10 Comic Book Supervillains Improved Through Retcon

8. Black Hand - William Hand

Lex Luthor
DC Comics

William Hand started out as a petty thief who kept track of his criminal exploits and all the steps to becoming a better criminal in a journal. He eventually created a device to siphon the power from Green Lantern’s ring. Long obsessed with death, he created a costume for himself from body bags and took the name Black Hand.

The Spectre burned Hand’s right hand and device away, driving him insane. He was abducted by the alien Kroloteans who amplified his absorption ability to one that allowed him to absorb life forces. Upon his return to Earth, Hand wandered into a hospital, absorbed the lives of 22 people, and restored his severed hand.

Later, Hand began hearing the voice of the Guardian of Death. Hand returns to the home of his wealthy family and kills each member before killing himself. Disgraced Guardian of the Universe Scar creates a Black Lantern ring that reanimates Hand as the herald of the Guardian. Hand created hundreds of rings that animated the corpses of dead heroes, villains, and people close to them. It took the combined might of every Lantern on the Emotional Spectrum and most of the heroes of Earth to stop the Blackest Night. Hand was forced to join the compassionate Indigo tribe to atone for his sins.

Contributor
Contributor

John Wilson has been a comic book and pop culture fan his entire life. He has written for a number of websites on the subject over the years and is especially pleased to be at WhatCulture. John has written two comic books for Last Ember Press Studio and has recently self-published a children's book called "Blue." When not spending far too much time on the internet, John spends time with his lovely wife, Kim, their goofy dog, Tesla, and two very spoiled cats.