Agents Of SHIELD: 10 Best Villains
Three seasons in, who's been the team's greatest threat?
From misguided Inhumans to fallen allies to unrepentant HYDRA agents, the team on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that fans have come to know and love over the past three seasons has gone up against a steady roster of unforgettable threats, some who have shaken the group to its core, others who have forever changed the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While the common complaint over the years that the MCU has something of a villain problem has remained steady thanks to tendency of the franchise's film antagonists - save a very few exceptions, like Loki - to come and go without leaving a real mark, the television side, including S.H.I.E.L.D., fortunately hasn't suffered the same issue.
Armed with the benefit of extended storytelling and screentime, the little show that debuted back in 2013 has gone on to give rise to a few of the franchise's most unforgettable villains, a number of whom more than deserve credit for blowing some of their cinematic counterparts out of the water in comparison. With time now having passed for the fallout of the series' third season to settle in, let's take a spoiler-filled look back over the show's run to sort out the 10 best villains we've come to meet so far...
10. Daniel Whitehall
The team came up against Daniel Whitehall at the top of the second season, a HYDRA agent who had long ago been captured by Peggy Carter herself at the end of World War II. After decades of imprisonment, Whitehall's perseverance paid off thanks to HYDRA's deep infiltration of SHIELD, which allowed him to go free and continue his evil ways.
Thanks to his brutal and - ahem - inhuman experiments on Jiaying, Whitehall was able to restore his youth and reclaim a powerful position in HYDRA's ranks, which he used to brainwash others and pursue the Obelisk. Despite having so many tools at his disposal, though, the slimy, dangerous Whitehall was nonetheless killed by Coulson halfway through the season.
Despite being on the show for a relatively short length of time, Whitehall managed to do a lot with the time he was given, including giving the new HYDRA a real face for the team to rally against in the wake of John Garrett's death and helping to pave the way for the introduction of the Inhumans, an event that is still rippling ever outward even as the show gears up for its fourth year.