Kate Ward

> "What you did and what happened to her, I never blamed you for that, ever. It's not the fact that you killed my mother. It's that you never showed up after, okay?"
>
> Kate Ward, *Army of the Dead*

**Kate Ward** was a survivor of the zombie apocalypse and the estranged daughter of Scott Ward. When her father set off on a mission to retrieve $200 million from zombie-infested Las Vegas, Kate joined him in an attempt to find her friend Geeta, who who had gone missing somewhere in the city. Kate was the only member of the group to successfully make it out of the city before the nuclear strike on Las Vegas. She was portrayed by Ella Purnell in *Army of the Dead* and will be voiced by Purnell in *Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas*.

## Biography

### Before the zombie outbreak

As a teen, Kate lived happily with her parents, Scott and Laura Ward. Her father ran a small taco truck business, Sin City Tacos, for which she had a t-shirt. Not long before the zombie outbreak, the trio posed for a Christmas photo.

### Las Vegas outbreak

During the zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, Kate's mother was unfortunately infected, and her father, Scott Ward had to put her down. Scott found it hard to spend time with his daughter, both blaming himself for her mother's death, and finding it hard to look at her without thinking of her mother, which created a rift between them. Scott sent her to live with her grandparents while he fought in the zombie wars, and after the impact of dealing with the zombie outbreak, Kate never finished high school. Scott eventually moved to Victorville, while Kate stayed somewhere in or around Barstow, California, where she would later volunteer for the Las Vegas Quarantine Center. They sent her to the McCarran Quarantine Camp where she befriended Geeta.

### Götterdämmerung heist

> "I'm going in either way. I can either go in with you and you can keep me safe, or I'll just sneak in after you, and I'll probably die."
>
> Kate Ward, *Army of the Dead*

When Scott Ward approached her for her help, Kate initially turned him away, until he explained that he was going to give her $15 million if his mission succeeded. He needed her connections as a McCarran Quarantine Camp volunteer to get into the camp, where they could then sneak into Las Vegas. She drove the team into the camp, passing all the residents in the process of relocating, and the team prepared to enter the zombie area. Discovering that Geeta had abandoned her children, Kate punched Lilly in the face, realizing that she must have helped Geeta to sneak through the wall. Determined to return Geeta to her children, Kate threatened her father that if he didn't take her into the city with the group, she'd just sneak in after them. Forcing his hand, he allowed her to come on the condition that she never leave his side.

Kate stuck by her father as the group headed into the city, as they agreed. On the third floor roof of Bly's Casino, she and her father had a heart-to-heart while turning on the power generator, during which Kate started to understand her father better. She began down the road to forgiving him. They rejoined the group, and while Ludwig Dieter worked on the safe, she and Scott checked the area and Scott had her close an access hatch. When his eyes were turned away, she blocked the latch so that she could later use it without a key card. During the team's excitement of breaking into the safe, she slipped away to The Olympus, where she suspected that Geeta was being held. On her way over, the alpha horde stormed from The Olympus, forcing her to hide in an old car. Luckily for her, this meant that the building was nearly empty, so she was able to search freely for her missing friend. She eventually found Geeta and one of the two women that had gone with her, and they began back toward the main mercenary group, but Burt Cummings, the newly arisen alpha, barred their path. Kate managed to kill him, but Daisy was lost in the struggle, and some of the other alphas returned to decrease the likelihood of escape. Scott wasn't far behind, however, and he led them to the roof to make their escape.

After a brief moment of worry that Marianne Peters had left them behind, she brought the rescue helicopter back around to pick them up. That moment's pause gave Zeus the time he needed to jump aboard the helicopter and attack Scott. Peters was shot during the fight, but she managed to keep the helicopter upright as the fled the imminent nuclear blast. Kate made feeble attempts to help her father, and he was ultimately able to prevail, shooting Zeus but also taking a zombie-infecting bite. While this was going on, the bomb hit the city, and the helicopter was struck by the shockwave. It went down, and Kate found herself flung from the vehicle, but largely unhurt. She made her way around the helicopter, finding Peters impaled in the wreckage and Geeta nowhere to be seen. Scott was propped up, unable to move. They shared some final words, and Kate realized that she'd fully forgiven him, but he began to turn, so she regretfully shot him in the head. In his final moments he gave her several thousand dollars from the vault chamber, which she presumably intended to use to move Geeta's children from their refugee status. Moments later, she was found by a rescue helicopter and picked up.

## Abilities

* **Driving**: Kate is a commercial-level driver, capable of driving large passenger vehicles, such as buses.
* **Marksmanship**: Kate is a proficient marksman, using her father's handgun to take down several alphas during the Götterdämmerung heist.
* **Social manipulation**: Kate was able to manipulate her father into allowing her to attend the Götterdämmerung heist for the purpose of finding Geeta, though she never intended to follow his terms, instead doing whatever she could to save her missing friend.
* **Smuggling**: While it wasn't a complicated feat, Kate used her credentials as a volunteer for the camp to smuggle the Götterdämmerung heist crew into the McCarran Quarantine Camp.

## Equipment

* **Binoculars**: Kate brought a pair of binoculars along during the Götterdämmerung heist. She used them to watch Athena's path as she headed back to The Olympus, where Kate would later seek Geeta.
* **SIG-Sauer P226R**: After reluctantly agreeing to allow Kate to join the Götterdämmerung heist, Scott Ward gave his daughter his SIG-Sauer handgun so she could help protect herself in the city. She used it to kill Burt Cummings and several other alpha zombies, before ultimately turning it on her infected father.
* **Blue Bird**: As a volunteer for the McCarran Quarantine Zone, Kate had access to refugee buses. She used a Blue Bird to smuggle the Las Vengeance heist crew into the McCarran Quarantine Camp for the Götterdämmerung heist.

## Relationships

### Allies

* Las Vengeance
	+ Scott Ward
	+ Maria Cruz
	+ Vanderohe
	+ Marianne Peters
	+ Ludwig Dieter
	+ Mikey Guzman
	+ Lilly
	+ Chambers
	+ Martin
* McCarran Quarantine Camp residents
	+ Geeta
	+ Angela
	+ Adjit

### Enemies

* Las Vegas horde
* Burt Cummings

## Appearance chronology

*Lost Vegas**Army of the Dead*
zombie wars*Army of the Dead*

## Gallery

Concept art by Alan VillanuevaConcept art by Alan VillanuevaDead Drop #7Behind the scenes photograph
## Merchandise

A t-shirt styled after Kate's was released alongside *Army of the Dead*. While hers is a tank top, this one is short-sleeved.

## References

1. ↑ On page 63 of *Army of the Dead: A Film by Zack Snyder: The Making of the Film*, Ella Purnell states that her character, Kate, watched her mother die when she was 16 or 17. Laura Ward died early in the Vegas outbreak, which occurred in late 2018, giving Kate a birth date in the range of 2001-2002.
Shay Hatten, Zack Snyder, Joby Harold (writers) & Zack Snyder (director) (May 14, 2021). *Army of the Dead*.
Peter Aperlo (author) (June 1, 2021). *Army of the Dead: A Film by Zack Snyder: The Making of the Film*. Great Britain: Titan Books.

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