HYDRA
During World War II, HYDRA was the designation given to the Nazi's Science Division. Headed by Reichsfuhrer Johann Schmidt, they had broad authority to conduct research on a variety of topics. Alien artifacts, high-energy weapons, metagene research, even investigation into magic and the occult. Anything that gave the Reich an advantage in combat, no matter how far-fetched, was considered.
After the war, HYDRA went underground and became a shadow ideology in post-war corporate Europe. Titans of industry were often covertly scouted and approached to see if they shared HYDRA's views. Many powerful men and women became part of this conspiracy, funneling cash, equipment, and research to advance HYDRA's ambitions. They infiltrated government and private sector at almost all levels of power and authority. When they were fully prepared in 2021, HYDRA lashed out at SHIELD with diplomatic and legal maneuvering. They painted SHIELD as a thoroughly corrupt organization so successfully that the G8 pulled their funding for SHIELD and many of their senior agents were declared fugitives.
History
HYDRA's history significantly predates their presence in Germany. It was founded in Italy in the mid-1400's as cult/secret society, with a philosophy of winning through playing both sides in any given conflict. Arturo Malevolo of Rome sought to forge deep-rooted alliances outside the fractious infighting of the Italian city states. He made pacts with Lord Thomas Mallick of England; Pedro Cavalieri, of the city-state of Ferraro; Niccolo Machiavelli of Florence; and Hashem Abid, son of the Sharif of Mecca. Their mutual arrangement served to generate immense wealth for their families and installed significant influence in virtually every major court of Europe, England, and Arabia. There is no honor among thieves, however; Cavaliere assassinated Malevolo. Malevolo died swearing that he would return in the future with unthinkable new weapons and revenge in hand.
Their occult expert, Hashem Adib, believed in the prophecy Malevolo uttered and fled the compact as well. Over time new allies would be recruited and the cut-throat games played by the society's members ensured only the most brilliant and ruthless survived.
This arrangement stood until the end of World War I. The extreme cost of rebuilding Europe, combined with careless spending policies, cause a global economic crash that destroyed significant amounts of foreign wealth. A new war was needed; the new Lord Mallick applied pressure to the UK to beg for US involvement. Johann Schmidt applied similar pressure among the upper class of Germany's political elites. The Mallick family remained devoted to HYDRA's usual methods of subtle power plays, but Schmidt felt direct action through supernatural and scientific means was the way to victory. As a result a schism formed in HYDRA's ranks. The traditionalists wanted to return to a time of manipulating political players behind the scenes to exploit situations economically. Schmidt's followers prioritized acquiring power in a more immediate sense; HYDRA would become the Third Reich's 'Science Division', and often working hand in hand with Himmler's think-tank the Ahnenerbe-- also known as the Thule Society. After the war, HYDRA went underground and dispersed their assets all through postwar Europe.
