Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker

Next to the Red Skull and Baron Helmut Zemo, Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker stood as the most ruthless foe to arise from the ranks of the Nazi, a distinction which he carried over through the Cold War as the eventual leader of Hydra. 

Born in Strucker Castle in Bavaria, Germany, to a long line of Prussian military leaders, Strucker was recruited into the Nazi intelligence, eventually taking command of Hitler's special Death's-Head Squadron. Witness to some of the Nazi regime's most dangerous and bizarre agents, including the Red Skull and Armin Zola, Von Strucker also came across a time-traveling Dr. Doom and in fact followed him into the future. His brief trip to the future allowed Von Strucker to obtain pertinent knowledge of technology and more i importently the eventual defeat of the Third Riech. Back in his own time, Von Strucker's number one priority became to destroy the Howling Commandos and its leader Nick Fury. Strucker and Fury fought many times, always ending with sure defeat; their final battle came in the French town of Cherbeaux, after which Hitler gave orders to the Gestapo to assassinate Strucker. Seeing the end of the war, The Red Skull gave Strucker a second chance and dispatched him to create a power base in the Far East for eventually taking over Germany. Reaching Japan, Strucker allied himself with members of the Japanese underworld and became the mastermind behind a secret society titled Hydra. Following a number of successful raids on war plants and equipment storehouses throughout the world, Strucker assassinated the head of the organization and became Supreme Hydra. Strucker broke off his ties with the Red Skull and began construction of a fortress on a small Pacific island which Hydra Island. The island base was invaded by Captain Simon Savage and the Leatherneck Raiders, and also by their Japanese counterparts the Samurai Squad, forcing Von Strucker to return to Europe where he managed to gain Hitler's forgiveness, and was reestablished in the Nazi hierachy

Knowing the eventual outcome of the war, Strucker devoted his efforts to post war plans, including channeling Nazi funds and armaments into Hydra and subgroup of scientists which would eventually become the springboard for Advanced Idea Mechanics, or A.I.M. One such plan involved hiding caches of gold in Kenya and its secret location implanted in the mind of a young Jewish girl Gabrielle Haller, however the process drove her mad. Once the Allies began invading Berlin, Von Strucker fled to the Orient after ordering that Haller be watched. Soon after the war Charles Xaiver would heal Haller's troubled mind, prompting Von Strucker to come out of hiding and do battle with him and mutant soon to be known as Magneto over the gold.

Strucke'r final days in the Reich still remain somewhat clouded. During this time it is presumed he sired three children; Werner Von Strucker, who proved a vital key in the early 90's reemergence of Hydra but was later killed in Las Vegas in 1993, and twins Andrea and Andreas. It is unclear whether Werner has the same mother as the the twins. Also unclear is whether the origin of the powers Andrea and Andreas hold.

Also in dispute is the events of the German village of village of Gruenstadt, where supposedly the Howling Commandos and Von Strucker's Death Squad fought their final battle over the site of an alien spacecraft. Whether or not Von Strucker used the alien technology to boost Hydra, A.I.M., and perhaps even S.H.I.E.L.D. remains unknown. An alternate story also exists where Von Strucker was recruited along with Nick Fury and other spy masters after the war by the ancient group known as the "Men of the Shield". On behalf of Shield, they gathered together alien technology that eventually laid the foundations of Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.

Almost killed in his encounter with Xavier and the future Magneto over the hidden Nazi gold in Africa, Von Strucker reevaluated his position as head of Hydra and decided to take a less active role as leader, deciding to remain more behind the scenes. Hydra organized internationally and Von Strucker in the mid 1960's arrived in NYC to consolidate his powers after the death of the previous Supreme Hydra, Laura Brown's father. At first Strucker concealed his identity by using various incredible disguises and personas such as Don Caballero and even a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, until at last revealing his true face to his old WWII foe Nick Fury. Strucker used Hydra to wage war against the forces of freedom, and especially against his arch nemesis, Fury who now headed up S.H.I.E.L.D.. The battle between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. escalated with the sinking of Hydra Island during which Von Strucker was apparently killed in a nuclear reactor. 

Strucker however had planned for such a fatality and left behind two major plots with which to weaken both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury. The first, the Deltite Affair, lead to the self-destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury's disillusionment. Then with the Deathhead squad, Strucker led inadvertently to the reformation of a new second S.H.I.E.L.D. agency, albeit a weaker one. Meanwhile his minions were at work planning his revival reached fruition in 1991 with help from the Red Skull. Reanimated by the Deathspore virus, Strucker took back Hydra and united it once again under his command and launched a viscous attack upon S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters which killed hundreds and left the helicarrier crippled. This second round of battles came to an abrupt and costly end with Fury seemingly killing Strucker again, this time at Hydra's fortress in Iceland where Fury hacked at Strucker's Satan-Claw and the madman fell down a mountainside. 

Despite this apparent final death, Von Strucker briefly reappeared as the mysterious leader of the computer terrorist group System-Crash in various locations causing problems for Daredevil and Captain America. Von Strucker eventually emerged from hiding and tried to take control of Hydra but found himself betrayed by his third wife, Baroness Elsbeth Von Strucker (its unclear if she is the mother of either Werner, Andrea, or Andres Von Strucker), who teamed up with Gorgon and assassin cult, The Hand, to unleash Wolverine and other brainwashed heroes as killers. Despite an apparent assassination, Von Strucker emerged yet again to engage in a three-way war with Fury's S.H.I.E.L.D. and Orion's long dormant Leviathan organization. Fury unveiled a final ploy against both enemy groups and personally executed Von Strucker, shooting him in the head. 

Von Strucker bore three children, twins Andrea and Andreas and a second son, Werner. The latter was killed in Las Vegas during his father's restructuring of Hydra in the 90s. Andrea and Andreas founded their own criminal organization named Fenris for a short time, but they also lost their lives.

Selected Appearances:

• Daredevil (1) #295, 298-299, 307-309, 330-332, Annual #7
  
• Captain America(1) #130-131, 387, 394
  
• Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.(2) #21-23, 25-27, 42-47
  
• Nightstalkers #2,4
  
• Punisher Annual #4
  
• Secret Warriors #2, 5-7, 11-13,15-27
  
• Sgt Fury & his Howling Commandos #5, 9, 14, 28, 20, 112, 114-115
  
• Strange Tales (1) #150-158
  

The Red Skull
Next to Doctor Doom, the most dangerous man alive. The Red Skull is as demonic as his blood red appearance suggests. Borne out of a twisted Nazi super solider experiment, the Red Skull was Hitler's top operative with many under his personal command, including Baron Von Strucker.

The Skull first faced off against Fury in the early days of World War II. The Skull crossed enemy lines on an undercover mission where he impersonated a number of Howlers, General Happy Sam Sawyer, and even Nick Fury himself. Most often, Fury faced the Red Skull alongside Captain America. Fury and the Howlers joined Captain America and Bucky in stopping the Skull from opening a dimensional doorway into the realm of Dormammo with a magical amulet stolen from Tibet. Other missions against the Skull included stopping him from unleashing a giant robot and rescuing Howard Stark.

Near the end of the World War II, the Red Skull shuttled Von Strucker to Japan to help organize Hydra and was crucial in setting into motion the resurrection of his comrade in the 1980's.  Curiously not bothered by the potential rivalry that could arise from Von Strucker as head of Hydra, the Skull actively aided and advised his former ally, often at the Skull's mountain hideaway where the pair engaged in sadomasochistic games of testing their pain thresholds.

In recent years, the Skull has squared off against S.H.I.E.L.D. more often, even hijacking the famous helicarrier and taking it for his airborne & aquatic base.

Select Appearances:

• Captain America (1) #145-148
  
• Captain America (3) #46-48
  
• Captain America (5) #1-14
  
• Captain America Annual #9
  
• Captain America/Nick Fury: The Otherworld War
  
• Captain America 65th Anniversary Special
  
• Captain Britain Weekly #15-19
  
• Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.(2) #20-23, 26, 45
  
• Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos #25
  
  

Later enlisting himself, Fury found military life unpleasant and once again became resentful of his older brother's success. Eventually he left military service and at some point was caught spying on Stark Industries, where he was working as a scientist, forcing him to flee to Europe. There Jake Fury fell for Amber D'Alexis but Nick, working as a C.I.A. agent, brought that romance to an abrupt end arresting her for smuggling. Driven by revenge, Fury joined the Zodiac criminal organization, where he came into possession of the extra-dimensional weapon, the Zodiac Key. Augmenting his own strength and giving him control of tremendous energies, manipulated psionically; the sentience of the Zodiac Key may have ultimately warped his insecurities and resentments beyond repair. As Scorpio, he set out on an elaborate plan of revenge against his brother.

Sentient and forming a symbiotic relationship with his master, the Zodiac Key was responsible for a number Jake Fury's resurrections, including building an android version with his thought patterns. Nick Fury finally defeated his brother's schemes and using his powers as director of S.H.I.E.L.D, covered up Scorpio's identity after Jake committed suicide following an attempt to lead his own Zodiac team of LMDs.

Other Scorpios have followed Jake Fury, including the aforementioned LMD of Jake Fury created by the Zodiac Key and a human successor within the original Zodiac organization named Jacques LaPoint. The LMD Scorpio believed it was the real Jake and created an alternate LMD Zodiac organization to kill the originals, including the second Scorpio. The present whereabouts of the LMD Scorpio are unknown.

A fourth (female) Scorpio, Joy Meachum, emerged in the late 1990's, calling herself Death Sting and blackmailed Iron Fist into stealing the original Zodiac Key from a S.H.I.E.L.D. installation.

During the war between Hydra and Leviathan, Nick Fury played a final gambit against Baron Von Strucker and revealed that the high-ranking Hydra leader, Kraken was in fact Jake Fury! Fury revealed that the previous battles with Jake Fury as Scorpio had all been first generation Life Model Decoys that were prone to psychotic episodes.

Nick Fury donned the Scorpio identity briefly when watching over his second son, Marcus Johnson.

Appearances:

• Avengers (1) #120-122
  
• Fury
  
• Defenders (1) #46-50
  
• Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1) #1,5
  
• Scorpio Connection

Scorpio (Mikel Fury)
Years after Jake's death, Scorpio reappeared; this time as part of an elaborate scheme by Jake's former lover Amber D'Alexis to seek revenge on Nick Fury, using Mikel, the son Nick never knew he had. Unable to recreate the original Zodiac Key, this Scorpio had to settle for a less powerful but still lethal Cosmic Key as his weapon of choice. Eventually Mikel learned the truth of his parentage and turned against his twisted mother. 

Mikel next used the guise of Scorpio to help free his homeland of Carpassia, taking the Cosmic Key and heading for his homeland. In Carpassia, Hydra is using LMDs to wage war, and bait Mikel, taking possession of the Key. Fury and Wolverine team up again to go set Scoprio straight and rid the country of Hydra

Upon rejoining S.H.I.E.L.D., Mikel dropped the costume; however he was not above using the Key and still went by the name Scorpio in the agency. After his father's death, Mikel returned to Carpassia and left the Scorpio identity behind forever.

Nick Fury donned the Scorpio identity briefly when watching over his second son, Marcus Johnson. .

Appearances:

• Scorpio Connection
  
• Scorpio Rising

Fury first crossed paths with the Hate-Monger while working as a CIA agent, employing the aid of The Fantastic Four. As director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury stopped several plots by the Hate Monger, including one using the the rock group, the Million Megaton Explosion. Years later, Nick Fury teamed up with Falcon and Captain America to stop Hate-Monger from unleashing nuclear Armageddon.

It is rarely clear whether it is always the same person under the mask each time the Hate-Monger resurfaces. One incarnation was as a being of energy, formed by the Red Skull while in possession of the Cosmic Cube. This Hate-Monger unleashed great civil unrest in the U.S.A. and teamed up with the Red Skull to capture the helicarrier.

Another incarnation of the Hate-Monger journeyed from 2016 to assassinate a young Barrack Obama as a child in 1965. Unbeknownst to Nick Fury, he teamed up with his own son, Marcus Johnson, aka Nick Fury Jr. to stop this Hate-Monger from killing the future first African-American president of the United States.

Appearances:

• Avengers (1) #341-342
  
• Captain America (3) #25-27, 45-48  
  
• Fantastic Four (1) #21, 279-281  
  
• Fury: S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary Special
  
• Nick Fury: Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1) #9-11
  
• Super-Villian Team-Up #14, 16

His elaborate plans often develop over long periods of time and involve careful manipulations of heroes and villains. Despite his talent for intricate planning, he is easily foiled by those close to him, including his niece Suwan, a frequent ally of FBI agent Jimmy Woo. Through his association with Woo, Fury earned a particular wrath from the Claw, leading to several encounters, one which nearly destroyed New York City. 

The Claw inserted himself into Baron Von Strucker's 1990's revenge plot against Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., nearly rebuilding a new Hydra with Madame Hydra in command. This last plot revealed that the Claw faked the death of Dum Dum Dugan, however the purpose has yet to reveal itself. Also unknown is the purpose behind the Claw's robot double.

Decades later, Woo led a rouge S.H.I.E.L.D. team to investigate the mysterious Atlas Foundation, managed by the Claw. Woo was nearly killed, his body severely burned and left comatose. His former 'Avengers' teammates, including Gorilla Man (now a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent via the 'Howling Commandos' program) broke Woo out from a secret installation and rejuvenated him back to his early twenties with no memories of his S.H.I.E.L.D. career. The Claw revealed a long gestating plan to tap Woo, as the heir to the dynasty of Gengis Kahn. Woo accepted in order to use the vast resources of the Atlas Foundation for the forces of good. The Claw in stepping down as leader of Atlas, was eaten alive by the giant dragon Mr. Lao.

Appearances:

• Agents of Atlas: 1-6
• Avengers (1): #204-205
  
• Captain America (1): #164-167  
  
• Iron Man (1): #69-71, 75, 77
  
• Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2): #12-14
  
• Nova (1) #16-18
  
• Strange Tales (1) #160-165** -This appearance is actually of a Yellow Claw robot

A child prodigy with great mechanical aptitude, P. Norbert Ebersol,  turned to crime as The Fixer; always equipped with a variety of high-tech tools and weapons. One day monitoring radio frequencies in NYC, he came across Hydra agents about to capture an amnesiac Prince Namor and convinced them to recruit him. From thereon he began a long career of crime that reached its nadir with a successful partnership with Mentallo. Having escaped from prison he found Mentallo's secret headquarters, and the pair nearly managed to topple S.H.I.E.L.D. in their first team-up. He later brought Mentallo into Hydra where the Fixer rose to a section chief of their science division. They left the organization after Mentallo was nearly killed after an encounter with the Micronaunt Baron Karza, and the Fixer hired out his services to help save his friend's life. 

Since then Fixer, has actually lost his physical body and his mental essence resides within an android version of himself. Calling himself Techno, he now serves as a member of the Thunderbolts.

Marvin Flumm lived the simple life of a shoe salesman until he discovered to be a mutant with limited psychic abilities by S.H.I.E.L.D. Recruited to be part of the ESPer squad, Flumm grew ambitious with his newfound powers and stole some mental enhancing equipment and went rouge. Later, fearing the new director, Nick Fury, Mentallo teamed up with the recently escaped Fixer and launched a near crippling blow against his former employers. 

Together with his newfound partner, Mentallo saw his powers even more enhanced by the Fixer's machines. Joining Hydra, Mentallo eventually became a section chief of their reconnaissance branch. Mentallo was nearly left brain-dead after the Micronaunt Baron Karza sapped his mind in order to gain entry into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ESPer division. He was soon restored back to health due to The Fixer's efforts. Known for a time as Think-Tank, Mentallo joined up briefly with the mutant militant group, Resistants.

Mentallo tangled with S.H.I.E.L.D. again as a member of a new A.I.M. that obtained soverign nation status. The Supreme Scientest used Mentallo to operate a fleet of drones based on the Iron Patriot suit developed by Norman Osbore for HAMMER.. 

• Marvel Team-Up #118
  
• Marvel Two-in-One #26-27
  
• Micronaunts: #24-25
  
• Strange Tales(1) #141-143
• Secret Avengers (2) #3-5

Cassandra Romulus

A young upstart with Hydra in the early 1980's, Romulus always had an eye for climbing her way to the top by attaching herself to men in power within the organization. Her ultimate coup came in South America where she proved herself worthy to the recently resurrected Von Strucker by killing her lover in cold blood. From that point on Romulus became part of Von Strucker's loyal circle of top operatives, as well as his lover; however not without a price. 

Romulus was subjected to genetic enhancement that granted her savage brutal strength and an uncontrollable blood lust. In addition she also gained centuries worth of military strategies mentally imbued to her brain. The Baron employed her in a cruel "gambit" that forced her to collect a serum that would cure her, only to lose it forever as a test of loyalty to him and Hydra. 

Romulus seemed to accept her fate and continued her career as one of Hydra's most ruthless agents until her capture in Denver at the corporate headquarters of the immortal mutant Gideon.

Appearances

• Captain America Annual #10
  
• Daredevil Annual #7
  
• Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.(2) #22, 25, 27-29, 43-47
  
• Nightstalkers #2

Deltite L.M.D.

An anomaly among its kind, the Deltite Life Model Decoy had its curiosity awoken as it worked maintaining the S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite. Its curiosity took a menacing turn as it began using the labs and profiles from the ESPer Squad to take control of the S.H.I.E.L.D. oversight committee, as well as leadership of Hydra and Roxxon Oil. Controlling the oversight committee known as The Directors, the Deltite LMD often used S.H.I.E.L.D. for his own agenda, including the capture of the She Hulk, which lead to the loss of the original helicarrier.  

In 1988 he pioneered a second generation of Life Model Decoy, a hybrid of human genetics and LMD technology that granted immortality for any who desired it so. The short life span of the Deltites prompted a plan to capture Nick Fury and synthesize the Infinity Formula within him. Ironically, the Deltite LMD's efforts to become more human turned his own army of followers against him and the Deltite LMD was destroyed aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite. 

Despite the destruction of the satellite, remains of the Deltite LMD survived and during a necropsy, Tony Stark and Nick Fury triggered a holo image of Baron Von Strucker. The recording extrapolated on the LMD's origins, explaining it was developed by Armin Zola using stolen technology. The Life Model Decoy was implanted in the original S.H.I.E.L.D. Central where it served as a maintenance drone until its program kicked in and made it seek out the Life Model Decoy labs; its mission to destroy the agency from within.

Appearances

Leviathan
A cut above your run-of-the-mill international terrorist for hire, Leviathan holds degrees in both theology and psychology with a penchant for magic and lollipops. Relying on a cult of slavishly devoted followers, Leviathan specializes in hi-tech jobs such as the attempted theft of the B2 stealth fighter, a job which first set him up against Nick Fury and the newly reinstated S.H.I.E.L.D. 

Subsequently Leviathan was the prime choice for Hydra in soliciting help in order to steal a device for resurrecting Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker from the submerged Hydra island base. Hydra broke him free and Leviathan helped them in resurrecting their long-buried leader. Leviathan forged strong ties to Hydra and the offshoot Genesis Coalition. Leviathan was pursued by Silver Sable and the Punisher in NYC. Leviathan revealed to Sable how her father's supposed killer, Ivan Trefkov, helped put together the Genesis Coalition.

Leviathan once again sought crossed paths with Fury when he sought to steal the Infinity Formula from Fury's apartment. Together with Deatlok, Fury was able to arrest Leviathan and place him behind bars. 

Appearances:

• Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.(2) #7-10, 20, 30-31
• Silver Sable #10

He is the living antithesis of all that Nick Fury holds dear. Despite his intentions, Spook has maintained a power base strong enough to mandate Fury to take on tasks he would rather not; including the capture of Ghost Rider. Subsequently Spook used the capture of the Punisher as an elaborate plan to have Nick Fury killed by brainwashing Frank Castle into thinking he murdered his family.

Ironically Spook was later murdered by Castle in his rampage for Nick Fury's life.

Appearances

• Double Edge: Alpha, Omega
  
• Ghost Rider #58- 65