Hammerhead | |
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Hammerhead
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #113 (October 1972) |
Created by |
Gerry Conway John Romita, Sr. |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Joseph |
Team affiliations |
Maggia Sinister Twelve |
Partnerships |
Mister Negative Tombstone Chameleon |
Notable aliases | Mr. H |
Abilities | Effective hit-man Highly skilled criminal organizer Skilled marksman Excellent street fighter Superhuman strength, durability and endurance Adamantium-laced skull and upper body |
Hammerhead is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is primarily an enemy of Spider-Man and a member of organized crime who exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe.
He is closely associated with the Hammerhead "Family", a Maggia crime family. Hammerhead distinguishes himself from other villains in that he dresses up and acts somewhat like a gangster from the 1920s. Due to an injury he suffered, much of his skull was replaced with an unbendable steel alloy by Jonas Harrow, giving his head a flattened shape.
Hammerhead was created by The Amazing Spider-Man writer Gerry Conway and artist John Romita, Sr. Conway recalled that Hammerhead "was most directly influenced by the Big Man and the Crime-Master, who were among the first villains in Amazing Spider-Man. One of the more interesting things Stan [Lee], Jack Kirby, and, of course, Steve Ditko did was combining the two different kinds of milieus: superhero and Dick Tracy, with the unusual criminal characters who had some kind of physical deformity. ... Plus, Hammerhead - I liked [the] name, and John Romita came up with an interesting look. The character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #113.
Hammerhead's family immigrated from the Soviet Union to Italy when he was a child. He got help from a man named The General. His father ran a garage in Toirrano, where he insisted the young man speak only in Russian, beating him severely with a mallet when he would not. Though not much is known about his life before he became an evil criminal and supervillain, he is known to have a sister.