Justin Hammer

Justin Hammer is a fictional character that has appeared in comic books published by Marvel Comics. As a frequent adversary of the superhero Iron Man, Hammer exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe.

As he explains in his first major appearance, Hammer is the reason why many of Iron Man's supervillain enemies have access to extremely advanced technology and why these foes use their equipment for violent crimes instead of profiting by bringing the designs to market. Hammer reveals that the villains are his underworld mercenaries, secretly armed and contractually obliged to fulfill missions against Hammer's competitors and enemies, such as Tony Stark.

Publication history

Justin Hammer first appeared in Iron Man #120 (March 1979), and was created by David Michelinie, John Romita, Jr., and Bob Layton.

Fictional character biography

Justin Hammer was born in Surrey, England and later became a citizen of Monaco. A rival of industrialist Tony Stark (Iron Man), multi-billionaire businessman Hammer later became a criminal financier using unethical methods. In exchange for fifty percent of the crime profits, he would pay bail for costumed criminals and finance the development and replacement of both their weaponry and equipment. In the event that a mercenary under his employ violated his contract, Hammer would send an enforcement unit (usually led by his most reliable supervillain employee Blacklash) to attack the rogue and confiscate his assigned equipment.