Hector Hammond was a genius-level scientist until exposure to an alien meteorite caused his brain to evolve at an accelerated rate, making him into a super-being with considerable mental powers.
Gifted with uncharted levels of telepathy and telekinesis, Hammond is unfortunately trapped within a body that is grotesquely deformed as a byproduct of his mutation. More than anything he craves to feed on the positive thoughts and life experiences of others to supplement his own by psychically ripping them from his victim's minds.
Background[]
Before his transformation, Hammond was an astrophysicist who worked as a theoretical science consultant for Ferris Aircraft and the United States Air Force, specializing in alternative fuel sources. When Green Lantern (Abin Sur)'s ship crashed too Earth, Hector was sent to investigate the incident and recover of significance from the crash site.
Having long been harboring a crush on Carol Ferris, while investigating the ship, Hammond was frustrated over Carol's lack of interest in him and opened the fuel chamber abruptly, receiving a face full of radiation. Immediately taken to the infirmary for examination and recuperation, Hammond begins telepathically hearing the thoughts of other people and, after being overwhelmed by a rush of thoughts from several people at the base, Hector was agitated to the point of killing six men with telekinesis.
Leaving the infirmary to show off his new powers to Carol, Hammond instead finds her with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). Jealous over the new rival, Hammond uses his telekinesis to attack them both only to thwarted by Hal's mentor, Sinestro. With his abilities suppressed by a neural barrier, Hammond was incarcerated and kept at Hangar 44 of Edwards Air Force Base until he could be moved to a more secure facility at Belle Reve Penitentiary.
However, when he was being transferred to Belle Reve, Hammond managed to override the neural barrier and gained control of four scientists who were observing him while he was incarcerated. While attempting to use the scientists to escape, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) interfered; with Hammond only succumbing after he attempted to use Hal's Power Ring only to be knocked out by the ring's security mechanism that prevents the ring from being used against its owner.
During his time at Belle Reve, Hammond managed to tap into areas of his brain that no other human could. Unfortunately, when Hector began to stretch the boundaries of the human mind, his head grew in size and his body soon became immobile as a result of his mutation. Soon, Hammond even lost control of his muscles, including his vocal cords, rendering him unable to move or speak in the conventional sense; forcing him to rely more on his telepathy and telekinesis to communicate and move.
When the Krolotean Gremlins came to Earth to look in on certain subjects of their experimentation. Hammond, still locked away in Belle Reve Prison, requested an audience with Jordan after the discovery of a human that had been evolved 50,000 years down the evolutionary ladder. Hector would not consent to share the info he had on why the human had evolved until Hal agreed to share a memory of a "good time" since Hammond was always locked away. Jordan agreed and Hammond shared what info he had.
When Coast City beach was attacked by "the Shark"; a tiger shark which had been evolved into a humanoid being with shark instincts, Jordan investigated the attack and wondered if the Shark was another experiment mentioned by Hammond. At the same time as Jordan was fighting the Shark, the Gremlins attacked an airliner on which was carrying William Hand and abducted him. The Gremlins then also visited Hector Hammond and abducted him from Belle Reve Prison.
The Gremlins experimented on William Hand before releasing him in Palmdale, California where Hand discovered his new found ability to sense death and siphon life-force energy. Back at Coast City, as Hal Jordan continued his battle with the Shark, Jordan came across the Gremlins' spaceship and was captured. Inside, Jordan found Hector Hammond in the midst of being experimented on but Hammond was able to converse with Hal telepathically and explain the Gremlins' plan to sell himself and the Shark as living weapons in an intergalactic war.
When William Hand, dressed as Black Hand, enters the ship and attacks Jordan as Hammond also tries to attack him, Jordan defeats them both and places them in captivity in Hangar 44. However, telepathically reminiscing with a dismembered Manhunter, Hammond reveals that the Gremlins had further experimented on him and enabled him to regain his vocal abilities.
While still incarcerated, Hammond remains a major threat to the planet due to the sheer power of his mental powers; which are capable of altering the minds of people across the globe if he wished it.
Involvement[]
- While he has yet to appear in DC Universe Online, concept art of Hector Hammond does exist for the game.
Trivia[]
- Hector Hammond first appeared in Green Lantern #5 (March–April 1961)
- While developing his mental powers, Hammond discovered a method of telepathy that enabled him to become immortal in the sense that he can no longer die from any natural death like getting sick or having an aneurysm.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Hector Hammond Wikipedia
- Hector Hammond DC Database