Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Grant Ward has been through some pretty radical changes over the course of the show. He started out on Coulson's team as a super spy whose troubled past made him a sympathetic character despite his stoic demeanor, before later revealing that he'd been a sleeper agent for Hydra all along. He seemed to have a glimmer of hope at redemption when his Hydra mentor was killed and Grant himself was imprisoned by S.H.I.E.L.D., but after escaping he blossomed into his villain role and cold-bloodedly began to rebuild Hydra from the ground up.

The last time we saw Ward, he had been killed by Coulson on an alien world, then possessed and resurrected by a malevolent Inhuman and used for transportation back to Earth. Based on the clues in the show, some savvy Marvel fans theorized that Ward is actually playing host to the Hive, a Hydra creation from the Secret Warriors comics that has the ability to animate and control dead bodies.

Sure enough, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen have confirmed to The Nerdist that the new Grant Ward is indeed Hive, and while the supervillain "is going to have its own unique twist and be very different from what fans have seen so far," it will also have "similarities that pay homage to the original character." The reveal was accompanied by a new picture of Hive/Ward, looking a little worse for wear with the mark from Coulson's cybernetic hand on his crushed ribcage.

Of course, the big question that remains is whether Ward as we know him still exists inside Hive. When the being took control of Simmons' poor doomed friend Will on Maveth, it was able to access enough of his memories to fool the team into believing there was nothing wrong - until, of course, Fitz discovered that Will was already decomposing. Perhaps there's a chance that Ward's personality survived death and the character will be able to come back - whether as a hybrid mind with the Hive (similar to Andrew Garner/Lash) or entirely in control of his own body.

One thing is for certain: regardless of how much of Ward is left and how much is pure Hive, this zombie is bound to make trouble for S.H.I.E.L.D. when the show returns next week. Let's hope Daisy will be able to pull the Secret Warriors together in time to oppose this new threat.

Marvel’s Agent Carter season 2 airs Tuesdays @9pm on ABC. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 at 9pm on ABC. Marvel’s Most Wanted currently has a pilot order but no scheduled debut.

Source: The Nerdist