Kraken (Marvel Comics)

The original Kraken is based on the mythical creature of the same name. Within the Marvel Universe, it is established that the creature can be called upon through the use of the Proteus Horn.

During the Hyborian Age following the Great Cataclysm, one black Kraken lurked near the Barachan Islands. Sailing nearby while investigating the massive kidnappings, Conan the Barbarian was attacked by the Black Kraken. Conan was able to use his axe to slash one of the Black Kraken's eyes which caused it to drop Conan. The Black Kraken's other eye is then slashed by Conan enough to blind it as it disappears underwater.[17]

The creature has been called upon by Commander Kraken to fight Namor on one occasion.[18]

The creature at one point went up against Wolverine and Hercules.[19]

Daniel Whitehall is a British Intelligence agent who was part of The Great Wheel of the Zodiac, collaborating with other major agents such as Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan and Baron Strucker. They were later betrayed by two other agents Viktor Uvarov and Vasili Dassaiev.[20] Whitehall then continued as Kraken, a dangerous Hydra operative who for years remained a mystery. Many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents lost their lives trying to unearth information regarding the Kraken with little to no success. He also trained many of the most well known Hydra agents including Viper.[21] Whitehall continued to aid up and coming meta humans such as Tomi Shishido by giving him the God Killer Sword turning him into Gorgon as well as transforming an unknown Hydra agent into the Inhuman parasite Hive.[22]

Whitehall later came to Strucker to inform him that he was dying and that he was retiring as the Kraken.[23]

While waiting to die in a London hospital, Jake Fury visited him and revealed that he knew everything. He took Whitehall's Kraken armor and then killed him.[24]

Jacob "Jake" Fury was born in New York City. As a young man, he came to resent his brother Nick Fury.[25] As the original Scorpio, he operated as a spy, terrorist, and criminal. Using his secret identity as Scorpio, he first battled Nick at a Las Vegas S.H.I.E.L.D. base.[26] He again battled his brother in Manhattan, then disguised himself as Nick Fury to infiltrate the New York S.H.I.E.L.D. base, although his real identity was then discovered by his brother.[27] Nick Fury later went undercover as Scorpio, and took his brother's place in the Zodiac, who battled the Avengers.[28] Disguised as Jacque LaPoint, Jake played a minor role in the Zodiac's attempt to kill all Manhattan residents born under the sign of Gemini (save for Zodiac's Gemini).[29] He attempted to kidnap Kyle Richmond, and battled the Defenders.[30] Scorpio constructed a set of android Zodiac members to serve him, in his base at Belleville, New Jersey. However, his plan was thwarted by the Defenders, and he committed suicide through self-inflicted gunshot wound in despair.[31]

In the final arc of the Secret Warriors series, it was revealed that Jake's death and much of his villainy was all part of a long-game plan of Nick Fury's. He remained underground and discovered the journals of Daniel Whitehall, the previous Kraken, and tracked him down to London. He took the costume and killed Whitehall and planted the seeds that would destroy Hydra and Leviathan from the inside.[24] As his final mission, he delivered a letter to Daisy Johnson revealing everything and disappeared.[32]

A third member of Hydra, also identifying himself as Kraken, was inducted by Elisa Sinclair, the new Madame Hydra and the former lover of Whitehall.[33]

Even with Hydra having taken over the United States during the "Secret Empire" storyline, this version had trouble trusting Steve Rogers, who had just come out as a Hydra agent.[34] He later encountered the Punisher who sided with Hydra. Punisher managed a holographic transmission between Kraken and Hydra Supreme Steve Rogers.[35]

Kraken joined Gorgon, Hive, and Viper in invading New Tian to retrieve the Cosmic Cube from Emma Frost.[36][37] Kraken and rest of Hydra were defeated by the Underground as the real Captain America defeated his Hydra Supreme counterpart.[38]

• Daniel Whitehall appears on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Reed Diamond.[39] This version is a German Hydra scientist named Werner Reinhardt who briefly worked with the Nazis in WWII by conducting horrible experiments on Inhumans to study a device called the Obelisk. After the Red Skull's defeat, he is captured by Peggy Carter's team and imprisoned for his crimes.[40] He was kept in a prison called the Rat and due to his horrifying experiments was set to remain there for the rest of his life. During this time, he had encountered a younger Gideon Malick and his brother Nathaniel who informed them about his father's dedication to Hive. Years later, he was pardoned by Alexander Pierce and resumed work. He experimented on the Inhuman Jiaying, who had not aged since the last time Whitehall saw her, and removed her organs and placed them in him so he could be rejuvenated.[41] In modern day, Whitehall continued to work for Hydra with a new type of brainwashing called the "Faustus Method" and used it on S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Kara Palamas.[42] Whitehall comes in contact with Phil Coulson's team in his search for the Obelisk, but suddenly finds himself teaming up with Calvin Zabo, who is in possession of it, seemingly unaware that he is the husband of Jiaying.[43] After many encounters with S.H.I.E.L.D., Whitehall has one of his agents, Grant Ward, kidnap agent Skye after learning that she is in fact Calvin's daughter Daisy and planned on torturing her much as he did to Jiaying. Calvin prepares to take his revenge on Whitehall, but the latter is shot dead by Coulson before he could fulfill it.[44] A flashback where Whitehall was a guest teacher at the Hydra Academy that a younger General Hale and Baron Strucker attended. During graduation, Daniel tells Hale that she has been selected to raise a future leader of Hydra by going through an insemination.[45] In the episode "A Trout in the Milk," Nathaniel Malick contacts a prison guard working for Daniel Whitehall asking for the instructions on Whitehall's research after he managed to capture Daisy Johnson and a time-displaced Daniel Sousa.[46]

• The sea monster version of Kraken appears in Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister Six.[47] This version is a giant squid that resides in an alternate cartoon pirate reality. In the episode "Return to the Spider-Verse" [Part 2], the Kraken is what's seen when Spider-Man, Kid Arachnid and Web Beard are forced to walk the plank by pirate versions of Howard the Duck, Rocket Raccoon and Cosmo the Spacedog off the Groot Pirate Ship in order to feed the three to the Kraken. When the Kraken got angered upon getting hit in the eye with debris, the Kraken attacked the Groot Pirate Ship. Spider-Man and Kid Arachnid persuaded Web Beard and the mutineers to settle differences and help to fight the Kraken. Once that was done, the pirates all tie up the Kraken enough for it to swim out to sea.

The Kraken appears as a boss in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Unlike most depictions of the Kraken in fiction, this version is a tall, green, four-armed, fish man type of creature (a lá Clash of the Titans). While in Atlantis, Loki (in the Mandarin's form) unleashed the Kraken on the heroes. The Kraken was defeated by the heroes as it sunk back into its lair.