Of all the villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from adopted gods to evil robots and aliens searching for Infinity Stones, there's one name that I never expected to hear on Netflix's Luke Cage series, of all places. The "street level heroes" rarely even refer to members of The Avengers by name, so I was surprised and delighted when Luke Cage referenced Justin Hammer from Iron Man 2 and his company. What is Hammer Tech on Luke Cage ? The MCU company provides weapons, including the Judas bullet, to Luke's nemesis Diamondback and seems to have made some shady business deals since the last time we saw them on screen.
There are a few technology and weapons companies that pop up times in the Marvel Universe. There's Stark Industries, which Iron Man himself has rebranded a couple of times. Ant-Man introduced Pym Technologies, though their status is unknown at the moment. Roxxon Oil shows up at various times throughout the films and television series, and they are never up to any good. Though they are a spy organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. has excellent resources as well.
Hammer Industries, or Hammer Tech as they refer to it on Luke Cage, is lead by Justin Hammer, who was incidentally incarcerated in Seagate Prison at the end of Iron Man 2. Played by Sam Rockwell, Hammer was a central figure in the 2010 sequel. He was a business rival and competitor to Tony Stark. His attempts to recreate the Iron Man suit and design/upgrade the War Machine failed. He broke Ivan Vanko out of prison to get help on the next series of suits, which were really drones commissioned by the military, but when Vanko hacks them and uses them to stage an attack, that backfires a bit.
According to the events of Luke Cage, however, Hammer and his company seem to be doing fine on the black market. How they got ahold of Chitauri metal to develop the Judas bullet is beyond me, but so much is unknown about the world and the ripple affects from The Avengers. If Hydra can infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United States Government, then Justin Hammer probably had no problem running weapons tests in the Ukraine.
Whether or not Sam Rockwell will revise his role in the MCU remains to be seen. He made a brief appearance in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail The King, but appears in name only in Season 1 of Luke Cage. Still, it's cool to check in on these characters and affirm that they all live in the same world. Hammer Tech is still doing dastardly deeds, and honestly, I would expect nothing less.
Images: Paramount; Giphy
