Sowande

"It won't be long before your plan comes apart... before this chair I'm in becomes a throne."

- Sowande to Stick

Sowande was an African warlord and one of the five fingers of the Hand. During the Hand's attempt to take over New York City, he started recruiting several young men from Harlem putting him on the radar of Luke Cage. He was captured by Cage during the Ambush at the Royal Dragon and eventually executed by Stick in a fashion that prevented him from resurrecting.

Abandoning K'un-Lun
Sowande settled in K'un-Lun and learned how to use Chi for healing. However, he perverted the teachings of his masters with four others, including Alexandra Reid, Madame Gao, Murakami and Bakuto, to gain immortality and was banished as as a result. Together they formed the Hand, using all the bones of Dragons they could find to maintain their long lives.

Held Hostage
Sowande was once captured by the Chaste, but after three days, Sowande's armies approached the fortress the Chaste held Sowande in. The army starved out the fortress and on the tenth day, the Chaste knelt before him and begged him to make it stop.

Returning the Black Sky
"How long have you waited for this?" "Too long." "This will use the last of our resources. Are you sure it is a risk worth taking?" "I have never been more sure of anything."

- Sowande and Alexandra Reid

In the years they lived in New York City, Sowande was given a task, to find and capture the Black Sky. Eventually, Sowande heard news that Elektra, a long lost Black Sky warrior, had just been killed in battle by Nobu Yoshioka, so Sowande had his soldiers find and dig up her corpse to be resurrected and turned into their own warrior in their mission to finally return to K'un-Lun. Sowande visited Alexandra Reid and informed her that they had found the Black Sky. Having brought Elektra's corpse from her grave to the secret base of the Hand, Sowande presented it to Reid, questioning how long she had been searching for the Black Sky to be the greatest warrior of the Hand, which Reid claiming she had been waiting for far too long. Sowande noted that reviving Elektra would use the last of the Hand's supply of the Resurrection Elixir and therefore they would risk their own lives in the future without it, which Reid then made it clear that she was satisfied with, believing that Elektra was worth saving for the good of the Hand's future with their own mission.

Harlem Crews
Seeking to continue their work in New York City without being detected, Sowande hired several young men from Harlem seeking work to be employed as his personal clean up crew, going to the locations where the Hand had massacred people and clean up after them. Sowande hired both Sean and Cole Miller to do this work, but when both were exposed at different time, Sowande had them killed. Sowande's reputation also reached Turk Barrett who had noted Sowande for often wearing his white hat.

Questioning Black Sky
"Perhaps you'd be more effective on the battlefield if you killed your enemies, rather than letting them escape. Alexandra insisted we use the last of our resources on you. The ultimate weapon of the Hand. But after your recent failure well, I can't help but ask myself if you are a weapon at all."

- Sowande to Elektra

Sowande still stayed loyal to the Black Sky, going to inform her of when Alexandra Reid needed her help to interrogate Stick. But Sowande soon began to question if Black Sky was really the warrior Alexandra Reid had promised them, so he decided to test her while Black Sky was examining the weapons she could chose from. As Black Sky looked at the Twin Sai, Sowande and his men cornered her, questioning why she allowed her enemies to escape.

Pointing out that Elektra had let both Stick as well as the entire team known as the Defenders to escape her, which included losing the Iron Fist as a result, Sowande questioned if Reid was correct in her decision to use the last of their Resurrection Elixir to bring Elektra back to life. Questioning if Elektra was the warrior they had been promised, Sowande got his answer when he witnessed Elektra easily subdued and killed his soldiers, before walking out and telling him to keep asking himself if she was the weapon he was promised to the Hand, leaving Sowande alone to consider this.

Ambush at the Royal Dragon
To be added

Held Hostage
To be added

Personality
Sowande can be described as a twisted individual. He takes pleasure in causing as much pain as he can to his enemies, as evidenced when he pointed out the faults of the Defenders during his captivity.

Powers

 * Longevity: Through the use of The Substance, a regenerative elixir created from Dragon bones, Sowande, along with the other founders of the Hand, has had his lifespan extended by centuries. He could even have been alive for millennia, as the Hand was believed to be responsible for the destruction of Pompeii in 79 AD.

Abilities

 * Master Martial Artist: Sowande seems to show great proficiency in hand-to-hand combat. According to Stick, Sowande can slow his enemies' pulse to the point of heart failure. He was also capable of staggering Luke Cage with his blows through the use of pressure points, and even knocked the hero off his feet.

Equipment
To be added

Allies

 * Hand
 * Alexandra Reid † - Leader
 * Madame Gao
 * Bakuto †
 * Murakami
 * Black Sky
 * Turk Barrett

Enemies

 * Defenders - Kidnappers
 * Daredevil
 * Jessica Jones
 * Luke Cage
 * Danny Rand/Iron Fist
 * Chaste
 * Stick † - Kidnapper and Killer
 * Sean Miller † - Underling turned Victim
 * Cole Miller † - Underling turned Victim