AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Casts Saffron Burrows as Victoria Hand

Is it almost H.A.M.M.E.R. time?

Latino Review claims that British actress Saffron Burrows has been cast as Agent Victoria Hand in a future episode of the ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  As fans of Marvel Comics may know, Hand first appeared in 2008 as a S.H.I.E.L.D. accountant in Invincible Iron Man #8 and was a major character in the "Dark Reign" storyline running through various Marvel Universe titles.

Hand was appointed to the position of Deputy Director of H.A.M.M.E.R. by Norman Osborn after he assumed control of S.H.I.E.L.D., dismantled the spy organization and then replaced it.  As Osborn's second-in-command, Hand believed he would bring peace and order to the world and supported his agenda to subvert superheroes and replace them with supervillains he could control.  Later on, it turned out that Hand was actually a triple agent, pretending to work for Captain America while pretending to work for Osborn while actually working for Captain America, to help set a trap for Osborn.  She was eventually killed by Brother Voodoo's brother Daniel during a revenge assault on the New Avengers.

Burrows, now 41, is probably best known as Lorraine Weller on the ABC series Boston Legal and Detective Serena Stevens on NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent.  She also appeared as Andromache in the 2004 movie Troy.  In addition, the actress is openly bisexual but it's not known if this was a factor in casting her as Victoria Hand, who was revealed in the comics as a lesbian.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs on ABC at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesdays.