Christian Ward (portrayed by Tim DeKay) was a character from the second season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He was the older brother of Grant Ward and was a member of the United States Congress, serving as Senator of Massachusetts.
History[]
Early life[]
As a child, Christian was a cruel and manipulative bully. He and his brother Grant were regularly abused by their parents, though Christian took out his frustrations on his youngest brother Thomas, whom was spared the cruelty that Christian and Grant suffered. Christian, rather than harassing Thomas directly, forced Grant to do it instead. Most notably, he one day shoved Thomas down a well and threatened to do the same to Grant if he tried to help Thomas. Christian would convince their parents that Grant had acted alone, and tot long after this incident, something snapped in Grant and he attempted to burn down the family house. Grant was stopped, however, and sent to juvenile hall for his crime.
Adult life[]
By 2015, Christian was a Senator for the Republican Party. After S.H.I.E.L.D. was branded as a terrorist organization following the HYDRA Uprising, he publicly supported General Glenn Talbot's efforts in capturing the remainder of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s members. Talbot had a meeting with Ward after Marcus Scarlotti, claiming to be with S.H.I.E.L.D., tried to kill him with a Splinter Bomb during Talbot's speech in the United Nations. Ward berated the General for allowing S.H.I.E.L.D. to attack him as he bragged about taking down the organization. Talbot told him that he did not believe he was attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D. and that he had not revealed the senator's connection to Grant Ward, who was working for HYDRA.
Later, in a television interview, Ward called S.H.I.E.L.D. a terrorist organization and called for a multi-national police force to target and prosecute those organizations with ties connected to S.H.I.E.L.D.. Ward debated with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Belgium, Julien Beckers, about who decides who is connected to S.H.I.E.L.D. and whether or not this proposal betrayed the very ideal of citizens rights, but Ward stood his ground on the issue and told him that while Beckers was welcome to invite S.H.I.E.L.D. into his country, he believed that the organization needed to be destroyed.
Phil Coulson appeared in Ward's office uninvited after the interview; although Ward attempted to call security, Coulson revealed that he had cut the phone lines before stating that HYDRA, led by Daniel Whitehall, was responsible for the U.N. attack. Ward cunningly deduced that the Director didn't come to "clear the air", but to ask him go on record defending S.H.I.E.L.D. and condemning HYDRA, and assumed that Coulson had nothing to offer him in return. He insisted that the American people wanted a simple enemy to make themselves feel safe.
However, Coulson surprised him by mentioning that his brother Grant was in his custody. The two discussed the Ward family's past and Coulson told him that Grant had claimed that Christian had tortured their youngest brother Thomas. Christian instead told Coulson of the strained relationship between Christian and Grant, including when he caught Grant standing over Thomas with a screwdriver. For a recant of Christian's position on S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson agreed to have Grant put in federal custody.
With Grant being moved from the S.H.I.E.L.D. base into federal custody, Christian called for a press conference, gave a speech about the truth, stating that he had learned that there was a difference between S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA. The Senator went on to reveal that his brother was a traitor to his friends, his family and his nation, and was an agent of HYDRA. Ward made a vow to the press that he would personally ensure that his brother was punished for his crimes.
Abduction and death[]
While being transferred into federal custody, Grant escaped and managed to track down Christian who was on his way to see his mistress at his family's summer house. Grant abducted Christian, taking him on a journey through the woods, during which time the two discussed their rough childhood. Christian attempted to deflect all the blame regarding his cruelty towards his brothers, even attempting to emotionally manipulate Grant by convincing him that he had lied so much about their past that he believed the lies himself.
Grant brought Christian to the site of the well where they had thrown Thomas down before. The well had been covered up since then, but Grant uncovered it and threatened to throw Christian down there unless he confessed to the cruelty he inflicted on both Grant and Thomas in their youth. Grant beat his brother and held him over the edge of the well, and ultimately Christian confessed, stating that he resented Thomas because their parents actually cared about him and didn't abuse him like they had he and Grant.
After getting Christian's confession, Grant took his brother back to their parents' house. There, Grant killed Christian his parents, and set the house on fire to make it appear like a murder-suicide that Christian had perpetrated. Grant secretly delivered an edited version of Christian's confession to the media, making it seem to the public that Christian was confessing not only to his past crimes as a child but also to the arson. Christian's death wasn't shown on-screen, but was confirmed after the fact when Ward and Daniel Whitehall were watching a news report on the event.