Ten-Eyed Man
The Ten-Eyed Man is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Philip Reardon was a male human born in the modern age who by adulthood who came to serve as a soldier in the U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam until he was honorably discharged after a grenade fragment hit him between the eyes. He returned to civilian life as a warehouse guard. One night, he was knocked out by thieves who had planted a bomb to blow up the warehouse. When Batman arrived at the scene, Reardon had recovered, but his vision was blurred. He mistook Batman for one of the thieves, and attempted to battle him. By the time he did recognize Batman, the warehouse exploded and Reardon's retinas were burned, which impacted his war injury and blinded him permanently in both eyes. (Batman v1 #226)
A brilliant doctor named Engstrom managed to reconnect his optic nerves to his fingertips, enabling him to see through them. Reardon blamed Batman for what had happened to him, and under the identity of 'the Ten-Eyed Man' tried to take his revenge on him. He hijacked a plane to Vietnam, and held the passengers hostage until the Batman agreed to meet him. He led Batman through a cat-and-mouse game in the jungle, using the weapons his platoon had left there during the war as traps. At the end he tried to blind Batman with a chemical grenade as his final revenge, but Batman quickly captured him right afterwards. Batman had been watching his fingers throughout their whole confrontation, and thought to cover his eyes when the Ten-Eyed Man put his hands behind his back. (Batman v1 #231)
When incarcerated at Gotham State Penitentiary, the Ten-Eyed Man was kept in a jail cell, where the correction officers had his hands locked in a special box that kept him blind all day and night because with eyes on his fingers, "escape would be child's play for him", although precisely how this would be the case was not elaborated upon. Because of his indisputably unique abilities, he was employed by persons unknown as the only villain worthy to attack the Man-Bat. He was even provided a supervillain costume to go with his talents. During this fight, the Man-Bat threw a shrub at him where the Ten-Eyed Man hurt his "eyes" when he caught it. After getting some distance from the Ten-Eyed Man, the Man-Bat caught his breath and figured out who the Ten-Eyed Man is. What he does not know is that the Civil Liberties Association had hired the Ten-Eyed Man to attack him. Upon fighting the Ten-Eyed Man, who was preparing to fire a magnesium flare bomb, the Man-Bat forced the Ten-Eyed Man into dropping the bomb enough to emit a blind light that causes the Ten-Eyed Man to be temporarily blinded and fall off the building. (Man-Bat v1 #2)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
The Fiend with Nine Eyes then attacked Jezebel Jet during her dinner with Bruce Wayne in an attempt to kidnap her. (Batman v1 #675)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
The Ten-Eyed Man later kidnapped a girl named Jade who was under Killer Croc's protection, where he plans to sacrifice her in order to find out the doom that is coming for him. One of his fingers sees Batman, Killer Croc, and Jason Bard above as they leap down towards him upon being discovered. (Batman Eternal v1 #19) Batman, Jason Bard, and Killer Croc work to stop the Ten-Eyed Man before he can sacrifice Jade so that he can open an inter-dimensional portal. His plot is thwarted by Batman and Jason Bard. (Batman Eternal v1 #20) Following Arkham Asylum's destruction, the Gotham City Police Department's headquarters is filled with its inmates. Maggie Sawyer tries to get the answers on what happened there from the inmates, starting with the Ten-Eyed Man. He tells Maggie that he can help her with the answers she needs if she would remove the hand masks from his hands. After being unable to get answers from the Ten-Eyed Man, Maggie Sawyer then attempts to get answers from Maxie Zeus, the Magpie, and the other Arkham Asylum inmates. (Batman Eternal v1 #44)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After being blinded, he came to take the name of the Ten-Eyed Man due to his eyes being on his fingertips. (Batman v1 #231)
Powers and abilities
The Ten-Eyed Man can perform rituals for various purposes, including finding people across distances and protection. The authenticity of these rituals is dubious and may simply be a symptom of his delusions. However, there are several instances in which these rituals appeared to achieve his desired results. (Arkham City: The Order of the World v1 #2)
Notes
- The Ten-Eyed Man was created by Frank Robbins, Irv Novick and Dick Giordano where he made his first appearance in Batman v1 #226 (November, 1970).
In other media
Television
Films
Appearances
- Batman v1: (1970)
- Man-Bat v1:
External Links
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