Hive Is An Evil Hydra Inhuman on 'S.H.I.E.L.D.'

After introducing Inhumans in Season 2, the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has fully leaned in to the part-alien, part-human race of powered individuals now scattered around the world thanks to some laced fish oil pills. However, though S.H.I.E.L.D. is dealing with the Inhumans, they still have the super evil organization Hydra to contend with as well — and their poster boy Grant Ward of course. Plus, now the good guys will be facing off against a new villain. But, who is Hive on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and how does it relate to Ward's new character development? Spoilers ahead for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. midseason finale!

First off, let's dive into the villain's comic book history. In Marvel Comics, Hive is actually a genetically engineered being created by Hydra as an experiment. On Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hive is an Inhuman according to Marvel, but in the comics, the being is more a group of parasites that work together in a hive — like a bunch of very tiny, very villainous bees. Since they're parasites, they overtake a host's body and use their own cunning intelligence to do Hydra's bidding. But, there are some caveats to Hive's powers: it can only overtake a weak host — someone who is injured, sick, or dead — and they still posses the same injuries and sickness of the body they're inhabiting.

So what does that all mean? Basically, since Coulson killed Ward in the midseason finale, that means Ward is (probably) officially, totally gone. If Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. adapts these aspects of the character, that means all the injuries suffered by Ward prior to being overtaken by Hive on Maveth — including the gunshot and crushed chest that killed him — still exist and Hive is unable to heal him. But again, that's if the show adapts all of these powers from the comics. As producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen told Nerdist, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will put a new twist on Hive:

[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.

We already know that Hive will be an Inhuman on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. rather than genetically engineered Hydra experiment, so its powers could differ from those of its comic book counterpart.

Plus, if the producers are to be believed, Hive's entire storyline could be extremely different than what Marvel fans know. However, I should mention that Marvel also confirmed Hive's storyline is being adapted from the Secret Warriors comic series, which also saw Hive inhabiting the body of a deceased high-ranking Hydra agent. So perhaps the differences will become more apparent when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns for the second half of season 3 and Ward gets a new evil character arc — fully equipped with a frightening zombie appearance!

Images: Kelsey McNeal/ABC; Giphy