SIX-FINGERED
HAND
Membership: Avarrish, Fashima, Hyppokri, Maya, Puishannt, Unnthinnk
Purpose: Gathering of mystical power; merging of the realms of Hell with the Earth dimension
Affiliations:
Mephisto, Satan (Kurios), Satannish, Thog (manipulators);
Gargoyle/Isaac Christians, Gordski, Hellcat,
Asmodeus Jones, Messiah/David Kessler, Man-Thing,
Dorothy Walker (pawns);
army of lesser demons (servants)
Enemies: Defenders (Clea, Devil-Slayer,
Dr. Strange, Gargoyle, Hellcat, Hulk, Namor, Nighthawk, Silver
Surfer, Son of Satan (now Hellstorm), Valkyrie),
Dracula, Ghost Rider/John Blaze/Zarathos, Man-Thing
Base of Operations: A realm of Hell
First Appearance: Defenders I#93 (April, 1981)
History: All of the demons of the Six-Fingered Hand would be considered Class Two demons by the standards of the OHotMU, meaning that they are originated from or are closely associated with Earth, but that they come from a much later time period than the Elder Gods. Next to nothing else is known of the demons of Six-Fingered Hand.
(Defenders I#148 (fb) - BTS) - The Six-Fingered Hand created the artifact known as the Lesser Grey God.
(Gargoyle#2 (fb)) - The demonic druid-created Gargoyle amassed a group of worshippers. This brought him to the Six-Fingered Hand's attention. He joined them as an equal (note: Six Members were depicted in the flashback, so he was not an official member), but later they treated him with a condescending attitude. He was chosen as their pawn in the future plot involving Isaac Christians.
(Defenders I#95(fb)) - Dorothy Walker, dying of cancer, made a deal with Avarrish, who promised eternal youth and a cure for her disease, in exchange for Avarrish taking the soul of her daughter, Patsy Walker, aka Hellcat.
(Defenders I#94 (fb)) - A human agent of the Six-Fingered Hand was driven mad by the evil of that group.
(Defenders I#94 (fb)) - The Son of Satan examined the above agent, a student at District University, and was confronted with images of the Six-Fingered Hand and the Defenders. Daimon headed to alert the Defenders to the above, but was distracted by other plots.
(Defenders I#92-BTS) - The fabric of reality was badly stretched when Eternity's other selves nearly destroyed the Multiverse.
(Defenders I#93-BTS) - Dr. Strange teleported the Defenders to London as part of a battle against Nebulon. This taxed the already stretched barriers to the realms of Hell even further.
(Defenders I#99(fb) - BTS) - Some of the major demons of Hell, Mephisto, Satan, Satannish, and Thog decided that by forcing Strange to continue teleporting about the globe, they could shatter the barriers between Hell and Earth and merge the two realms. To this end, Mephisto took the form of the lesser demon Maya, and gathered five other lesser demons (Avarrish, Fashima, Hyppokri, Puishannt, Unnthinnk) to his side. The major demons told the lesser demons portions of their plan, and led them to believe that they would gain worlds to rule. Maya and the six demons named their coalition the Six-Fingered Hand (See comments).
(Defenders I#93) - Avarrish possessed Patsy Walker, while she was filled with anger and hatred over her mother's recent death.
(Defenders I#94 (fb)-BTS) - Isaac Christians, the mayor of Christianboro, saw his town slipping away and made a deal with the demon Avarrish. Avarrish transformed Christians into the Gargoyle, and Christians then would help Avarrish capture and fully possess Patsy Walker. In return, Avarrish promised prosperity to the town.
(Defenders I#94) - The Gargoyle abducted Patsy, and using the townspeople to channel his power, Avarrish completed his possession, transforming her into a demonic form. Dr. Strange teleported the Defenders to Christianboro, where they exorcised Avarrish from Hellcat, and dispelled his influence from the town.
(Defenders I#95(fb)-BTS) - Puishannt empowered the vampire Gordski to temporarily take over as lord of the vampires.
(Defenders I#95) - Dracula enlisted the Defenders for aid. Dr. Strange teleported them to Transylvania, where the destroyed Gordski and banished Puishannt.
(Defenders I#96(fb)) - Fashima empowered and manipulated rock singer Asmodeus Jones.
(Defenders I#96) - Dr. Strange traced the energies of the Six-Fingered Hand to Detroit, Michigan, where they joined forces with John Blaze/Ghost Rider in opposing Asmodeus Jones and Fashima. They overloaded Jones with Fashima's power, killing him, which also banished Fashima.
(Defenders I#97(fb)-BTS) - Hyppokri empowered and manipulated David Kessler to become the Messiah.
(Defenders I#97) - Devil-Slayer enlisted the Defenders to help debunk Kessler, mainly because his wife, Cory, had made herself one of his disciples. Dr. Strange teleported them to the Middle East, where they battled Kessler and his seeming angels. When Kessler realized that he was being manipulated by a demon, he committed suicide, banishing Hyppokri in the process.
BTS - Unnthinnk empowered and possessed the form of the Man-Thing.
(Defenders I#98) - Using the Man-Thing's connection to the Nexus of Realities, Unnthinnk further damaged the barriers between Hell and Earth. It manifested an enormous six-fingered hand carved into the earth over the city of Citrusville. Dr. Strange teleported the Defenders to Citrusville, and enlisted the mind of Ted Sallis in banishing Unnthinnk from the Man-Thing's form.
(Defenders I#99(fb)) - Clea, following the instructions of Dr. Strange's astral self, summoned the Hulk, Namor, and the Silver Surfer to aid her in helping the Defenders. She followed Strange's signal into a realm of Hell, only to find the whole thing was a trap, and they were defeated and imprisoned by the Six-Fingered Hand and their servants.
(Defenders I#98) - However, the damage to the
fabric of reality had been done, and the nexus in the Man-Thing's
swamp remained in an open position. Strange led the others to
probe the nexus, and found themselves pulled into a realm of
Hell, where they were confronted by the full membership of the
Six-Fingered Hand.
(Defenders I#99, 100) - The Defenders fought against the Six-Fingered
Hand and their demon legions, who were much more powerful in
their home dimension. The struggle went back and forth, until
suddenly five of the six members began to dwindle in size and
power, leaving only Maya standing tall. Maya revealed himself as
Mephisto, who siphoned the accrued power of the lesser demons
into himself and his other three allies. Satan, Satannish, and
Thog revealed themselves, and showed the Defenders that their
demon legions were pouring through open portals all over the
Earth.
The major demons revealed the merger of Hell and Earth was not
yet permanent, and challenged the Defenders to a series of duels:
Each of the major demons transported themself, their legions, and
a few of the Defenders to a scene similar to a period of one of
the Earth's wars. The Defenders were challenged to "find the
light in the darkness." The Defenders would seem to grasp
the hidden meaning and "find the light" and then the
major demon would blow everything up. Ultimately, all were
reunited and brought before the four demons again, who revealed
that their battles had exhausted enough time that the merger
between the realms was nearly complete. However, Daimon
Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, found "the light in the
darkness" by deciding to stay by his father, Satan's, side.
In exchange, Satan reversed the merger and sent the Defenders
back to Earth.
Left-to-Right:
Avarrish, Puishannt, Fashima, Maya (standing), Hyppokri,
Unnthinnk
COMMENTS: Created by J. M. DeMatteis and Don Perlin.
The chronology of the Six-Fingered Hand is odd, as the group was active before the events of Defenders#92-93, but Mephisto claimed that it was the events of Defenders I#93--where Strange teleported the heroes to London--that inspired the Hell-Lords to create the Six-Fingered Hand. Magical conundrum? Who knows. See also the below...
It's interesting that (1) The Lesser Grey God was created by the Six-Fingered Hand and (2) A cheap imitation of the LGG was "no more than 1000 years old"--since the Six-Fingered Hand is a demonic group organized only in recent years by Mephisto under false pretenses. Perhaps they did actually exist in the past, perhaps there was an original Maya that Mephisto replaced, perhaps they created the artifact in recent times and sent it back in time, or perhaps there's just no explaining it, since it's magic.
The Six-Fingered Hand have an entry in Mystic Arcana: The Book of Marvel Magic.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connections to:
Maya, the alias of Mephisto, has no known connection to:
Appearances:
Defenders I#93-100 (March - October 1981) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (pencils), Joe Sinnott, Al Milgrom (#93-95, 100), Frank Giacoia (#93, 95, 100), Sal Trapani (#96-97, 100) & Jack Abel (#97-98, 100) (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Gargoyle#2 (July, 1985) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Mark Badger (artist), Carl Potts (editor)
First Posted: 05/31/2002
Last updated: 10/14/2013
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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