Grant Ward

TALK PAGE "We thought you were dead." "Not dead... waiting. I was locked in a cage, before that I was trapped behind a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge and now I'm finally free."

- Sunil Bakshi and Grant Ward

Grant Ward is a former HYDRA infiltrator in S.H.I.E.L.D. disguised as a Level 7 operative. Abused as a child by his family, he wound up in prison until he was freed by John Garrett. Garrett trained Ward to become a cold-blooded killer and he became more loyal to him than to HYDRA. As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., he was recruited onto Coulson's Team working with them on all their missions, pretending to be gruff and anti-social and to become emotionally attached to the team. During the S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War he killed Victoria Hand but still maintained his cover as a loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He broke cover on John Garrett's orders and rejoined HYDRA. Despite harboring feelings for Skye, he followed all of Garrett's orders. When Garrett's HYDRA cell lost the Battle at Cybertek, he was imprisoned by Coulson. He managed to escape many months later and rejoined HYDRA under Dr. Daniel Whitehall.

Childhood
"My older brother, he didn't beat up my younger brother. He was crueler than that. He made me do it, and I let him. I was afraid." "What about your parents?" "They were worse."

- Grant Ward and Skye

Grant Douglas Ward grew up in Massachusetts and had a difficult childhood. He had an abusive older brother who would frequently force Ward to beat up his younger brother. His parents were even worse. Ward also has a sister who he is no longer in contact with.

An incident in particular that had a profound effect on Ward was when his older brother threw his younger brother into a well and wouldn't allow Ward to rescue him. Ward eventually managed to do it without his brother knowing.

Recruited by Garrett
"I work for a secret organization that's always looking to recruit young men like you." "And why should I trust you?" "You shouldn't. Don't trust anybody, ever, especially me."

- John Garrett and Grant Ward

In 1999, Ward went AWOL from the military academy to which he'd been sent, stole a car, drove over 1000 miles home, and set fire to his parents' home. Unknown to Ward, his older brother Christian was inside. Christian survived but pushed for the courts to try Grant as an adult.

While being detained at a juvenile detention center, Ward was unexpectedly visited by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent John Garrett, who offered him a choice - leave with Garrett now and be taught the skills needed to survive or face prison. Ward agreed, and for five years Garrett subjected Ward to a number of grueling survival tests in the Wyoming wilderness, eventually molding him into a cold, driven survivalist. Garrett eventually revealed to Ward that he was not, in fact, loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D., but to HYDRA. Garrett made Ward prove his emotional detachment by asking him to kill his loyal dog Buddy.

Early S.H.I.E.L.D. Career
About five years outside the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, Ward was posed for sixteen months as a Russian attaché at the embassy in Warsaw, Poland.

After proving his worth, Ward became a full-fledged agent, rising through the ranks under Garrett's tutelage and supervision. Deputy Director Maria Hill gave Ward top marks in combat and the highest espionage rating since Natasha Romanoff, giving him low marks only in his people skills.

In 2008, Ward saw action in Georgia during a rebel uprising. He made several contacts along the South Ossetian border during this time, including Yuri Dubrovsky.

Mission in Paris
"Something turns up like this Chitauri neural link... we get to it before someone bad does." "Any idea who Vanchat was planning to sell it to?"

- Grant Ward and Maria Hill

Grant Ward and his team were assigned to a mission in Paris, France. Ward was assigned to break into a hidden vault belonging to the international criminal Vanchat and steal a Chitauri neural link which had come into Vanchat's possession and was going to sell to an unknown buyer. After taking the link, he was discovered and fought his way to the top of the building, where he was extracted by helicopter.

First Mission
"This is definitely not protocol."

- Grant Ward to Phil Coulson

Before the Battle of New York, Agent Phil Coulson, an old friend of John Garrett's, was slain at the hands of Loki and days later restored to life through unknown means. Garrett, whose health was beginning to fail, hoped to find out how Coulson was revived, hoping he could restore his own health through the same means.

When Coulson assembled a new team of specialists to investigate new, strange and unknown threats, Garrett suggested to Coulson that Ward be a part of his new team, ostensibly to "smooth out" Ward's "rough edges", but in reality, Ward was Garrett's undercover asset attempting to discover the truth about Coulson's resurrection.

Acting As Skye's S.O.
"I don't ever want to do another pull-up again." "You ever find yourself hanging off the edge of a building twenty stories up, you're gonna want to do at least one."

- Skye and Grant Ward

During the team's first mission together, they encountered a Rising Tide "hacktivist" known only as Skye, who was their only lead in the case of Michael Peterson. Having had some negative encounters with Rising Tide after their release of classified data during ongoing operations, Ward took an instant dislike to Skye. She was also an unknown factor that neither Ward nor Garrett had calculated. After the mission, Phil Coulson recruited her to the team as a consultant, over Ward's objections.

However, after Skye's quick thinking saved his life while taking back the Bus from Camilla Reyes' hijackers, Ward saw a way to learn more about her, thus removing any unknown element she might bring into the mix. Ward agreed to be her "Supervising Officer" and oversee her training and education.

Ward began her training but felt that Skye wasn't fully committing herself to it or to S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson suggested a different, more personal approach. Ward responded by giving some details of his personal life and rough childhood to Skye, describing his so-called "defining moment" to her.

During the operation to rescue Dr. Franklin Hall in Malta, Ward objected when Skye volunteered to infiltrate the compound of Ian Quinn, citing the fact that she wasn't nearly qualified yet for such an operation. When Skye completed her mission, allowing Ward and Coulson to infiltrate the compound, she used Ward's training to good effect but had to rescued by Ward in the end. After the op, Skye seemed to fully commit herself to her training and S.H.I.E.L.D.

After the team captured Akela Amador, Ward used Backscatter Glasses to impersonate her and complete her next mission. He used the key card Amador bought with the diamonds she stole to enter the Todorov Building in Minsk, Belarus and entered a room with a series of strange symbols on the wall. After seeing the symbols, the Englishman informed him the mission was complete and he fought his way out of the building.

A few weeks later, the team was seemingly betrayed by Skye, who alerted her boyfriend, hacker Miles Lydon, that S.H.I.E.L.D. was closing in on him while tracking down a leak that endangered the life of Hong Kong resident Chan Ho Yin. Ward cuffed Skye and took her and Lydon into custody aboard the Bus. When Ward produced evidence that Lydon had accepted payment of one million dollars for the information that endangered Chan's life, Skye was infuriated and felt betrayed by Lydon.

Later, when the operation to extract Chan from captivity by the Centipede Project (actually John Garrett's HYDRA-funded science group) went bad, Ward released Skye from custody and accepted her help in rescuing Coulson and Melinda May. Skye very quickly managed to hack Centipede's mainframe and release the locked doors, allowing Coulson and May to escape. Coulson later agreed to let Skye remain on the team as long as she came completely clean with the team and agreed to wear a Tracking Bracelet at all times.

Ward further gained the trust of the team by jumping out of the Bus to rescue Jemma Simmons, who had jumped from the Bus without a parachute in order to protect her team from a Chitauri Virus. Ward was never in any danger as he had a parachute and administered the cure to Simmons during free-fall.

When the team had a stopover at the installation known as The Hub, Agent Victoria Hand assigned Ward and Agent Leo Fitz on a mission to Georgia to destroy an enemy weapon known as the "Overkill Device".

Ward went into the assignment watching the back of the inexperienced Fitz, but despite a few mistakes, Fitz surprised Ward with his quick thinking, adaptability, and courage during the assignment.

Dark Past
After Thor saved the Earth from the wrath of Malekith and the Dark Elves, Ward along with the rest of the team and S.H.I.E.L.D. proceeded to clean up the mess the battle had left in Greenwich. Later they were called to investigate the mystical weapon known as the Berserker Staff, which had been discovered by Norse Paganists leaders Jakob Nystrom and Petra Larsen. While searching for the second piece of the Staff, Ward came across the piece and Professor Elliot Randolph, but as he attempted to take it from Randolph, the Staff infected Ward with its mystical strength but also brought back a dark memory he had long hidden. As the effects of the Staff continued to affect Ward, his anger rose, causing him to lash out at the other team members.

The team finally located the final piece of the Staff thanks to Randolph, who was revealed to be the Asgardian soldier who had hidden it. When Grant and the team arrived they were confronted by Jakob, who had beat them to the location. Seeing no other choice, Grant grabbed a piece of the Staff and attacked Jakob. After a difficult battle, Ward defeated Jakob and the remaining Paganists, while also fighting through his own dark memory, which caused him to collapse at the end of the battle. Petra and another Paganist arrived, only to be defeated by Melinda May, who had taken the Staff from Ward. Later at a bar, Ward apologized to Skye who let him know if he ever needed to talk she was there. As he went to his room he saw May with a bottle; after a brief moment of eye contact, she entered her room, leaving the door open, and Ward soon followed. Seeing May as the biggest threat to his mission, he allowed things to get intimate.

True Colors
Ward assisted his team on other missions with his skills as an undercover specialist. He covered as a train conductor while the team was chasing Ian Quinn. In a sudden and tragic turn of events, Skye was shot twice in the stomach during the mission by Ian Quinn. At the thought of losing her, Ward's feelings for her grew as his relationship with Melinda May waned.

Ward helped with Skye's recovery by breaking into the Guest House with Phil Coulson, Leo Fitz, and John Garrett when Garrett arrived with his new recruit, Antoine Triplett.

As Skye recovered, Ward admitted to her that he blamed himself for her injury, but Skye reassured him by promising him that she would train harder after her recovery.

Ward received the assignment to help Sif with the capture of Lorelei in Nevada. Lorelei enthralled him after she saw his strength in battle. After spending the night together in Las Vegas, Ward was candid with Lorelei about his feelings toward Skye and May and told her that Coulson's Team stood between her and world domination. Together, they hijacked the Bus, and Ward had a lengthy fight with May, in which he would have killed her if his gun wasn't empty. This effectively ended their relationship.

Grant Ward witnessed Skye becoming an official S.H.I.E.L.D. agent so she could access the Index allowing S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate the Clairvoyant. Ward was teamed with Triplett to investigate Elijah Fordham, but before they could find him, they were called to help Felix Blake against Deathlok.

Deathlok was found in Pensacola, Florida, and he led a raiding party, including Ward, to Thomas Nash. When Nash threatened Skye's life, Ward killed him.

Battle at the Hub
"Yeah, that straight version of you is something else; I don't even think Romanoff can pull that one."

- John Garrett

During the S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War, Ward explained to Phil Coulson that Victoria Hand, who was believed to be the Clairvoyant, could not get the research and items stored on the Bus, so Coulson had Skye download all of the data onto an encrypted hard drive. Ward and Skye worked together to battle through the Hub as they discussed their feelings. When Coulson, Leo Fitz, and Melinda May were surrounded by HYDRA agents and John Garrett, who revealed himself as both the Clairvoyant and a HYDRA operative, Ward and Skye rescued them.

Ward requested to join Hand in transporting Garrett to the Fridge. Once airborne, he killed Hand and two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to free Garrett. Ward next freed Raina from her imprisonment and took her to Havana, Cuba to introduce her to their mutual benefactor. At the Barbershop Headquarters, Ward and Garrett presented Raina with the drugs from the Guest House and the encrypted hard drive Skye had created so she could perfect Project Deathlok. Afterwards, they went off with Agent Kaminsky to raid the Fridge, releasing its prisoners, including Blackout and Ian Quinn, and obtaining its confiscated weapons, including the Berserker Staff, the Peruvian 0-8-4, and the Gravitonium. However, when Raina reported that only Skye could decrypt the hard drive, Ward was ordered to return to Coulson's Team to get the pass codes from her. Before he went to Providence, Ward had Garrett hit him several times, damaging his face and cracking his ribs.

"Ward is HYDRA"
"I was on a mission. It wasn't personal." "It was - you did not just say that. "It wasn't personal"?"

- Grant Ward and Skye

When Ward arrived at Providence, he lied to Coulson's Team about the Fridge, telling them that he killed John Garrett as Garrett was freeing the prisoners. Coulson decided to take half the team to Portland, Oregon to pursue Blackout, but Agent Eric Koenig insisted that they all pass the Lie Detector first. Ward barely passed his test. When Skye and Koenig discussed using NSA satellites to watch the prison break, Ward knew it would expose his part in the scheme; therefore, he killed Koenig, hid his body in a closet, and convinced Skye to leave with him on the Bus. Unknown to Ward, Skye had already found Koenig's body and left the message "Ward is HYDRA" for her teammates to find.

Ward flew to Ruthie's Skillet in Los Angeles since Skye told him that the encryption was location-based. While there, he learned that Skye knew his affiliation, but when she tried to escape, Deathlok, Ward's back-up, apprehended her. Ward tried to explain to her that his feelings were real, but Skye was too upset to listen. Deathlok then shot Ward with a Heart Stopper to induce a heart attack to make Skye release the codes. She did, saving Ward's life. Maria Hill arrived as Ward was preparing the Bus for take-off and distracted Ward long enough for Coulson to board and rescue Skye.

With the codes, Grant Ward returned to Cuba, and Raina was able to finish recreating GH.325. Garrett ordered the abandonment of the Barbershop Headquarters for the new Cybertek Manufacturing Facility, and Raina told Ward about rumors she had heard about Skye's parents. Before the members of the Centipede Project could leave, Ward found Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons spying on them. After he captured them, Fitz activated the EMP Joy Buzzer that further damaged Garrett, who was already suffering from organ failure. Ward ejected them in a Medical Pod from the Bus into the Atlantic Ocean. When he returned to Garrett, Ward learned that he had had Raina inject him with the GH.325.

Battle at Cybertek
"You know about Skye's parents, about the darkness that lies inside her. I believe in a world where her true nature will reveal itself. And when that day comes, maybe you two could be monsters together."

- Raina

Ward went with John Garrett to the new Cybertek Manufacturing Facility. On the flight there, he became worried about the state of Garrett's mind. He talked with Raina about his worries before she left, and she sarcastically said that perhaps now he could be with Skye. Despite his concerns, he stayed with Garrett. When Coulson's Team broke into the facility, he was tasked with apprehending Skye but was stopped by Melinda May with whom he engaged in a long battle that ended with his foot nailed to the floor, several bruises, and a fractured larynx. Coulson, angry that Ward had lied to them from day one, left him a question: Who are you without John Garrett? He was then taken into custody by U.S. Marines.

Prisoner at the Playground
"I told Coulson weeks ago that I was willing to speak to you to give you intelligence. Why now? Something bad happened?"

- Grant Ward

Grant Ward became a prisoner in one of the vaults in the Playground. In his time, he refused to speak to anyone except Skye. For three months, Phil Coulson sat outside Ward's cell but Ward refused to speak. Ward was eventually questioned by Skye about Carl Creel's connection with John Garrett and HYDRA. Ward told her about his gift. He also provided information on how HYDRA was communicating between its factions. Before Ward could give any information about Calvin Zabo, her father, Skye left and returned Ward to isolation.

Later when the team was attempting to track down Donnie Gill who had now gained cryogenic powers, Skye came down to gain information from Ward. The two were sidetracked, discussing Ward's alleged abuse by his family who are now considered well-known, respectable people. Ward told her that HYDRA, when coming after a gifted, will first try to recruit them or, if the former fails, terminate them. He also told Skye that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s morals were going to lead to its defeat.

Leo Fitz, feeling that the others were keeping secrets from him, discovered Ward in his cell and attempted to kill him out of revenge by taking the oxygen out of the cell. During this, Fitz revealed the team had left to go after Gill. Ward revealed that HYDRA brainwashed some of its agents, including Gill, who was used by HYDRA to take the Sandbox. Fitz allowed Ward to live. Upon returning to the Playground, Skye confronted Ward, who reminded her of his promise to always tell her the truth. She wanted to know if he was brainwashed into working with HYDRA; he told her he wasn't. He then told her that he could lead her to her father.

Bonding with the other agents, Skye admitted that she once had a crush on Ward. Meanwhile, Fitz felt that Ward was getting more respect than he was from the others.

Ward thought Skye wanted to talk about her father when she returned to Vault D weeks later, but she came to ask him about the Words of Creation. Ward told her that Raina was the one who gave him the information on Skye's father but she believed that Raina was playing him. Ward desperately hoped that she was not carving the Words of Creation. Their conversation gave Skye the clue she needed to recognize that Phil Coulson was the one writing them. Later when Raina told Coulson that she wanted to bring Skye to her father she realized that Ward was right after all.

Transfer and Escape
"I sat in this chair every day for three and a half weeks, and you never said a word. But now you want to talk? Well, it's too late." "Everything I told Skye was true. You know that. I haven't given you one bad piece of intel. Is that worth nothing?" "You will never see Skye again." "I thought we were rebuilding trust, Coulson. I can help you. I'm still part of your team." "My team? You will never be part of my team, you dropped Fitz and Simmons out of a plane, you killed Victoria Hand and Eric Koenig, you betrayed every one of us you deluded son of a bitch!"

- Phil Coulson and Grant Ward

When HYDRA attacked a United Nations summit posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Grant's older brother Christian attempted to hunt down the agency, Coulson had Skye talk to Grant about his brother in hopes of finding out anything. Grant begged Skye not to let him know he was there. He then changed the conversation to Calvin Zabo only for Coulson to interrupt them and cut them off. Skye came back and Ward revealed to her that her father was trying to rescue her from HYDRA agents and that her mother was killed in the rescue attempt. Ward then tried to convince her to set him free so he could take her to him. Skye however revealed to him that he was being transferred to his brother's custody, much to his dismay. Phil Coulson later came down as Grant tried to convince him he could still help them and that he was still part of his team. Coulson angrily listed the many atrocious actions Ward committed (dropping Fitz and Simmons out a plane, killing Victoria Hand and Eric Koenig) and told him that the only reason he was alive because he was of use and the only reason he was being transferred was because Christian was of more use. Coulson escorted him into a truck, advising the FBI agents not to give Ward a single inch. Inside the van, Ward managed to escape his handcuffs and overpower the soldiers.

Renegade
"Hey, Skye." "Was that your cue? Where are you?" "Just wanted to make sure you got my present. I promised him a face-to-face with Coulson. Probably not exactly what he had in mind. I'll be sending a few other gifts your way now and then." "Like a cat bringing in dead birds? No, thanks." "Just trying to be helpful."

- Grant Ward and Skye

Ward knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. was pursuing him so he went a bus station in Philadelphia and, in a locker, got money and supplies. He also strapped explosives to himself which deterred Antoine Triplett from pursuing him.

The bus took Ward to Atlanta where he saw a woman on page 117 of her book. Calling himself Zack, he then helped Eliza and her son, Graham, onto a bus to Dallas. When Eliza wanted further conversation, he opted to sit with the woman reading her book, who was also on that bus. After flirting with her, Ward revealed that he knew she was an agent of Coulson's because she is still on page 117. Ward showed her his bomb and left the bus. However he boarded another bus headed to Boston with Lance Hunter on board.

In Boston, Ward met Sunil Bakshi in a bar run by a member of HYDRA. During the meeting, Ward asked Bakshi to whom he answered, as Strucker was overseas, to which Bakshi replied that he answered to Daniel Whitehall. Ward also asked if he could meet Whitehall, to which Bakshi replied that Whitehall was busy, but then Ward told him that he could get them close to Coulson. Ward then killed the bartender and the two HYDRA agents that accompanied Bakshi; Bakshi was then tied up and left for S.H.I.E.L.D. Ward took a shave and called Bakshi's phone. When Skye answered, he greeted her and hoped that she liked his present. He then made plans to see his brother.

Killing Senator Ward
Grant found Christian as he was talking to his wife and setting up a date with his mistress. Grant had them go to the well from their past that their parents buried. Christian was forced to uncover the well and Grant threatened to drop him inside if Christian refused to admit to his part in torturing Thomas in their youth. Eventually, Christian tearfully admitted his part. Grant then made it appear to Christian that he had forgiven him, but in reality he was setting him up. Grant had recorded what Christian said. When they got back to the house, Grant killed Christian and their mother and father and burned down the house, making it appear to be a murder-suicide case. Grant put the recording of Christian's confession in the remains of the house to further ruin Christian's appearance to the public.

Later, Ward had a meeting with Daniel Whitehall, asking if he could work with him in HYDRA. While they were talking, news footage aired of the alleged murder-suicide of Senator Christian Ward and his parents. Ward looked unsurprised. Calvin Zabo entered the meeting and Ward introduced himself.

Capturing Skye
"First, you gave us Bakshi. Now you're back with HYDRA? Pick a side, Ward." "Oh, I have. Don't worry."

- Skye and Ward

Tracing the Tag Rounds injected into Raina, Ward found her aboard the cloaked Bus and Whitehall had it surrounded by four HYDRA Quinjets. Ward boarded the Bus with other operatives as Skye, Melinda May, Lance Hunter, Antoine Triplett, Billy and Sam Koenig surrounded him with guns drawn. When Skye saw him working with HYDRA, she told him to pick a side; he told her that he has. Then he told them that if a shoot out began, all would die as the Quinjets would destroy the Bus. He promised that if Raina and Skye came willingly, nothing would happen. Sam Koenig asked what promise did he give his brother before killing him. Though the Koenig brothers had Ward in a cross fire, they chose not to shoot. The women left with Ward.

When Agent 33 reported to Whitehall that Raina was captured but Skye was also obtained by Ward, he frowned. She also told Whitehall that the Bus was not destroyed by Ward's promise; Whitehall told her that Ward did not have the authority to give that command and ordered her to have the Quinjets attack.

Keeping His Promise
"Is it really that hard to see? It's love. Agent Ward believes that if he helps Skye fulfill her destiny, she will see him for who he truly is."

- Raina to Daniel Whitehall

As he admired how much Melinda May taught her, Ward took Skye to the Ponce de León Theater‏‎ in San Juan to reunite her with her father.

Daniel Whitehall decided to have a meeting with Ward, Raina, Skye, and her father to discern Ward's motivation for bringing the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and defying his order to destroy the Bus. Raina revealed that Ward loved Skye and his desire for her outweighed his allegiance to HYDRA.

While bound and guarded by Agent 33, Ward asked her about her resemblance to May. She talked of her loyalty to Whitehall. When the Battle for the Kree City began, Ward talked to the guard that replaced Agent 33 long enough for Zabo to kill him. Ward asked Zabo to free him, but he refused, citing that he did not want Ward and Skye to see him kill Whitehall. Ward freed himself after Zabo left, then freed Skye. She took the dead guard's gun and shot Ward.

Ward was saved by the Bulletproof Vest he wore. Agent 33 came to him emotional over the death of Daniel Whitehall. He told her that she was free from HYDRA and, together, they can find her place in the world. She then helped the injured man leave the scene.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Identity
"I'm agent Grant Ward. I could rupture your spleen with my left pinky... blindfolded."

- Jemma Simmons imitating Grant Ward

Grant Ward, while infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D., generally has a bad temper but is able to stay calm and collected during sticky situations. He is slightly anti-social with strong morals and is known to be 'deadly'. On his days off, however, he enjoys a nice book or even singing along to his favorite West Side Story song. As time progresses, Ward seems to soften somewhat, developing friendships with his fellow Agents, which eventually is cemented upon rescuing Agent Simmons after she jumps from the Bus. Ward does not seem overtly interested in relationships but for a time has a purely sexual relationship with Agent May. However, when he begins to develop feelings for Skye, this arrangement ends.

True Personality
"I'm everyone's type."

- Grant Ward

In reality, Ward is a member of HYDRA. As such, he is revealed to be a master manipulator, who is able to adjust his personality in order to gain the trust of others. While he still manages to retain a calm and collected personality, he has very little of the loyalty or morals that he previously demonstrated. His only loyalty is to John Garrett, to whom he claims he owes everything. He does seem to have some reservations about Garrett's actions, but mostly in regards to Skye. Beyond that, he seems more than willing to work against Coulson and his team. However, he could not bring himself to directly murder Fitz and Simmons and instead ejected them into the ocean.

During his imprisonment, Ward evolved to being his own person, but became more remorseless and manipulative; he knew Skye's pressure points and attempted to use his knowledge of her father to exploit them. He murdered numerous guards during his escape and threatened to blow up a bus full of innocent people. He went so far as to murder his brother and parents, before finally being reinstated as a member of HYDRA, even after selling one of them out to Coulson. It should also be noted that while Ward does manage to retrieve Raina and Skye, he doesn't destroy the Bus, despite Whitehall's ordering him to do so. However, as Raina pointed, the only reason for Ward's actions in aiding both S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA was that he loved Skye, and his feelings for her have outweighed any allegiances he once had.

Abilities

 * Master Combatant: Ward is an expert in hand to hand combat. He can defeat almost any opponent, being able to hold his own even against Melinda May.
 * Expert Marksman: Ward is an extremely accurate marksman skilled in sharpshooting and sniping. John Garrett recommended Ward to take this course in S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy after Ward spent time in the woods using this skill to hunt for food. Ward has famously made a shot from over 1000 yards; Ward says it was 2000.
 * Multilingual: He is fluent in English, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish. Ward used this skill in missions in Paris, South Ossetia, and Peru, most times as an undercover agent. He has used such skills on the train in Italy, in the Todorov Building in Belarus, and when arriving at the Barbershop Headquarters in Cuba.
 * Expert Spy: Ward is a proficient agent trained in espionage, stealth, disguise and infiltration. He has spent years on some missions as an undercover agent. When taking a Lie Detector test, Ward put splinters of cable wire into his fingers to confuse the sensors. Infamously, Ward used this skill to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. as a HYDRA operative, spending years gaining trust and respect. When questioned by Raina, he explained to her methods that he used to solidify his place on Coulson's Team.
 * Master of Deduction: When Ward suspected that S.H.I.E.L.D. was pursuing him, he knew that they would send agents that he had never met. Ward observed that Bobbi Morse was not changing her page as she pretended to read a book. He also spotted Antoine Triplett at the bus station, subtly revealing his explosives to the agent.
 * Self-Control: Ward is able to make use of strong self-control, especially when ignoring his own desires in order to obey John Garrett's orders. Ward wanted to have Skye for himself, but went on to try and capture her for Garrett.
 * Master Survivor: When John Garrett left Ward alone in the woods with only a few articles of clothing, Ward managed to survive, and even thrive, for the six months before Garrett returned. He continued to live there for months after that, learning to hunt and supply for himself.
 * Pain Tolerance: Ward is able to tolerate high levels of pain. He fought several armed men just seconds after he dislocated his thumb to free his hand from handcuffs.

Weapons
As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a HYDRA operative, Ward is highly skilled with all types of firearms.
 * : The Smith & Wesson M&P pistol is the standard sidearm carried by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and, as such, Ward used it to threaten or shoot most of his enemies.
 * : Ward started using this pistol as his standard sidearm when his alliance with HYDRA was revealed, and used for o threaten Skye during the Battle at Cybertek.
 * : Ward obtained one of these pistols used by the guards of the Todorov Building when he infiltrated the facility.
 * : A revolver handed by John Garrett during his time in Wyoming, Ward fired in the air when Garrett ordered him to kill his loyal dog Buddy.
 * : A submachine gun that Ward, Garrett and Coulson used during the raid of the Guest House.
 * : A shotgun that Ward managed to obtain by 1999 while lost in the forests of Wyoming.
 * : The standard weapon used by S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team members, that Ward also used while tracking Deathlok and the Clairvoyant in Florida.
 * Nemesis Arms Vanquish: While investigating Michael Peterson, Ward assembled a Nemesis Arms Vanquish rifle along with a telescopic sight, bipod, suppressor and railed handguard in case Peterson had to be killed due to the instability of the Extremis in his blood.
 * : Ward used this rifle to act as a sniper during the hostage exchange when Ace Peterson was to be liberated by Raina and Phil Coulson became kidnapped by the Centipede Project.
 * : A sniper rifle used by Ward to hunt during his days in the forest of Wyoming.
 * Night-Night Pistol: Sometimes, Ward needed to apply non-lethal force to subdue a target without permanent harm, favoring the use of the Night-Night Pistol designed by Agents Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. This weapon renders the target unconscious to be safely captured, such as when he raided Ian Quinn's mansion in Italy while searching for Skye.
 * I.C.E.R. (Pistol Version): After Agent Leo Fitz improved the technology of the Night-Night Gun, Coulson changed the now obsolete weapon and favored the use of the pistol version of the I.C.E.R.s. He used two of these in a fight during the Battle at the Hub.

Family

 * Mother † - Abusive Mother and Victim
 * Father † - Abusive Father and Victim
 * Christian Ward † - Abusive Older Brother and Victim
 * Thomas Ward - Brother, Forced to bully by Christian
 * Sister
 * Anna Ward - Sister-in-Law

Allies

 * Raina - Enemy turned Ally
 * Centipede Project
 * John Garrett † - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Supervising Officer, HYDRA Superior and Father Figure
 * Kaminsky
 * Ian Quinn - Enemy turned Ally
 * Ernesto - Barber
 * Cybertek
 * Carlo Mancini † - Enemy
 * Sofia † - Enemy
 * Calvin Zabo
 * Agent 33

Enemies

 * S.H.I.E.L.D. (First Incarnation) - Allies turned Enemies
 * Nick Fury - Director
 * Maria Hill - Deputy Director
 * Victoria Hand † - Superior and Victim
 * Felix Blake - Colleague
 * Eric Koenig † - Colleague and Victim
 * Coulson's Team - Teammates turned Enemies
 * Phil Coulson - Team Leader
 * Melinda May - Former Lover
 * Jemma Simmons
 * Leo Fitz
 * Skye - Enemy turned Teammate and Pupil (former), Love Interest
 * Antoine Triplett † - Colleague and Former Friend
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. (Second Incarnation) - Jailors
 * Phil Coulson
 * Melinda May
 * Skye - Love Interest
 * Leo Fitz - Torturer
 * Jemma Simmons
 * Antoine Triplett †
 * Bobbi Morse
 * Lance Hunter
 * Billy Koenig
 * Sam Koenig
 * HYDRA - Allies turned Enemies
 * Daniel Whitehall † - Superior Officer
 * Sunil Bakshi
 * Jasper Sitwell †
 * Centipede Soldiers
 * Brian Hayward †
 * Michael Peterson - Ally (under HYDRA coercion), now Enemy
 * Akela Amador - Enemy turned Ally (former)
 * Camilla Reyes - Ally turned Enemy
 * Elliot Randolph - Ally (former)
 * Luca Russo † - Ally turned Enemy
 * Sif - Ally (former)
 * Lorelei - Enemy turned Enthraller

Behind the Scenes

 * Brett Dalton and his character Grant Ward share the same birthday.