History Characters / MCUCriminalsTerroristsWatchdogs

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[[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Back to the main index.]]

'''Some spoilers will be unmarked.'''

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[[folder:In General]]
!!''The Watchdogs''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watchdogs.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:'''[[note]]Besides members mentioned in folders below[[/note]] Justin Morck (Watchdog Alpha), Jonathan Camp (Oscar), D. Elliott Woods (Victor), Trenton Rostedt (Dallas Wyatt), Dale Pavinski (Briggs), Trevor Torseth (Pete Boggs), Jean Paul San Pedro (Jackson)
->'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' (first appear in ''[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS3E14Watchdogs Episode 58: "Watchdogs"]]'')

->''"We are the Watchdogs. You will obey."''
-->-- '''Watchdog Alpha'''

An anti-alien and anti-government hate group that has came into formation months after Terrigen went widespread with plans to eliminate the Inhumans.
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* EqualOpportunityEvil: They seem to recruit anyone who has anti-Inhuman agendas, regardless if they're Caucasian, Asians or Africans.
* {{Expy}}: This interpretation of the Watchdogs is essentially the MCU equivalent of the [[Franchise/XMen Friends of Humanity]] and other similar groups, albeit focused on Inhumans [[ExiledFromContinuity rather than Mutants]].
* FacelessMooks: They cover their faces in masked helmets that resemble a mixture of skull and attack dog.
* FantasticRacism: They express a genocidal hatred toward Inhumans.
* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: Their anti-government rethoric, their anti-gifted people speech (just replace "gifted" or "alien" with "immigrant") and their predominantly white male membership, as well as their military arsenal, are quite evocative of white nationalist and far right militia groups. Season 4 of ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' reveals that the Watchdogs are affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood, thus promoting them to ANaziByAnyOtherName.
* TookALevelInBadass: They went from a domestic terrorist group in the third season to a global threat in the fourth season thanks to some high-end financial backup.
* UnwittingPawn: Unbeknowst to them, they are being fed intel and weaponry by HYDRA itself and used to promote their goals.
* WithUsOrAgainstUs: They'll gladly kill any Inhuman sympathizers.
-->'''Watchdog:''' Whose side are you on?\\
'''Coulson:''' Not yours.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: They see themselves as fighting to protect the people of the United States from oppressive governments and dangerous aliens. They're called domestic terrorists because they implode buildings and kill civilians.
[[/folder]]

!Leadership
[[folder:The Superior]]
!!''Anton Ivanov / The Superior''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ivanov_anton.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Man is the superior machine. And I am the superior man."'']]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Zach [=McGowan=]
->'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' (first appears in ''[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E12HotPotatoSoup Episode 78: "Hot Potato Soup"]]'')

-->''"I'm told you refuse to talk and that you welcome pain. I, too, love pain. And I love to make others feel it... using the old ways."''

A Russian industrialist and the leader of the Watchdogs. He hates the Inhumans for not "earning" their power.
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* AdaptationSpeciesChange: His comic counterpart is a Life Model Decoy. Here, he's a human [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope who gets turned into an LMD]]]]
* AdaptationalVillainy: His comic books counterpart fought alongside War Machine and the Winter Guard against the Skrulls during ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion''.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He is actually quite skilled in combat, especially with his knives. Even Aida seems wary of him. [[RealityEnsues However]], against a super-powered Daisy he loses [[CurbStompBattle as quick as you'd expect him to]].
* BigBadWannabe: He likes to think of himself as the Big Bad and carries himself like one, seeming to form a BigBadDuumvirate with Radcliffe, but it becomes pretty clear that he's in over his head once his InsaneTrollLogic conspiracy theory comes out. Once he launches his grand plan into action, he is very badly outplayed by both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Radcliffe. [[spoiler: After remote controlling his LMD body's and overcoming his restrictions he ditches the ''Wannabe'' part and forms a full-on BigBadDuumvirate with Aida.]]
* BrainInAJar: [[spoiler: His fate after Aida dissects him, with him being given remote control of an LMD body.]]
* BrokenPedestal: While admitting his father was "a son of a bitch", he did admire him for working as a miner for very little pay. When he saw his father kowtowing to the richest man in town, however, he lost his respect for him, telling Mace that the only thing worse than scum are those who wish to be like scum.
* CanonCharacterAllAlong: A particularly gruesome example: [[spoiler:Anton Ivanov's fate as a head controlling an LMD makes him the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of [[http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Red_Guardian_(Anton) Anton]], an LMD who was Red Guardian, and was decapitated but still living.]]
* CompositeCharacter: [[spoiler:While he's based on the Anton [=LMD=] version of Red Guardian, he claims to be "[[ComicBook/{{MODOK}} designed only for killing]]". Furthermore, his status as a BrainInAJar [[RemoteBody controlling an army of LMDs]] is similar to the current MODOK, aka MODOK ''Superior''.]]
* DemotedToDragon: [[spoiler: After Daisy critically injures him, Aida gives him an [=LMD=] body so he can assist her in protecting the framework as her top enforcer. I.e. he is no longer anyone's "superior".]]
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Although he follows Aida's orders, it's pretty clear he does it for his own gains, namely killing Coulson. [[spoiler: When she gains a conscience and tries to make him stop his murderous attempts, he shows that she is no longer in control of him. They later seem to form more of a BigBadDuumvirate.]] [[spoiler: After framing S.H.I.E.L.D., he vanishes, not coming to AIDA's help later.]]
* {{Expy}}: His status as a human whose brain commands a near-inexhaustible supply of LMD bodies while kept on life support puts him in the same boat as the comics' Dum Dum Dugan.
* EvilLuddite: His primary problem is with the Inhumans, but he is mistrustful of modern technology for similar reasons. He calls it weak and fragile, and prefers older, proven ways.
* EvilVirtues: He respects people who work hard for a living. Part of his problem with the Inhumans is because they didn't "earn" their power, but just got it through chance.
* FantasticRacism: He hates the Inhumans because they were just handed their power through Terrigenesis, instead of earning it.
* FreudianExcuse: As a boy, Ivanov saw his father (who worked long hours in a mine) kowtowing to a man who'd inherited his wealth, causing him to hate those whom he believed had gained power without earning it.
* GreenEyedMonster: He dresses up the reason for his FantasticRacism towards Inhumans with SocialDarwinist rhetoric but it's implied that he's just jealous that they develop superpowers and he can't.
* HumiliationConga: Things don't go well for him once he and Coulson finally meet. To wit, he finds out that after spending years focused on revenge against Coulson that the man doesn't even remember the incident that sparked everything, doesn't even get a chance to try and settle things with the man he's hated for so long, and winds up close to dead from fighting Daisy who's after him for leading the Watchdogs. [[spoiler: Then his head is put in a jar by Aida and he can only continue living as her robotic minion.]]
* InsaneTrollLogic: He concludes that Coulson is responsible for all the alien incidents in the last decade because Coulson was always there when something happened, and despite having died, he's somehow still alive. It never occurred to Ivanov that Coulson was investigating these occurances.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: His [[BrainInAJar severed head]] isn't found in the Season 4 finale and he get's away with framing S.H.I.E.L.D., still left with his old organisation and an unknown number of LMD's.]]
* KnifeNut: Both in combat as well as for torture, he seems to value knives very much.
* MadeOfIron: His [[spoiler: LMD bodies can take quite an impressive amount of punishment.]]
* MesACrowd: [[spoiler: He doesn't just control one LMD, but at least dozens of them.]]
* MoodWhiplash: He can go from enjoying vodka to torturing someone to back again in seconds.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Apparently so. He doesn't shy showing off his muscles in some occassions.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: His comic counterpart had no last name.
* PeoplePuppets: [[spoiler:Thanks to Aida's programming, he cannot harm anyone connected to the Framework unless they become a threat to it. Ivanov tries to murder Coulson but his body doesn't respond no matter how much he wants to.]]
* {{Sadist}}: He tells an uncooperative Billy Koenig that he enjoys causing other people pain.
* SocialDarwinist: Shows some signs of this, phrasing his issues with Inhumans as them getting powers by little more than luck than by actually doing anything to earn them. He also clearly enjoys demonstrating his strength over others, forcing Shockley to admit that Anton is his superior by choking him.
* TalkingToThemself: Or rather [[spoiler: to his dozens of LMD bodies which he all controlls.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler: After overcoming his LMD restrictions and forming a more equal partnership with Aida.]]
* VillainousValor: Doesn't hesitate in going head-to-head with Daisy despite knowing the deck is stacked against him.
-->'''Ivanov:''' It's not a fair fight, but one I'll take on anyway.
* WeCanRebuildHim: [[spoiler: His broken body get's cut up by Aida and he gains control of an LMD body.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Felix Blake]]
-->See the [[Characters/MCUSHIELDOtherAgents S.H.I.E.L.D. – Other Agents page]]
[[/folder]]

!!Lieutenants
[[folder: Tucker Shockley]]
!!''Tucker Shockley''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shockley_tucker.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"That wasn't torture, that was a greeting."'']]
->'''Portrayed By:''' John Pyper-Ferguson
->'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' (appears in ''[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E9BrokenPromises Episode 75: "Broken Promises"]]'', ''[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E12HotPotatoSoup Episode 78: "Hot Potato Soup"]]'', ''[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E13Boom Episode 79: "BOOM"]]'')

A prominent member of the Watchdogs.
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* ActionBomb: [[spoiler:After undergoing Terrigenesis. Mace even calls him a reusable suicide bomber.]]
* BeardOfEvil: A racist and genocidal man with a dark beard.
* BoomerangBigot: [[spoiler:Becoming an Inhuman doesn't diminish his hatred for them one bit.]]
* TheDragon: Acts as Senator Nadeer's main enforcer.
* DragonInChief: Though he follows her orders he reports to "The Superior" and has the authority to defy the Senator.
* {{Expy}}: [[spoiler:Seems to be the [=MCU=] version of Nitro, the alter ego of Robert Hunter. Both can transform into a volatile gaseous state and explode, and then reform their body. Hunter is a normal human who acquired his powers from Kree experimentation. Shockley gains his powers from being an Inhuman. [=Shockley=] still gains his powers from Kree experimentation, but here it's the same kind that created many of the show's other superhumans.]]
* FromASingleCell: [[spoiler:Is able to regenerate after each detonation from the resulting vapors.]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: As shown in "BOOM," [[spoiler:he himself is an Inhuman, and activates himself by accident. This flies in the face of his no-aliens mentality.]]
* MeaningfulName: '''Shock'''ley's WeaponOfChoice is a cattle prod. [[spoiler:Or at least it ''was'', before his Terrigenesis]].
* MagicPants: [[spoiler:[[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Shockley's clothes do not regenerate with him.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Aside from the whole [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic Watch]][[FantasticRacism dogs]] thing, he also makes several sexist comments toward Daisy in "BOOM".
* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:S.H.I.E.L.D. successfully traps Shockley while he is in his gaseous state between explosions by sucking him into an airtight device where he won't have the room to reconstitute himself.]]
* YouAreWhatYouHate: [[spoiler:Hates Inhumans even after finding out that he is one.]]
[[/folder]]

!Allies
[[folder:Senator Ellen Nadeer]]
-->See the [[Characters/MCUUnitedStatesGovernmentMilitary United States Government and Military page]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: James]]
-->See the [[Characters/MCUInhumans Inhumans page]]
[[/folder]]

-->'''Watchdog:''' Who's side are you on?\\

* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: Their anti-government rethoric, their anti-gifted people speech (just replace "gifted" or "alien" with "immigrant") and their all-white male membership, as well as their military arsenal, are quite evocative of white nationalist and far right militia groups. Season 4 of ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' reveals that the Watchdogs are affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood, thus promoting them to ANaziByAnyOtherName.

!!Subordinates

!Subordinates

!!''Anton Ivanov/The Superior''

->'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD''

->'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' (appears in ''[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E9BrokenPromises Season 4 Episode 9: "Broken Promises"]]'')

* DragonWithAnAgenda: Although he follows Aida's orders, it's pretty clear he does it for his own gains, namely killing Coulson. [[spoiler: When she gains a conscience and tries to make him stop his murderous attempts, he shows that she is no longer in control of him. They later seem to form more of a BigBadDuumvirate.]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: His [[BrainInAJar severed head]] isn't found in the Season 4 finale and he get's away with framing S.H.I.E.L.D., still left with his old oragnisation and an unknown number of LMD's.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: [[Spoiler: After overcoming his LMD restrictions and forming a more equal partnership with Aida.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: [[After overcoming his LMD restrictions and forming a more equal partnership with Aida.]]

* BigBadWannabe: He likes to think of himself as the Big Bad and carries himself like one, seeming to form a BigBadDuumvirate with Radcliffe, but it becomes pretty clear that he's in over his head once his InsaneTrollLogic conspiracy theory comes out. Once he launches his grand plan into action, he is very badly outplayed by both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Radcliffe.

* [[Characters/MCUCriminalsFiskCrimeRing Fisk Crime Ring]]
* [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsNewYork New York-based Criminals]]
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* BrainInAJar: [[spoiler: His fate after Aida dissects him, with him being given telepathic control of an LMD body.]]

* AdaptationalVillainy: His comic books counterpart fought alongside War Machine and the Winter Guard against the Skrulls during ''ComicBook/Secret Invasion''.

!!The Watchdogs

!!''The Watchdogs''

!The Watchdogs

!!!Leadership

!!!Subordinates

!!!Allies

[[folder:Felix Blake]]
-->See the [[Characters/MCUSHIELDOtherAgents S.H.I.E.L.D. – Other Agents page]]
[[/folder]]