History Characters / MCUTheCouncilOfNine

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Villainous Organizations > '''The Council of Nine''' -]]]

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[[folder:In General]]
!!''The Council of Nine''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/council_of_nine_1_7.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

A cabal of powerful businessmen that seek to take control of the United States government through political and economic influence. They already hold influence in media as well as the intelligence community and the justice system. They gather under the cover of the Arena Club, a male-only social club.
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* AdaptationNameChange: WordOfGod states they are the MCU version of the Secret Empire. In the comics, the Council members of the Elite, a secret society involved with the Secret Empire.
* BeenThereShapedHistory: They had President UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley assassinated and engineered the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that caused TheGreatDepression.
* BigBadWannabe: While a powerful secret society would normally be a pretty big threat, they're absolutely nothing compared to the Darkforce-enhanced Whitney Frost, and are usurped in short order when they try to make a move against her.
* TheConspiracy: They are a cabal of businessmen manipulating events to achieve further riches and power for themselves, with influence over industry, economy, politics and media.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: All of the council members are businessmen using their connections to influence politics and economy in order to further their own agendas and further enrich themselves
* EvilOldFolks: All of them are, at the very least, well over their middle age and whatever and whoever they can't buy into serving their interests they destroy.
* HeManWomanHater: Women are not allowed in either their club and council.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: While the surviving Council members seemingly make it out of ''Agent Carter'' without getting any comeuppance, an off-hand mention in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' season 7 states that Daniel Sousa took them down at some point before 1955. Hugh Jones was named explicitly while the Council was named in general.
* NonIndicativeName: As of "Life of the Party" the Council no longer has 9 members, as 5 of them are killed by Whitney Frost.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: As Howard Stark points, all the members of the Arena Club have to be "male and pale", which is, of course, [[DeliberateValuesDissonance normal for the time period]]. Women are not allowed inside the club and those men with even whiff of non-anglosaxon ethnicity are not allowed to become members.
* {{Straw Misogynist}}s: They even denied entry to ''UsefulNotes/EleanorRoosevelt'', of all people.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: For HYDRA, given that they are a secret conspiracy of powerful figures who manipulate world events and plot [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]], similar to how HYDRA was revealed to have operated in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''. Their emblem is also extremely similar to the ancient HYDRA symbol revealed in season 3 of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD''; however, despite this, WordOfGod says the Council of Nine is not connected to HYDRA.
[[/folder]]

!Council Members

[[folder:Whitney Frost]]
!!''Whitney Frost née Agnes Cully''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frost_whitney.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Fix me? Why would I want to be fixed? I have never felt more powerful in my entire life!"'']]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Possessed by the Darkforce]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/49622bc63354c9c9def9e492d469d893.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
!!!'''Species:''' Enhanced human
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/WynnEverett, Creator/OliviaWelch (teen), Creator/IvyGeorge (young)
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

A Hollywood starlet and wife of industrialist and Senate hopeful Calvin Chadwick, Whitney Frost is more than just a pretty face, she's also one of the smartest scientists in the world. But as a woman in 1947, she hides behind a mask that holds her back from doing what she was born to achieve.
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* AbusiveParents: Well, there's no evidence her mother physically mistreated her, but she did tell her that her brains wouldn't get her anywhere, only her face, blamed her for driving away her cheating boyfriend by not being friendly to him, and was generally unpleasant.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: While the comics' Frost was a beautiful woman who was disguised and forced to wear a mask after being disfigured in a plane crash. Here, no such thing happened.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: Is one of the greatest scientists in the MCU, whereas her comic-counterpart is a crazed stalker with no real scientific accomplishments to speak of. By the end of the season, however, her mind is shattered.
* AdaptationalNationality: In the comics Whitney is Italian. Here she's a born and raised American.
* AgeLift: She's an enemy of Iron Man and a present-day character in the comics.
* BehindEveryGreatMan: She's the brains of the marriage and the one who truly grasps the implications of the Zero Matter.
* BigBad: Whitney is the main antagonist of Season 2, though she's initially in a BigBadEnsemble with the Council's DragonInChief Vernon Masters. They're connected via Calvin Chadwick, but they both have their own agendas and methods. She becomes the sole BigBad after she takes over the Council, making Vernon Masters subservient to her. [[spoiler: The finale, however, establishes that the Zero Matter is actually sentient, and is manipulating Whitney into opening a portal for it to invade.]]
* BodyHorror: Being infected with Zero Matter first simply causes a small mark on her forehead, which alone is enough to terrify her. Then it turns out it can liquefy people and suck them into her body, causing the mark to grow.
* BrokenAce: Her mind is left in ruins from the influence of Zero Matter after it is removed from her body. Manfredi has her taken to a mental asylum where she hallucinates being a starlet again with her husband that she killed.
* ChildProdigy: A flashback shows her as a budding scientific genius when she was able to fix a broken radio.
* ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames: She is never referred to as "Madame Masque", and in fact she never even ''wears'' a mask, although the motif is subtly presented throughout the season.
* TheDogBitesBack: Having been pushed around by men her entire life, Whitney ''relishes'' the power the Zero Matter gave her.
--> '''Whitney:''' Why would I want to be fixed? I've never felt more powerful in my entire life.
* TheDreaded: ''Dottie Underwood'', the Red Room trained assassin who was eternally confident throughout the first season, is completely terrified of her.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: She's the greatest scientist in the MCU in her era, debatably even the greatest scientist in ''any'' era... but because she's a woman in the 1940's, her scientific talents get zero recognition, which causes her to have a very bitter outlook on life. Even being a famous movie star doesn't get her that much respect because of Hollywood's attitudes about looks, aging, etc.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: This seems to be her philosophy, since she tells Dr. Wilkes that she wants to use her power to make the world a better place for marginalized people like women and people of color. [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans She just doesn't mind being an evil supervillain to do it]].
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Despite Chadwick's cheating on her, his ignorance of her intellect, and reluctance to follow her schemes, Whitney genuinely loves him. Doesn't stop her from killing him, though, when realizing he betrayed her to the Council.
* EvilGenius: She possesses a great scientific mind and a greater understanding of the potential applications of Zero Matter than her husband or any of the members of the Council.
* EvilMakesYouUgly: The more she uses her powers, the more the Zero Matter scar on her face grows.
* ExpyCoexistence: She's inspired by Creator/HedyLamarr, in that she is both a gorgeous actress and a brilliant inventor, yet "Smoke & Mirrors" mentions that Lamarr herself exists in this universe.
* FakeGuestStar: Appears in all ten episodes of the second season, and gets as much screentime and development as any of the starring characters besides Peggy. In fact, she's a much more prominent character in the season than ostensible series regular Jack Thompson, who is absent from four episodes. Prior to the season, Wynn Everett was announced to be a main cast member, but in the show proper, she's only ever billed as a guest star.
* FauxAffablyEvil: As the Zero Matter's effect over her grows, she seems to develop a liking for sweet talking her enemies and luring them into false safety before torturing or killing them.
* ForScience: She's thrilled by the power and applications of Zero Matter, even if it's wreaking havoc on her own body and sanity.
* GodzillaThreshold: Whitney is so dangerous and powerful (and has spies/allies within the SSR) that Peggy resorts to springing ''Dottie Underwood'' from federal lock-up in order to bring her to justice.
* TheHeavy: Eventually becomes this for [[spoiler: the Zero Matter. Her growing obsession with gaining more of it is partially a result of it actively manipulating her, and had she succeeded in opening a stable rift the Zero Matter would have consumed all of reality.]]
* HiddenInPlainSight: She's wildly intelligent, such that a man who managed to impress Howard Stark calls her "something else", the brains behind her husband and the one who has designed most of the equipment and research at Isodyne... and she's a famous actress who no one suspects of anything.
* ImmuneToBullets: Thanks to her Zero Matter HealingFactor.
* InNameOnly: She bears little resemblance to her comic book counterpart, beyond the fact that they both go by the fake name Whitney Frost (her comic counterpart's real name is Giuletta Nefaria), have connections to the Maggia, both are socialites, and both are engaged to a powerful politician (Calvin Chadwick and Roger Vane respectively). Notably, those latter two are only elements in Whitney's origin, and since then they've rarely come up or defined her, while here they're important aspects of her character.
* ItsAllAboutMe: To a psychotic degree. When the Dark Matter explosion in New Mexico appears to be taking Jason instead of her, she absolutely loses it.
* KlingonPromotion: With the aid of her powers, Whitney takes over the Council of Nine, killing half of its members and bullying the other half into becoming her pawns.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Trying to reclaim the Zero Matter so that the SSR and the Council couldn't get their hands on it led to her getting infected by it and having it turn her into a super-powered potential time bomb.
* ManipulativeBastard: Within minutes, she convinces her husband to send an assassin after Peggy and have him think it was his idea with just a few fake sobs.
* MythologyGag: Most of the movies where she starred are references to the comics version of the character:
** ''"The Woman with the Golden Mask"'' is a reference to her signature mask and alias in the comics.
** ''"Tales of Suspense"'' is a reference to the comic book series where she first appeared.
** ''"The Nefarious Daughter"'' is a reference to her birth name, Giuletta Nefaria, and being the daughter of Count Nefaria.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Frost herself points out that she knows Peggy wouldn't give up on hunting her just because official channels barred her because she "knows" women like her, as in she ''is'' women like her.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: Whitney is traditionally an Iron Man villain. Of course, since the series takes place in the 40s, he isn't even born yet.
* SanitySlippage: As her 'illness' grows more severe, her grip on sanity becomes more tenuous.
* ShoutOut: A glamorous Hollywoodian star and a scientific genius rolled into one? Sounds a lot like Creator/HedyLamarr, just add the evilness.
* StageNames: She was born Agnes Cully, from Oklahoma. Whitney Frost is a stage name she uses to distance herself from her scientific work.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Naively thought she could be a professional scientist when she was younger, only to be turned down by a college for being a woman.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: She tells Wilkes that she wants to use her powers to make the world a better place for marginalized people. She may be telling the truth, but there's no doubt she's also gone mad with power by this point.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: She wants to make the world a better place, but she's willing to kill anyone she feels she has to to do it.
* WhiteDwarfStarlet: She can feel herself starting to slip in this direction and it clearly terrifies her. The moment she throws herself into the pursuit of developing Zero Matter openly and taking over the Council of Nine, she nonchalantly says she's moved on from it.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Whitney is a ruthless, evil woman but it's hard not to feel some sympathy for her; she struggles against both a world and an industry that value her based on her appearance and gender, not her contributions or intelligence. She's had to learn to live with the casual sexism of her day.
* YouHaveFailedMe: After realizing her husband told the Council to capture her, she kills him and half the Council.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Calvin Chadwick]]
!!''Calvin Chadwick''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chadwick_calvin.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"It's not even a question of security to me. Communism is a moral issue. The very ideals of our nation are under threat."'']]
!!!'''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/CurrieGraham
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

->''"I'm a patriot and I would gladly help, but Isodyne Energy deals in classified and confidential United States government contracts. If you get proper clearance, I will give you a tour myself. And in the meantime, I have to collect my winnings."''

A wealthy and important businessman and owner of Isodyne Energy. He is Whitney Frost's husband and is running for the US Senate.
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* BigBadWannabe: He fancies himself as someone destined for power and respect, but it's painfully obvious that he lacks the guile to make his ambitions a reality. He relies on his wealth, his wife and the Council.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: As the owner of Isodyne Energy.
* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Averted; while at first he's shown being mildly emotionally abusive towards Whitney, after she reveals her Zero Matter affliction and starts to go mad with power, she terrifies him with her abilities and begins bullying him with force and fear into following her. He's shown terrified of her, and it's not played any differently than it would be if he was the one with the power.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Sleazy, self-absorbed, power-hungry, corrupt and insensitive... but he does seem to care about his wife.
* HenpeckedHusband: His wife is the brains of the family, and in private it is clear she's the one who "has the pants in the family".
* PuppetKing: Chadwick is a powerful man, but he seems to have difficulty making his own decisions; it's painfully obvious that Whitney is the brains of the operation. The rest of the council don't seem to respect him, and his world-changing plans are really Whitney's.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Tries this after he and Whitney fail to get the atomic bombs from Roxxon. Whitney threatens him with her powers so he can back down.
* SleazyPolitician: He is running for the Senate but he is a member of a secret cabal and sleeping around with his employees.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hugh Jones]]
!!''Hugh Jones''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jones_hugh.jpg]]
!!!'''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/RayWise
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

The head of the Roxxon Oil Corporation in the late 1940s.
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* TheBusCameBack: After being absent since his one appearance in Season 1, he returns in Season 2 as a member of The Council.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: He gleefully recalls the great profits he made from helping to engineer the [[TheGreatDepression Wall Street Crash of 1929]].
* DirtyOldMan: Hugh tries flirting with Peggy, a woman a few decades his junior. In addition, it's implied that workplace liasons are so frequent with him that Jones finds nothing unusual about waking up on the floor of his office with his pants unbuckled (really because Peggy wiped his memory of searching him for a key.)
* FauxAffablyEvil: He wears a wide grin most of the time and acts rather buddy-buddy with his associates, but there's no disguising his true villainy.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: When raiding his office for the key to a Roxxon vault, Peggy (while disguised) distracts him by zapping him with a device that wipes out the past two minutes of memory. She has to use it on him six times because he keeps remembering who she really is.
* PragmaticVillainy: Despite his sexism, he wastes no time proclaiming his loyalty to Whitney when she demonstrates her powers and takes over the council.
* TheRival: To Howard Stark. They both conduct industrial espionage against each other's companies on a regular basis.
* {{Slimeball}}: Jones quickly tries his hand flirting with Peggy in his horribly sexist way, in addition to being a CorruptCorporateExecutive.
* SycophanticServant: After Whitney takes over the Council he wastes no time in becoming this to save his ass.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tom Gloucester]]
!!''Thomas "Tom" Gloucester''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gloucester_tom.png]]
!!!'''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/CaseySander
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

->''"In light of recent events, the Council has determined our best course of action is to shut down the Isodyne Program."''

A senior member of the Council.
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* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Inverted. His comic books counterpart is younger, with a head full of dark, long hair instead of the balding, aging man in the MCU.
* BaldOfEvil: A bald man who engineered the Great Depression to make himself and his cronies richer and doesn't give a damn about the lives ruined by his actions.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: He was in a position to engineer the [[TheGreatDepression Wall Street Crash of 1929]]. According to Masters, every dollar in the US economy has flowed through his company.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mortimer Hayes]]
!!''Mortimer Hayes''
!!!'''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/JohnKerryActor
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

A media mogul and member of the Council.
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* CorruptCorporateExecutive: He has no qualms about manipulating the news on every newspaper west of the Mississippi.
* OldMediaAreEvil: The basis of his power is his control and manipulation of the newspapers in half the country.
[[/folder]]

!Council Agents

[[folder:Vernon Masters]]
!!''Vernon Masters''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vernon_masters_mcu.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"A tidal wave is coming, Agent Carter. And you are going to have to work very hard to stay afloat."'']]
!!!'''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/KurtwoodSmith
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

A veteran of the War Department with a keen understanding of how to work the system. He serves the Council of Nine as their chief operative within the United States government.
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* AssholeVictim: Nobody feels sorry for him when Jack lets Whitney subject him to a protracted end.
* BaldOfEvil: As bald as he is corrupt.
* BigBadEnsemble: Masters is one of the main antagonists of Season 2 along with fellow BigBad Whitney Frost. They're connected via Calvin Chadwick, but they both have their own agendas and methods. After Whitney takes over the Council, Vernon is DemotedToDragon.
* DirtyCop: He has the FBI take custody of Dottie Underwood on behalf of "some powerful people"
* TheDragon: He acts as the main political enforcer of the Council of Nine within the U.S. intelligence and security organizations. After Whitney takes over the Council, he becomes one of her CoDragons along with Joseph Manfredi.
** He quickly seizes the chance to become TheStarscream towards Whitney in order to liberate the Council from her.
* DragonInChief: He's more formidable, ruthless and dangerous than his bosses.
* EvilMentor: To Thompson in Season Two, as he encourages him to focus on moving up on his career, even if it involves corrupt behavior. The fact that he's an active agent of the Council of Nine only piles up on this.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Vernon can be fairly likable in a buddy-buddy, free-with-the-compliments way. While Jack Thompson might be fooled by his mentorship, Peggy isn't tricked by his claim to respect her.
* MoleInCharge: His position in the Department of War allows him to further the agenda of the Council.
* NeverFoundTheBody: He's caught in Wilkes' Zero Matter explosion. Possibly justified as we've seen Zero Matter kill people ''without'' leaving behind a body.
* SmugSmiler: He really seems to love smiling at people as he undercuts and betrays them.
* TortureTechnician: He used intense torture techniques to [[KickTheSonOfABitch get information out of a Nazi within 24 hours]]. He later applies his knowledge on Dottie Underwood.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rufus Hunt]]
!!''Rufus Hunt''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rufus.jpg]]
!!!'''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/ChrisBrowning
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

Head of security of the Arena Club and main enforcer for the Council of Nine.
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* BadassBoast: He brags about surviving torture by the Japanese.
* TheBrute: For the Council of Nine; he's seemingly their most trusted henchman who takes care of their dirty work. He's incredibly formidable; he's experienced, tough and almost fearless. The amount of people who can go toe-to-toe with Peggy Carter is low indeed. He also shrugs off enough tranquilizer to put down a rhino, and springs back within seconds after Peggy finally knocks him out.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Rufus is in dire need of a stiff drink after a day of pain and humiliation at Peggy's hands.
* MuggingTheMonster: He attempts to blackmail the Chadwicks with his knowledge of their extra-curricular activities in exchange for protection from the rest of the Council; unfortunately for him, Whitney's recent mutation means that she can easily dispatch him.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: He's an enforcer named Mr. ''Hunt''.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Being as tough as he is, he tends to forget that other people can meet what he throws, much less overpower him. Carter and Whitney Frost disabuse him of this idea.
* WouldHitAGirl: To be fair, the girl is Peggy Carter, who you don't mess around with.
[[/folder]]

!Arena Club Staff

[[folder:Torrance]]

!!!'''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/JohnBalma
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

A host at the Arena Club
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[[/folder]]

[[folder:Warshauer]]

!!!'''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/ChrisHarrison
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/AgentCarter''

A security guard at the Arena Club.
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[[/folder]]


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!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/WynnEverett, Creator/IvyGeorge (young), Creator/OliviaWelch (teen)

Hollywood starlet and wife of industrialist and Senate hopeful Calvin Chadwick, Whitney Frost is more than just a pretty face, she's also one of the smartest scientists in the world. But as a woman in 1947, she hides behind a mask that holds her back from doing what she was born to achieve.

-->''"I'm a patriot and I would gladly help, but Isodyne Energy deals in classified and confidential United States government contracts. If you get proper clearance, I will give you a tour myself. And in the meantime, I have to collect my winnings."''

-->''"In light of recent events, the Council has determined our best course of action is to shut down the Isodyne Program."''

Vernon Masters is a veteran of the War Department with a keen understanding of how to work the system. He serves the Council of Nine as their chief operative within the United States government.

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/JohnKerry

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Wynn Everett, Ivy George (young), Olivia Welch (teen)

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Currie Graham

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Casey Sander

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' John Kerry

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Chris Browning

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' John Balma

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Chris Harrison

* NotSoDifferent: From Peggy; both are intelligent women who are underestimated by men who aren't as smart as they are and dismiss them as a pretty face. Frost herself points this out - she knows Peggy wouldn't give up on hunting her just because official channels barred her because she "knows" women like her, as in she ''is'' women like her.

* TheHeavy: Eventually becomes this for [[spoiler: the Zero Matter. Her growing obsession with gaining more of it is partially a result of it actively manipulating her, and had she succeeded in opening a stable rift the Zero Matter would have consumed all of reality]].

* BigBad: Whitney is the main antagonist of Season 2, though she's initially in a BigBadEnsemble with the Council's DragonInChief Vernon Masters. They're connected via Calvin Chadwick, but they both have their own agendas and methods. She becomes the sole BigBad after she takes over the Council, making Vernon Masters subservient to her.

* BigBad: Whitney is the main antagonists of Season 2, though she's initially in a BigBadEnsemble with the Council's DragonInChief Vernon Masters. They're connected via Calvin Chadwick, but they both have their own agendas and methods. She becomes the sole BigBad after she takes over the Council, making Vernon Masters subservient to her.

* BigBadEnsemble: Whitney is one of the main antagonists of Season 2 along with fellow BigBad Vernon Masters. They're connected via Calvin Chadwick, but they both have their own agendas and methods. She becomes the sole BigBad after she takes over the Council, making Vernon Masters subservient to her.

* BigBadEnsemble: Masters is one of the main antagonists of Season 2 along with fellow BigBad Whitney Frost. They're connected via Calvin Chadwick, but they both have their own agendas and methods.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: She's the greatest scientist in the MCU in her era, debatably even the greatest scientist in ''any'' era... but because she's a woman in the 1940's, her scientific talents get zero recognition, which causes her to have a very bitter outlook on life. Even being a famous movie star doesn't get her that much respect because of Hollywood's attitudes about looks, and aging, etc.

* {{Expy}}: She's inspired by Creator/HedyLamarr, in that she is both a gorgeous actress and a brilliant inventor. Interestingly enough, "Smoke & Mirrors" reveals that Hedy Lamarr herself exists in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.

* YourCheatingHeart: He is cheating on his wife with one of his employees.

* AdaptationNameChange: WordOfGod states they are the MCU version of the Secret Empire. In the comics, the Council members of the Elite, a secret society involved with the Secret Empire .

* BigBadEnsemble: Whitney is one of the main antagonists of Season 2 along with fellow BigBad Vernon Masters. They're connected via Calvin Chadwick, but they both have their own agendas and methods. Becomes the sole BigBad after she takes over the Council, making Vernon Masters subservient to her.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: While the surviving Council members seemingly make it out of ''Agent Carter'' without getting any comeuppance, an off-hand mention in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' season 7 states that Daniel Sousa took them down at some point before 1955. Hugh Jones while the Council was named in general.

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Ray Wise

* NonIndicativeName: As of "Life of the Party" [[spoiler:the Council no longer has 9 members, as 5 of them are killed by Whitney Frost]].

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: For HYDRA, given that they are a secret conspiracy of powerful figures who manipulate world events and plot [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]], similar to how HYDRA was revealed to have operated in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''. [[spoiler: Their emblem is also extremely similar to the ancient HYDRA symbol revealed in season 3 of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'']]; however, despite this, WordOfGod says the Council of Nine is not connected to HYDRA.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: Is one of the greatest scientists in the MCU, whereas her comic-counterpart is a crazed stalker with no real scientific accomplishments to speak of. [[spoiler:By the end of the season, however, her mind is shattered.]]

* BigBadEnsemble: Whitney is one of the main antagonists of Season 2 along with fellow BigBad Vernon Masters. They're connected via Calvin Chadwick, but they both have their own agendas and methods. [[spoiler:Becomes the sole BigBad after she takes over the Council, making Vernon Masters subservient to her.]]
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Being infected with Zero Matter first simply causes a small mark on her forehead, which alone is enough to terrify her. Then it turns out it can liquefy people and suck them into her body, causing the mark to grow.]]
* BrokenAce: [[spoiler: Her mind is left in ruins from the influence of Zero Matter after it is removed from her body. Manfredi has her taken to a mental asylum where she hallucinates being a starlet again with her husband that she killed.]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Despite Chadwick's cheating on her, his ignorance of her intellect, and reluctance to follow her schemes, Whitney genuinely loves him. [[spoiler:Doesn't stop her from killing him, though, when realizing he betrayed her to the Council.]]

* GodzillaThreshold: Whitney is so dangerous and powerful (and has spies/allies within the SSR) that Peggy resorts to [[spoiler: springing ''Dottie Underwood'' from federal lock-up]] in order to bring her to justice.

* ItsAllAboutMe: To a psychotic degree. [[spoiler:When the Dark Matter explosion in New Mexico appears to be taking Jason instead of her, she absolutely loses it.]]
* KlingonPromotion: [[spoiler:With the aid of her powers, Whitney takes over the Council of Nine, killing half of its members and bullying the other half into becoming her pawns.]]

* WhiteDwarfStarlet: She can feel herself starting to slip in this direction and it clearly terrifies her. [[spoiler: The moment she throws herself into the pursuit of developing Zero Matter openly and taking over the Council of Nine, she nonchalantly says she's moved on from it.]]

* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler:After realizing her husband told the Council to capture her, she kills him and half the Council.]]

* DirtyOldMan: Hugh tries flirting with Peggy, a woman a few decades his junior. In addition, it's implied that workplace liasons are so frequent with him that Jones finds nothing unusual about waking up on the floor of his office with his pants unbuckled ([[spoiler:really because Peggy wiped his memory of searching him for a key.]])

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:When raiding his office for the key to a Roxxon vault, Peggy (while disguised) distracts him by zapping him with a device that wipes out the past two minutes of memory. She has to use it on him six times because he keeps remembering who she really is.]]
* PragmaticVillainy: Despite his sexism, he wastes no time proclaiming his loyalty to [[spoiler:Whitney when she demonstrates her powers and takes over the council.]]

* SycophanticServant: After [[spoiler:Whitney takes over the Council he wastes no time in becoming this to save his ass.]]

* AssholeVictim: Nobody feels sorry for him when [[spoiler:Jack lets Whitney subject him to a protracted end]].

* TheDragon: He acts as the main political enforcer of the Council of Nine within the U.S. intelligence and security organizations.[[spoiler: After Whitney takes over the Council he becomes one of her CoDragons along with Joseph Manfredi.]]
** He quickly seizes the chance to become TheStarscream [[spoiler:towards Whitney in order to liberate the Council from her.]]

* MoleInCharge: His position in the Department of War allows him to further the agenda of [[spoiler:the Council]].
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler: He's caught in Wilkes' Zero Matter explosion. Possibly justified as we've seen Zero Matter kill people ''without'' leaving behind a body.]]

* TortureTechnician: He used intense torture techniques to [[KickTheSonOfABitch get information out of a Nazi within 24 hours]]. He later applies his knowledge on [[spoiler:Dottie Underwood.]]

* INeedAFreakingDrink: [[spoiler:Rufus is in dire need of a stiff drink after a day of pain and humiliation at Peggy's hands.]]
* MuggingTheMonster: [[spoiler:He attempts to blackmail the Chadwicks with his knowledge of their extra-curricular activities in exchange for protection from the rest of the Council; unfortunately for him, Whitney's recent mutation means that she can easily dispatch him.]]

* UnderestimatingBadassery: Being as tough as he is, he tends to forget that other people can meet what he throws, much less overpower him. Carter and [[spoiler: Whitney Frost]] disabuse him of this idea.

* {{Expy}}: WordOfGod is that she's inspired by Creator/HedyLamarr, in that she is both a gorgeous actress and a brilliant inventor. Interestingly enough, "Smoke & Mirrors" reveals Hedy Lamarr herself still exists in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.

* AdaptationNameChange: WordOfGod states they are the MCU version of the Secret Empire. In the comics, the Council members are members of a Secret Empire faction known as the Elite.

Hollywood starlet and wife of senate hopeful Calvin Chadwick, Whitney Frost is more than just a pretty face, she's also one of the smartest scientists in the world. But as a woman in 1947, she hides behind a mask that holds her back from doing what she was born to achieve.

** ''"The Woman with the Golden Mask"'' is a reference to her signature mask in the comics.

!Arena Club staff