Werner von Strucker is the son of HYDRA's leader Wolfgang von Strucker. A few months after his father's death, he was persuaded by Grant Ward to join HYDRA and help him rebuild the organization. When he failed in his first mission, he abandoned Ward, seeking help from his father's old acquaintance Gideon Malick, but he was betrayed and tortured by Ward's thugs, causing him to fall into a coma.