HAMMERHAND

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Galadorian) cyborg (Spaceknight);
    active circa the late 1700s and the modern era, at least

Occupation: Spaceknight, soldier 

Affiliations: Angel Elite;
    formerly/briefly Galactus (Galan)

Enemies: Dire Wraiths, Galactus (Galan), Mentus (the evil aspect of the Prime Director), Terrax the Tamer (Tyros of Lanlak);
    formerly Terminator (Spaceknight);
    fought the Angel Elite when they were allied with Terminator (who posed as Rom and was controlled by Mentus)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    presumably born on Galador, third from the sun in the Taloman system, Milky Way Galaxy

First Appearance: (Unidentified) Rom#25 (December 1981);
    (as Hammerhand) Rom#26 (January 1982)

Powers/Abilities: Hammerhand has massive fists (with a spike on their posterior surface), and his superhuman strength and durability allow him to strike with sufficient force to fell even Terrax the Tamer, who was empowered by Galactus as one of his heralds. This was, however, after Starshine had blasted Terrax with her eyebeams and Javelin had nailed Terrax with at least 7-8 quills, which may have had some anesthetic quality; nonetheless, one punch atop the head from Hammerhand is what finally brought Terrax down. 
    He could use his fists to punch through several inch thick masonry (akin to a sidewalk or road, presumably) while in flight, allowing him to pass through the hole he had created without slowing down.

    Hammerhand had an unspecified level of superhuman strength. Rom, "greatest of the Spaceknights," could lift around 15 tons. Hammerhand, however, did not demonstrate any sort of energy weapon, and his primary ability was his physical striking force, so he may have been even stronger. Regardless, his striking force was augmented by his Plandanium armor and his enlarged fists. 

    Hammerhand was resistant to injury by conventional means due to his Plandanium armor, and he could survive for extended periods in the cold and vacuum of space. His armor was likely capable of withstanding temperatures similar to other Spaceknights, ranging from perhaps 8000 degrees Fahrenheit to –350 degrees Fahrenheit (or possibly somewhat lower on the high end of the temperature range), and was a hermetically sealed, vacuum tight, seamless shell (including articulation). His armor may have been capable of withstanding ballistic impacts of up to large antitank weaponry, and pressures of up to 40 pounds per square inch (the equivalent of the blast effects of 1000 pounds of TNT at the range of 100 feet) without damage or impairment of functions. 

    Assuming Hammerhand's construction mirrors that of other Spaceknights like Rom: Hammerhand is composed of a heavily armored cybernetic exoskeleton, an electrically maintained flexible metallic armor, Plandanium, which included fluid “motors” that gave him strength. Hammerhand's central and autonomic nervous system were “genetically grafted” into a computerized cybernetic exoskeleton. His brain was augmented by organic computer assemblies and kept alive in a blood-like fluid that still had to be circulated through his body’s vital organs to be provided with essential enzymes and vitamins with trace elements. Certain components of the “blood’s” plasma-like fluid were added to by automatic machinery that required occasional replenishment; this eliminated the need for breathing. 

    Hammerhand’s natural organs within his armor were augmented by automated micro-functioning circuitry. Hammerhand’s cyborg form was designed with numerous site of redundancy programming so that his body could not lose her various abilities through damage or malfunction.

    Hammerhand could fly, both within an atmosphere and in space. He may or may not have been equipped with rocket pods mounted in twin nacelles on his back. If so, these pods would have been electrically powered, low-density plasma engines with sufficient velocity to achieve solar system escape velocity (36 mile per second, out of atmosphere). His peak speed within an atmosphere was unrevealed but likely comparable to (or perhaps somewhat slower) than that of Rom, who could reach a maximum speed of Mach 4 (about 3000 miles per hour) before heat buildup from friction caused detrimental effects to his external sensor arrays. Cool atmospheric re-entry was likely achieved through rocket-assisted deceleration. 

    Like some other Spaceknights, Hammerhand likely contained internal sensing devices that allowed him to locate space warps (topological folds in the space/time continuum that permit “shortcuts” across vast interstellar distances).

    Hammerhand presumably possessed a translator similar to Rom's, though perhaps built-in, to enable him to communicate with any sentient being within seconds.

    Although, as a cyborg, Hammerhand did not sleep, he occasionally self-induced a “shutdown” of all his major systems in order to give himself time to rest and dream. 

History:
(Rom#1 (fb) - BTS) - Circa the late 1700s by Earth reckoning, the Dire Wraiths threatened Galador and her colonies. Millions of youths volunteered to defend their homeworld by being bonded into cyborg armor to become living weapons: The Spaceknights. 

    However, only around 1000 were initially found to be compatible. One of these was an unidentified man who became Hammerhand. He joined his fellow Spaceknights in forming a defensive ring around Galador when the Wraiths invaded the home solar system, and after a long and arduous fight, the battle ended with the Wraiths routed and fleeing.

(Rom#13/2 - BTS) - With Galador saved, the Spaceknights hoped to have their humanity restored, but Galador's Prime Director reminded them that the Wraiths still threatened other, less protected worlds, and Rom, the first Spaceknight volunteer and respected for his heroism in the recent battle, rallied his fellow Spaceknights to remain cyborgs for a while longer, while they hunted the Wraiths to the end of the universe.

(Rom#20/2 (fb) - BTS) - Like his fellow Spaceknights, Hammerhand swore an oath never take an innocent life. 

(Rom#14/2 -BTS) - Pursued by the Spaceknights, the Wraiths targeted Galador's outpost worlds and neighbors. As they hunted their quarry, the Spaceknights split into smaller squadrons.

(Rom#25 (fb) - BTS) - When Hammerhand returned to Galador, he was met by fellow Spaceknight Terminator -- who had been given a form mirroring that of Rom by Mentus, the evil aspect of the Prime Director who had allied with Dire Wraiths and was in the process of transporting Galador to Wraithworld in the Dark Nebula -- posing as Rom. 

    Hammerhand was presented to an adoring public as a conquering hero and then incapacitated and frozen in stasis by the Terminator. 

    Several other Spaceknights -- including Astra, Javelin (Darin), Rainbow, Screamer, and Starshine (Landra) -- met similar fates. 

(Rom#25) - Eventually the true Rom returned to Galador and freed the Prime Director, who in turn told him of the other Spaceknights' fate. Rom revived them all with his neutralizer. As the ice melted, the Spaceknights expressed joy at being freed, but Rom informed them that they still had to deal with Mentus, and so Hammerhand and the other Spaceknights followed Rom into battle. 

(Rom#25 - BTS) - They soon encountered Angel Elite who believed Terminator to be the true Rom, and thus that the Spaceknights were all impostors. Rainbow used her emotion-manipulating powers to exhaust them and drain their will to fight.. 

    The Spaceknights then confronted Terminator, Mentus and the latter's Dire Wraith allies. Mentus departed to hasten Galador's approach to the Dark Nebula, after which Starshine got through to Terminator, allowing him to break Mentus' control, and he turned his neutralizer on the Wraiths instead. 

(Rom#25) - After Rom welcomed Terminator back into the Spaceknights' ranks, Hammerhand and the other Spaceknights followed both of them in pursuing Mentus. They ultimately encountered the Prime Director's spirit, who told them he had dealt with Mentus, but that this had slain his frail body. However, though he felt his spirit would soon be drawn to become part of some greater cosmic intellect, he had held off doing so to warn them of a deadly danger approaching Galador: Galactus! 

(Rom#26) - Galactus' worldship, Taa II, approached Galador, and Galactus exited, his arrival announced by his herald, Terrax. When the Spaceknights proved defiant, Terrax struck the ground with his axe, causing a shockwave that temporarily knocked them off their feet. 

    Hammerhand and the others subsequently watched as the Prime Director's spirit sought to confront Galactus, only to be swiftly absorbed by him instead. 

    Rom rallied the Spaceknights to Galador's defense once more, and they flew toward Terrax. After Terrax projected numerous masonry fragments at them and then raised a wave of the cement-like walking surface toward them, Hammerhand punched through it, noting that his bludgeoning fists should teach Terrax that while no Spaceknight was as mighty as Rom, there were others with "power a'plenty" to wreak devastation upon a foe.

    After Terrax had slain Rainbow and both Rom and Terminator departed to confront Galactus directly, Starshine blasted Terrax, Javelin nailed him with a series of darts, and then Hammerhand -- noting that Terrax was like a willing dog, leading his master to the table -- smashed Terrax's head with one of his massive fists. Terrax remained standing to hear Hammerhand further advise him that there were legends of previous heralds defying their master; tottering, Terrax argued that his immorality is why Galactus chose him, after which he dropped his axe and then finally fell flat on his face. 

    Hammerhand and the others watched as Terminator, slain in battle with Galactus, crashed to the ground. 

(Rom#26 - BTS) - Meanwhile, Rom convinced Galactus to spare Galador and instead target Wraithworld.

(Rom#27) - As Rom returned alongside Galactus, telling them to rejoice as he had struck a pact with Galactus to spare Galador, Hammerhand asked how they could rejoice when Terrax had made a ruin of Golden Galador. After Galactus had Terrax create a stony monument/tomb for Terminator, Rom revealed that he had convinced Galactus to instead feed on Wraithworld. Worried that Rom had condemned some other populated world, the Spaceknights rejoiced at this idea, and Hammerhead noted it to be a stroke of genius. 

    After Hammerhand told Galactus that the Spaceknights would stand ready if he went back on his word, Galactus transported the Spaceknights to his worldship while noting that he was beyond morality but that he would honor his word. Hammerhand and the other were impressed with the planet-sized starship. Hammerhand subsequently discussed whether Galactus could be trusted with the other Spaceknights, noting that the world-devourer set himself above mortal standards of morality, trust, and honor. Rom advised that they had no choice but to take him at his word and that it had been the only way to save Galador from him. 

    After they arrived in the Dark Nebula, Hammerhand watched as Galactus transported Terrax into the Dark Nebula, only for him to return, kneeling in terror. Galactus then transported Hammerhand and the rest of the Spaceknights down to Wraithworld. After Galactus summoned his energy converter, only for it to be swiftly liquefied by Wraithworld's acid rain, Hammerhand noted that the rains were intensifying and eating away at their Plandanium armor. Galactus next tried to directly destroy the planet with anti-matter blasts, but Wraithworld fought back, agonizing Galactus; eventually Galactus assaulted Wraithworld's black sun instead, but it unleashed over a dozen Deathwings against him. 

    Hammerhand and the other Spaceknights returned to Galactus' worldship to protect themselves from the forces unleashed by and against Galactus, and eventually Galactus returned, realizing he could not withstand the Dark Nebula's magical nature.

    Appreciating that Rom and led him to Wraithworld aware that it might have destroyed him, Galactus honored his pact to spare Galador (and save it from being pulled toward the Dark Nebula), but he transported the world and its sun (perhaps the whole solar system) to parts unrevealed, and he left Hammerhand and the other Spaceknights on some asteroid. Rom considered that if they dedicated themselves to finding Galador, they would doom hundreds of worlds to the Dire Wraiths.

(Rom#28) - The Spaceknights resolved themselves to their current situation, and Starshine weaved waves of light about her fellow warriors, transporting them through space "with a swiftness that defies the imagination" to worlds suffering from Wraith infiltration.

(Rom#73-75 (fb) - BTS) - A Second Generation of Spaceknights was formed on Galador, and they destroyed the stored "halves" of the First Generation Spaceknights.

(Rom#75 - BTS) - After the defeat of the Second Generation Spaceknights who had been tyrannizing the Galadorians, the lost Spaceknights returned to Galador. Recovering Terminator's cloned portions of Rom's human body, they allowed Rom to return to his "human" organic components and restored Rom to his human form. Unable to regain their own humanity, the other Spaceknights vowed to defend Galador in his stead, allowing Rom and Brandy Clark to begin re-populating Galador (see comments).

(Spaceknights#1 - BTS) - A Galadorian named Bron later adopted the alias of Hammerhand as part of a third generation of Spaceknights.

Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema.

    I adapted a significant amount of the "generic first generation Spaceknight" history, abilities, and stats from Loki's Starshine (Landra) profile.
    Much of it is extrapolation based on the detail provided in Rom's own OHotMU entries. It seems very likely that most Spaceknights had similar construction/function, although Rom was stronger than most. I would think he would be more durable than most, but it their armors are composed of the same type of metal (Plandanium), then they should have had a similar level of durability.
    Their flying speeds would also seem comparable.

    Hammerhand may have been "frozen" for years, decades, or even the better part of two centuries...sometime after the Prime Director inadvertently created Mentus and Terminator returned to Galador.

    In the "frozen" image, I think Hammerhand is over the the Prime Director's right shoulder, but since I was not certain, I opted to include the whole image, big enough so you could see for yourself.

    In Rom#75, none of the lost Spaceknights looked particularly like Hammerhand. Perhaps he had his armor altered over time, or perhaps it was artistic license, or perhaps Hammerhand was not among the lost Spaceknights.

    Regardless, neither Hammerhand nor any of the other First Generation Spaceknights were seen the Spaceknights series or any other appearances, so we don't know if he returned.
    Perhaps he never returned and met his fate or continues to have adventures elsewhere.
    Or perhaps he returned to Galador and subsequently either perished or departed to deep space for further adventures and/or for some form of retirement.

    Hammerhand never got a real name. If I could pick one for him, it would be "Pein."

    Roamer was a Spaceknight featured in a Marvel Novel...he will get a profile in the next month or so, which will discuss the relevant issues. 

    Thanks to Loki for helping clarify some information about Hammerhand and his allies with regards to the second and third generation Spaceknights. 

    Some further discussion courtesy of Loki:

    Galador was destroyed by the Builders in Infinity#1, though we later learned that at least two Spaceknights present on the planet at the time survived. No real clarification about the Golden Galaxy, though I'd agree that might just be poor terminology rather than an actual galaxy. It might even be that Golden Galaxy is just the Galadorian name for the Milky Way. Given that Rom didn't seem to know what Skrulls were when he first met them, I assume the Golden Galaxy probably isn't Andromeda, since that's the Skrulls' main stomping ground.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Hammerhand should be distinguished from:

• HAMMERHAND (Rico Lazar) - strength-augmented boxer, agent of Armando Aviles, killed Manuel Torres, battled Bantum--Captain America Annual#12
• HAMMERHAND (Bron) - Galadorian, Spaceknight third generation, warrior born--Spaceknights#1
• HAMMERHAND of Earth-77013 (    ) - mob boss, hands replaced by cybernetic chromium steel, granting him devastating punches--Amazing Spider-Man Newspaper Strip (August 10, 2002)
• other "Hammer" or "Hand" characters, groups, items, events, races, places, etc.

Appearances:
Rom#25 (December 1981) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (penciler), Joe Sinnott (inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Rom#26-28 (January-March, 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (penciler), Joe Sinnott (inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Rom#75 (February, 1986) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Steve Ditko (penciler), P. Craig Russell (inker), Mike Carlin (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #12 (November, 1986) - Mark Gruenwald(writer/producer), Steve Saffel, Peter Sanderson (writers/researchers), Elliot R. Brown (technical illustrator), Sal Buscema (Spaceknights artist), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Marc Siry, Harry Eisenstein, David Wohl (editorial assistants), Howard Mackie (assistant editor)

First posted: 03/24/2023
Last updated: 05/07/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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