25 greatest Marvel-Netflix characters of all-time

21. Ward Meachum

Before Danny lived in K’un L’un, Ward was his closest friend. However, when he returned, Ward was nothing like the boy he remembered. Ward and his sister, Joy, had taken on Rand Enterprises during Danny’s disappearance and when he did reappear, they didn’t believe it was truly Danny.

What makes Ward so interesting is his broken mind. As a child, Ward was beaten by his father, sometimes very brutally. Harold Meachum was grooming his son to take over his business but did so in completely the wrong way. If Ward stepped out of line, Harold would beat him but Ward still loved his father.

This was shown when Harold was diagnosed with cancer and Ward did all he could to find a way to prolong his father’s life. He even went as far as making a deal with the Hand to keep Harold alive and became his only confidante after his apparent death.

Ward suffers from an inferiority complex; beneath all of his smug bravado, deep down, he always believes others are better than him. This, coupled with the strain of keeping his father’s secret, led him to take drugs to calm himself. However, the drug abuse started to affect his sanity and as his grip on reality faded, Ward killed his father.

His journey in Season Two is one of redemption. Though he doesn’t always make the right choices, Ward is constantly trying to better himself and do the right thing. Particularly after he finds out that he has impregnated his sponsor.