenzies onto the list of Insight targets. However, Luke explained that killing them would not be as effective, as they intended for S.H.I.E.L.D. to reveal their position, and Malick then agreed to do as he was instructed.
Assassination[]
While Malick remained within his estate, he had eventually noticed a Quinjet landing outside, before the door to his office was smashed open by one of his henchmen being pushed through it, while Deke Shaw and Yo-Yo Rodriguez stepped inside, with Shaw holding a gun to Malick. Upon him seeing Shaw again, Malick chuckled to himself, while noting that he had the notion that he would show up there, since he had been pre-warned about their return, with Shaw noting that he had hoped not to see Malick again.
Malick noted that they had the best view for the launch of the Project Insight satellite and invited them to watch, although Rodriguez simply insisted that the launch would not happen, as S.H.I.E.L.D. would shut it down. However, Malick remained calm, noting that they clearly had no idea what they were actually up against, to which Rodriguez then noted that Malick could tell them exactly what it was, since they now planned to arrest him, although Malick insisted that he was not going with them. Malick then warned that if S.H.I.E.L.D. continued to fight the Chronicoms, things would only get messier during the conflict.
Presenting them with the envelope which Luke had given him, Malick claimed that he had something that they wanted, to which Rodriguez told Malick to stop talking and come with them, insisting that it would be time for Malick to pay for his crimes, with Shaw noting that these included the ones that he had committed already, and those ones he was about to commit with the launch of Project Insight. However, as Malick insisted that those dominos were already falling, he noted that the Chronicoms knew exactly how the situation would unfold, as they had allowed S.H.I.E.L.D. to believe they had a chance of victory.
Malick had claimed that the Chronicoms had always been ten steps ahead, promising that even if S.H.I.E.L.D. figured out what was going on, there would be nothing that they would be able do to thwart the Chronicom's plans. As Malick had then continued to insist that these Chronicoms saw everything, including what they had planned to do, he was interrupted when Shaw then shot Malick directly in the heart, killing him. As Shaw believed he fixed their timelines by killing Malick, Rodriguez took the envelope and saw the images of John Mackenzie and Lilla Mackenzie, as she realized what Malick's plans were.