August 13th in Left-Hander’s Day, the one day a year we celebrate that quarter of the human population who can’t use regular can openers.Most comic book characters don’t have a specifically dominant hand, mainly so artists have the luxury of putting characters in poses that suit their needs.However, there is a very small contingent of characters whom we know to be left-handed, either out of necessity or due to specific artist choice.In celebration of Left-Hander’s Day, let’s take a look at five of the best left-handed characters in comics.
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Hellboy
While Hellboy’s right hand gets all the fame and glory, it’s the demon’s left hand that does all the hard work.ย For those who haven’t read the comics, Hellboy’s right hand is a mystical oversized stone artifact, alleged by many in the mystical community to be the key to unleashing the impending apocalypse.ย While his “Right Hand of Doom” is great for punching giant monsters, it’s not so good at firing guns or holding normal sized objects.ย That’s where Hellboy’s left hand comes in.ย Hellboy uses his left hand for just about everything that doesn’t involve punching things into a bloody pulp.ย Whether it’s firing a gun, writing or eating pancakes, Hellboy’s definitely a left hander, through and through.
Rick Grimes
Rick Grimes is a lefty by necessity.ย Although early issues of The Walking Dead depicted Grimes as a right hander, a fateful encounter with the Governor left him a hand short.ย With his right hand gone, Grimes adapted to using his left hand and can still fire his trusty pistol with reasonable accuracy.ย In recent issues, Grimes hasย sported a prosthetic claw on his right arm, but it still appears that he’s primarily a left hander.ย Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your thoughts about dismemberment), AMC’s TV adaptation chose to keep Grimes with both his hands, claimingย that a one-handed Rick would slow the fast paced show down. ย
Sinestro
Sinestro’s name is a play on the word “sinister”, which means evil or unlucky in English.ย However, “sinestra”, the word from which sinister is derived, meant “left” in ancient Latin.ย Over time, left handedness became associated with evil, leading to the modern use of the word sinister.ย Many Green Lantern stories touch on ย the origins ofย Sinestro’sย names by showing the character wearing his power ring on his left hand. ย It’s not quite certainย when DC decided to toss in this little Easter egg, although it’s noticeable during Geoff Johns’ epic Green Lantern run. The reference has also crossed over into movies such as the live-action Green Lantern and the animated Green Lantern: First Flight. ย
Klaw
The Black Panther villain Klaw is another lefty by necessity.ย Originally a physicist specializing in sonics, Klaw attacked Wakanda in order to obtain vibranium, a highly specialized metal used to create Captain America’s shield.ย During the attack, Klaw killed Wakanda’s leader T’Chaka, but lost his hand to T’Challa, T’Chaka’s son and the future Black Panther.ย Years later, Klaw emerged as a supervillain with a specialized sonic device on his right wrist, functionally replacing his missing hand with a weapon.ย As a result of his sonic experimentation, Klaw’s body later transformed into living sound waves, costing him his left hand along with all physical form.ย Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced a live action version of Klaw, played by Andy Serkis, but drastically changed his origin when Ultron ripped his left arm off instead of his right. But whenever Klawย gets that sonic device, there’s no doubt it will be his “dominant hand.”
Garfield
He’s mainly known for his love of lasagna and his hatred of Mondays, but Garfield the Cat is comics’ most famous left-handed feline.ย It’s unknown exactly why Garfield is left handed, although there are two popular theories. The first is that Garfield’s namesake is James A. Garfield, the United States’ first left handed president.ย The other rampant rumor is that Garfield creator Jim Davis did his homework, and knows that most male cats are left handed (we’re dead serious). Whatever the reason, it’s nice to know that there’s a lefty on the funny pages, too!ย ย
