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Quote1 Penny for your thoughts? Quote2
Hector Hammond src

Hector Hammond is an enemy of Green Lantern with an enhanced brain; it makes him smarter and gives him psionic powers, but at the cost of atrophying his body so that he can't move.

Pre-Crisis Origins

Hector Hammond was a petty criminal on the run from the law when he discovered the fragments of a strange meteor in the woods (part of the same meteor that landed in Africa, super-evolving Gorilla Grodd and the other gorillas of Gorilla City).[2] Observing that radiation from the meteor caused the nearby plants to evolve rapidly, Hammond decided to kidnap four scientists and expose them to the meteor. The radiation caused their intellects to evolve, but also had the side effect of sapping their wills. Hammond was able to force the scientists to use their heightened intellect to create amazing new inventions, which Hammond sold for his own profit. Hammond rapidly became a rich celebrity due to the wealth he had acquired. Believing Hammond's responsible for the scientists' disappearances, Green Lantern Hal Jordan created a duplicate power ring and costume for his mechanic friend Thomas Kalmaku to fool Hammond. Unaware of the impersonation, Hammond kidnapped Kalmaku, stole his ring and turned him into a chimpanzee. Jordan confronted Hammond personally in a battle of power rings that ended only when the charge of Hammond's ring ran out, allowing Jordan to capture him and restore Kalmaku and the scientists.[3]

Hammond returned shortly afterwards, where he managed to escape from prison and deliberately exposed himself to the meteorite. The radiation caused his brain to grow to enormous size, granting him telepathic and telekinetic powers as well as immortality in the process. Unfortunately, his body became immobilized and he lost the power to speak. Trapped in a motionless state, Hammond was still able to use his psionic powers to control the minds of others. He attempted to steal the Green Lantern's ring, but Jordan managed to command his ring to drain itself of power when it left his finger, after which Jordan rendered Hammond unconscious.[4]

Further Activities

Hammond is responsible for the creation of the second Royal Flush Gang. Hammond and the Gang are defeated when Dr. Martin Stein, one half of the superhero Firestorm, subdues Hector on the astral plane.[citation needed]

In addition to battling Hal Jordan, Hammond has also fought Alan Scott[5] as well as Kyle Rayner and Wally West.[6] In one occasion, Hammond joined forces with Grodd, a gorilla who was evolved thanks to the same meteor as him. Together, they confronted Green Lantern and the Flash. However, after finding a third fragment of the meteor that granted their powers, Grodd stole Hammond's telepathic abilities and devolved him into a neanderthal. In the end, both of them lost their highly evolved minds, and they remained in Gorilla City until the scientists could find a cure for them.[7][8]

Post-Crisis Origins

 Main article: Green Lantern: Secret Origin

In an altered continuity following Infinite Crisis, Hector Hammond's origin was changed. Hammond appeared shortly after Jordan gained the ring, where he claimed to be Carol Ferris's boyfriend. However, he was just a private consultant for Ferris Aircraft and that they had gone out to dinner, according to Carol, "on business". He lead the team inspecting Abin Sur's crashed aircraft, where Hammond was affected by the meteorite fragment in its reactor. This lead to his brain growing bigger, and able to read minds, including Carol Ferris and Hal Jordan who Hammond deduced was the Green Lantern. His mental powers kept Hal from using his ring, and was only stopped when Sinestro encased his head in an energy bubble, cutting off his air supply. He later wanted the power of a god and wanted revenge on Hal Jordan.

After Green Lantern: Rebirth

Hammond has reappeared now that Hal Jordan has returned as Green Lantern. Recently, after his capture and further experimentation by the gremlins, the aliens which sent the meteor that gave him his powers, he seems to have recovered the ability to speak without using telepathy.[9]

Hammond appeared in Infinite Crisis, being broken out of prison along with several other supervillains.[10]

War of Light

Ophidian Hector Hammond 001

Hammond becomes Ophidian with the power of the Orange Lantern Power Battery

 Main article: War of Light

Hector Hammond swallowed the Power Battery belonging to Larfleeze of the Orange Lantern Corps and became possessed by the entity Ophidian, physical embodiment of avarice, who has now given him much greater powers.[11]

Powers

  • Enhanced Intellect: Hector Hammond is a metahuman who was struck down when a meteor crashed near him irradiating him and further enlarging his already enhanced brain and giving him powerful psychic abilities.[12]
    • Telekinesis: Hector Hammond is an incredibly gifted telekinetic, and was capable of amazingly precise use of his telekinesis.
    • Telepathy: He can manipulate the minds of others and even higher order animals.[13]
    • Energy Projection: Hector can project powerful mental blasts at his enemies to knock them unconscious.[14]
    • Illusion Casting: Hector can project incredibly realistic illusions which trap the user within the manipulated reality.[15]
    • Clairvoyance

Abilities

Other Characteristics


  • Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
  • Hammond craves and feeds off of positive thoughts. He is so starved for them, he tries to actually rip them from other people's minds and take them for his own. One Christmas Eve, he attempted to steal all of Hal Jordan's holiday memories from his youth.[17]

Related

Footnotes



♠ ♥ Royal Flush Gang ♣ ♦
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9♣ • 8♣ • 7♣ • 6♣ • 5♣ • 4♣ • 3♣ • 2♣ 9♦8♦ • 7♦ • 6♦ • 5♦4♦3♦2♦
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Justice League Villain
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Royal Flush Gang member
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Orange Lantern Corps member
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