History Characters / MCUHYDRALeadership

* AnalogyBackfire: In "Stolen", Nathaniel compares himself to the legendary hero [[JustLikeRobinHood RobinHood]], specifically on how he saved individuals that were going to be taken out by SHIELD and redistributing the wealth from the rich and mighty to the more deserving. However, the deaths he prevented were people who posed dangerous threats to others who he then recruits to his team. Meanwhile, the rich and mighty he targets are the Inhumans, innocent people who he and his team hold captive for the purpose of transferring their abilities into his own subordinates. If anything, Nathaniel is more like the petty and ill-tempered Prince John, the main antagonist of Robin Hood's stories.

* BrokenPedestal: In the flashback of Season 3, Nathaniel is devastated to learn that his beloved father wasn't the brave man he thought he was, having been informed of how the man cheated his way out of being chosen to go through the Monolith.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the Season 3 flashbacks, Nathaniel is depicted as a timid yet devoted believer of the Hydra cult that his family has been apart of for generations. He was very close to his brother Gideon, and was equally devastated by the loss of his father. He also notably rejected Whitehall's faction of Hydra, yet maintained a level of fear of the man. The version of him that appears in Season 7 is a cruel, arrogant, and outwardly violent young man who became disillusioned with Hydra due to its hierarchy and tradition, while showing more interest in Whitehall's experiments in transferring enhanced abilities. In addition, he doesn't have a lot of genuine care for his family, as he and his brother don't appear to be close, and the fact that his father's death had very little reaction from him, considering that he now viewed his father as a man trapped by Hydra's old school hierarchy and tradition.

* TheCorrupter: Manipulates Jiaying's daughter Kora into joining him after managing to [[InterruptedSuicide interrupt her suicide attempt and destroy her gun]]. He also shows a young John Garrett his future which leads the latter to joining his team against SHIELD.

* DespotismJustifiesTheMeans: Like his father, Nathaniel enters an alliance with the Chronicoms to destroy the SHIELD team. When a captured Coulson LMD brings up that the Chronicoms are just using him and his resources to further their own goal to turn Earth into their new planet, Nathaniel is too arrogant to even consider this warning worth listening to. Later, he explains ot Korathat he does know about the Chronicoms, but believes that once the alien robots will dismantle SHIELD and every government branch on the planet, the world will be reduced to chaos and anarchy. Nathaniel seeks to exploit this, with his plan being to swoop in to save the day, and be hailed as a champion of the people. However, it's not clear if he has factored how he'll get rid of the Chronicoms.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Nathaniel takes Daisy's powers, only to realize too late just how powerful she is when his bones crack under constant vibrations he can't control. According to Sybil, his plan only had a 22% chance of working anyway. He does manage to survive though.

* FeelingOppressedbyTheirExistence: As part of his alliance with the Chronicoms, Nathaniel targets the innocent Inhumans that live in Afterlife. As this was set before Jiaying changed, the Inhumans have lived a peaceful existence in hiding, their presence still a guarded secret to the rest of the world. While he was tasked to go there because Kora was essential to the Chronicoms' plan to defeat SHIELD, Nathaniel also went there because he just can't accept how these individuals got their powers, citing that they did nothing to deserve aside from inheriting the gene from their ancestors, while also viewing their hierarchy system and rules as no different than the likes of Hydra and SHIELD. He has his men take over Afterlife, and take the captive Inhumans to have their powers drained and transferred into his subordinates.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was originally a blip on the radar of history, nothing but a pawn in Gideon Malick and Hive's story. Come Season 7, he's stolen the powers of one of the most powerful known Inhumans, aligned himself with the Chronicoms, and is out to cause chaos.

** He claims that he wants nothing to do with Hydra, yet continues to use his Hydra connections and wealth for his own goals. For example, he has nothing but contempt for Daniel Whitehall, but is content with asking for his instructions for his method of transferring enhanced abilities for his own means.

* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Come 1976 in the alternate timeline, he's not terribly interested in HYDRA's machinations, but is still willing to use his access to their resources (namely Daniel Whitehall) for the purpose of stealing Daisy's powers for himself. By 1983, his stated goals are pure [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchy]], putting him squarely at odds with [=HYDRA's=] totalitarian vision. That said, he is content using Hydra loyalists and technology to help further his goals.

* RichBitch: His father had managed to restore the family's wealth before he and his brother were born. It appears his father had spoiled him during his youth, which has led to Nathaniel developing an arogant and entitled personality,

* RichBitch: He grew up in the wealthy Malick family. This appears to be a contributing factor to his rather entitled and arrogant personality.

* StartOfDarkness: Seeing Daisy's powers being used on the Chronicoms is implied to be this for him, as it made him obsessed with getting powers for himself, knowing that Inhumans existed due to his family's cult knowledge about Hive. This in turn would lead him to forming an alliance with the Chronicoms, something which gave him the freedom of pursuing his own desires rather than serving Hydra's mission.

* TalkingDownTheSuicidal: Nathaniel convinces Kora to join him instead of taking herself out. Of course, his reasoning was far from noble, because having Kora alive was essential for his plans to take out SHIELD.

* DespotismJustifiesTheMeans: Like his father, Nathaniel enters an alliance with the Chronicoms to destroy. Coulson LMD, when captured by his men, brings up that the Chronicoms are just using his resources to further their own goal to turn Earth into their new planet, but Nathaniel is too arrogant to even consider this warning. Later, he explains ot Korathat he does know about the Chronicoms, but believes that once the alien robots will dismantle SHIELD and every government branch on the planet, the world will be reduced to chaos and anarchy. Nathaniel seeks to exploit this, with his plan being to swoop in to save the day, and be hailed as a champion of the people. However, it’s not clear if he has factored how he’ll get rid of the Chronicoms.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Whitehall is a monstrous HYDRA leader with incredible resources at his command. How does he die? From Coulson putting a couple of bullets in him while Whitehall's back was turned.

** Given that the Franchise/XMen and associated characters can't be used in the MCU due to [[ScrewedByTheLawyers rights issues]], this Hive is more or less a stand-in for ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}}; his backstory, immortality, goals, and overall personality have far more in common with that character than the comics Hive.

** His whole idea of cultivating and redistributing powers from Inhumans to those he deems worthy makes him one to [[ComicBook/XMen X-Men]] villain [[Characters/XMenSinister Mister Sinister]], who sought to use the same method on mutants. Coincidentally, the two even share the same first name.

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* OldMoney: The Malick family are direct descendants of the original leaders of the cult that worshipped Hive in ancient times. Over generations, the family amassed a large wealth that was maintained until the stock market crash in 1929. In 1931, Wilfred Malick was given a chance by Hydra to restore his family's reputation by delivering the key ingredient needed for Abraham Erskine's prototype Super Soldier Serum that will be used by Johann Schmidt. Upon completion, Hydra restored his family's fortune, and over the decades, Wilfred maintained the fortune into his old age. Upon his death, his son Gideon was able to expand the family wealth even more thanks to his many investments into businesses that he purchased across the world, making the Malick family one of the richest people in the world in the present day.

** He brings up how Jiaying's death during his final fight with Daisy, bringing up how she had to be rescued from her mother in the original timeline, while he snapped her neck.

* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Come 1976 in the altered timeline, he's not terribly interested in HYDRA's machinations, but is still willing to use his access to their resources (namely Daniel Whitehall) for the purpose of stealing Daisy's powers for himself. By 1983, his stated goals are pure [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchy]], putting him squarely at odds with [=HYDRA's=] totalitarian vision. That said, he is content using Hydra loyalists and technology to help further his goals.

* TookALevelInJerkass: His first appearance in the flashbacks of Season 3 depict him as being a somewhat meek and affable young man who feared Whitehall enough to not disobey his invitation to meet at the Rat. Come, Season 7 he is shown to be very rude and aggressive, in addition to being quite arrogant, best shown when he speaks negatively about Whitehall, describing the him as an old man with a "Mein Kampf" vibe.

* CanonForeigner: None of them have counterparts in the comics, though the name Malick could be a reference Albert Malik, the Soviet Union version of the Red Skull.

* OldMoney: The Malick family are direct descendants of the original leaders of of the cult that worshipped Hive in ancient times. Over generations, the family amassed a large wealth that was maintained until the stock market crash in 1929, only for it to be restored after Wilfred Malick restored the family's reputation by delivering the key ingredient for Red Skull's Super Soldier Serum, which his son Gideon maintained into the present day through his business investments.

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* BrokenPedestal: His son Nathaniel admires him until he finds out Wilfred had rigged the annual ritual that chose Hives next sacrifice. Averted in the alternate timeline, Nathaniel looks down on his father, viewing the man as being bound by Hydra's rules and traditions.

* DirtyCoward: He resorts to using a scored stone to keep from becoming a sacrifice to Hive. [[spoiler: His past self is also shown to be this, as shown he ran and hid from the Chronicoms, leaving his contact Viola behind after she was shot by the Chronicoms]].

* EvenEvilHasStandards: While he has no qualms killing an innocent for being in the wrong plae at the wrong time, he allows Deke to walk away with his life when the latter reminds him of how he saved him in 1939. That said, he makes it clear that Deke should not expect the same outcome if they meet again.

** He does not want to involve himself with Ward's quest for revenge against SHIELD, viewing such things as insiginifcant. He prefers to stay focused on moving forward with Hydra's true mission, and to never look back.

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* BadassLongcoat: In 80s, He starts wearing a [[EvilWearsBlack dark]] one that is not to dissimilar to the one Hive wore.

* BigBadDuumvirate: He and Sibyl are the two main antagonists of the second half of the seventh season. Malick provides Sibyl with muscle in exchange for knowledge of the future, and while he's little more than a useful pawn for the Chronicoms he gains much greater prominence and enmity with the agents, even serving as the FinalBoss.

* BlatantLies: Most of what Nathaniel says to Kora in the penultimate episode is a big fat lie, particularly his claims that before her death, Jiaying expressed her hatred for Kora and regretted that she'd ever been born (which is could not be further from the truth). Played with in regards to his claim that Daisy quaked the Earth apart in the original timeline; while it's implied to have been what happened before the team changed history, it was never firmly established whether Daisy or a Gravitonium-empowered Talbot was actually responsible, so Nathaniel's claim could be a deliberate lie (which would fit the narrative he's feeding Kora), or he could simply be misinformed. His insistent claims that Daisy is the villain and driven by ThePowerOfHate are unambiguously lies, though.
* BombThrowingAnarchist: His stated goals after being spared by a CosmicRetcon are chaos and anarchy, wanting nothing to with the structured societies HYDRA or S.H.I.E.L.D. would have, and going about what he calls a "redistribution of wealth" by stealing Inhuman powers and giving them to people history had previously seen as unfit to live.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the Season 3 flashbacks, Nathaniel is depicted as a timid yet devoted believer of the Hydra cult that his family has been apart for generations. He was very close to his brother Gideon, and was equally devastated by the loss of his father. He also notably rejected Whitehall's faction of Hydra, yet maintained a level of fear of the man. The version of him that appears in Season 7 is a cruel, arrogant, and outwardly violent young man who became disillusioned with Hydra due to its hierarchy and tradition in favor of anarchy, while showing more interest in Whitehall's experiments in transferring enhanced abilities. In addition, he doesn't have a lot of genuine care for his family, as he and his brother don't appear to be close, and the fact that his father's death had very little reaction from him, considering that he now viewed his father as a man trapped by Hydra's hierarchy and tradition.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: “Malick” sounds an awful lot like “malice”
* OldMoney: the Malick family are direct descendants of the original leaders of of the cult that worshipped Hive in ancient times. Over generations, the family amassed a large wealth that was maintained until the stock market crash in 1929, only for it to be restored after Wilfred Malick restored the family's reputation by delivering the key ingredient for Red Skull's Super Soldier Serum, which his son Gideon maintained into the present day through his businesss investamenrs

* BadBoss: He kills one of his men after they mistakenly. kidnapped Deke instead of their intended target.

* MoleInCharge: He's taken part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltration, occupying a position higher than Daniel Sousa's. Later, he achieves a position higher than that of General Rick Stoner.

* VillainBall: Malick decides to bring Talbot's son all the way from America to Taiwan, which allows S.H.I.E.L.D. to rescue him, instead of leaving him safely at the HYDRA base.Villainous Breakdown: Malick has one when he sees all of his Inhuman subjects killed by Lash and hears that S.H.I.E.L.D. has taken over the portal chamber.

* VillainousBSOD: He becomes a total defeatist after Hive turns on him.

* BeardOfEvil: [[spoiler: His 70s past self sports one]]

* BigBadWannabe: By himself, Malick would be a pretty big threat on his own; however, he overestimates [[EvilIsNotAToy his ability to control Hive]] and believes that said EldritchAbomination would work with him. Over the course of the second half of Season 3 Hive strips him of his control on HYDRA, gathers his own Inhuman minions, kills Gideon's daughter in front of him and then finally kills Malick himself once he's [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived his usefulness]].

* ChekhovsGunman: He first appears as a nameless member of the World Security Council that Fury talks to in "The Avengers". In Season 3 of Agents of SHIELD, he is revealed to be a head of HYDRA and serves as the one of the main antagonists of the season.

* TheDreaded: Loeb said about him: "Gideon is incredibly menacing and in him we have a character that even the stone-cold Grant Ward would fear." Ward refers to him as "the guy all the others were afraid of." Even the ''President'' is too afraid to act directly against him, which is why he wants Coulson and SHIELD to continue acting in the shadows, as it would be the only way they could take the man.

* FalseFriend: Werner turns to him to try and gain protection from Ward's wrath. While Gideon assures Werner of his safety, he later arranges with Ward to hand over Werner as part of some greater deal.

** Finally, in Season 7, Nathaniel Malick, having witnessed Daisy using her powers, calls Whitehall for his instructions on surgically transferring enhanced abilities. This would lead Nathaniel to perfecting the method, which he planned to use on all the Inhumans at

* BigBadWannabe- While each member as a whole are pretty big threats on their own, they are always placed in this position, as the current BigBad of their seasons humor their alliances with them until they no longer have a use for them.

* ChekhovsGunman: He first appears as a nameless member of the World Security Council that Fury talks to in "The Avengers". In Season 3 of Agents of SHIELD, he is revealed to be a head of Hydra, serves as the one of the main antagonists of the season.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He loved his father, and was distraught to learn of his true cowardly nature. Malick ''did'' love his brother, but his fear of being selected to go into the Monolith made him betray his brother by rigging the ceremony to select him. It's played straightest with his daughter, Stephanie, who he is shown spending quality time with in one of {{The Stinger}}. [[spoiler:Her death destroys him, and makes him defect to SHIELD before his death]].

** Before Ward, Malick had considered bringing in other Hydra leaders in on his plan to bring Hive back to the planet, but passed them on for pragmatic reasons (Alexander Pierce being [[BloodKnight too bloodthirsty]], and Garrett being too of a {{Narcissist}}). That said, he gives the latter praise for bringing Ward into Hydra, saying it was the best thing he has ever done for the organization's cause.

** In the finale, e thinks throughout the whole fight with Daisy that he has the upper hand, not knowing that her team are taking out the Chronicoms. In doing so, he is left completely powerless to save himself when Daisy unleashes a massive quake from her body to destroy the Chronicom in one giant explosion, incinerating him in the process.

* {{Manchild}}: He is prone to almost throwing a tantrum when things don't go his way. He even mentions that he is used to getting whatever he wanted.

* SmugSnake: Nathaniel believes that the Chronicoms are either his willing minions or [[UnwittingPawn Unwitting Pawns]]. The reality is that Sibyl barely listens to him and his only accomplishment in the episode is screwing up his ally's plan.

* UsedToBeASweetKid: The version of him shown in Season 7 is more hot-tempered and outwardly antagonistical compared to his first appearance in Season 3.

* CanonForeigner: None of them have counterparts in the comics.

* {{Hypocrite}}: As a young man, Wilfred scorns his father for committing suicide after the stock market crash, viewing him as a coward. As an older man, Wilfred would rig the sacrifices to Hive in his favor out of cowardice.

* RagsToRiches: His family lost everything due to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 but after delivering the key ingredient for Erskine's original Super Soldier Serum to Johann Schmidt, he earned a spot in Hydra's leadership, which allowed him to rebuild his family's wealth by 1955.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He loved his father, and was distraught to learn of his true cowardly nature. Malick ''did'' love his brother, just not enough to sacrifice himself. It's played straightest with his daughter, Stephanie, who he is shown spending quality time with in one of {{The Stinger}}. [[spoiler:Her death destroys him, and makes him defect to SHIELD before his death]].

** Before Ward, Malick had considered bringing in other Hydra leaders in on his plan to bring Hive back to the planet, but passed them on for pragmatic reasons (Alexander Pierce being too bloodthirsty, Garrett being too narcisstic). That said, he gives the latter praise for bringing Ward into Hydra, saying it was the best thing he has ever done for the organization's cause.

* AnalogyBackfire: In "Stolen", Nathaniel compares himself to the legendary hero MythRobinHood, specifically on how he saved individuals that were going to be taken out by SHIELD and redistributing the wealth from the rich and mighty to the more deserving. However, the deaths he prevented were people who posed dangerous threats to others who he then recruits to his team. Meanwhile, the rich and mighty he targets are the Inhumans, innocent people who he and his team hold captive for the purpose of transferring their abilities into his own subordinates. If anything, Nathaniel is more like the petty and ill-tempered Prince John, the main antagonist of Robin Hood's stories.

** He bears some similarities to the clone of Red Skull in the main Marvel Comics universe. He was affiliated with HYDRA, was a different version of his main counterpart, stole the powers of another by taking their body parts, and assembled a team of other enhanced villains. Also, both wore similar attire.
* His whole idea of cultivating and redistributing powers from Inhumans to those he deems worthy makes him one to [[ComicBook/XMen X-Men]] villain [[Characters/XMenSinister Mister Sinister]], who sought to use the same method on mutants. Coincidentally, the two even share the same first name.

** In the finale during his final battle with Daisy. He thinks throughout the whole fight that he has the upper hand, not knowing that her team are taking out the Chronicoms. In doing so, he is left completely powerless to save himself when Daisy unleashes a massive quake from her body to destroy the Chronicom in one giant explosion, incinerating him in the process.

* He is also prone to get violent when things don't go his way, as shown when he is unable to get into Simmons' brain implant.

* AnalogyBackfire: In "Stolen", Nathaniel compares himself to the legendary hero Robin Hood, specifically on how he saved individuals that were going to be taken out by SHIELD and redistributing the wealth from the rich and mighty to the more deserving. However, the deaths he prevented were people who posed dangerous threats to others who he then recruits to his team. Meanwhile, the rich and mighty he targets are the Inhumans, innocent people who he and his team hold captive for the purpose of transferring their abilities into his own subordinates. If anything, Nathaniel is more like the petty and ill-tempered Prince John, the main antagonist of Robin Hood's stories.