History
Eric Ward was the step-brother of Mr. Ward, one of the men in charge of the Mount Rushmore monument. Near the monument's completion in 1943, Eric -- a Nazi sympathizer, was contacted by Nazi spies and ordered to blow up the monument. He attempted to comply but was opposed by the visiting Human Torch and Toro. They were briefly opposed by Mr. Ward who wanted to protect his step-brother; however, Eric ran off to set a bomb on the massive monument. He was chased by the Human Torch who sent Eric falling to his death with the explosives falling with him. When he hit the ground the explosives went off, certainly killing him if the fall had not done so.