Alexander Pierce (Earth-199999)

Alexander Goodwin Pierce, born August 18, 1936, was an American man and a high-ranking official in the World Security Council, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Hydra. He was killed by Nick Fury in early 2014 as part of the effort to stop Project Insight.

Biography

Alexander Pierce was an accomplished diplomat working in the United States government when he covertly aligned with Hydra under unknown circumstances. His accomplishments were such that he was offered the Nobel Peace Prize, but he declined it, saying that peace wasn't an "achievement," but a "responsibility." This refusal was almost certainly a cover for his true allegiance, as accepting a Nobel Prize would lead to increased scrutiny. While working for the American State Department, Pierce met Nick Fury, who believed in Pierce precisely because of his Nobel refusal. Pierce rose through the ranks, eventually becoming Secretary of the World Security Council and appointing Fury to be the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., secretly on account of his ruthlessness. He was integral in maintaining the Winter Soldier project, brainwashing Bucky Barnes and using him as a feared, nigh-mythical Hydra assassin. In the early 2010s, Pierce began to bring Hydra's ultimate goal of stifling human freedom to fruition by initiating Project Insight. Within S.H.I.E.L.D., the project was ostensibly designed for global protection, but it was in fact a Hydra effort designed to take out any existing and future threats to Hydra's existence. It used an algorithm designed by World War II Hydra scientist Arnim Zola to determine the targets. The execution itself would be carried out by a trio of helicarriers positioned high in the sky, which would take aim and fire upon all targets, killing millions in moments.

Fury secretly took it upon himself to learn more about Project Insight. He staged a hijacking of the Lemurian Star, the craft that was launching Project Insight's satellite array, as an act of subterfuge to send in Captain America and Black Widow to "stop" the hijacking. In truth, the purpose of the mission was for Widow to recover data from the Star and return it to Fury. Fury found that he couldn't access the data, which was suspicious given his top-level security clearance. He asked Pierce to delay the project, but, through a combination of Pierce's veiled obstinance and the World Security Council's own relatively uninformed concerns, this did not occur. Pierce learned of Fury's deception regarding the Lemurian Star and sent the Winter Soldier to kill him. The hit was an apparent success, though Fury in fact faked his death and managed to inform Captain America that S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised. Pierce met with Captain America, Steve Rogers, at the Triskelion to discuss Fury, but Rogers was less than cooperative. As Cap left the building, Pierce attempted to kill him using a team of S.T.R.I.K.E. agents led by Brock Rumlow, but Cap escaped. Pierce declared him a fugitive of S.H.I.E.L.D., on account of him withholding information on Fury's death.

As S.T.R.I.K.E. tried and failed to pursue Rogers and his ally Natasha Romanoff, Pierce sent Winter Soldier after them. Rogers, Romanoff, and the soldier known as Falcon abducted Hydra-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell and coerced information about Project Insight out of him, and for this Winter Soldier was assigned to kill him as well. Sitwell was killed without issue, while the others caused a significant battle to erupt in the streets of Washington D.C. between the heroes and S.T.R.I.K.E. forces. Captain America recognized Winter Soldier as his former friend Bucky Barnes—this recognition shook Barnes' mind, otherwise brainwashed for decades, deep inside. S.T.R.I.K.E. took the heroes into custody, but S.H.I.E.L.D. deputy director Maria Hill covertly rescued them and they effectively disappeared. Pierce ordered the Winter Soldier's mind wiped, determined not to let him properly remember Captain America and their friendship.

Pierce hosted the World Security Council at the Triskelion's top floor to witness the launching of Project Insight. One of the Council members was actually Black Widow in an advanced technological disguise. Captain America, Falcon, and Maria Hill invaded the Triskelion and used the P.A. system to inform S.H.I.E.L.D. agents throughout the building that Hydra was among them. Pierce had a S.T.R.I.K.E. team hold the Council captive, but Widow revealed herself and took them down. Fury arrived at Pierce's helipad outside, and he and Widow forcibly used Pierce's retinal scan (along with Fury's own) to unlock the vast array of S.H.I.E.L.D. data files and upload them publicly to the internet. Fury and the others essentially sought to put an end to S.H.I.E.L.D., recognizing how infected it had become from Hydra's influence. Pierce had equipped each of the Council members, including Romanoff, with a lapel pin that was electronically linked to a device which he now activated, drilling holes in the Council members' sternums and killing them, with the exception of Romanoff. He attempted to threaten the two to allow him to escape safely, but Widow disarmed the lapel pin with a shocking device that briefly disabled herself as well. Fury took the opportunity to shoot and kill Pierce. He fell to the ground and uttered his last words, "hail Hydra."