Who is the Hand?

Who is the Hand?
The Hand is an organization of villainous ninjas in the Marvel universe.  They have made many appearances in Daredevil stories but have also appeared as foes to countless other heroes including the Avengers, Wolverine and Spider-Man.

First Appearance:  Daredevil #174

The Hand news:

• Who is Elektra? 
• Elektra Art and Cosplay 
• All The Hidden Secrets of Daredevil Netflix show! 

The Hand multi-media:

• GIFS and Pictures of the Hand in Daredevil

History:


The Hand first appears as a mature super villain organization in Daredevil however over the years its past has been delved into.
The groups primary goal over all ages is the pursuit of power.
In Elektra: The Hand the founder Kagenobu Yoshioka of the hand reveals the symbol of the group's name:

The hand has five fingers, each of which can exist independently of others.  Not unlike the five islands that form Japan.  However, when the five fingers of the hand come together for a single, unified purpose...the hand becomes an object of unwavering power!

Peasants in feudal Japan hid from Samurai overlords and honed the new martial arts system of the Ninja known as Ninjitsu.  To counter the fighting styles of the Samurai the Ninja system relied on stealth, evasion, assassination, subterfuge,  There were many of these Ninja clans that began to take power in Japan however one clan in particular managed to survive to the modern era.  The Snakeroot clan joined forces with an a demonic entity known as the Beast.  Through the Beast the clan began to gain powerful mystical arts to match their martial prowess.

In the year 1588 a nationalistic Samurai organization was started to stop the corruption in the government call the Hand.  The Hand was infiltrated and eventually taken over by the Snakeroot ninjas who used their demonic powers to corrupt the group's existing members.

The Hand learned how to kill, then bring back victims as their enslaved thralls.

HYDRA:
Hand members set about to create an ultra nationalistic Japanese organization called Hydra.  At some some point around WWII this group was taken control of by the Nazi Baron Von Strucker who altered the organizations direction toward world domination.

Hydra also at one point installed their own leader of the Hand however both groups are now separate.  Occasionally, the two villainous groups work together and other times they fight each other as rivals.

Battles with Chaste:


The Hand began to come into conflict with a rival group of mystic Ninjas known as the Chaste. The Chaste founder Master Izo was an old member of the Hand that had left after the Beast took control.  The leader of the Chaste Stick became a large target for the Hand.  The Stick also trained characters such as Daredevil, Elektra and Wolverine who became thorns in the side of the Hand. A large assault by the hand involves a massive battle with the Chaste, and Daredevil.  Eventually, Stick was forced to sacrifice using an ancient mystic energy absorption technique.  The Hand is temporarily stopped and the remaining Chaste escape but are badly weakened by the loss of their leader.  The Hand then began to hunt and try to stop the Chaste from locating the child bore Stick's resurrected soul.

Fall from Grace / Root of Evil:
Elektra is resurrected and corrupted to be a warrior of the Hand.   The Hand searches for a special virus called About Face that offers a telepathic weapon that the group can use to expand their power.  They are thwarted by Daredevil and a menagerie of other heroes.

Shadowland:
 In the Shadowland story Daredevil was corrupted by the demonic entity and also led the Hand.

MCU:

In Daredevil season 1, a Hand ninjas attacked Daredevil in the hopes of eliminating the damage the masked crime fighter was doing to Wilson's Fisk's criminal syndicate an apparent joint venture of the Hand.

The Hand and Elektra  make a significant appearance in Daredevil Season 2. Iron Fist Season 1 and in the Defenders.

The Hand are revealed to be fairly different than their comic counterparts.


Notable Members:

Elektra