Hammerhead has come a long way from being a young hitman to a supervillain who battled Spider-Man. He is a major member of a number of evil organisations, such as the Maggia international crime organisation. Hammerhead frequently appears with a temper and a literal head of steel, clothed in 1920s fashion.
This character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artist John Romita Sr. and made his debut in The Amazing Spider-Man #113. This film explains Hammerhead’s comic book origins as well as his terrible past, which helped shape him into the villain he is today.
We also quickly go over how the Adamantium Bullet that hit him caused him to transform into his more advanced form. Hammerhead’s father chastised him with a hammer, which motivated him to join the mob despite the fact that he can be brutal with his Tommy gun and headbutting.
Despite not appearing as frequently in the comics, this figure has established himself in the Spider-Man universe and has earned the right to be called a supervillain. In this video, we will delve into Hammerhead’s intimidating persona and grim deeds as we examine the key comics he is portrayed in. Shall we get started?
Hammerhead Comic Origin
1972 comic The Amazing Spider-Man #113 is the first comic that introduces us to Hammerhead. The storyline in that comic follows Spider-Man fighting Doctor Octopus or as we popularly know him, Doc Ock. Marvel is known for throwing characters in as curveballs to make things more challenging for our superheroes and villains, and one such curveball was Hammerhead. While Spider-Man is fighting Doc Ock in this particular issue, he experiences severe cramps, which are later found out to be an ulcer.
Meanwhile, Doc Ock flees the scene to resume his other battle, against Hammerhead, who is introduced as a new criminal, ready to secure power and control over the underworld. Later, when Spider-Man has to face Doc Ock again, he manages to defeat him, and just when he thinks he can call it a day, he comes to face with Hammerhead and his henchmen. Hammerhead praises Spider-Man for removing his biggest threat and announces his intentions of taking over the city.
We move along to the issue of The Amazing Spider-Man #114, where Spider-Man now realizes that he has to deal with yet another problem, Hammerhead. Doc Ock regains consciousness and manages to get away, leaving Hammerhead wondering why he wanted Spider-Man alive, so, he decides to take him back to his hideout. This is where Hammerhead presents Spider-Man with a rather interesting ultimatum, either join him or die. Hammerhead also takes his opportunity to explain his origins and where he came from.
Eventually, word reaches Hammerhead about Doc Ock’s whereabouts, and Spider-man is convinced he is with his Aunt May; and despite trying to convince Hammerhead, he doesn’t listen to him, leaving him behind in his hideout as Hammerhead goes to finish his battle with Doc Ock. Despite that, Spider-Man manages to escape the hideout, defeating any and every henchman of Hammerhead, until he’s hit on his head with a vase, by his own Aunt May.
The Amazing Spider-Man #115 features the last battle. While Spider-Man is still knocked out at his aunt’s, Hammerhead is on a headstrong mission, no pun intended. He will do whatever it takes to defeat Doc Ock, even if it’s the last thing he does. There’s a brief battle between Hammerhead and Doc Ock where Hammerhead announces that no one can stop him from claiming control over New York.
Soon enough, Doc Ock flees to go handle Spider-man, who is still with aunt May. As the events unfold, Spider-Man comes face to face with Hammerhead and his henchmen, who flee the scene after being defeated, and Hammerhead eventually goes to an airport in New Jersey and leaves the country. These three comics help give the perfect introduction to Hammerhead and his intentions.
Hammerhead Remembers His Tragic Past After Getting Shot by Adamantium Bullet
In the 2006 comic Civil War: War Crimes #1, where the events of the Civil War take place, Hammerhead attempted to organize an army of villains with Ringmaster, Slyde, Discus, Electro, Bloodshed, Clown, and many more such villains to start his criminal empire and take over Kingpin’s territories. Meanwhile, The Kingpin was hell-bent on manipulating S.H.I.E.L.D to break up Hammerhead’s first gathering of his army. This is when Hammerhead was shot multiple times by Underworld, who was Kingpin’s agent.
When Hammerhead was in the prison hospital, Underworld shot him point-blank using adamantium bullets. Because of his strong skull, these bullets didn’t cause a lot of physical damage but still managed to cause severe trauma to his brain. This then leads us to the 2008 comic, Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #1, where Mister Negative offered to transplant his brain into a new adamantium skeleton in exchange for his loyalty, to which Hammerhead willingly agreed, thus starting his saga as a member of Mister Negative’s organization.
We also learn more about Hammerhead’s tragic past in the Spider-Man comics. Born in a Russian household, Joseph and his family fled the Soviet Union, but growing up wasn’t easy for him. His father would beat him with a hammer as punishment for speaking Italian in a Russian home, and he was also bullied in school. This eventually led to him joining the mob and killing his father with a hammer, seeking his revenge.
He started working for Maggia, an international crime syndicate, as a junior hitman. However, one day, during a rather intense brawl, his head was shattered, and that’s when Jonas Harrow, a disgraced surgeon, found him in an alley. Harrow replaced Joseph’s skull with one made of steel. After this incident, he adopted the identity of Hammerhead.
Amazing Story of Hammerhead from Spider-Man: The Animated Series
Hammerhead appeared in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, where he played an important role, and his story plays out a little differently from what we witness in the comics. Hammerhead, a gangster, based out of New York City, had a plate made of adamantium implanted in his head at some point earlier in his life, but it is unknown as to when. He began working as a mob enforcer for Silvermane, using his reinforced, unbreakable skull to smash into objects and enemies.
While working with Silvermane, Hammerhead was assigned to steal the Tablet of Time, which Silvermane planned to use to make himself young again. Spider-Man, of course, foiled Hammerhead’s attempt to retrieve the Tablet of Time. Initially, Hammerhead was able to distract Spider-Man by ramming him with his head, but once Spider-Man recovered, Hammerhead’s success was short-lived.
Hammerhead’s failure led to his being fired by Silvermane, and this inspired him to change his allegiance. Later, Kingpin caught Hammerhead breaking into his mansion and assumed that Silvermane sent him, but Hammerhead revealed that he wanted to work for Kingpin instead. He offered to procure the Tablet of Time for Kingpin, but Kingpin did not trust him enough yet for this task, offering to let him begin with other work first. Hammerhead went against Kingpin’s orders and formulated a plan to get his hands on the Tablet of Time.
He and two thugs abducted Silvermane’s daughter, Alisa, from The Coffee Bean. Spider-Man was passing the shop and attempted to stop the abduction, but Hammerhead forced him into a hole in the ground and began to fill it with cement. Spider-Man escaped, but he could not stop the abduction, and Hammerhead brought Alisa to Kingpin, suggesting they hold her for ransom, with the payment being the Tablet of Time.
Hammerhead took the Tablet of Time from Silvermane’s henchman, Tombstone, and brought it to Kingpin, but Kingpin ordered him to destroy it, claiming that it brought him nothing but trouble. Hammerhead sold the Tablet of Time to Adrian Toomes, also known as Vulture.
What Makes Hammerhead So Deadly?
Hammerhead might not be one of the biggest supervillains in Marvel, but he sure has caused some damage. There is a good chance we might see him appear in future films, possibly against Doctor Octopus or Spider-Man. One of the deadliest things about Hammerhead is his head, which is made out of steel. In the comics, he often uses the head-butting technique to cause severe damage to his opponent.
He became a lot stronger after Mister Negative offered the transplant, replacing his upper skeleton with one made of adamantium, which resulted in superhuman strength and durability, something he didn’t possess in the earlier comics when he tried to fight Spider-Man and Doc Ock. One thing that separates him from a lot of other supervillains is his team. Whether it was his loyal henchmen or the empire he set out to create.
He also is experienced in hand-to-hand combat, which we notice as he fights Doc Ock pre adamantium. However, his main weapon of choice is a Tommy gun which we often see him using. Other than that, he frequently also uses machine guns and other weaponry to fight his opponents. While this might not be a physical aspect, Hammerhead has never been short of willpower and determination, which makes him very deadly.
Where Else Has He Appeared?
Apart from the comics, Hammerhead has also appeared in television series beyond Spider-Man: The Animated Series. In the 1981 series Spider-Man, Hammerhead appeared in the “Wrath of the Sub-Mariner” episode, where he was voiced by William Boyett. In 2008, he was voiced by John Dimaggio in the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man and played the role of Tombstone’s point man. He also appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man in 2012, and Marvel’s Spider-Man in 2020. Apart from the television series, he has also appeared in several video games, all about Spider-Man.
ome of these video games are Spider-Man: The Animated Series Video Game, and Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and in all of these games, he appears as a boss. He also briefly appears in the videogame Spider-Man: Mysterio’s Menace, and a symbiote-infected Hammerhead is a playable character in Spider-Man Unlimited. Even though Hammerhead might not be the strongest, his appearance in other media is proof that he has been a potential threat to Spider-Man.