Fanboy Theories: Who is the Empty Hand?

 EMPTY IS 

 THY HAND 

Last week, The Multiversity came to an wonderful epic conclusion. The heroes saved Uotan (or “Odin” as a commenter harassed Eric for in his Review), saved the multiverse, and finally learned the true villain behind all of this. ENTER THE EMPTY HAND. When I saw this monstrous titan overlooking the heroes, I had to do a double take. It was insidiously perfect: A giant, horned, demon-esque villain sitting atop a throne of melted buildings as his monsters work around him to build an Oblivion Machine. Let's just say, if I was in the heroes’ shoes, I'd probably scream like a little girl. Appropriately, we don't even get much talk with him!A direct and simple, "You are not prepared," then zaps all the heroes back to the final battle ground. This villain is creepy, and in just the few pages the heroes spoke with him, I am intrigued to learn more about this being. However, I am left with wanting to know who this character symbolizes.  After a week of looking at the facts, I've figured out who is THE EMPTY HAND. Let’s dive right into the palm of this multiversal threat of the ages.

Before anyone tries to call it out, I know that the symbol on his forehead belongs to the only hero of Earth-33, Ultra Comics. That is where I'm going to start.

THIS IS ULTRA. Ultra, corrupted by The Gentry, has become the Empty Hand. He then goes around and destroys Earths with his minions, The Gentry? This is where it gets weird. The Gentry had corrupted Ultra, but then follows him? Why would they do that!?!

Answer: Because they always have. In the issue of Ultra Comics, even though he knows that he is a comic character, he acknowledges that he is essentially doomed to make his mistakes. Ultra is destined to become the Empty Hand, no matter what he tries to do. He is destined to become this monster that ends the multiverse. A monster that crushes it in his Empty Hand.

Simple enough answer, case closed. Or is it? This body IS Ultra, but it is not the character's intent on destroying the multiverse. Ultra is just a puppet being used by the REAL Empty Hand.

The real Empty Hand is actually something a whole lot stranger to wrap your head around. The answer lies in what he said in the second to last panel he's in. He says that he and his legion has conquered Multiverse-2. In the review, Eric was delighted to see there was different multiverses out there. They aren't out there. I believe its not a matter of side by side, like the different Earths. I believe its a line...a timeline.

Before the current multiverse, there was another two. Do you want to know how many iterations of the DC Multiverse there is? Three. It could be entirely possible that the multiverses that the Hand and his legions conquered the previous multiverses after their multiversal crises. He appears when the multiverse is at its weakest and conquers it as the other thrives.

Proposed Timeline

So what's the point to this logic? Who is the Empty Hand?! The answer should be clear now.

He only comes when the multiverse is ready to die. He has come for other multiverses, which could be the Pre-Crisis and Pre-Flashpoint multiverses. He comes from Earth-33, OUR world, just like Ultra.The answer is...THE DC COMICS EDITORS!

That's right, I am calling the editors of the comic company I love dearly multiverse destroyers. When they think the time has come to wipe the slate and reboot the universe, they go out and wipe it out. Their Oblivion Machine is the story idea (an example: Crisis on Infinite Earths) that destroys the multiverse, only to make room for a new one. The Gentry are actually the writers of comics, who continue their stories, pushing the multiverse towards the end of its run.

I believe that Grant Morrison created the Empty Hand to be an analogue for the reboots that DC goes through every few years.

This is where I'm kind of okay with the Empty Hand. If it didn't exist, the chance for new stories and ideas wouldn't exist either. While the one hand is empty, the other brings new life.

That’s my theory on the Empty Hand. Do you think I'm onto something? Actually no, do you think I'm out of my mind? I want to hear your opinion on my theory, and I want to hear any other theories that are out there.Leave a comment and remember...

When it comes to comics, QUESTION EVERYTHING