Agent Daniel Jordan Sousa, B.A.[5] was a United States Army officer who fought during World War II. He had to abandon the warfield due to losing one of his legs, and became an agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve within one of their offices in New York City where he was determined to prove his worth in spite of his disability. After helping to stop the terrorist plot of Johann Fennhoff, Sousa eventually became chief of the Los Angeles branch of the organization and soon found himself reunited with Peggy Carter when they both began investigating the actions of Whitney Frost and her new interest in Darkforce, putting his personal and professional life into conflict. As they defeated Frost, Sousa and Carter became closer and eventually began a long-overdue relationship.
Eventually, Sousa became a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and served as the agency's West Coast Security Chief. Sometime after Sousa and Carter broke up, Sousa began to suspect that S.H.I.E.L.D. had become infiltrated by HYDRA, and brought these theories to Wilfred Malick. However, Sousa was unaware that Malick was actually a high ranking HYDRA agent and, following Sousa's final mission to deliver one of Howard Stark's inventions, he was shot and killed by Malick's assassin. Sousa's demise became a symbol of the commitment agents had to S.H.I.E.L.D., inspiring many others to join the cause.
"They weren't clapping for me. They were clapping for this and this. Clapping because I make them feel guilty, and they want to feel good. You think because I'm wearing a suit and I got a clean shave, we're different? We're not. We're both people nobody cares about."
During the World War II, Sousa joined the 28th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army and served as a reconnaissance scout in the European front.[6] During his service, Sousa became acquainted with Mike Stephens, noticing his rather talkative and unlikeable attitude. At the Siege of Bastogne during the firefight, he was hit in the femur by shrapnel, while Stephens stayed behind the line to help Sousa. Despite the freezing cold and the Wehrmacht soldiers advancing, Stephens kept talking with Sousa, so he would stay conscious.
Eventually, Sousa woke up in a field stretcher with an amputated leg, being informed that Stephens did not make it.[7] For the rest of his life, Sousa walked with a false leg, using a crutch to steady himself but later in life used a wooden cane. When Sousa returned to the United States of America, he found people would often applaud his sacrifice, although he personally believed it was because people felt guilty and wanted to make themselves feel better.[8]
Howard Stark came to the attention of the SSR when he did not attend a Congressional hearing about how his supposedly stolen weapons ended up in enemy hands overseas. During the meeting, Sousa heard Ray Krzeminski question Peggy Carter's virtue since she was known as Captain America's "liaison" and was good friends with Stark. Sousa demanded that Krzeminski apologizes to Carter; knowing that Sousa was handicapped, Krzeminski asked him if he was "standing up for Carter." Sousa acquiesced to the bigger man.
Leaving the meeting room, Carter reprimanded Sousa, insisting that she could defend herself. While they were talking, Jack Thompson told Carter to file his paperwork since she was better at it. Sousa pitied the superior agent but admired her strength. The next day, Sousa obtained pictures of Stark on a boat with a woman; Carter distracted Sousa by lying about the picture. They then talked about how Thompson was having an important meeting about the Stark case but Sousa was not invited. Carter used the fact that Sousa was drinking coffee to infiltrate the meeting.[9]
Sousa's photographs that had the mysterious blond woman were soon noticed by Peggy Carter who had infiltrated at La Martinique that day in disguise and was the blond woman Sousa had on the pictures. Sousa was asked by Ray Krzeminski to help him take the imploded mass that was the Roxxon Refinery apart for clues, Sousa agreed to go with him. Unbeknownst to him, Carter tried to obtain the pictures from his desk. Sousa inadvertently prevented Carter from getting the pictures when he returned to answer his phone.
Sousa watched as Jack Thompson pummeled Miles Van Ert during his interrogation. When Thompson learned that Sheldon McFee was involved, Sousa got the address.
While the other agents were distracted, discussing that a woman was somehow involved in the death of Leet Brannis, Sousa walked the rest of the crime scene and found a key in the nearby dirt.[2]
Sousa and Jack Thompson went to the Stark Mansion to retrieve Edwin Jarvis when Sousa learned that the license plate he recovered from the wreckage of the Roxxon Refinery belonged to Howard Stark. Sousa took notes as Thompson interrogated him. The questioning was ruined when Carter revealed that Dooley was lying to Jarvis and Jarvis overheard, allowing him to leave a free man.
Later, Sousa was assigned night shift duty with Ray Krzeminski. An anonymous caller gave him a tip that Stark's inventions could be found on the boat called The Heartbreak; the two went there immediately. They were surprised to find not only the inventions but Jerome Zandow unconscious. Sousa wondered how their work is being done for them; Krzeminski only saw a promotional opportunity. He called Chief Roger Dooley as Sousa secured the suspect.
The next morning, Sousa felt that the anonymous caller was involved in the murder of Krzeminski though Peggy Carter tried to convince him otherwise.[10]
Interview with a Tramp[]
Chief Roger Dooley traveled overseas to continue the Stark investigation, while he was gone Jack Thompson was put in charge. Thompson asked the Agents what Ray Krzeminski's middle name was; Sousa was the only one who knew it was Walter. Although Thompson wanted Sousa to follow his leadership, Sousa instead traveled to the dock-yard where Stark's weapons had been found.
He found the payphone used to call the SSR and attempted to pull a print from it. He heard a pair of homeless people talking and decided to investigate. He greeted them kindly and asked if they had previously heard any of the commotions the night before or seen anyone leaving the The Heartbreak. He paid each of them a nickel and George said he was not there, though Frank was, but refused to speak to any kind of policeman. Frank attacked Sousa, but Sousa was able to defend himself and arrested him.
Sousa brought Frank into the New York Bell Company Office. Thompson mocked his efforts, joking that Sousa had found Howard Stark; Sousa remained sure it was a good lead. Sousa spoke to Frank and told him the tale of how he was once applauded coming into a diner, only to learn they were only clapping because he was walking with a crutch. Frank opened up to Sousa and told him how no one clapped when he came home, how he lost his wife and his job, but still refused to speak to the police.
Jack Thompson decided to sit in with the interrogation, bringing with him a burger and a bottle of scotch. Sousa tried to make Thompson leave the room but Thompson offered Frank the burger and scotch in exchange for information. Frank took the offer and explained how he saw a fancy looking man and a woman walk onto the boat. Sousa asked if it was the same blonde woman from their photograph but Frank said the woman he saw had dark hair. Thompson handed Frank the burger and scotch and he took the scotch, drinking it all.
Sousa and Thompson spoke after Frank left; Thompson still congratulated Sousa by finding a witness. They briefly spoke about their war experiences. Sousa was asked if he was hit with lead in Germany or Russia during the war; Sousa joked that it was his femur. Once back at his desk, Sousa began to color in the photograph of the blonde woman, changing her hair from blonde to dark.[8]
Sousa told Peggy Carter when she came to work that the night before that the Remote Typewriter had sent an encrypted message; Chief Roger Dooley had a cryptographer there to translate. They went to the Chief's office where Carter decoded the message. As she wrote the coordinates, Sousa used a map to find the exact location described.
As Jack Thompson and his team, which included Carter, were in the men's locker room changing for the mission to Belarus, Sousa gave Thompson intelligence files that he needed. Thompson told Sousa that he needed a compass as well and that it would be on the other side of the row of lockers. Sousa did not know that Carter was there changing; Thompson did and told his men to stay quiet. Sousa saw Carter in her underclothes and she quickly turned her back to him. Thompson laughed as he said that he had a compass, while Sousa and Carter felt embarrassed. Carter tried to rush Sousa from her side of the room by asking him to leave; as he did, he noted a scar on her back near her shoulder.
That evening, Sousa chose to work late. He looked through Carter's personnel file and learned that it was a gunshot wound. Sousa then looked through the pictures he had of the mysterious blonde that was in La Martinique the night Spider Raymond was killed; he found a picture where she had the same scar as Carter. He was shocked but still found it nearly impossible to accept Carter could be responsible.[11]
Sousa went to the jailhouse that held Sheldon McFee and showed him a picture of Peggy Carter from her personnel file. McFee positively identified Carter as the woman who assaulted him; he went further and connected Carter to Leet Brannis and the truckload of Nitramene. Sousa went to the office and interrupted a conversation that Roger Dooley was having with Viktor Ivchenko, telling Dooley that they needed to talk immediately.
SSR agents from Washington, D.C. came and evacuated the L&L Automat with Carter and Edwin Jarvis inside. Carter and Jarvis engaged them in a fight and managed to escape them, they even overcame Jack Thompson who was waiting outside to arrest them both, Sousa came round a corner and held Carter at gunpoint, seeing Thompson unconscious. They both, however, knew that he would not shoot her. Sousa begged her not to run because if she did, he would know for sure that she was guilty. She apologized as she ran from him. Thompson later demanded to know how she could have escaped him. Sousa got around the question by saying he couldn't outrun her with his leg.
Sousa and Thompson lead a raiding party to the Griffith Hotel. Ignoring Miriam Fry's disapproval, they entered Carter's apartment and saw the hole in the wall where she had placed the Blitzkrieg Button. Sousa knew that Carter was in the building, and a search was started. They decided to question the residents of the Griffith to see if they could find a lead. Inside the apartment of Angie Martinelli, the girl began to cry during their questioning and sought comfort from Thompson; this made the agents uncomfortable, so they left without realizing that Carter was outside of her window ledge.
Soon, Sousa and Thompson came back upstairs only to came across Dottie Underwood standing over an unconscious Carter; she said that she found Carter on the floor and claimed to be concerned for her wellbeing. The agents took Carter into custody. Upon returning to the New York Bell Company Office, Carter was handcuffed to the desk in the interrogation room. The Blitzkrieg Button and other evidence was laid before her; Dooley told Sousa and Thompson not to go easy on the woman.[12]
Sousa was the first to start the three-man interrogation of Peggy Carter. Each agent used different tactics in an attempt to get her to confess to being a traitor: Sousa played on their friendship; Roger Dooley showed disappointment in a fatherly fashion; Jack Thompson reminded Carter that he used fisticuffs against interviewees. Carter told Sousa that he saw her as a "girl on a pedestal transformed into the daft whore."
Edwin Jarvis ultimately came in with a supposed confession from Howard Stark, claiming that Carter was a patsy to his traitorous activities. This stopped the interrogation, causing the three to talk about their next move. Sousa opted to believe in Carter and listen to what she had to say. This belief led Sousa, Thompson, and two other agents to cross the street and investigate when Carter said that Viktor Ivchenko was communicating in Morse Code with someone.
In the building of Seth Honicky's Dentistry Office, Sousa found Dottie Underwood attempting to get by him unnoticed. The two fought, but when he had her at gunpoint, she fled. Sousa entered the dentistry office and found the corpse of Seth Honicky. He then found the kill order for Peggy Carter that Underwood had written down from when Ivchenko communicated with her. Hearing gunshots, Sousa looked out the window to see Dooley explode.
With Peggy Carter now reinstated as an SSR Agent, Sousa, Carter, and Jack Thompson investigated a case of the mass murder of 47 civilians in a cinema which they believed was connected to Leviathan. Sousa went inside the cinema room while Thompson and Carter inspected the bodies, all of whom suffered horrific fatal injuries, caused by each other. Sousa came across a baby's pram, he looked inside, realized to see no baby was inside or had been killed. What he did find was a small canister, with the Stark Industries logo on it. He picked it up and was sprayed a strange gas, he began to choke and cough so Thompson ran to his aid. As soon as Thompson came near him Sousa went into a murderous rage and attacked him, punching Carter and trying to strangle Thompson, only to be stopped when a police officer hit him, knocking him out.
Sousa wakes up in hospital
Sousa woke up in a hospital bed, tied down his restraints. Carter sat with him and helped him to remember what happened in the cinema. Although he struggled for a while, Sousa remembered how he found a gas which made him attack both Thompson and Carter, he recalled how he wanted to kill everybody in the room. He apologized for hitting Carter and assured her that he was feeling better, despite the fact he still had a mild urge to kill Thompson, which he usually felt.[14]
Sousa returned to the SSR, suffering the joking remarks from Jack Thompson, he learned that Ivchenko had ten canisters of the gas, meaning he could turn everyone in New York City into a murderous rage. They were interrupted by Howard Stark's arrival, Sousa and the other agents immediately put him under arrest. During their questioning, Stark mentioned that he could offer Sousa a replacement false leg. Stark explained that the gas was called Midnight Oil, a failed experiment that caused a murderous rage.
Stark agreed to be used as bait to draw Ivchenko, or as he was originally named, Johann Fennhoff, into the open. Sousa was present when Stark gave a press meeting to announce that all charges against him had been dropped. During the speech, Stark was shot at. Sousa learned during the chaos Stark had been kidnapped by Fennhoff.[14]
Edwin Jarvis was able to work out that Howard Stark would have been taken to one of his secret warehouses, to use a plane to fly the Midnight Oil over Times Square. Sousa and the team arrived, only to witness Stark already taking off in the plane, Sousa revealed that he was not a pilot and therefore could not chase him down, instead Jarvis volunteered.
After Peggy Carter fought and defeated Dottie Underwood, she informed Sousa and Jack Thompson that Johann Fennhoff was escaping. Sousa witnessed Fennhoff knocking out Agent Thompson, he held a gun at the Russian and ordered him to step away. Fennhoff attempted to use his mind control powers to control Agent Sousa. It appeared to work and Fennhoff convinced Sousa to aim his gun at Thompson. Sousa instead hit Fennhoff in the face with his gun, revealing that he had been wearing earplugs the entire time and had heard nothing. Fennhoff was arrested and Stark was convinced to fly back to the base.
Back at the SSR, Sousa witnessed Thompson take all the credit for stopping Fennhoff's campaign. Disgusted that neither he nor Carter received any credit for the mission, Sousa wanted to tell Senator Walt Cooper the truth. Carter, however, said that she was not bothered by the lack of credit as she knew her own value. Sousa then built up the courage and asked Carter to join him for a drink after their shift, she explained she could not that night, but promised to go with him another day.[14]
SSR Director[]
Move to Los Angeles[]
Eventually, Sousa was promoted to Chief and sent to Los Angeles, California to start a branch of the Strategic Scientific Reserve there. Though Carter called Sousa several times, he did not return them, later citing his work and how a three-hour time difference seemed longer than it really was. Agents Fisher and Rose Roberts received a transfer to the new Auerbach Theatrical Agency from the New York Bell Company Office, and Sousa received others, but it was still understaffed.[3] In the meantime, Sousa began seeing a nurse named Violet,[15] his physical therapist.[16]
Sousa received a call to go to Echo Park lake because a strange occurrence happened there. When he arrived, he saw that the Los Angeles Police Department cordoned the area; he met with Andrew Henry who explained that though he could handle the case, his superior wanted the SSR involved because there might be a connection between his murder case and the freezing of the lake on the hottest day of the year.
Sousa, feeling understaffed, called Jack Thompson, requesting another man to assist in the case. Thompson agreed but neglected to tell Sousa that it was Carter he was sending. Carter arrived just as Henry was bringing files to prove that the Lady of the Lake Killer had returned and killed Jane Scott. After introductions were made, Sousa and Carter decided to proceed in the case as Roger Dooley had taught them, exploring all avenues.
Going to Meltzer, Sousa, Carter, and Henry learned that, though Scott seemed to be murdered by the Killer based on superficial evidence, her frozen corpse glowed in the dark. Since Meltzer did not have an autopsy report ready, Sousa took a sample of the ice encasing Scott to Aloysius Samberly; Samberly learned that the substance was not ice, but did not know what it was. The lab technician also revealed that Scott glowed from exposure to radioactive material, which led Carter to deduce that she had been working with a Particle Accelerator; one was owned by Isodyne Energy which had a building in Pasadena.
At Isodyne Energy Headquarters, the Receptionist would not allow the three to enter without a search warrant, but Carter snuck past, with Sousa distracting, and met Jason Wilkes, a scientist there who wanted to help in the case and revealed that Calvin Chadwick, the founder of the company, was the lover of Scott. Henry insisted that they follow his lead and pursue the Killer; Carter felt that approaching Chadwick was better. Sousa sent each person to follow their own lead.
Sousa got a call from Meltzer, saying he finished his report; Sousa, Carter, Henry, Wilkes, and Edwin Jarvis all met there to learn his findings, but he was frozen and shattered when Henry caused his body to fall. As Sousa read the report that a copy cat made the body appear to be murdered by the Killer, he and Carter deduced that Henry knew more than he was sharing. However, Henry abducted Wilkes and left in Jarvis' car.
Sousa drove as Carter attended to Jarvis' broken nose in the back seat; he told the police that he was chasing Henry, but did not want any guns involved because Henry was wanted for questioning. Sousa found the stolen car with its windows frosted and its steering column frozen, but without Henry or Wilkes. Sousa and Carter split up to find the two. Carter witnessed Henry get killed by an officer who said that he did not get the order about no gun involvement.
When they returned to the Agency, Sousa ordered that the body of Scott should be transported there for further study. Carter asked Sousa to join her for a drink, but he refused politely; Sousa then left the building to see Violet who was waiting for him, not realizing that Carter was watching through the window.[3]
Long Day[]
The next morning, Sousa and Rose Roberts commuted to Auerbach Theatrical Agency together. Roberts questioned Sousa as to why he chose not to tell Peggy Carter that he was now dating Violet; Sousa used chasing Andrew Henry as his excuse, but Roberts warning him that delaying the inevitable would make it even more awkward. When the two entered the agency, they found Carter and Violet already there, conversing and laughing. Violet was there to bring Sousa a snack before she went to work; she was so charmed with Carter that she invited her to their date that evening. Sousa reminded Violet that their reservations were for two, but Violet insisted that Carter come so that she could see the beaches of Los Angeles.
Sousa learns two of his agents are dead
Later, Sousa took Carter with him to where the bodies of Agents White and Beringer were found; they were the assigned transporters of the body of Jane Scott. Sousa received the search warrant for Isodyne Energy Headquarters that he requested from Jack Thompson and he and Carter went to investigate. There, the Receptionist told them that there was a radioactive accident and the place was off-limits until the spill was contained. Just then, Wilkes entered and confirmed the story, hesitantly. He passed Carter a note and the two left.
At the Agency, Sousa offered backup to Carter for when she met Wilkes at the Dunbar Hotel, but she cited that the note said for her to come alone. Sousa told Carter to change into a better wardrobe since the place was a nightclub; he took Violet there once to listen to Ella Fitzgerald. Sousa decided to cancel his date to give Carter backup, but she firmly insisted that he go after accidentally discovering the engagement ring he had planned to give to Violet that night.
Violet arrived at the Agency and Sousa, after changing his attire, prepared to leave for his date when the phone rang; Roberts called "Mr. Auerbach" to take the call. Edwin Jarvis was on the line, saying that Carter was in trouble at the Griffith Observatory. Meeting Jarvis there, Sousa saw the shell casings of the Attack on Jason Wilkes and the flattened tires of Carter's car. Sousa returned to the Agency and, much to Jarvis's surprise, flew into a small rage, smashing some things in his office and ordered his agents to spare no effort in finding Carter and Wilkes. Roberts explained to Jarvis that Carter had always been of special concern to Sousa.
Sousa and Jarvis went to Isodyne Energy Headquarters to learn that an explosion had taken place and the area was surrounded by the Los Angeles Police Department. Carter emerged, disheveled, wanting to give Chief Sousa a report of the occurrence, but Sousa suggested that she get some rest.
As the sun rose, Sousa returned home to find Violet leaving for work. He apologized to her for canceling their date, but she assured him that she understood. She offered him the pastry that she had bitten while awaiting his return and told him to rest. Sousa went towards the house, pausing on his way to look at Violet as she left for work herself before he went inside and got some well-deserved rest.[15]
Continuing the Investigation[]
Sousa took Vega to the Wilkes Residence and asked Peggy Carter to meet him there; he wanted to know what connection Jason Wilkes had with the men who attempted to kill Wilkes and Carter earlier that morning. When Carter arrived, Sousa told Vega to make sure that the surrounding reporters and press did not compromise the area. Inside, Carter found a hollow section in the floor; it was filled with money and a Russian passport. As Sousa and Carter discussed the outlandish possibility that Wilkes was a communist spy, Vega brought the gun used to kill Beringer and White, saying that all evidence points in that direction. Carter did not believe it because the evidence was too easy to find.
The agents saw that the newspapers already had articles accusing Wilkes of espionage, but they had not given them a statement, much fewer grounds for a headline article. While discussing this, Sousa and Carter found Jack Thompson sitting at Sousa's desk in the Auerbach Theatrical Agency, wondering why they were so late for work. Thompson said that he came there from New York City because he had business in Los Angeles; while he was there, he decided to revise the preliminary report Carter had made on the explosion at Isodyne Energy Headquarters, accusing Wilkes of espionage and with his death, the case was now concluded. Carter refused to sign such a report, so Thompson said that, since she was on loan from the New York Bell Company, he was still her superior officer and he could sign it himself. Sousa watched as the two disputed.
Sousa notices several other objects floating
Later, Carter entered the Strategic Scientific Reserve base saying that she snuck into the Arena Club to plant eavesdropping devices and found preprinted Los Angeles Tribune newspapers with a future date saying that Anderson was "ankling" the election. No one knew what "ankling" meant but Sousa, who revealed it was Los Angeles speak for "resigning." Thompson was angered because he told Carter the case was closed and that she made the serious accusation of election rigging without evidence of the newspapers. Sousa said that when they listen to the eavesdropping devices that proof will be provided; Carter then revealed that she was unsuccessful in that mission. Sousa chased behind Carter after she and Thompson traded insults, in hopes of calming her when he saw that objects were floating in Carter's presence.
The two went to Howard Stark's Estate to see if she was infected by Zero Matter. After a series of tests, where Sousa proved that he knew the science, Howard Stark was able to make Jason Wilkes visible and audible before them. Wilkes explained that Whitney Frost was caught in the same explosion as he was; Carter decided to confront Frost, while Sousa planned to do background research to learn why Frost thought she knew so much about Zero Matter.
Later that evening, Thompson approached Sousa and told him that he was leaving for New York soon. Thompson wanted to know what it was about Carter that made Sousa go to Los Angeles; Sousa said he left because he got a promotion, not over heartbreak, citing his desire to marry Violet as proof. Sousa declined Thompson when he asked if they could get a drink together and bade his former superior farewell.
The next morning, Sousa learned that Carter had been attacked; when she came to work and showed Sousa her scars, he asked if she wanted a security detail. Carter wanted to know about Sousa's research. He discovered that Agnes Cully was the one who made Isodyne Energy prominent and Cully had changed her name to Whitney Frost.[17]
Assisting Peggy Carter[]
Sousa came to Howard Stark's Estate with a file Peggy Carter needed. Carter was not there, but when she arrived, she seemed hurried and brief, making Sousa suspicious. He checked her car, noticing Edwin Jarvis passed out inside. When Sousa asked Carter what had happened, she told him he had drunk too much. Sousa heard a noise from the trunk; though Carter tried to claim she had captured an opossum, the sounds increased until both could make out words. Sousa opened the trunk to reveal Rufus Hunt inside, as Carter admitted she had kidnapped him.
Sousa confronted Carter inside the estate, telling her she had committed a felony and asking why she had not asked for backup. Carter told him she had not wanted to mess up his life anymore. Sousa insisted on helping Carter, and she reluctantly agreed.
In a broom closet in the Auerbach Theatrical Agency, Sousa and Carter interrogated Hunt. Sousa attempted to negotiate with him for names, only to have Hunt mock him for his injury, saying that while Sousa had it easy during the war, he had been captured and tortured by the Japanese. Hunt told Sousa that he would never get him to talk. Sousa ceded the interrogation to Carter, watching while she injected Hunt with a fluid she claimed was a virulent strain of malaria. Carter told Hunt he had ten minutes, and that there was an antidote, but only if he gave them the information needed; she and Sousa left the room. While waiting, Sousa asked Carter what had been the fluid; she replied that it was a fast-onset cold developed by Howard Stark. Sousa stared in disbelief as Carter asked if he wanted tea.
Once Hunt had become afraid for his life, Sousa and Carter returned to the room. Sousa asked Hunt again for names of men involved with the Arena Club, but Hunt still refused to divulge them. Carter prepared to break the antidote container; Hunt cracked and gave up the names of influential businessmen. Sousa was shocked at the familiar names and how high they were placed. Hunt also told the two that the club recorded every meeting, and all the knowledge they needed was on the tapes. Sousa and Carter returned to the main office, where he tried to obtain a search warrant for the Arena Club to get the information.
As Sousa prepared the SSR to raid the Arena Club, he briefed his team of agents as to what to expect when Vernon Masters entered the base with a team of FBI agents and an executive order to cease and desist all actions. Sousa argued with the agents while Carter and Masters withdrew to talk. While Masters' men searched the SSR, Sousa convinced Aloysius Samberly to give him a sample of Jane Scott's blood, to help him and Carter. Masters spoke to Sousa in private and threatened him. As Carter left the office, Sousa followed her and gave the sample to her. He and Carter left to make sure Masters did not discover Hunt.
Carter and Sousa made a plan to get more information from Hunt. As part of the plan, Sousa freed Hunt from the ropes binding him and, unbeknownst to Hunt, placed a listening device on his back. As Sousa moved to walk Hunt out the door, Hunt asked him to shoot, which Sousa pretended to do. Hunt turned and punched Sousa and escaped before he realized that Sousa had no plan to kill him. Carter emerged from her hiding place and Sousa asked why he had needed to take the punch for the plan. Carter replied that Hunt had strangled her twice and it was Sousa's turn to take a blow.
Going to Howard Stark's Estate to listen to the recording device, Sousa frowned as Carter talked tenderly to the intangible Jason Wilkes, watching as she tried to touch him to show her affection. Suddenly, the conversation Hunt was having with Calvin Chadwick and Whitney Frost went dead; all listening including Jarvis, wondered what had occurred and the fate of Hunt.[6]
Sousa went to the house of Violet and prepared dinner; he wanted to ask her to marry him. However, Violet took an extra shift and arrived late; Sousa fell asleep on the couch. Sousa was awakened by the nurse, who was holding a baseball bat and wondering who had broken into the house. Sousa looked through the couch cushions when he realized that his engagement ring had fallen from his pocket while he slept. Violet went to help him look for the object. Sousa took her hands and revealed what it was, she told him yes to the proposal and they searched the find it.
The next morning, Sousa and the SSR agents had a drink to celebrate. Peggy Carter walked in for work and congratulated him.[16]
Mission Preparation[]
Sousa demonstrating how to place the bombs
"Former reconnaissance scout. Let's just say this won't be my first time diffusing a bomb." "These aren't just bombs. One mishandled uranium rod could trigger an explosion that would decimate the entire city." "Sounds like a bomb to me."
When Sousa later went to work, he informed his subordinates about his engagement to Violet, which they had then celebrated with pie. When Peggy Carter arrived and was informed about Sousa's engagement, she pulled him to inform him of her intention to infiltrate Hugh Jones' office. Sousa became concerned that Jones would recognize her, given that they met the previous year. Deciding that she required insurance in case she was made, Sousa bribed Aloysius Samberly with a slice of pie so he would loan Carter the Memory Inhibitor. Samberly offered to demonstrate the device's capabilities on Sousa, but the latter gestured at the scientist to keep his distance. Once Carter managed to obtain the key they began the plans on infiltrating the facility. Sousa demonstrated how he would place the Atomic Bomb in the container by using a salami, being complimented by Jason Wilkes. As they were talking Sousa dropped the salami which resulted in Wilkes reminding him he would have destroyed Los Angeles if it were a real bomb.[16]
Stabilizing the Bombs[]
Peggy Carter and Sousa thought of another man they could get to help. They decided to risk it and asked Aloysius Samberly.
Sousa and the team preparing for the mission
Carter, Edwin Jarvis, Rose Roberts, Aloysius Samberly, and Sousa went to the Roxxon Corporation facility to defuse the uranium rods. When they got there, an alarm was set off and Jarvis was trapped inside and was forced to defuse the bombs himself. Sousa stood outside and walked Jarvis through it. Sousa then got told that Carter was in a scuffle with Whitney Frost a few hallways down and got hurt. Sousa ran to her and found that Carter was impaled by a rod.[16]
Breakup[]
Sousa brought the bloody Peggy Carter to the only nurse he knew, Violet. He explained to his lover that she can't go to the hospital. Violet started ordering everyone to find medical supplies, she had to tell Sousa a second time because he was stopped in his tracks staring at the crying Carter. Violet was able to stabilize her condition. After, Violet talked with Sousa, who thanked her up and down. Violet told Sousa that she saw the way he looked at Carter and knew he was still in love with her. She then called off the engagement.[16]
Seeking Unwanted Help[]
The next day, the injured Peggy Carter entered Sousa's office to think of a plan to stop Whitney Frost. She proposed a plan to extract Zero Matter from Frost in order to treat Jason Wilkes. Sousa, who was all messy from the night before, told her that it needs to be someone that Frost can't recognize, but has skill. Carter told him she has a terrible plan, to use Dottie Underwood.
After Carter helped Underwood escapeRosemary's, Underwod tried to escape through an alley, but Sousa was there and captured her using a net. After Carter briefed Underwood on her mission, she returned to a van where Sousa was. They listened in on a radio while Edwin Jarvis and Underwood infiltrated Frost's party. Carter talked to Sousa and asked him if he and Violet's relationship was going well. Sousa told her that she broke up with him. Carter tried to figure out what man she would be in love with, but Sousa told her that she thought he was in love with Carter. Carter sat there in awe of what she just heard. She apologized to Sousa, but then they both leaned in for a kiss, but they suddenly heard Underwood's microphone go out. Then a man dropped off the balcony on to their van, he was thrown by Underwood.[18]
Manipulated Out of Position[]
Sousa attacked
The following morning, Sousa and Peggy Carter witnessed Whitney Frost tell the press that her husband, Calvin Chadwick, and many of his friends had perished at sea when their boat sank. However, they knew this was a lie and she killed them herself. Later, Sousa got a call from Carter to plan their next strategy, but Sousa referred to her as mother. This was because Vernon Masters had just walked into his office. Carter gets the tip and hangs up. Masters asked Sousa to help him with a project, but Sousa knew he was going to manipulate him, so Sousa declined.
Later that night, Sousa opened his door to find two men punch him. One held his arms while the other punched Sousa until he was too weak to stand up. They left while Sousa laid on his back. However, he knew they were his own agents, Vega and Blackwell because of Blackwell's breathing.[19] The next morning, Sousa arrived at work to find Masters already there. Masters told him that he was too injured to lead and offered to take over for the time being. Sousa told him he was fine, but Masters forced him out anyways.[20]
Meeting with Manfredi[]
Sousa met with Peggy Carter the next day. Carter told Sousa that Jason Wilkes was taken and Ana Jarvis had been shot and was in the hospital. She asked what happened to Sousa, who told her about Vernon Masters' beat down. Carter said that she planned to give Whitney Frost the uranium rods in exchange for Wilkes, but the uranium rods were going to be decoys. They needed to relay the message to Frost, so they planned on meeting with her new lover, Joseph Manfredi. They walked inside and Carter asked Sousa to turn around while she changed clothes.
They arrived at Manfredi's restaurant, but were stopped by his guards. They then fought the guards and were able to get to the kitchen where Manfredi was cooking. Manfredi offered them spaghett while they made their offer, but eventually stopped wanting to talk to them after Nonna Manfredi threw a fit. Sousa brought up Manfredi's friend, Tommy Fontana, who was getting out of prison that week. Sousa then asked if it would be okay if he told Fontana that Manfredi actually framed him. Manfredi called him out on that lie, but Sousa said Fontana didn't know it was. Nonna then tried to attack Sousa with a knife, but Manfredi stopped her.[21]
Sousa and Peggy Carter prepared for the switch off with Aloysius Samberly. They suddenly got a telegram from Howard Stark with plans to a cannon that could eliminate Zero Matter. They met with Whitney Frost and Joseph Manfredi and handed over the fake uranium rods. Upon getting Jason Wilkes, the rods dropped to the ground, but didn't blow up, revealing they were fake. Sousa and Carter radioed to the driver, Edwin Jarvis, to get going. On the chase, they realized that Frost's car was loosely following them. Suddenly, Wilkes pulled a shotgun on Carter saying that Frost knew how to heal him. He threatened Carter's life for the location on the rods. Sousa saw Carter and decided to tell Wilkes. He then apologized before leaving the truck and joining Frost.[21]
Finding Thompson[]
Sousa and Peggy Carter returned to Auerbach Theatrical Agency and saw a confused Jack Thompson and no uranium rods. They saw the Memory Inhibitor on the ground and realized Thompson's memory was erased by Vernon Masters. They asked him the last thing he remembered. He traced his steps back to a phone which had a notepad with coordinates next to it, the location of Frost. A few minutes later, Sousa walked into his office to find Thompson wanting to join them, but Sousa told him no. Carter convinced him to lt Thompson join even though neither of the trusted him.
Before leaving, Sousa talked to Carter about Jason Wilkes. He reminded her that maybe Wilkes wasn't an ally. Carter got angry and said that Wilkes wouldn't be in this situation if Sousa didn't give him the location. Sousa said he was going to shoot her, Carter said he should've let him. Sousa refuted, saying if the roles were reversed, would Carter let Wilkes shoot him? Carter then stopped her argument.[21]
Stopping Frost[]
Sousa eyeing the rift
The team went to the Mojave Desert to stop Whitney Frost. Suddenly, an explosion occurred and the Zero Matter rift started opening. They set up the Gamma Cannon, but Edwin Jarvis had other plans. Angry at Frost, he got in a car and drove down to her. Peggy Carter followed him. Samberly asked what they should do; both Sousa and Jack Thompson told him to do as Carter says. After they finished setting it up, Sousa stepped back and flicked the switch with his crutch. They laser then hit the portal, closing it.[21]
New Plan[]
Jack Thompson looked through his binoculars and saw Vega and Blackwell driving to them. Sousa knew they were Vernon Masters' men and thought of a plan. When they arrived, Sousa had his gun pointed at Thompson, who was on his knees. Vega pointed his gun at Sousa who acted confused. Thompson then wittingly encouraged Vega to arrest Sousa. Vega said that Masters told him to kill Thompson as well, but Thompson convinced him that he was on his side. They then apprehended Sousa and Aloysius Samberly. While Sousa was walking by, Thompson punched him in the gut.
In a cell, Thompson explained to Masters that they have a plan to kill Whitney Frost by bringing the Gamma Cannon straight to her, but he needed Sousa and Samberly. Masters agreed to let them. Peggy Carter suddenly arrived and punched Masters to tell her where Sousa was. Sousa came up behind her and explained the situation. They went to work on fixing the Gamma Cannon and Thompson talked with Frost to buy more time. Sousa and Carter then loaded the cannon into the truck and got in a separate car, but it didn't start. Carter radioed to Thompson, who didn't answer. Sousa lifted the hood to see that Masters betrayed them.[19]
Thompson's Betrayal[]
At Whitney Frost's facility, Sousa, Peggy Carter and Aloysius Samberly stood outside with the fail safe. He turned around to help Samberly and when he turned back, Carter was gone. Later, Carter returned and so did Thompson, who was angry. He told Samberly to turn the detonator back on. He then pulled his gun on Samberly, who finally turned it on. Sousa and Carter asked him if it's was really moral to blow them up, Thompson explained that Wilkes was more powerful than Frost and Masters combined and he is doing the world a favor. Carter then pulled her gun on him, but suddenly there was an explosion. Thompson insisted that it wasn't him.[19] They ran inside and found Jason Wilkes, who had expelled the Zero Matter from him. Whitney Frost stood up and absorbed the rest of the Zero Matter, she slowly chased them out of the building.[22]
Stopping Frost[]
They returned to Auerbach Theatrical Agency and arrested both Vega and Blackwell. Later, Peggy Carter needed Sousa's help to sneak into Whitney Frost's house and steal blueprints. As it turned out, Joseph Manfredi met with Carter earlier to help her stop Frost, as he no longer saw the woman he loved. Manfredi explained to her that Frost had started blueprints to create a Rift Generator. In her room, they heard Manfredi yelling abd made a quick escape before Frost walked back into the room.
Later, while making the new machine, Sousa asked Wilkes why he pointed the gun at Carter instead of Sousa. Wilkes responded saying that he knew Sousa would fold, because Wilkes would have.
Sousa preparing to close the rift
At Stark's filming facility, they turned on the rift and took cover. Suddenly, Frost arrived and Stark shot her with the Gamma Cannon. The Zero Matter was expelled into the rift, but a new problem arose. The rift wasn't shutting off. The fail safe switch was on the machine itself, meaning the person to close it would get sucked in. As the team was figuring out who should do it, Sousa strapped himself to a pole and reached for the lever. He started twisting it, but the rope untied. As Sousa started floating up, Carter caught the rope and the others followed to hold the rope in tact. Edwin Jarvis then took Stark's Hovercar and sent it into the rift. He put explosives into the car and detonated it while it was inside, this closed the rift. Sousa fell onto the ground and looked at Carter. He then promptly fainted.[22]
"You talk a pretty big game when it's your life on the line, Carter, but when it's somebody else's? Pretty big hypocrite... Nothing to say? No quick comeback?"
With the Isodyne Energy case finally finished, Sousa wrote his report as Peggy Carter watched, sitting on the other side of the desk. Sousa then began to criticize Carter for how she acted during the case. Carter realized that Sousa was no longer her superior officer and passionately kissed him. Sousa laughed, then passionately kissed Carter in return.[22] However, their relationship would eventually end, and Sousa would go on to be known as Carter's "old partner" by others.[5]
Sousa later managed to bring down the Council of Nine, including one of its leaders, Hugh Jones. Sousa joined S.H.I.E.L.D. after the SSR was absorbed into the new agency. With Idaho Senator John Baumhauer as his key endorser, Sousa became the West Coast Security Chief, continuing to work from the Auerbach Theatrical Agency.[5] Sousa eventually became convinced HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and told his superior, Wilfred Malick, unaware that Malick himself was a HYDRA sleeper agent.[1]
Sousa getting shot in the back and killed
Following a clandestine meeting with scientist Niles Lindmore at Area 51,[5] Sousa was tasked with traveling to Los Angeles, California, and deliver one of Howard Stark's inventions to the Hotel Roosevelt. He successfully handed over the device but became convinced he was being followed. Despite his best efforts to avoid detection, Sousa was found by one of Malick's goons, who shot him once in the chest and twice in the back. Sousa then fell into the swimming pool and died.[1]
Legacy[]
Inspiration to S.H.I.E.L.D.[]
"That was the day that made Daniel Sousa a legend. Every recruit learned about it. His final mission. He delivered a groundbreaking S.H.I.E.L.D. device to Howard Stark, kept it from falling into Russian hands. And then he was killed. This was the day Daniel Sousa became the first fallen agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Daniel Sousa is chivalrous and often tries to defend Peggy Carter from sexist remarks made by their co-workers, until he stopped once Carter reprimanded him for doing so. He feels a kinship with Carter due largely to the fact that both of them are belittled and openly looked down upon by their fellow agents, who deem them to have shortcomings: Carter for being a woman, and Sousa for being handicapped. Despite this, Sousa doesn't let it stop him from being good at his job, something he is dedicated to and skilled at. Sousa soon fell in love with Carter and decided to ask her for a drink, which she declined. As a calm guy, he acted like he had moved on, he always found himself back with Carter and broke up his engagement with Violet after she found out. After a year, he finally got her, but their work separated them. He is a virtuous man, as inferred by Johann Fennhoff. Fennhoff knew that he wouldn't shoot an unarmed man, unlike Jack Thompson.
Master Investigator: Sousa is an excellent detective. He told Peggy Carter that cases are usually solved within 72 hours as he documented pictures of Howard Stark on a boat. Later, while other agents were distracted with the body of Leet Brannis, Sousa looked around the rest of the crime scene to find a key. While trying to find a mystery woman who infiltrated La Martinique, Sousa accidentally walked in on Carter changing clothes and noticed Carter's scar. He then compared it with the scar on the woman in the photo and was able to figure out that Carter was the woman. Sousa's investigative skills would later shed light on Whitney Frost's background as Agnes Cully as well as realizing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by sleeper agents in the aftermath of World War II.
Expert Tactician: Sousa is an excellent strategist, allowing him to earn a promotion to be chief of the SSR branch in Los Angeles. He also divised a plan to foil HYDRA's plans within S.H.I.E.L.D. but was killed before he could make an efficient move. While tracking down Johann Fennhoff, Sousa intelligently put ear plugs in so he did not hear Fennhoff's hypnotic voice. He then tricked Fennhoff by pretending to fall for his tricks, only to use it to get close enough to Fennhoff to defeat him. While tracking Peggy Carter, Sousa made the split-second decision of letting her go, which proved to be the correct call.
Despite the fact that he is handicapped, Sousa easily subdued a tramp, and was even able to hold his own in a hand-to-hand combat fight with Dottie Underwood, a woman who has been trained at Red Room as an assassin from a young age. Sousa takes advantage of his handicap and does not hesitate to use his crutches in combat when necessary, something his opponents rarely expect.
Expert Marksman: According to his records, Sousa's firearms ability is listed as "qualified expert." Hence, he can use revolvers, pistols, shotguns, and launchers with ease. In one instance, Sousa shot an electric net at Dottie Underwood with prestine precision.
Colt Detective Special: A smaller revolver and Sousa's weapon of choice, that he carried while investigating the building in front of the New York Bell Company looking for a Leviathan operative. He also carried it to investigate Howard Stark's Warehouse when Stark was kidnapped by Johann Fennhoff and Dottie Underwood. Fennhoff tried to hypnotize Sousa and make him shoot at Jack Thompson, but Sousa was wearing cotton inside his ears and approached Fennhoff while pointing at Thompson, only to catch Fennhoff by surprise and hit him with the revolver.
Winchester Model 1912: Sousa took this shotgun to a hostage exchange with Whitney Frost and Joseph Manfredi, hoping to rescue Jason Wilkes from them. As Frost guessed that the uranium rods that she was offered in exchange for Wilkes were fake, Sousa shot his weapon to buy time for Peggy Carter and Wilkes to board the van and escape. Sousa, Carter and Jack Thompson later took these shotguns when they set up the ultimate trap for Whitney Frost at the Stark Pictures set, opening a rift to attract her and remove the Zero Matter from her body.
Federal M201-Z Grenade Launcher: Sousa used a modified version of this weapon to shoot an electric net to Dottie Underwood and capture her after allowing her to escape imprisonment. Underwood was unimpressed by the net, until Sousa activated its electric current pressing a button on the weapon.
Other Equipment[]
Midnight Oil: While reporting to a scene of a mass murder. Sousa found the Midnight Oil and opened the canister. The gas sent him into a frenzy where he wanted to kill Jack Thompson. He was eventually knocked out and back to normal.
