WARNING: ACTUAL SPOILER FOR AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. inside!!
It”s a rare day when a major character from comic books or superhero television stays dead. Today is not one of those days. Last week, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. released their first promo video for the upcoming season. It featured the familiar if slightly modified face, of Grant Ward (Brett Dalton). His appearance immediately had fans speculating on who (or what) Ward is now. Over the weekend, we found when one of his co-stars let it slip during Wizard World Portland…
As reported by ComicBook Elizabeth Henstridge – who plays Jemma Simmons – was talking about how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has changed since Thor: The Dark World when she said this:
“…and now Ward is Hive and takes on the memories of people he's killed, so that's going to have some interesting situations.”
As the name suggests, the Hive is not a person in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, the host body houses a collective “hive” mind of parasites with an array of powers. In the comics, that host was a nameless former HYDRA agent. In S.H.I.E.L.D., it”s Grant. On the show, the Hive is of Inhuman origin but some of the powers remain the same. Whether Grant will be able to spew parasites onto his victims in order to control them – or if he”ll eventually look like a Pirates of the Caribbean cast member remains to be seen.
My one hope for the arrival of the Hive and the Secret Warriors on S.H.I.E.L.D.? That they pull from the comics and bring Dum Dum Dugan (Neal McDonough) back!
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D returns to ABC on March 8 at 9/8c.