The Killing Hand

The Hand is known for a fictional villainous organization in the Marvel Comics universe. The Hand first appeared in Daredevil volume 1 and were created by writer and well known artist as Frank Miller. They are marked by their red costumes. This is the Hand.

The Hand is a cult of evil mystical ninja who are heavily involved in organized crime and mercenary activities such as assassination plots. The Hand covets power above all other objectives. They are primarily based in Japan, but operate internationally. They were founded in the 16th century and soon became servants of the primordial demon known only as the Beast. Members of the Hand are practitioners of powerful occult magic and can murder a person and bring that person back to life as a servant of the Hand. Only Elektra, Psylocke, and Wolverine are known to have reversed this programming. Wolverine was brainwashed in a combined operation by the Hand and Hydra.

This story began 800 years ago, in Japan. Seeking autonomy from the oppressive class system of the time, a few citizens fled into the mountainous regions of Iga and Kōga. There they developed ninjitsu, a stealthy martial art perhaps inspired by Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Over a period of centuries, they refined their art in secluded camps. Students trained and practiced the art from birth, playing children's games designed to impart expertise Ninjitsu. 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 specialised services to samurai warlords and others who could afford them. Basically Master ninja stuff and of course they will kill at will. The most evil and devious of all these ninja was a faction called the Hand. Unlike the other factions, the Hand did not work as mercenaries, but sought power themselves. The Hand sought dominance over all others, worked for no one but themselves, and sought to eliminate their enemies. From the very beginning, the Hand employed Dark magic, imparted unto them by their demonic master, The Beast. One of these black spells causes a Hand ninja's lifeless body to return to dust and prevent another from directly gazing at the Beast itself.

The Hand ninja survive to this day, still seeking power in various forms, and using their lethal skills and brutal methods. The Hand's most dangerous adversary is The Chaste, a band of warriors once led by Stick, the late, blind martial arts master and former mentor of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil. Another of his former pupils, Elektra Natchios, has also been involved with the Hand. She infiltrated the Hand, determined to prove herself to Stick. Instead, the ninja tricked her into killing one of her former senseis. Elektra served the Hand for a time. When their ways corrupted her soul, she fled Japan back to America.

Eventually, the Hand sought to wipe out Stick and the good warriors of the Chaste altogether. Stick thwarted an assassination attempt by four Hand operatives; he then summoned the other members of his order to New York City. With the assistance of his clan, Stick defeated Kirigi, the Hand's most lethal ninja at the time. The Hand regrouped and attacked Stick and his band of warriors that now included Daredevil and his current lover, Black Widow. The Hand had almost overpowered the small band of warriors, when Stick and Shaft resorted to an ancient technique that drained the life force from all ninja present. Unfortunately, the technique resulted in the explosion of Stick and his comrade as a result of the excess energy they had absorbed. The Hand considered the destruction of their arch-nemesis and leader of their enemy a victory and turned their attention to other schemes.

Years later, the Hand again turned its attention to the leaderless Chaste, once again attempting to destroy them, this time to prevent the Chaste's members from locating the new-born child that would bear Stick's reincarnated soul. The Hand severely crippled Stick's soldiers, reducing their number to a handful of warriors. The few remaining traveled to New York, seeking the assistance of Daredevil. Reluctantly, the Man Without Fear aided his former mentor's disciples, returning with them to Japan. Once there, The Hand attacked the Chaste and Daredevil relentlessly. Fighting alongside Daredevil, the Chaste barely managed to escape and safeguard their master's reincarnated spirit.

The Hand has also frequently fought with Wolverine and come into conflict with superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Avengers, and the X-Men. The Hand played a particularly large role in the history of Psylocke.

So don't walk in the alley alone at night, The Hand might be watching you.