Ward Meachum is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. In his original comic book appearances, he is depicted as the brother of

Harold Meachum Harold "Harry" Meachum is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a sinister businessman, primarily a foe of Iron Fist. In his original appearances in comics, he is depicted ...

and the uncle of Joy Meachum. Ward was portrayed by

Tom Pelphrey Thomas J. Pelphrey (born July 28, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Jonathan Randall and Mick Dante in the CBS television series ''Guiding Light'' and ''As the World Turns'' respectively, Kurt Bunker in the Ci ...

in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

television series '' Iron Fist'', where Ward is the brother of Joy and is Harold’s son.

Publication history

Ward Meachum first appeared in ''

Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own seri ...

'' #19, created by comic book writers

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948) is an American comic book writer notable for his ''Batman'' work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, '' Electric Warrior'' and '' Six from Sirius''. He is also known for his critica ...

and

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor role ...

. *''Marvel Premiere'' #19 *''Marvel Premiere'' #21 *''Iron Fist'' #1 *''Iron Fist'' #13 *''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #97 *''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #98 *''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #99 *''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #100 *''Namor the Sub-Mariner'' #16 *''Namor the Sub-Mariner'' #17 *''Namor the Sub-Mariner'' #18

Fictional character biography

Ward Meachum is the brother of

, the CEO of Rand-Meachum Inc. After Iron Fist was blamed for the death of Harold (who was killed by a ninja sent by

Master Khan Master Khan is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, a recurring foe of Iron Fist and Luke Cage. He first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #77 (October 1960), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve D ...

), Ward and his niece, Joy Meachum, hired villains to kill him. Ward first hired Steel Serpent to get revenge on Iron Fist. Due to Ward's own criminal connections, Steel Serpent stated that he couldn't work for him. After beating up Ward's bodyguards and leaving Ward alive, Steel Serpent explained that his debt to Joy had been paid and that he would take revenge on Iron Fist by himself. Ward then began to collaborate with Master Khan. Master Khan sent his minion, Ferocia, to help Ward. Afterward, Ward enlisted Shades and

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

, giving Shades a laser-shooting visor and Comanche a set of trick arrows to take down Power Man and Iron Fist. Upon obtaining the Power Gem of Quon, Ward and his men placed the Power Gem on a pedestal, using it to bring Master Khan back to Earth. Master Khan then told Ward about the Power Gem of Quon's ability to take away Shou-Lao's powers from Iron Fist, which would give Khan's dragons the power to kill Iron Fist. Master Khan was forced to fight Iron Fist when the

Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to appe ...

attack. Iron Fist was able to destroy the Power Gem of Quon to send Master Khan back to K'un-L'un, and Ward and his men were arrested after the battle. After Joy learned the truth about what happened to her father, Ward Meachum collaborated with Super-Skrull to take over Earth in exchange for Ward winning the hand of the "most beautiful woman in the galaxy". Ward was informed by an Oracle Inc. worker and Phoebe Marrs that Super-Skrull's offer would be horrible to Ward. Due to the paranoia he developed from Phoebe's warning, Ward turned against the

Skrull The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated fro ...

s by sabotaging the machine. This resulted in Super-Skrull using his pyrokinesis to kill Ward.

In other media

*Ward Meachum is a series regular in '' Iron Fist'', portrayed by

while the teenage version of Ward is portrayed by Ilan Eskenazi. In the series, Ward is Joy's brother and Harold's son, and is a childhood friend of Danny Rand. At first, he is doubtful about Danny turning up alive following his apparent death. Under Harold's persuasion, Ward reluctantly admits that Danny is alive and makes him a majority shareholder of Rand Enterprises. Halfway through the first season, Ward gets hooked on Madame Gao's heroin, which leads Harold to have him framed and institutionalized. He is cured of the addiction and freed from Birch Psychiatric by Bakuto as part of a deal to have Harold killed. However, Bakuto double-crosses Ward and shoots Joy in the stomach to draw Danny out. While Danny surrenders to Bakuto's forces, Ward and Harold rush Joy to the hospital. When Harold subsequently frames Danny for heroin smuggling, Ward warns Danny and

Colleen Wing Colleen Wing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Descended from a family of samurai, Wing is a Japanese martial artist who avenged her grandfather's death with the help of the superhero Iron Fis ...

, and also reaches out to

Jeri Hogarth Jeryn "Jeri" Hogarth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a friend of Iron Fist's father Wendell and an attorney for the Heroes for Hire, a team of heroes of which Iron Fist is a member. ...

to help prove his innocence. Ward later assists Danny and Colleen in fighting Harold. After Danny impales Harold onto a piece of rebar, Ward shoots Harold twice, causing him to fall to his death. After having Harold cremated so that Hand cannot bring him back to life, Ward takes Danny on as a business partner, similar to the way in which their fathers were also business partners.

References

External links

Ward Meachum
at Marvel Wiki
Ward Meachum
at Comic Vine {{DEFAULTSORT:Meachum, Ward Characters created by Doug Moench Characters created by Larry Hama Comics characters introduced in 1974 Fictional businesspeople Iron Fist (comics)