Alexander Goodwin Pierce was one of HYDRA's leaders and its top undercover operative inside the United States Government, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the World Security Council. He commanded the HYDRA forces within S.H.I.E.L.D., working to create a world so chaotic, that its people would give up their own freedoms willingly. To that end, he created Project Insight, a project that would have given HYDRA absolute control over the world. His plan was stopped by Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon, Maria Hill, and Nick Fury during the Battle at the Triskelion, in which he was killed by Director Fury.