Ward Meachum

The brother of Harold Meachum—or the facilitator of Danny Rand’s parents deaths—Ward Meachum spends his life building up a criminal empire that he hides from the rest of the family. When Harold dies, Ward targets the Iron Fist, thinking the hero killed his brother. From there, he has only made more bad decisions that have threatened the entire planet.

A Grudge Begins

Upon finding his brother Harold murdered, Ward assumed that Danny Rand AKA Iron Fist had something to do with it. He worked with his niece Joy and the Steel Serpent to take the Iron Fist down, but both left his side when they discovered his other criminal endeavors.

This pushed him further into the world of corruption, making Iron Fist (and later Power Man) his regular enemies.

The Power of Desperation

Though a ruthless businessman, Ward exhibits no super powers. That is until he gets his hands on the Power Gem of Quon, which he uses to bring Master Khan back to life.

Angry Adversaries

Like his brother Harold, Ward hates Danny Rand—not because of his identity as Iron Fist, but because Rand wants to gain more control of Rand-Meachum Inc.

By tangling with Iron Fist, Ward makes enemies of Luke Cage, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing, among others. Later on, he runs afoul of Namor and Namorita in his plot to help Super-Skrull destroy the planet.

Corrupt Comraderie

Not one to have any real friends or allies, Ward Meachum has a working relationship with his brother Harold, who dies at the hands of a ninja sent by Master Khan. Ward tricks his niece Joy into working with him, but she refuses after learning of his criminal ways. At times, he also works with villains like Steel Serpent, Master Khan, Ferocia, Shades, Comanche, and Super-Skrull.

Green and Revenge

Not much of Ward Meachum’s life is known before a mysterious ninja killed his brother Harold. Iron Fist had sought revenge against the man who murdered his father and laid the track for his mother’s demise as well, but left the sad, paranoid man to his own fate. Immediately after Iron Fist spared Harold’s life, a ninja appeared and ran him through with a sword. His daughter Joy accused Iron Fist of the murder.

Joy called her uncle Ward to let him know that his brother had been killed. Ward told his niece that Harold had given him instructions on how to deal with this particular situation.

After having Joy set up Iron Fist, Ward arranged for him to have a nasty run-in with a quartet of deadly assassins. They got the drop on Iron Fist when the same unnamed ninja who killed Harold appeared as if out of nowhere to help free the hero.

Ward next appeared after Joy agreed to listen to Iron Fist’s explanation for the night her father died, with Batroc in tow. The man who proved his mettle against Captain America dove into battle with Iron Fist, but soon called on his Brigade to overwhelm Rand. Once again the ninja helped Iron Fist against his attackers.

Meachum made another enemy when he refused to pay Batroc after the debacle with Iron Fist and the ninja. While Joy began wondering if Iron Fist really killed her father or not, Ward now knew the truth. He just wanted Danny dead so he could take control of Meachum Industries.

Working behind the scenes, Ward planned to take Rand out. He watched the hero fight Radion alongside Joy and her ally Steel Serpent, and even falsely assumed that Radion killed Iron Fist.

Joy soon began uncovering facts about her uncle, including how he helped bankroll the creation of Radion as well as a Chinatown street gang. She made a deal with the Steel Serpent to look into Ward’s dirty dealings in exchange for her continued assistance in his hunt for Iron Fist.

It didn’t take long for Joy to find out troubling news from Danny Rand’s lawyer, Jeryn Hogarth: Danny still owned part of the Rand-Meachum company because Harold never had Heather or Danny declared dead. This did not sit well with Ward. His problems continued when Chaka, the self-described Crime Lord of New York, barged into the boardroom with a small army of masked followers.

Lord of New York, barged into the boardroom with a small army of masked followers.

Chaka explained that Ward had gone back on some business dealings they’d set up in the past. He gave him an ultimatum: pay him back with interest or be murdered alongside everyone else in the room. Danny caused a distraction by letting himself be thrown out of a window at the beginning of the tussle, giving him time to put on his fighting togs and return as Iron Fist to save everyone and give Ward a chance to escape.

Ward couldn’t evade Davos either, and the Steel Serpent caught up with his prey at the Long Island Meachum Manor. Davos easily dispatched with Ward’s defenses and offered him a choice: either completely back away from the business or die. Instead of skipping town right away, Ward stuck around long enough to hear that Rand decided to give Joy control over his half of the company.

During Iron Fist’s early adventures, he discovered that Dr. Lee Wing carried the essence of the ninja who killed Harold Meachum after being possessed. That warrior owed allegiance to an ancient sorcerer by the name of Master Khan, who would later start working with Meachum in an effort to return to the land of the living.

Ward brought in Shades and Comanche to help him, giving them upgraded tech to take on Iron Fist and Power Man. He succeeded in getting a hold of the Power Gem of Quon, which brought Master Khan back to fight Rand and Cage. After Khan was sent back to K’un-Lun, Meachum and his crew were locked up.

Ward was released thanks to the efforts of Super-Skrull. This allowed him to become Vice President of Rand-Meachum after a clone of Danny Rand died in his place and Luke Cage was blamed for his death. Now re-established at the business, Ward facilitated the Skrull taking over Danny’s place in the company, which surprised Misty Knight and Colleen Wing, who both presumed Rand dead.

The unlikely duo schemed in secret, using mind control to get Ka-Zar to sign away rights to exploit the Savage Land’s natural riches. Eventually, Namor stumbled upon these plans and was knocked out by the Skrull posing as Iron Fist. Namor broke free and fought the Skrull with some assistance from Namorita. The Skrull got his own help from Misty Knight, who had come looking for Rand.

While Namor, Namorita, and the others wallowed in a cage, Ward talked business with another captive, industrialist Phoebe Marrs. After being freed, Knight burst into Meachum’s temporary holding cell and discovered that Rand wasn’t really himself. Ward continued running his mouth, letting it slip that he would be king of his own planet after his deal with Super-Skrull came to a close.

Meachum explained that Super-Skrull wanted to use the environmental technology in the Savage Land to melt the ice in Antarctica, which would set off a chain reaction that would destroy the Earth. Ward’s reward for helping would not only be his own planet to rule, but also having "the most beautiful woman in the Skrull galaxy" as his queen. Meachum soon started believing that the Skrull planned on betraying him. The final confrontation between Super-Skrull and Ward ended in the businessman sustaining severe burns all over his body.