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The Hand (comics)

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The Hand
Cover art for The New Avengers #27 (April 2007). Art by Leinil Yu
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceDaredevil #174 (September 1981)
Created byFrank Miller (writer/artist)
In-story information
Type of organizationOrganized crime
Agent(s)Betsy Braddock
Daredevil
Elektra
Gorgon
Kingpin
Kirigi
Kwannon
Frank Castle
Master Izo
Colleen Wing
Wolverine

The Hand is a supervillain organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Hand first appeared in Daredevil #174 (cover-dated September 1981) and was created by writer/artist Frank Miller; they were introduced shortly after Elektra, whom they trained. Later in the 1980s, they appear in stories written by Chris Claremont as antagonists of Wolverine and the X-Men.

The Hand is an order of evil ninjas who direct criminal and mercenary activities, particularly assassination. The Hand covets power above all other objectives. They are primarily based in Japan, but operate internationally. According to later stories by D.G. Chichester and C.B. Cebulski, they were founded in 1588 as a secret society of Japanese nationalist samurai but were soon co-opted by the Snakeroot, an ancient ninja clan. The clan serves a primordial demon known as the Beast of the Hand. Members of the Hand are practitioners of powerful occult magic; they can murder a person and resurrect the person as a servant of the Hand; a few are known to have reversed this programming. The Hand's adversary is the Chaste, a band of warriors once led by Stick, the blind martial arts master and mentor of Matt Murdock, who became the costumed crime-fighter Daredevil. After a series of hostile encounters, Murdock eventually accepts the offer of becoming the master of the Hand for a time, in a storyline by Ed Brubaker. After he is rehabilitated, the Punisher also becomes leader of the Hand, in a storyline by Jason Aaron.

The group's appearance in comics has been credited as one of the inspirations for the trend of ninjas in popular culture in the 1980s, and has also been criticized as a stereotypical representation of East Asian culture.

In film, the Hand appeared as the antagonists in Elektra (2005). The organization was subsequently adapted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), appearing in Marvel's Netflix television series Daredevil (2016), Iron Fist and The Defenders (both 2017), as well as the Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026).

Publication history

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1980s

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The Hand first appeared in Daredevil volume 1 #174 (September 1981) and was created by writer/artist Frank Miller.[1] In this initial storyline, the group fights Daredevil and Elektra; Elektra kills one of the Hand's assassins, Kirigi, more than once, but he is continually resurrected by the group's magic.[2] After Bullseye kills Elektra in Daredevil #181 (April 1982), the Hand attempt to resurrect her as a "mindless killing machine," but Daredevil purifies her soul by means of a magical ritual.[3] The Hand's enemies, the Chaste, succeed in returning her from the dead in Daredevil #190 (January 1983).[4]

The organization also appears in Miller's Wolverine miniseries (1982), coauthored with Chris Claremont.[5] The group reappears in the Acts of Vengeance crossover event; in Uncanny X-Men #256 (December 1989), written by Claremont, they transform Psylocke, a member of the X-Men, into a ninja warrior.[6]

1990s and after

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In Uncanny X-Men #268 (September 1990), again under Claremont's authorship, they reappear in a flashback story taking place during World War II in which they fight Wolverine and Captain America.[7] In 1993, the Hand again appear in Daredevil, in the "Fall from Grace" storyline written by D.G. Chichester; issue #319 (August 1993) introduces the Snakeroot, a faction within the Hand that becomes its inner circle.[8] In issue #323 (December 1993), the Hand create an evil, zombie-like version of Elektra, Erynys.[9]

In Mark Millar's "Enemy of the State" storyline (2004-2005) in Wolverine, Wolverine is brainwashed by the Hand into becoming their assassin; Elektra is killed and again resurrected by the Hand, although she rejects their conditioning.[10] The limited series Elektra: The Hand (2004), written by Akira Yoshida (a pseudonym of C.B. Cebulski),[11] provides the history of the organization.[12] During Ed Brubaker's tenure on Daredevil, concluding in 2009, the Hand recruit the titular hero to become their new leader.[13] This storyline continues in the "Shadowland" story arc written by Andy Diggle (September 2010-January 2011), in which Daredevil transforms the organization into a group of brutal vigilantes.[14] Daredevil is eventually redeemed by a group of other superheroes, and Kingpin takes on leadership of the group.[15] The series draws from Miller's earlier work in Elektra: Assassin (1986), demonstrating that the Hand serve a diabolic entity called the Beast of the Hand.[16] The Hand returned in Daredevil vol. 5 (beginning in February 2016), written by Charles Soule, in which the Beast tortures Daredevil before he is rescued by Blindspot.[17] The group then appeared in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 3) #14 - #16 (November 2016 - January 2017) (in this story, they resurrect the Hulk).[7] In a storyline of 2022 by Jason Aaron, the Punisher becomes the leader of the Hand.[18] In Chip Zdarsky's Daredevil vol. 7 (2022), Daredevil and Elektra again team up to fight the Hand.[19]

Fictional organization history

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The Hand's symbol

The Hand originated in feudal Japan in the 16th century.[1] The organization was founded by Kagenobu Yoshioka, initially a nationalistic secret society opposed to the powerful daimyo (lords) of that time.[20] The group took its symbol from a bloody handprint left by Yoshioka's mother when she was wrongfully arrested for murder. Yoshioka recruited leaders from each of the five islands of Japan, claiming that the islands could be like fingers clenched in a fist. The group eventually learned black magic to raise people from the dead.[21] The group became corrupted by the Snakeroot Clan and diverted into worship of a demon called the Beast. Master Izo, a founding member of the Hand, split and formed an opposing group, the Chaste, to prevent the organization from achieving its goals.[22] During World War II, they allied with Hydra in an attempt to recruit Black Widow (Natasha Romanova), but were prevented from doing so by Wolverine and Captain America.[7] They worked closely with Hydra before their expulsion by Baron von Strucker.[22] Elektra infiltrated the Hand, initially working for the Chaste, but eventually became corrupted by them; after they induced her to kill her previous mentor, she repudiated the group.[23] The Hand also raised a young woman named Kwannon and trained her to work as an assassin for a Japanese crimelord.[24]

Elektra then works together with Stick, a member of the Chaste, and Daredevil, who had been trained by Stick, to defeat the group.[25] When Kwannon is rendered comatose in battle, the Hand switches her mind with that of Betsy Braddock, a mutant telepath, attempting to make her an improved killer.[26] However, their brainwashing fails, and eventually the mind transfer of Kwannon and Braddock is reversed.[24] Some time later, the Hand subjects Wolverine to mind control; Elektra is able to free him, and to collaborate with him to again neutralize the group; they battle Gorgon, who attempts to reforge the alliance between the Hand and Hydra.[27] For a period, a Skrull impostor disguising itself as Elektra leads the group, before it is killed by Echo.[28] Subsequently, the organization succeeds in recruiting Daredevil to command the group. He recruits Colleen Wing, recounting how Wing's mother had once led an all-woman unit in the Hand, called the Nail; Colleen tries to re-create the Nail and use it for good, before realizing Daredevil's increasing corruption.[29] Daredevil is rescued and rehabilitated, leading to a period of Hand leadership by Kingpin.[15] The group then manipulates the Punisher into becoming their leader, playing on his emotions by resurrecting his murdered wife. The Punisher and the Hand then battle with Daredevil and Elektra, who led a new organization called the Fist.[7]

Reception

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Sean Howe identifies the significance of the Hand's early appearances in Daredevil as contributing to the 1980s trend of ninjas in popular culture, along with Eric Van Lustbader's novel The Ninja and Chuck Norris's film The Octagon.[30] In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Foot Clan were initially created as a parody of the Hand.[31]

The Hand has drawn some criticism for drawing from the racial stereotype of Yellow Peril. Scholar Eric Sobel describes the Hand as one of many "unusual, often problematic Japanese representations" present in the work of Frank Miller.[32] J. Andrew Deman also views the Hand's transformation of Psylocke from a white woman into a sexualized Japanese woman as racially insensitive; he quotes Anna Lam, who describes the Hand's brainwashed and race-swapped Psylocke as "a fetishized Asian sex object in the style of the classic Dragon Lady of the 1930s."[6] In addition, there has been cultural appropriation controversy about the work of C.B. Cebulski, who wrote much of the canonical backstory of the Hand, because he is a white American who adopted a false persona as a Japanese author.[11]

In other media

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References

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  1. 1 2 DeFalco 2022, p. 192.
  2. ↑ Young 2016, p. 188.
  3. ↑ Young 2016, p. 91.
  4. ↑ DeFalco 2022, p. 197.
  5. ↑ Cowsill 2021, p. 139.
  6. 1 2 Deman 2023, p. 55.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Cebulski 2024, p. 187.
  8. ↑ Darius 2013, p. 177.
  9. ↑ Darius 2013, p. 180.
  10. ↑ Cowsill 2025, p. 78-81.
  11. 1 2 Elbein, Asher (December 17, 2017). "The Secret Identity of Marvel Comics' Editor". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on January 22, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Elektra: The Hand (2004) #5". Archived from the original on 2026-05-28. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  13. ↑ Segura 2025, p. 166.
  14. ↑ Cowsill 2021, pp. 115–117.
  15. 1 2 Burroughs 2018, p. 137.
  16. ↑ Harrold 2011.
  17. ↑ Cowsill 2021, pp. 118–119.
  18. ↑ Morse, Ben (April 25, 2022). "The Punisher and The Hand". Marvel.com. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  19. ↑ Richards, Dave (June 8, 2022). "Zdarsky's New Daredevils Embark on a Quest to Break the Hand". CBR. Archived from the original on July 23, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  20. ↑ Cowsill 2021, p. 124.
  21. ↑ Cowsill 2021, p. 125.
  22. 1 2 Cowsill 2021, p. 126.
  23. ↑ Cebulski 2024, p. 137.
  24. 1 2 Cowsill 2021, p. 152.
  25. ↑ Cowsill 2021, pp. 106–110.
  26. ↑ Cowsill 2021, p. 151.
  27. ↑ Cowsill 2021, p. 143.
  28. ↑ Cowsill 2021, p. 71.
  29. ↑ Cowsill 2021, p. 91.
  30. ↑ Howe & 2012 241.
  31. ↑ "How 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Went From In-Joke to Blockbuster". Rolling Stone. August 14, 2014. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  32. ↑ Sobel 2020, p. 226.
  33. ↑ Binns 2016, p. 44.
  34. ↑ Cabin, Chris (February 25, 2016). "New 'Daredevil' Season 2 Trailer Focuses on the Arrival of Elektra and the Hand". Collider. Archived from the original on March 21, 2025. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  35. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (July 26, 2020). "'Daredevil' Actor Peter Shinkoda Claims Jeph Loeb Made Anti-Asian Comments During Production Of Netflix Series". Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  36. ↑ Kettley, Sebastian (March 21, 2017). "Iron Fist season 1: Who is Bakuto? Is The Hand villain a Marvel comic book character?". Express. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  37. ↑ Phillips, Tom (March 18, 2026). "Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer Features MJ, Bruce Banner, Punisher and Scorpion — and a Brief Glimpse at Sadie Sink's Character". IGN Southeast Asia. Archived from the original on March 18, 2026. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  38. ↑ Espinoza, Aaron Jason (July 23, 2026). "Marvel's Wolverine: Story Trailer, new art, composer details, and more". Playstation.Blog. Retrieved July 24, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Bibliography

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  • Burroughs, Todd Steven (2018). Marvel's Black Panther: A Comic Book Biography from Stan Lee to Ta-Nehisi Coates. Diasporic Africa Press. ISBN 978-1-937306-64-9.
  • Cebulski, C.B., ed. (2024). Marvel Encyclopedia: New Edition. DK. ISBN 978-0-5938-4611-7.
  • Cowsill, Alan (2021). The Way of the Warrior: Marvel's Mightiest Martial Artists. DK. ISBN 978-0-7440-2719-8.
  • Cowsill, Alan (2025). Wolverine: The First 50 Years. Titan Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1787744028.
  • Deman, J. Andrew (2023). The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the X-Men. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-4773-3075-3.
  • Diggle, Andy (2011). Shadowland. Marvel Entertainment. ISBN 978-0-7851-4762-6.
    • Harrold, Jess. "Lost in the Shadows: Interview with Andy Diggle". In Diggle (2011).
  • Guynes, Sean; Lund, Martin, eds. (2020). Unstable Masks: Whiteness and American Superhero Comics. Ohio State University Press. ISBN 978-0814255636.
    • Sobel, Eric. "The Whitest There Is At What I Do: Japanese Identity and the Unmarked Hero in Wolverine (1982)". In Guynes & Lund (2020), pp. 226-241.
  • Howe, Sean (2012). Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-199211-7.
  • Lindsay, Ryan K., ed. (2013). The Devil is in the Details: Examining Matt Murdock and Daredevil. Sequart Research & Literacy Organization. ISBN 9780578073736.
    • Darius, Julian. "What Fall from Grace? Reappraising the Chichester Years". In Lindsay (2013), pp. 166–191.
  • McEniry, Matthew J., ed. (2016). Marvel Comics into Film: Essays on Adaptations Since the 1940s. McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-4304-8.
    • Binns, Daniel. "You Can't Stop Her: Elektra Re-configured". In McEniry (2016), pp. 39-49.
  • Ridout, Cefn, ed. (2022). Marvel Year by Year: A Visual History: New Edition. DK. ISBN 978-0-7440-5451-4.
  • Segura, Alex (2025). Daredevil: The Illustrated History. Insight Editions. ISBN 979-8-88663-920-9.
  • Young, Paul (2016). Frank Miller's Daredevil and the Ends of Heroism. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-6381-7.
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