The DC Universe is full of terrible and terrifying beings who could wipe out entire realities with ease, as evidenced by the actions of all-powerful gods like Perpetua, who has already made war across the multiverse and is set to menace the DC Universe again later this year in Dark Nights: Death Metal. but she may not be the most dangerous god in the DC Universe.
In Grant Morrison, Ivan Reis and Marcus To's The Multiversity Guidebook, the Empty Hand was revealed. While he might not have the most impressive name, this mysterious, missing figure is one of the darkest, most powerful forces in the entire DC Universe.
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WHAT IS THE EMPTY HAND?
Breaking into the DC Multiverse from some dark other dimensions, the Gentry, the Empty Hand's servants, quickly proved their strength by wiping out the heroes of Earth-7 with relative ease. Only the Thunderer escaped, thanks to Nix Uotan the Super-Judge remaining behind in his place. The Gentry seeks to do the same all across the multiverse, destroying any semblance of hope or heroism anywhere. To achieve this, they work to construct the Oblivion Machine, a mysterious device that could end the entire multiverse and halt the "neverending" story of the superheroes once and for all. They do this in service of the Empty Hand, who operates behind the scenes for much of The Multiversity.
Even before the Empty Hand first appeared, his influence is felt throughout the crossover, particularly in The Multiversity: Ultra Comics. On the realistic Earth-33, where superheroes only exist as fiction, Ultra Comics introduces the heroic Ultra, a hero made of collective imaginative power. But his comic only spreads the influence of the Gentry, and hints that the Oblivion Machine has something to do with the perspective and mind of the reader themselves, by trapping the readers and wasting their lives away within their machinations.
The Gentry even taunts that the Oblivion Machine is part of Ultra's power, serving as a "cursed comic" that can infect the minds of those that read it, including heroes in other realities and the actual real-world readers. Ultra's use as a tool of the Gentry is confirmed by the reveal that one of the people in his universe was being controlled by Intellectron of the Gentry. It's also notable that Ultra, who was created by these forces, wears a symbol that's very similar to the one that the Empty Hand has upon his forehead, which suggests a deeper connection between the pair.
The Empty Hand is also shown controlling the robotic mini-heroes of Earth-42, even being resurrected to continue his work when need be. Even the New Gods of Earth-51 are horrified by the monstrous being involved, and they elect to instead wait and bide their time as their power grew before they ever attempted to confront it. Upon collecting a strong cadre of allies -- and ferreting out the Earth-42 Wonder Woman and Steel, who were spies for the Empty Hand within the House of Heroes -- the newly formed team that would become known as Justice Incarnate made their way to Earth-7. There, they were able to rescue the corrupted Nox Uotan and seemingly bring down members of the Gentry.
But this only spurred the Empty Hand himself to make a move, appearing in the world alongside an army comprised of more of the Gentry. It's revealed that the entire assault on the multiverse has merely been to test the strength of the current heroes and to gauge their overall effectiveness in battle. As he speaks to the assembled heroes, he reveals the monstrosities of Earth-7, including giants made form the countless corpses of the world, are hard at work completing the Oblivion Machine. He even reveals that the former multiverse was destroyed in part by him and his followers, who now feast on what remains of it. Deciding to have their final battle when he decides it, the Empty Hand spares their lives and sends them back to Earth-8.
Since then, the Empty Hand has yet to reappear. However, other multiversal dark gods have since risen up and threatened the DC multiverse. Barbatos has broken through from the Dark Multiverse to attack the core DC Universe in Dark Knights: Metal, while Perpetua has broken free to terrorize the multiverse and even destroy entire worlds. But the Empty Hand remains unconnected to them, at least for now. It's possible the dark god operates on a different scale from the other dark gods and is simply watching their battles play out as he would with any of its minions. However, he could still be biding his time, waiting for the heroes to be at their weakest before it makes its move.
Or perhaps the actions of these two are all just part of whatever plan the Empty Hand has to finally bring about the end of the DC Universe once and for al. No matter what, the multiverse needs to prepare for the eventual return of the Empty Hand, which could easily bring about the final end of all things if fully unleashed.
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