Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD – Who Is Hive?

Before the return of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD this past Tuesday, it was confirmed who/what Grant Ward had now become. If you somehow don’t remember the midseason finale: Coulson kills Ward on the mystery planet, but the Inhuman that lives there crawled into Ward’s body, somehow made it back to Earth, and somehow found Gideon Malick.

And we all wondered if Grant Ward would ever really die. (Not really, but kind of!)

So it was confirmed earlier in the week that Grant Ward is now Hive, from the Secret Warriors comic of recent years. Of course, Agents of SHIELD is putting their own spin on the big bad. But before we get to the changes, who or what exactly is Hive?

In the comics, Hive is created in a Hydra lab to be the literal embodiment of Hydra’s ideals. It’s composed of thousands of engineered parasites and is more of a thing than a person. It is so dedicated to the entire idea of Hydra that Baron Von Strucker appoints it a figurehead for the organization.

At one point in the comics, when the Viper is killed and her body is found, Hive merges with her corpse and revives her; the only difference was a giant mass of parasites on the top of her head and a handful of tentacles. Which means Grant Ward might be looking even creepier in coming episodes.

So what are Hive’s powers in the comics? Well, it can basically use its parasites as projectiles, firing them at enemies like bullets. And…well, that’s about it. It can breathe underwater! But it’s limited by its human host, which shouldn’t come as a shock.

Now, in Agents of SHIELD, we know Hive will be an Inhuman rather than an experiment, already differing from the comic version. Our favorite producers had this to say:

"“[Hive] is going to have its own unique twist and be very different from what fans have seen so far. We will see similarities that pay homage to the original character, but fans will see that Hive is taking an exciting new direction in the world of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”"

So how might his powers differ? In that last scene in “Bouncing Back,” Ward shows off his powers, though we don’t see the outcome. He blows on his hand and seems to shed his skin into particles–perhaps some form of those parasites?–and shoot them towards low-budget Magneto.

I feel like in order to make this version of Hive feel like a true big bad, make him feel like a serious threat, they need to give him a bit of an Apocalypse vibe. What if blowing those skin particles/parasites on other people puts them under his power? Much like Apocalypse with his Four Horsemen, he could have armies at his control.

Plus, Ward is constantly saying that he will make believers out of all of them. This would be too fitting. But would it be too overpowered? How would you even combat something like that? Sure, Daisy might be able to shake the particles away from her, but can Lincoln just zap them away? Is there a way to destroy Hive? It’s lived so long on a desolate planet, inhabiting other dead bodies, has it only been gaining more power?

Agents of SHIELD has a lot of possibilities to play with for what they want their version of Hive to be, and that should excite viewers. As Jasper says in The Simpsons, what a time to be alive.