The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man © Juke Box Productions AstroFacts Status: Active Earliest Appearance: late 1800s Origin: Although creator Kurt Busiek has mentioned the existence of detailed notes associated with his origin, the tale of Hanged Man's dark beginning has yet to be told. Base of Operations: Shadow Hill Personal Data InfoDump Appearances (in Publication Order): Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.1 #4 Wizard Presents: Kurt Busiek's Astro City #1/2 Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.2 #1, 6, 9 Astro City #13 Event Timeline 1996     Current Hanged Man Explains a Mystery to a Man Troubled By His Dreams. 1996/09     Current During Thunderhead's Epic Tantrum, the Hanged Man guards Shadow Hill.. 2014/06     Current Raitha's Plan to Use the Orb to Fix Silver Adept's Schedule. The Hanged Man A strange and mysterious being, the Hanged Man stands a nightly vigil over the neighborhood known as Shadow Hill. He wears a burlap bag over his face and a badly frayed rope around his neck. Shadowy remnants of a ghastly and perhaps unjustified execution. History K.O. Carson tells of olden times and the Hanged Man, some of those tales pre-date World War I and the arrival of Air Ace. There are even accounts of the Hanged Man in mystic European folklore that originate from the Middle Ages. Hanged Man, along with the migration of large groups of Eastern Europeans, is believed to have settled into the area now known as Astro City in the later half of the 19th Century. There are no specific details, just ghostly fragments of events from an ancient past. Recent history tells a different tale as current police database files are loaded with Hanged Man's involvement in the protection of the residents of Astro City. One of his most revered actions revolved around the mysterious murders plaguing Shadow Hills during the Great Enelsian Invasion. That case baffled authorities who originally felt that the fate of the Confessor, a rather ruthless vigilante, was somehow tied to the killings. Instead, the Hanged Man discovered an extremely horrific beast to be the real culprit. On a very dark night shortly following both the death of the Confessor and the defeat of the Enelsians, an eerie light emanated over the old buildings inhabiting Shadow Hills. It was a projection filling the skies, mingling with the starlight. A vision made large by the Hanged Man so all the restless citizens of Astro City could witness the final life moments of a horrific killer that had caused so much grieving. That was the relief needed and in the end, the Hanged Man brought closure for the victims and the city. Powers The Hanged Man's vast powers seem to be supernatural. He is known to fly, although it is more a wispy floating, like that of a apparition. He can manipulate his size to tower above buildings. He possesses mysterious awareness of alternate time-lines. Speculations, Theories The possibilities seems strong that the Hanged Man and his fate are somehow tied into the history, rituals, and superstitions that cling to Shadow Hill.