Justin Hammer

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Justin Hammer
JustinHammerHandbook.png
Justin Hammer
Art by Ron Lim
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Iron Man #120 (March 1979)
Created by
In-story information
Species Human
Place of origin Surrey, England
Team affiliations Hammer Industries
AbilitiesGenius-level intellect
Expert strategist

Justin Hammer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a villainous entrepreneur, head of Hammer Industries and a frequent adversary of the superhero Iron Man. He is the reason why many of Iron Man's supervillain enemies have access to extremely advanced technology and why these foes use their equipment for violent crimes instead of profiting by bringing the designs to market. These villains are his underworld mercenaries, secretly armed and contractually obliged to fulfill missions against Hammer's competitors and enemies, such as Tony Stark. He is also the father of Justine Hammer and the grandfather of Sasha Hammer.

Contents

Sam Rockwell portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Iron Man 2 (2010), [1] the Marvel One-Shot direct-to-video short film All Hail the King (2014), and the second season of the animated television series What If...? (2023).

Publication history

Justin Hammer first appeared in Iron Man #120 (March 1979), and was created by David Michelinie, John Romita Jr., and Bob Layton. [2] [3] Layton himself recalled in a 2014 interview that he and Michelinie originally created Hammer as the cautionary tale of what kind of person Tony Stark might have become if he stayed on his path as a global war profiteer, as well as a tribute to actor Peter Cushing; in Layton's words, Stark and Hammer are essentially in the same line of work, but with diametrically opposed moral views. [4]

Fictional character biography

Justin Hammer was born in Surrey, England and later became a citizen of Monaco. A multi-billionaire businessman and rival of industrialist Tony Stark (Iron Man), Hammer later becomes a criminal financier through unethical methods while using his company Hammer Industries as a front. [5] In exchange for fifty percent of the crime profits, he pays bail for costumed criminals and finances the development and replacement of their weaponry and equipment. If a mercenary under his employ violates their contract, Hammer sends an enforcement unit, usually led by Blacklash, to attack the rogue and confiscate their equipment.

At the start of the Demon in a Bottle storyline, Hammer invents the Hypersonic Scan Transmitter, which enables him to take control of Iron Man's armor. [6] Angered that he had lost a lucrative bid to Stark International, Hammer forces Iron Man to kill an ambassador and set an army of superhuman criminals against him. Ultimately, Stark not only clears his name and destroys the control device, but finally learns that Hammer had been behind multiple attacks against him for years. [7]

During the "Armor Wars" storyline, Hammer has Spymaster steal Iron Man's technology and sells it to a number of villains who wields powered armor, including Stilt-Man, the Raiders, the Mauler, Beetle, Crimson Dynamo, and Titanium Man. [8] Iron Man sets about to disable the Stark-based technology in the suits in question, going so far as to also disable sanctioned technology in the armor of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Mandroids and the Vault's Guardsmen, leading him into conflict with Captain America and the Avengers.

Years later, it was revealed that Hammer had obtained Stane International after Obadiah Stane's death, causing problems for Stark through his old company. With operatives of Hydra, Roxxon Oil, Moroboshi International, and the Trinational Commission, he tricks the Masters of Silence into attacking Stark Enterprises. Even when forced to sell his stock in Stane International to Stark for the sum of one dollar, [9] Hammer had the last laugh when the shady dealings of Stane International pile up on Stark.

In the mini-series Bad Blood, Hammer is diagnosed with incurable cancer and resolves to destroy his nemesis before dying. However, he inadvertently places himself in cryogenic stasis during a battle with Iron Man and is lost in space. [10]

Powers and abilities

Justin Hammer is a normal, middle-aged man. He has a degree in commerce and business, and is an extremely efficient administrator with a genius-level intellect. He has access to various forms of advanced technology designed by his technicians.

Other versions

Earth X

An alternate universe version of Justin Hammer appears in Earth X , where he is murdered by Norman Osborn. [11]

Ultimate Marvel

An alternate universe version of Justin Hammer from Earth-1610 appears in the Ultimate Marvel universe. This version is an American named Justin Hammer Jr. who is the son of Justin Hammer Sr. and a rival of Norman Osborn. Hammer Jr. secretly funded superhuman testing violating the Superhuman Test Ban Treaty, contributing to the creation of Electro and Sandman. [12] He later dies from a heart attack during Doctor Octopus' fight with Spider-Man. [13] [14]

In other media

Television

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Justin Hammer appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by Sam Rockwell:

Video games

References

  1. 1 2 Rappe, Elisabeth (January 16, 2009). "Sam Rockwell Confirms Himself For 'Iron Man 2'". Cinematical. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  2. ↑ Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura (2008). "1970s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. Dorling Kindersley. p. 189. ISBN   978-0756641238. Tony Stark's billionaire nemesis Justin Hammer made his first appearance in The Invincible Iron Man #120 by writer David Michelinie and artist John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton.
  3. ↑ Betancourt, David (February 22, 2016). "Frank Miller on his 'Dark Knight Returns' 30 years later: 'I was rooting for Batman all the way'". The Washington Post . Washington, D.C.
  4. ↑ García, Vicente (April 2014). "Interview with Bob by Dolmen Magazine". Dolmen Magazine.
  5. ↑ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 189. ISBN   978-1465455505.
  6. ↑ Iron Man #120 (March 1979)
  7. ↑ Iron Man #124–127 (July - October 1979)
  8. ↑ Iron Man #225 (December 1987)
  9. ↑ Iron Man #281–283 (June - August 1992)
  10. ↑ Iron Man: Bad Blood #1-4 (September - December 2000)
  11. ↑ Earth X #5 (August 1999)
  12. ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #17 (March 2002)
  13. ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #16 (February 2002)
  14. ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #20 (June 2002)
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Justin Hammer Voices (Iron Man)". Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information).
  16. ↑ "Marvel Animation Age - the Marvel Animation News Resource". Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  17. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (July 29, 2013). "Marvel's Avengers Assemble: "Super Adaptoid" Review". IGN. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  18. ↑ Couch, Aaron (May 2, 2018). "What if Robert Downey Jr. Were Never Iron Man?". The Hollywood Reporter .
  19. ↑ Costain, Kevin (February 7, 2014). ""Marvel One-Shot: All Hail The King" – Review". Movie Viral. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
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