Izzy Hands

This article is about the Our Flag Means Death character. You may be looking for the Treasure Island/Black Sails/Assassin's Creed character and historical figure, Israel Hands.

Character
Name:	Israel Hands
Occupation:	second in command to BlackBeard
Relationships:	Edward Teach (Captain)
Fandom:	Our Flag Means Death
Other:	IZZY HANDS by Laxianne (2023)
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Izzy Hands is a main character in the TV series Our Flag Means Death. He is loosely based on a historical figure and real life pirate, Israel Hands, best known for being second in command to Edward Teach (Blackbeard).

Fandom

Izzy is a popular but divisive character within OFMD fandom, particularly after season 1, where he took an antagonist role. A great deal of meta has been written analyzing Izzy's actions; fans intensely debated whether his actions in the first season should be understood sympathetically, and if not, whether he could, would or should be redeemed for them. Some fans argued that his hostile actions toward the main characters were ultimately well-intentioned, while others viewed his controlling relationship with Blackbeard as abusive.

In season 2, Izzy's canonical portrayal became more sympathetic and he reconciled with most of the other characters. After being mortally wounded at the end of the season, he apologized to Blackbeard for his previous treatment of him.

Reactions post season-2 were if anything even more divisive than previously; some fans who had disliked Izzy in season 1 thawed on him, but others found his more sympathetic portrayal unconvincing, OOC, or simply less interesting than his previous antagonist status. Conversely, many fans who had viewed Izzy sympathetically in season 1 were critical of the fact that he was portrayed as apologizing to Blackbeard, arguing that he had done nothing to apologize for.

Common Tropes in Fanworks

• Redemption arc: due to his position in the series after season 1 there was a great deal of fanfiction focusing on a redemption arc for Izzy
• Hurt/Comfort: usually with Izzy being hurt and receiving comfort from various members of the crew.
• Whump: Izzy whump is also fairly common, with stories including elements like Izzy being flogged, stabbed, or nearly drowning.
• Modern AU: fanworks set outside the golden age of piracy in a modern setting. In these fanworks it is still not unusual to have Izzy be in some sort of high stress position, often being Ed's subordinate, business partner, or something of that nature. It is also not unusual to have fics where Izzy is connected to some sort of shady or less then legal pursuits, be it present or past tense.
• Ed's Ex: because the nature of Ed and Izzy's past relationship is complicated, or somewhat ambiguous, it is not unusual in fanworks to have Ed and Izzy as ex-romantic partners or friends that used to be sexually involved. This is pretty common in both pirate and modern settings, but may be more prevalent in modern era stories.
• Izzy's Ring: Izzy wears a ring on his cravat throughout the series. Fanworks will often explore the meaning of the ring. It was a very popular storyline in fanworks for the ring to have been given to Izzy by Ed when they we were younger or when Izzy became his first mate. Although, in other fanworks the ring had belonged to Izzy's mother, or was given to him by someone else from his past who meant a lot to Izzy.
• BDSM: because sometimes in canon Izzy seems to like when certain people are rough with him a lot of explicit Izzy fanworks will include BDSM elements and other kinks. Izzy is most popularly portrayed as a Sub in these types of fanworks.
• Trans Izzy: portraying Izzy as a trans man is quite common in fanworks. This may have come about partly because the actor who plays Izzy, Con O'Neil, liked a tweet that showed Izzy with the trans flag.
• Pastfic: many fanworks will explore Izzy's past before the beginning of the series. Popular story elements to include are:
  • Izzy was once in the British navy, and defected to become a pirate
  • Izzy had been a member of Hornigold's crew, and that is how Ed and him met
  • Izzy helped Ed, Jack, and others mutiny against Hornigold. After the mutiny Ed made Izzy his first mate
  • Izzy and Ed having met when they were both young men, although their ages when this occurred varies a great deal
  • After Izzy sang "la vie en rose" in season 2, some fans speculated that Izzy's mother may have been french, and that she taught him the song
  • During season 2 Izzy was seen to have scars on his back most likely from a past whipping/flogging, fans will explore how and when he got those
• Jewish Izzy: there were a small of fanworks that interpreted or headcanoned Izzy as Jewish.
• Izzy's Leg: Izzy loses part of his leg in season 2, many fans will explore his disability in their fanworks. It is even quite common for fans to keep Izzy's loss of a limb in fanworks set in modern or other AU settings, although how Izzy loses his leg is often changed from canon, usually with Izzy losing the leg in an accident or due to infection. However, a few fans will diverge from canon after season 1 and avoid Izzy losing his leg all together.
• Labeling Fanworks Izzy Safe/Friendly: because of the drastically different characterizations of Izzy within the fandom after season 1, it was sometimes hard for Izzy fans to enjoy fanworks focused on other pairings or characters like Ed/Stede, so some fans would rec fic and let other fans know that it was safe for Izzy fans to read, because Izzy is treated well in it or at least not character bashed

Izzyverse

In December 2022 fans of Izzy on Twitter created what is known as the Izzyverse also called AU!Izzy, alternative universes where Izzy is different in each universe depending on which person/captain he served under. This was supposedly the inciting tweet:

[xylodemon]
still thinking about that tweet i saw the other day about the Revenge somehow bumping into a multiverse version of Izzy who left with Jack after the mutiny and so hadn't been ground into dust by the Blackbeard legend. it's fucking haunting me

It caused much discussion among Izzy fans about what him would be like if he had never served under Ed/Blackbeard, and lead to the creation of several AU Izzys, some examples being:

• Hornigold's Izzy (also referred to as Baz)
• Mary's Izzy
• Jack's Izzy
• Jim's Izzy
• Stede's Izzy
• Evelyn's Izzy

This also lead to the creation of fanworks featuring the different Izzys, and sometimes having them interacting or visiting their different universes.

Example fanworks:

• Izzys and their preferred weapons, ^{Archived version} art by favouritefi
• Hornigold's dog, now Baz fic series by jaybirbbbb, featuring Hornigold's Izzy
• Mary's Izzy, ^{Archived version} art by sunspeckfreckle

Shipping

Izzy is canonically implied to have some unrequited love for Edward Teach, whose canonical love interest is Stede Bonnet; accordingly, Izzy treats Stede as a rival for most of the show, but they begin to develop a friendlier relationship in the second half of season two. Izzy also has some hostile but sexually charged interactions with Lucius Spriggs in canon.

Because of the somewhat one-sided love triangle, Izzy is shipped with Edward Teach and Stede Bonnet, or both in an OT3 called Steddyhands. Israel Hands/Lucius Spriggs is also very popular. Izzy is also a bit of a little black dress in the fandom, being shipped with almost anyone he shared screen time with, and some he didn't. Popular ships include:

• Edward Teach/Izzy Hands (Blackhands)
• Stede Bonnet/Israel Hands (Stizzy or Gentlehands)
• Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet/Israel Hands (Steddyhands)
• Israel Hands/Lucius Spriggs (Spriggyhands or Sprizzy)
• Israel Hands/"Calico" Jack Rackham (Cjizzy)
• Israel Hands/Roach (Rizzy)
• Frenchie/Israel Hands (Ouizzy)
• Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy/Israel Hands (Bellhands) - Sam Bellamy is a real life historical pirate who does not appear in the series, but he was still a popular choice for being a former lover of Izzy's

Fandom Divisiveness and Controversy

Izzy is a controversial character within fandom as he started out in an antagonist role in canon but swiftly became a beloved favorite with a particular subset of the fandom, leading to intense debate over how his role in canon should be understood..

Many Izzy fans felt that they were excluded and persecuted by the wider fandom and argued that a great deal of the wider fandom's discussion and portrayal of Izzy amounted to character bashing. OFMD fans who took a less sympathetic view of Izzy expressed frustration about being accused of character bashing for talking about a character they viewed as canonically an antagonist in those terms, and argued that portrayals and interpretations that framed Izzy sympathetically often did so at the expense of other characters, particularly characters of color. Izzy's dark canonical relationship with Blackbeard became a particular focus of debate, with many fans arguing that Blackbeard's treatment of Izzy amounted to domestic abuse and many others arguing that Izzy was Blackbeard's abuser. Fans on both sides of this debate frequently accused their opponents of abuse apologism.

Fans have been targeted by harassment and doxxing both for being fans of Izzy and for criticizing Izzy. An anonymous tumblr called izzy-anti-archive was created to document reports of harassment aimed at Izzy fans; another blog, canonizzyhours, was created for readers to anonymously submit meta and opinions critical of Izzy that they were afraid to post on their own blogs for fear of attracting harassment.

Because of the intensity of the divide, many fans who adopted a sympathetic view of Izzy from the start of the show often view themselves as a separate community from the larger OFMD fandom and call their subfandom the Izzy Canyon. Some canyon fans refer to members of the OFMD fandom outside the Izzy Canyon as either "gentlebeardies" (referring to the main canon pairing of Gentlebeard) or as "Izzy antis". Fans who enjoy Izzy but view him as an antagonist throughout season 1, and therefore do not identify as a member of the Izzy Canyon, sometimes call themselves "jar guys," referring to a joke about wanting to put Izzy in a jar and shake it to see what happens.

Comments About Hate Towards Izzy Fans

I'm really excited that there is a lot of new Izzy fans because of the season, but I need each and every one of those people to take a moment to remember that October 17th is Doxxing Day, the one year anniversary of someone hating that I loved Izzy Hands so much that they

Stalked me, told me I should be raped, posted my photos, address, and pictures of my house online, and then openly exposed where I worked, called in multiple complaints about me and inevitably got me fired.

If you suddenly start liking Izzy but can't break into the fandom, maybe that is why. Please keep loving the old man. It's the best way to live, but remember why maybe people are weary of your sudden change of tone.

I’m v glad I tuned out of the OFMD fandom during the hiatus. What do you mean ppl got death threats for liking a fun antagonist? What do you mean ppl justified that antagonists torture because it was carried out by their fave who can’t do anything wrong and also because he “had it coming”?? What do you mean ppl sincerely thought the main characters romance issues would be resolved if they just killed the bitter abused ex??? How does it feel to have read a piece of media so poorly that the first scene of the new season openly mocks that last point with an absurd dream sequence showcasing how insane that take is?

Yep. There’s an environment of hostility towards fans who enjoy Izzy Hands — accusations that they support abuse, call-outs of “dark” content, threatening language, and even doxxing. Izzy fans have had to close ranks as a result in a safe space they call the “canyon”

Comments About Hate Towards Fans that Disliked Izzy

And every time I bring him up I'm thinking "am I gonna get called a slur for this" because the canyon really attracted some of the most racist-ass takes. It's incredibly frustrating that this show, which has some of the best anti-racist writing and characters of color I've ever seen in my life, has a fandom that can be so hostile to fans of color. It's so wild that it feels like this small but extremely vocal subset of the fandom is talking about a new guy that they've just made up and doesn't exist in the show, and they're so loud and insistent about it that it makes it difficult for everyone else to talk about the actual guy.

it always comes back to 'stop posting stuff i don't personally like'

character meta in the tag? 'that's harassment'

post about how you were bullied into taking down a very neutral meta post about that character? 'straw man. that didn't happen'

challenge the view that izzy fans are a persecuted minority? 'it is unsafe to openly be an izzy fan. people get doxxed. izzy antis are dangerous'

post about how you daren't post any further takes about that character for fear of more dogpiling?' 'you're stupid. you're being a baby. the canyon isn't a boogeyman'

block us? 'you're censoring us. silencing us. creating an echo chamber. we've made our own space over here though and if you come over we're going to complain that you won't leave us alone'

every time i post something izzy critical i get anons in my inbox saying that they agree with my takes but daren't post about them on their own blogs. i've had people coming to me and saying they loved izzy until they discovered the canyon and now they can't stand the sight of him. i ended up enjoying s2 less than i could've done when i watched it as it came out bc of the amount of screentime he was getting and the fear i had that everything he did in s1 had just been handwaved, which in hindsight i would not have felt if i hadn't spent months getting screamed at by izzy stans every time i acknowledged izzy's role as an antagonist. i've seen people be harassed and bullied for the most harmless and inoffensive (and very canonically accurate) izzy metas and told not to post in the izzy tag unless you're essentially worshipping the ground he walks on. i've seen poc reaching the point where they're considering leaving the fandom bc of the shit they have to deal with on a daily basis.

Izzy's Death, Bury Your Gays, and Ableism

Many fans were intensely critical of Izzy's death in the season 2 finale, with some arguing that it was a case of Bury Your Gays, and others saying it was ableist, or a combination of both:

people are disagreeing about Izzy’s death and ableism and such.

My thoughts: There’s no right or wrong way to interpret it. Disabled people are not a monolith. Some may take issue while others may not. HOWEVER

I do feel what they did and how they did it was Fucked up. It’s not about whether or not his disability directly played into his death within the show. It’s how they made so much of his arc this season losing his leg and recovering only to kill him off. And then took his fucking leg off before burying him. It’s not inherently ableist to kill a disabled character nor do I think that their intention was to say living a life disabled isn’t worth it. However it does leave a bad taste in my mouth and in many others to see them make Izzy suddenly okay to die.

there is a textual analysis based in the history of disability representation that you can do here about izzy's arc. "i actually loved izzy's arc" is great for you, however, that doesn't change the fact that it evokes harmful tropes about disabled people within the story ofmd still kills off its disabled character! it's done in a way where noticing izzy's prosthetic is what tips the british off that something is wrong connecting the death to his disability. they take away his prosthetic and use it as a grave marker. these are serious issues 😭 and it's like "there's other disabled characters!" sure, but the death of spanish jackie or black pete would most likely be able to beat the bury your disableds trope accusations. *izzy's* specific arc highlights his disability in a way that creates issues with his death

The grief people are feeling now is not only grief for Izzy but for themselves. A lot of the tweets I've seen from devastated fans talk about how, through killing Izzy, the message from David Jenkins was that queer, disabled, suicidal people don't deserve to be happy *and* alive. Since society already treats people in any of those categories as lesser than or stigmatizes them, it's not hard to see why Izzy's death would feel personal.

Trying to parse if Izzy's pointless death was more due to unexamined homophobia or unexamined ableism is probably an exercise in futility. In effect, it was both Bury Your Gays and Bury Your Disabled Characters.

Many fans were upset with the disrespect they saw in Izzy's burial and grave:

i have literally no idea how on earth did they manage to make izzy's burial/grave SO offensive on SO many levels like. EVERYTHING about this was wrong

And if that wasn’t bad enough, they make his final resting place all about themselves as well. We KNOW a burial on land is not what Izzy would have wanted. Not to mention the mockery they make of the grave itself in hanging Izzy’s cravat with his ring on the marker rather than burying him wearing it. But sure, Ed and Stede need a reminder to be decent people, so let them take all of Izzy’s agency away and disrespect him even in death. The way Jenkins talks about this, we should see all of it as sad but sweet and touching. For me, it’s none of those. It’s disrespectful in the worst possible way. And I seriously don’t think I will ever recover from that.

Sorry, as a disabled person,

reading they used the unicorn leg (i.e. Izzy's journey of suffering his crew, to living for his crew, to being loved by them) to mark the grave?!

Couldn't even bury him with their love and his dignity? All for his abuser?

I'm so 🤬

Others fans also pointed out that Izzy's death really didn't fit tone of the show and what they thought they had been watching:

Yes, that was the thing with ofmd, it was sold to us as a romcom/comedy, that’s the reason why Izzy’s death came out of nowhere!!! It didn’t fit with what we were told we were watching

Example Fanworks

Fanart

• the hanged man, ^{Archived version} by tuherrus
• obsessed with this little freak, ^{Archived version} by hcnnibal
• Izzy Hands, ^{Archived version} by kiodja
• dizzy izzy, ^{Archived version} by hansoeii
• Izzy time, ^{Archived version} by mistysblueboxstuff

Fanfiction

• bang bang, he shot me down by idyllic_idioms - the first Israel Hands/Lucius Spriggs fanfiction posted to Archive Of Our Own
• Communicating Want by DictionaryWrites - the most bookmarked fanfiction on Archive Of Our Own focusing on Izzy (addresses his past, including a matelotage -- pirate marriage)

Vids

• What’s the deal with your friend Stede? by theydjarin
• Jolene (OFMD vid) by duchesscloverly
• Uh Huh by SweetPollyOliver
• Short Kings Anthem by Emeraldcas
• Bad Guy by Sandra Mills

Meta

• Who are all of these people who are drowning in pro-Izzy content to the exclusion of all other characters, ^{Archived version} meta that examines Izzy stats and the myth that Izzy is overtaking the fandom

Zines

• Above All Else: Izzy Hands Zine
• OFMD Party Zine

Archives & Resources

• Israel Hands tag (only OFMD's fandom) at AO3

Further Reading

• Our Flag Means Death's Finale Was Full of Hurt For Izzy Hands Fans, ^{Archived version} by Linda Codega, for gizmodo.com