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The Metal Gauntlet (sometimes called "The Mechanical Gauntlet" or "Metal Hand") is a prosthetic right hand created by Ash Williams and the resident Blacksmith of Castle Kandar in 1300 AD.

The Metal Gauntlet first appeared in the 1993 film Army of Darkness, but has since appeared in various officially licensed comic books and video games.

History[]

Creation[]

Having been tasked with retrieving the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis from a distant graveyard, Ash Williams realized after several encounters with local Deadites in medieval England that he would need more than just his chainsaw and shotgun to survive. With the assistance of the local Blacksmith, Ash constructed a fully-functioning prosthetic hand using a repurposed gauntlet from a suit of armor, heavy-duty springs, a ratchet, a tension release trigger, and the strongest cable the Blacksmith had.[1] Ash would substitute his chainsaw for the gauntlet for most of his time in 1300 AD.[2]

Fate[]

While the gauntlet did return with Ash back to the 20th Century, it disappeared sometime in the 30 year period in which Ash was in hiding from the forces of evil, and was substituted with a wooden hand.[3]

Features[]

Though the Ash Williams of the "prime" universe used the gauntlet for nothing more than simply holding objects, various incarnations of Ash found across the multiverse have upgraded and enhanced their gauntlets with other functions. On Earth-818793, the gauntlet's fist could be fired from the wrist to be used as either a grappling hook or a projectile.[4][5] In one instance in which Ash could not reach his other weapons, he revealed that the individual fingers of his gauntlet could be fired like bullets.[6] This iteration also demonstrated extreme durability, as it was able to take a shotgun blast directly to the palm.[7] Another world's Ash also had the grappling hook concept specifically in mind when designing his gauntlet, and had a built-in retractable cable connected from the firing fist to the wrist end.[8]

Variations[]

In two alternate realities, Ash's medieval love-interest Sheila wore gauntlets identical to ones he had previously crafted. One was a new iteration designed by Ash himself after he was forced to chop of Sheila's hand during a battle,[9] while another version of Sheila had one constructed by the rock band KISS in a timeline in which Ash's failure to arrive in 1300 AD prompted the maiden to retrieve the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis herself.[10]

In a world in which Annie Knowby created a simulacrum duplicate of Ash Williams, the clone eventually saw the need to create his own prosthetic hand after losing his flesh and blood hand while in the Mirror Dimension.[11] The design was similar to the one the "real" Ash would create in 1300 AD, albeit slightly more streamlined.

One universe's version of Ash wore a copper-colored gauntlet (as opposed to the steel silver/grey iteration typically found in other realities).[12]

In Other Media[]

Video Games[]

  • The gauntlet, referred to as "The Iron Fist", made it's video game debut in the 2011 mobile game Army of Darkness Defense. It could be purchased for 50 in-game coins.
  • The gauntlet appeared on Ash's character model in the 2013 crossover game Poker Night 2.
  • The "Warrior" incarnation of Ash Williams featured in Evil Dead: The Game from 2022 is based on the version of the character seen in the Army of Darkness film, and features the metal gauntlet on his player model.

Comic Books[]

  • The gauntlet has appeared in every comic based on Army of Darkness.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • As the gauntlet is an accessory exclusive to the iteration of Ash seen in the Army of Darkness film, media based on other entries of the franchise cannot use the hand in their depictions of the Ash character. The 2000 video game Evil Dead: Hail To The King substituted the gauntlet for a simple yellow glove (which seemed to function and move like a real hand), while the game's sequel, A Fistful of Boomstick, featured cutscenes in which Ash had nothing on his stump at all. The Ash vs Evil Dead television series was also unable to use elements from Army of Darkness, which resulted in the creation of a new device for Ash called The Power Glove.
  • The 1991 shooting script of Army of Darkness referred to the gauntlet as "Ash's Spring-Driven Iron Hand".

References[]

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