Grant Douglas Ward, the son of politicians, was abused by his parents and older brother Christian growing up.

After escaping from military school, stealing a car, and attempting to kill Christian by burning their house down, Grant meets John Garrett, a Hydra double agent within S.H.I.E.L.D.

[9][10] In an attempt to ambush those who were coming to rescue Bobbi Morse, Grant accidentally kills Palamas while she is in disguise as Melinda May, and blaming S.H.I.E.L.D., decides to take over the now leader-less Hydra.

[11] Joining forces with one of Hydra's previous leaders, Gideon Malick, Ward travels through a portal to an alien planet in search of the ancient Inhuman Hive, but is killed there by Coulson.

[13][14] He is revealed to still be a double agent, now working for the Inhuman resistance led by Jeffrey Mace due to his recruitment by Victoria Hand at a young age.

[16] From the conception of the series it was decided that Grant Ward would be a traitor, with executive producer Jed Whedon saying "since [the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier are] an infiltration based on betrayal on a massive scale, we wanted to have it on the small scale, and have it be a really personal dagger to the heart.

"[17][18] Ward's initial costumes were inspired by Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt, with his look based purely in function and with a muted color palette to reflect his serious attitude.

Dalton has described Ward as he first appeared in the series as "a guy who is very trustworthy and rolled up his sleeves and did all the heavy lifting and didn't really question authority.

Although it was eventually revealed that Ward was a Hydra imposter, Dalton noted that that doesn't necessarily mean the relationships the character built with his S.H.I.E.L.D.

team weren't genuine, since going undercover meant letting his guard down to make the other characters trust him, opening himself up to those relationships despite his ulterior motives.

[24] When Ward accidentally kills Palamas in the season two finale, Dalton said that "This affects him in a way that is deep and lasting.

There was a shred of humanity in there, and always the possibility and the thought that he could be redeemed...After Kara's death—that is actually at my hands—after all the time and effort and energy that's been invested in this relationship, it turns him.

[28] Dalton felt returning to the character in this capacity allowed him to "finally get to have the hero arc that he believed Grant Ward deserves.

"[31] Grant Ward made his comic book debut in All-New, All-Different Marvel Point One #1 (December 2015), created by Marc Guggenheim and German Peralta.