Hand

Team Name

Hand

Base of Operations
Various

Current Members
Kingpin, White Tiger, Typhoid Mary, Lady Bullseye, Black Lotus, Makro, Yuki, Hobgoblin, Makoto (Daimyo of Eurasia), Takashi (Daimyo of Japan), Yutaka (Daimyo of Africa), Hiroshi

Former Members
Matsu'o Tsurayaba, Psylocke, Revanche, Echo, Wolverine, Izanagi, Bakuto (Daimyo of South America, deceased), Azumi Ozawa, Daredevil, Black Tarantula, Elektra, Kuroyama, Nina McCabe, Kirigi, Gorgon

Other Members (Honorary, Reserve, etc.)
N/A

Other Info
Many years ago, during feudal Japan, a few citizens of Japan fled to the mountainous regions of Iga and Kōga away from the oppressive class system of the time. These people eventually developed ninjitsu (a stealthy martial art perhaps inspired by Sun Tzu's The Art of War). Over a period of centuries, these people refined their art in secluded camps. Students were trained and practiced the art from birth--playing children's games designed to impart expertise in unarmed combat, swordplay, weaponry, camouflage, escape, and evasion. Ninjitsu was also designed to encourage spiritual growth by pushing oneself physically and mentally beyond normal human limits. The ninja were expert in espionage and assassination, and offered their specialized services to samurai warlords and others who could afford them.

By 1588, Kagenobu Yoshioka officially brought these ninjas together and created the "Hand." He stated that "the hand has five fingers, each of which can exist independently of others. Not unlike the five islands that form Japan. However, when the five fingers of the hand come together for a single, unified purpose... the hand becomes an object of unwavering power!" The Hand operated as a secret society of Japanese nationalist samurai not only in Japan, but internationally as well. However, they were soon co-opted by the Snakeroot (an ancient ninja clan which serves a demon known only as the Beast). (To learn about the Snakeroot, click on the highlighted name above.)

Through the centuries, the Hand attempted to spread its dark influence over the world. However, they have constantly clashed and battled with an order known as the Chaste. (To learn about the Chaste, click on the highlighted name above.)

At one point, Elektra had been cast out by the Chaste when it became apparent she was still consumed by grief, hatred, and pain following her father's murder. To prove her worth to Stick, (leader of the Chaste) Elektra planned to infiltrate the Hand and destroy them from within. However, the Hand was ready and they tricked Elektra into killing a previous sensei of hers. At this point, the Hand decided to take advantage of Elektra's fragile psyche and turn her to their dark ways. However, later, Elektra broke free of the Hand and escaped. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the characters. Note: Beware of the very form-fitting outfit worn by Elektra on her bio page.)

Years later, the Hand learned that Stick was in New York, helping his old student Daredevil (Matthew Murdock) deal with the temporary loss of his radar sense. Therefore, the members of the Hand attacked. The attack began to overwhelm Stick; however, he eventually managed to defeat his attackers when he and Shaft (another member of the Chaste) drew the life essences from the evil ninjas of the Hand--killing both themselves and the ninjas in the process. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the characters.)

Soon after, the Hand knew they were close to victory over their longtime foes. When Elektra had been killed by the assasin Bullseye, the Hand went in and stole her body. Now, with Elektra's body, the Hand took the steps to resurrect her (they hoped that she would replace the recently slain Kirigi as the order's greatest warrior). However, Daredevil, Black Widow, and Stone (the new leader of the Chaste) prevented Elektra from again becoming part of the Hand. (To learn about the different characters above, just click on their highlighted names. Note: Beware of the form-fitting outfits on Black Widow's bio page.)

Due to members of the Hand being practitioners of powerful occult magic and being able to kill a person and bring they back to life as a servant of the Hand, they have come in contact with many powerful superheroes. Of their victims, only Elektra, Psylocke, Northstar, and Wolverine are known to have reversed this brainwashing. In fact, when Wolverine was brainwashed in a combined operation by the Hand and HYDRA, he started to kill superheroes to have them revived and mind-controlled by the Hand. However, he eventually was able to reverse the control, and alongside Elektra fought Gorgon (who at the time had taken over both the Hand and HYDRA.) (Click on the highlighted names above to learn more about the characters and/or team.)

After sometime, the Hand was temporarily left without a leader. Thus, one faction--led by Lord Hiroshi and his lieutenant Lady Bullseye--tried to recruit Daredevil to be their new leader; however, Daredevil refused. After this, the group then went to recruit the Kingpin as their leader. This move, however, prompted Daredevil to go to the Hand and accept their offer on the condition that the Hand would not do business with the Kingpin or Lady Bullseye again. They agreed, and in observance of their new master, the ninjas adorned Daredevil-inspired regalia. (To learn about the above highlighted characters, just click on their names. Also, the Hand ninjas in Daredevil-inspired outfits are shown in the fourth and fifth picture posted. Note: Beware of the very revealing outfit on the Lady Bullseye's bio page.)

As the Hand's leader, Daredevil tried to use the team for a force of justice; however, after some time, he was eventually possessed by the demonic Beast. To stop the Beast-possessed-Daredevil, many different heroes joined forces against him, such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. At one point, even a direct attack from Wolverine failed to kill the now-demonic Daredevil, but eventually Iron Fist was able to heal Daredevil of the demonic "infection" by using his chi-punch to cure Daredevil's soul. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn more about the different characters.)

After the Beast was banished from Daredevil, Kingpin took advantage of the situation and took leadership of the Hand. As leader, he recruited many including Lady Bullseye, Typhoid Mary, Montana, and Hobgoblin as his henchmen. Now, the Kingpin uses the Hand for his criminal purposes. (To learn about the different highlighted characters, just click on their names above.)

To learn more a tiny bit more about the Hand, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Hand.

In the movie Elektra, I feel that the Hand was portrayed pretty well. However, they did take some names from characters in the Chaste and add them to the Hand roster in the movie, such as Stone. But, overall, I thought they did a pretty good job with the ninjas and what not.