John Garrett worked for the CIA and went through special covert training.[1] In 1961, Leonardo da Vinci invited Garrett to the Pieta base in Rome to be a member of the Great Wheel. Leonardo sent Garrett, Vasili Dassiev, Shoji Soma and Daniel Whitehall to Giza to acquire a power source from a Brood vessel after destroying the Brood inside. Garrett approved the idea of using the power source to run the rejuvenations chambers found by another team. He was present when the chambers were stolen by Russian soldiers led by Victor Uvarov and Dassiev where they nearly murdered him.[2]
Garrett has gotten in trouble with the law and ended up in different prisons. After his times in each prison, Garrett was recruited to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. where his criminal records mysteriously vanished. He served in Libya with agent Chastity McBryde. When Chasity discovered that there were no records of Garrett, this gets brought with ExTechOp where Chasity was swiftly transferred to a minor police action in Venezuela and the complaint to Nick Fury was not received.[3]
Garrett has been rebuilt as a cyborg with a six-inch removable portion on his skull (which a recorder can be placed in) and a cybernetic right hand. He once collaborated with Elektra to fight the Hand. Due to Garrett going haywire, Elektra managed to get him in stasis where he thinks that he became the President of the United States.[4]
Garrett was still in storage while still believing that he is the President. Agents from the Snakeroot raided the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility as Tekagi broke Garrett out of his stasis tube during their escape. They rebuilt him to assist in their plot. During the Snakeroot's fight with Daredevil and Elektra over the About Face Virus's sample, Garrett was still confused over Elektra and Erynys. After Erynys was killed by Daredevil enabling the dark essence to possess Elektra again, Garrett was apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. and placed in S.H.I.E.L.D. Detention Cell #7. On the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Fury questioned Garrett about what happened.[5]
Fury reactivated Garrett's status as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and had the cyber-warrior Siege keep an eye on him.[6]
When Garrett attempted for unemployment, he left past employment empty and was thrown out when they thought he was lying about working as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. Garrett then visited Karen Page's apartment where he used his optic lasers to kill the cockroaches as part of demonstrating his credentials to Karen.[7]
During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Garrett was listed as an unaffiliated S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agent files. He was later visited by Fury who called him out of retirement and accompanied him to Alexandria, Virginia where they had coffee. Then Garrett is dispatched to visit Seth Waters to see if he is working for HYDRA or someone else. Garrett went to the Department of Treasury to talk to Seth Waters who was surprised that he did not set off the metal detectors. He told Garrett was he knows.[9] After finding out that Seth Waters was working for Leviathan before getting sniped by Bullseye, Garrett and Fury escaped while evading the H.A.M.M.E.R. Agents.[10]
At the Pieta base, Fury discussed with Dum Dum Dugan, Garrett, and the Professor to discuss their next action against HYDRA and Leviathan. Garrett told Fury not to hesitate because now was not the time to end HYDRA and Leviathan. After listening to the different Howling Commandos members' stories, Garrett then participate in a toast to the Howling Commandos' fallen members.[11]
Garrett visited Sebastian Druid at his apartment in Hawaii to tell him that there is no way out of the Secret Warriors. They went to China to use magic to make two destroyed Helicarriers from a recent battle with HYDRA disappear and then sped up their corrosion. Then Sebastian Druid created a magic bullet that Garrett used to kill Leviathan's leader Magadane as the magical component of the bullet was sprayed on HYDRA's sign in order sow dissension between HYDRA and Leviathan.. After Fury told him that the Secret Warriors would be broken up, Garrett congratulated Sebastian Druid for his hard work.[12]
Garrett was with Fury when they rode a limo to pick up Dum Dum Dugan and Jasper Sitwell at the UN White Box Facility. Shortly after that, Garrett rejoined the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. under Daisy Johnson's leadership.[13]
During the "Avengers: Standoff!" storyline, Garrett was present during the attack on A.I.M. Island to reclaim Rick Jones from the New Avengers. He served as Songbird's supervisor.[14]
Powers and abilities
John Garrett is a trained agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a skilled marksman. As a cyborg, approximately 80% of his body is replaced with S.H.I.E.L.D. cybernetics with only his head and a few of his organs still being natural. He has plastic skin and metal alloy bones, with his muscular system consisting of a combination of pneumatics, hydraulics, and internal electrical generators. His cyborg body grants him enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, regeneration, and agility.
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate Marvel reality, an unpowered Agent Garrett appears in the pages of Ultimate Hawkeye. Here, John Garrett is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent guarding a Bangkok base where he meets Clint Barton.[15]
In other media
John Garrett appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., portrayed by Bill Paxton. Introduced in the season one episode "T.A.H.I.T.I.", this version is a high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent/munitions expert and a former cohort of Phil Coulson who works alongside Grant Ward and Melinda May.[16][17] However, he is later revealed to be a high-ranking Hydra sleeper agent known as "The Clairvoyant" and Project Centipede's mastermind in the episode "Turn, Turn, Turn".[18] Garrett is also the Deathlok program's first test subject who is dying as a result of failed organs. In the episode "Beginning of the End", after being rejuvenated with Kree blood, a crazed Garrett engages Coulson in battle before the latter receives help from Nick Fury and Mike Peterson. The three defeat him, but Garrett escapes and upgrades himself, only to be killed by Coulson.[19]
A younger alternate timeline version, portrayed by James Paxton, is introduced in the season seven episode "Stolen". Nathaniel Malick recruits him after telling him of his future and grants him teleportation powers from the Inhuman Gordon.[20] After Malick leaves him for dead during the series finale however, Garrett sides with S.H.I.E.L.D. and helps them regroup following a Chronicom attack before he is accidentally killed by Victoria Hand, who mistook him for a threat.[21]
^Straiton, David (director); Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon (writer) (May 13, 2014). "Beginning of the End". Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1. Episode 22. ABC.
^Brown, Garry A. (director); Mark Linehan Bruner (story); George Kitson & Mark Leitner (writer) (July 29, 2020). "Stolen". Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7. Episode 10. ABC.
^Cheramie, Chris (director); Jeffrey Bell (writer) (August 12, 2020). "The End is At Hand". Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7. Episode 12. ABC.
