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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
Philip Reardon is the Ten-Eyed Man, an enemy of Batman with the ability to see through the tips of his fingers.
History
The Ten-Eyed Man claims to be Philip Reardon, a former soldier who was blinded in an accident, and had his optical nerves connected to his fingers by a rogue surgeon. Dr. Jacosta Joy, his psychologist at Arkham Asylum, has questioned this account, as there is no record of such a soldier, and the medical procedure seems impossible as described.
Main article: Arkham City: The Order of the World Vol 1
After the A-Day event in which The Joker murdered the majority of Arkham staff and inmates with his laughing gas, Ten-Eyed Man remained hidden on the grounds until he was found by Dr. Joy. She sheltered him at her apartment, indulging in his need to perform supposedly magic rituals to protect himself and others from the ghost of Amadeus Arkham. After correctly predicting the location of a captive Double X, he convinced Dr. Joy of his fingers' supernatural sight.
Through his sight, Ten-Eyed Man managed to find Solomon Grundy in what he claimed was a parallel location in Gotham to Grundy's cell at Arkham. With the zombie's help, he and Dr. Joy found the supposed resting place of a mad preacher's skull dating back to the founding of Gotham, an artifact that he claimed he could use to contain Gotham's madness. However, the group was attacked by Azrael, who beat Ten-Eyed Man senseless and destroyed one of his hands.
Ten-Eyed Man was found by police and transported to a hospital. There, he and other former Arkham inmates were freed from their beds by the Arkham Ghost. The group, along with Dr. Joy, Doctor Phosphorous, Nocturna, and an incapacitated Azrael, were led by the Ghost (revealed to have been Doctor No Face in disguise) to Professor Pyg's new asylum.
Ten-Eyed Man spent his time in the new asylum inside his room performing rituals until Azrael was released and ran amok. As he predicted, Dr. Joy called the GCPD, who arrived too late to stop Azrael from beating and restraining the others. He claimed to be protected within his room, inadvertently proved correct when Dr. Joy jumped in front of a bullet to save him. After knocking out Detective Stone, Ten-Eyed Man escaped the police and ran away into Gotham once again.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Enhanced Vision: The Ten-Eyed Man can see through the tips of his fingers, essentially giving him "ten eyes". Certain fingers also give him the ability to see things others cannot, including x-ray vision, although some of these claimed abilities may in fact be delusions. Due to injuries from a fight with the vigilante Azrael, he lost sight in one of his hands. [1]
- Magic: The Ten-Eyed Man can perform rituals for various purposes, including finding people across distances and protection. The authenticity of these rituals is dubious and may simply be a symptom of his delusions. However, there are several instances in which these rituals appeared to achieve his desired results. [2]
- Organ Removal: Through unknown means, the Ten-Eyed Man can remove various organs from the bodies of victims without causing injury or harm.
Abilities
Other Characteristics
- Blindness: Reardon is blind in the traditional sense, not being able to see through his natural eyes.
- Schizophrenia: Reardon suffers paranoid delusions and is often unable to tell reality from fantasy.
Notes
- Ten-Eyed Man was created by Frank Robbins, Irv Novick, and Dick Giordano, first appearing in Batman #226. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Ten-Eyed Man first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Batman Eternal #15 by Ray Fawkes, Scott Snyder, and James Tynion IV.
Related
- 27 Appearances of Philip Reardon (Prime Earth)
- 3 Images featuring Philip Reardon (Prime Earth)
- Quotations by or about Philip Reardon (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Philip Reardon (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
  Batman Villain(s) |