HYDRA Villain Team
The HYDRA organization active today has its roots in the Nazi German Hydra science division, which at the time was under the control of Johann Schmidt, a man better known as the Red Skull. Hydra was responsible for many of the scientific advances Germany fielded during the War.
When it became obvious that Germany's defeat was imminent, many of Hydra's personnel surrendered to the Allies without a fight. One splinter group, however, disappeared into the East. This group, under the direction of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, abandoned Nazi ideology in favor of a more generic goal of world domination with them in charge. To this end, he organized HYDRA into a cell structure, similar to that of many resistance movements encountered in Europe. Each cell was tasked with infiltrating a specific organization, with no communications between the cells. In this manner, HYDRA would be like its mythological namesake; if one cell was taken down, more would rise to continue the fight.
At present, it is not known how many HYDRA cells are active. Every so often, a cell pops up on the radar of the various intelligence agencies around the world. In the CIA, agents Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, and Natasha Romanov have encountered HYDRA agents on a number of missions. None of the attacks perpetrated by HYDRA agents and thwarted by those agents appeared to be coordinated with each other, leaving them to wonder if anyone is actually in charge.
What is not known to the intelligence community at large is that Baron Strucker's namesake grandson continues to operate behind the scenes of HYDRA. The younger Baron Strucker, in order to give the appearance of a lack of organization, has ordered various cells around the world to perform several meaningless attacks. His plan, however, is to use the majority of the cells to cause as much chaos as possible and spread the intelligence and law enforcement agencies thin trying to stop them, then have other cells perform a top-level coup inside several countries at once. Whether his plan will succeed is anyone's guess, but may depend on whether an analyst inside an intelligence agency can see the pattern without being caught by sleeper agents inside the agency.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: SECRET AGENT NICK FURY #
Typical HYDRA Agent
7 points
| ST: 10 [0] | HP: 10 [0] | Speed: 5.00 [0] |
| DX: 10 [0] | Will: 10 [0] | Move: 5 [0] |
| IQ: 10 [0] | Per: 10 [0] | |
| HT: 10 [0] | FP: 10 [0] | SM: 0 |
| Dmg: 1d-2/1d | BL: 20 lbs. | |
| Dodge: 8 | Parry: 8 | DR: 12/4* (uniform) |
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: Single-Minded [5].
Perks: Clinch (Brawling) [1].
Disadvantages: Fanaticism ("HAIL, HYDRA!") [-15].
Skills: Brawling (E) DX+0 [1] – 10; Explosives/TL8 (Demolitions) (A) IQ+0 [2] – 10; Forced Entry (E) DX+0 [1] – 10; Guns/TL8 (Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, or Submachine Gun) (E) DX+0 [1] – 10; Running (A) HT+0 [2] – 10; Savoir-Faire (Mafia) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 10; Soldier/TL8 (A) IQ+0 [2] – 10; Stealth (A) DX+0 [2] – 10; Streetwise (A) IQ+0 [2] – 10; Throwing (A) DX+0 [2] – 10.
Starting Spending Money: $4,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).
Lens:
Sleeper Agent (+7 points): Bump IQ to 11 [20]; add Secret (Subversive) (Imprisonment) [-20]; Acting (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12. Increase Guns by 3 points to DX+2 [4] – 12.
Design Notes:
1. Compared with the AIM entry, it becomes obvious that while AIM's soldiers are a genuine threat to a super and best deployed in small numbers, HYDRA agents are mooks to be plowed through. This is intentional. In play, I recommend using the HYDRA agent for any organization that uses their manpower as disposable thugs, and AIM soldiers for the veterans and/or elite squads. It may even be prudent to have one or two soldiers based on the AIM entry in a group of 20 or so HYDRA agents. Don't hesitate to give names to the HYDRA agents built off the AIM templates; in comics and similar media, names are what separate important characters from the rest of the scenery.