Grant Ward

Grant Ward is just another cog in the giant machine that is SHIELD to most people that know of him. Nothing to see here, move along.

Amongst his fellow SHIELD Agents, Agent Grant Ward is noted as one of the most skilled and successful agents currently working for the agency. While he has a good reputation for getting the job done, he's not known for being particularly personable. In short, he is well-respected, but not particularly well-liked amongst his fellow agents.

Background

 * Grant Ward is born the middle child of three brothers, the eldest of which was abusive towards his two younger siblings. This prompted Grant to develop a strong protective instinct at an early age, and when he reached his teenage years he worked quite diligently to increase his strength and physical fitness so that he could stand up to his bullying brother. Still, his family life was far less than ideal, but despite that, Agent Ward pushed through to try to find a way out of his circumstances.


 * Grant graduates from High School near the top of his class, accomplished both academically and athletically. He chose to join the U.S. Marine Corps, and later volunteered and was accepted into the elite Forced Recon program, where he continued to distinguish himself.


 * On what was supposed to be a routine mission, then Sergeant Ward and his squad came across a small HYDRA installation. Outmatched by the terrorist organization's superior technology, several of Ward's squadmates were killed and Ward himself was cut off from the survivors in the chaos of battle.


 * Despite the circumstances, Ward returned for his surviving squadmates, and with quick-thinking and ingenuity managed to free them from captivity just in time for a SHIELD strike team to hit the installation in question. Ward and his surviving squadmates managed to assist the SHIELD agents in defeating the HYDRA cell, and Ward's actions brought him to the attention of SHIELD itself.


 * Ward accepts the offer of recruitment from SHIELD. He undergoes nearly five years of intensive training to become a Field Agent. Much like his military career, Ward distinguishes himself as highly capable in his training, which opens the door to more elite espionage programs.


 * Ward begins work as a operative for SHIELD. He undertakes several successful operations, gaining a reputation as one of their more effective agents, particularly in infiltration and combat operations. He particularly manages to distinguish himself during the events that involved the merging of two universes into one, and his ability to quickly adapt to the new status quo lead to his promotion to the Special Agent level.

Personality
Protective - Ward doesn't like bullies. He doesn't like people that don't deserve it getting hurt. Nearly Ward's entire life has been spent pursuing various means of protecting people. It's what he does. He is always the first to put his neck on the line when anyone he perceives as more vulnerable is at risk.

By The Book - Ward generally believes in doing things the "right" way. While he will bend and break regulations if he both feels it morally justified, he generally tends to believe in doing things "by the book." He's not a jerk about it, and he doesn't press the issue, but given the choice to do it "easy but wrong" or "difficult but right" he'll pick the latter every time.

Professional - Ward generally tries to get things done as efficiently as possible, and always gives his maximum effort to accomplishing any goal he is tasked to achieve.

Moral - Ward may be capable of killing in cold blood, but he doesn't enjoy it. He is, oddly enough, a bit of an idealist. He knows that he's sometimes tasked to do "bad" things, but holds faith that he's doing them for "good" reasons.

Standoffish - Ward is normally a solo operator, and with his no-nonsense demeanor and quite stoic manner, he can be a little off-putting. While he's not deliberately impolite, he can be very curt and come across as arrogant and rude at times. He isn't really a "people person" though he does have more of a sense of humor than many believe. Still, it takes quite a bit to earn his trust and even more to get him to warm up to someone.

Courageous - Ward has an exceptional degree of courage. He has no hesitation about deliberately placing himself in life-threatening situations, particularly if it means innocent lives will be saved. Even strange and supernatural occurrences don't put him off too much.

Determined - Ward has a strong will, and has no trouble ignoring pain and discomfort in order to focus on the task at hand and get the job done. Minor injury is no impediment to him.