Gorgon (comics)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gorgon is the name of two fictional superhumans from the Marvel Comics Universe. The first is a member of the Royal Family of the Inhumans, a race of superpowered beings that inhabit the hidden city of Attilan. Gorgon debuted in Fantastic Four #44 (1966) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The second is a mutant who possesses a petrifying gaze.

Contents 1 Gorgon the Inhuman 1.1 Powers and abilities 2 Gorgon (Tomi Shishido) 2.1 Powers and abilities 3 Ultimate Gorgon 4 In other media

[edit] Gorgon the Inhuman

Gorgon
Gorgon of the Inhumans. Art by Bret Blevins
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Fantastic Four #44 Created by Stan Lee Jack Kirby
Characteristics Alter ego Gorgon Species Inhuman Affiliations Inhumans Fantastic Four Abilities Superhuman strength and resilience, ability to generate seismic shockwaves with his hooves

Gorgon first appeared as a member of the Inhumans when he attempted to retrieve his cousin and queen, Medusa from the outside world and take her back to Attilan. This led him into conflict with the Fantastic Four, the first humans he met, who were harboring Medusa after rescuing her from the villainous Frightful Four. Accordingly, Gorgon is indirectly responsible for revealing the existence of Attilan to the outside world.

The son of archivist Milena and architect Korath (brother of the previous king Agon), Gorgon is a cousin of king Black Bolt and a member of the royal family. As such, he was given the honor of becoming Black Bolt's personal bodyguard. He has also been shown to be the leader of the Attilan's armed forces and responsible for training youths recently exposed to the Terrigen Mists in the use of their newly acquired powers and abilities. As is custom among the Inhumans, Gorgon was exposed to the Terrigen Mists as a teenager, gaining increased strength, while his feet were transformed to hooves, capable of generating highly destructive seismic waves.

In his role of bodyguard, he is fiercely loyal to his cousin Black Bolt. On the occasions Black Bolt's deranged brother Maximus the Mad seized power in Attilan, Gorgon has usually vowed to take Maximus down (in the eventual outcome usually asking for Black Bolt to order Maximus' execution) and return Black Bolt to his rightful place as ruler of Attilan. He also opposed the Attilan Genetics Council when they forbade Black Bolt and Medusa from conceiving a child.

The person Gorgon mostly relates to is his cousin Karnak. While Gorgon is brash and loud, Karnak is quiet and reserved. Gorgon prefers to solve his problems with his fists, knocking everything in his path, while Karnak, a thinker, strikes only once, but decisively. Both of them expect the other to see the light one day, Gorgon hoping to convert Karnak to the joys of life, while the latter expects his friend to learn more responsibility. Their differences have brought them to blows on occasion.

The same has happened with Ben Grimm, the member of the Fantastic Four whom Gorgon he feels closest to. As the strongmen of their respective families, Gorgon and Ben have a friendly rivalry, which has sometimes devolved to physical confrontations. However, they remain good friends. Gorgon also respects Reed Richards, who helped save Attilan countless times, and discovered a way to move the hidden city to the Earth's Moon.

Currently, Gorgon continues to serve Black Bolt and the Inhuman royal family, in spite of the fact the Inhumans chose to abandon Attilan and no longer consider Black Bolt their ruler. He was last seen in Latveria, the only country that allowed the royal family to establish themselves in exile.

[edit] Powers and abilities

Gorgon's legs have the appearance of cow's hooves. By stamping his hooves, Gorgon can create a concentric or directed shockwave with a strength of 7.5 on the Richter Scale, or 9.5 if near a fault line. Gorgon also possesses superhuman strength and resistance to injury.

[edit] Gorgon (Tomi Shishido)

The Gorgon
Cover of Wolverine #30 John Romita Jr, artist
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Wolverine (vol.2) #20 Created by Mark Millar John Romita, Jr.
Characteristics Alter ego Tomi Shishido Species Human Mutant Affiliations Hydra, Dawn of the White Light, The Hand Abilities ability to turn humans to stone by making eye contact with them, superhuman strength, stamina, agility, reflexes, regenerative healing factor, genius-level intellect

The Gorgon is the name of a comic book character associated with the X-Men member Wolverine. He first appeared in Wolverine (vol.3) #20, and was created by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The character was killed in Wolverine (vol.3) #31. He is unrelated to the Marvel character Gorgon of The Inhumans.

The Gorgon's real name was Tomi Shishido. He was a member of the Hand and HYDRA and a powerful mutant, leading the extremist mutant society Dawn of the White Light. As a child, the boy who would one day become the Gorgon, was an extraordinary genius. He said his first words at two weeks, could walk at three months and was reading and writing by his first birthday. He was an accomplished painter by age four and composed an opera at age six. This is also the age when he first attempted suicide.

At age 13, he created a mathematical formula that allegedly proved the existence of God and manifested the mutant ability to turn people to stone just by looking at them. The media dubbed him “The Gorgon”, after the mythological character. Shortly after, he ran a mutant death-cult called the Dawn of the White Light, which made terrorist attacks throughout Japan. It was at age 18 that he sought out the Hand. Before he left his home he killed his entire family and his only friend to prove that he was ruthless enough to join the terrorist organization.

After finding the Hand sanctuary and slaying all of its guards blindfolded, the Gorgon went inside and pledged his allegiance to the Hand's Jonin. When the master questioned his dedication, the Gorgon killed himself and told the master to resurrect him. The Jonin was impressed and brought Shishido into the fold.

Later the Gorgon became connected to HYDRA and formed a relationship with Madame Hydra. He was responsible for the capture and brain-washing of Wolverine. Although Wolverine was eventually freed from their control, this was a very successful move on his part. Wolverine managed to infiltrate the Baxter Building (home of the Fantastic Four), and stole technological blue prints from Reed Richards that were very useful to HYDRA.

Eventually, the Gorgon decided to assassinate Nick Fury, the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He was intercepted by Wolverine and killed after a brutal battle. Having attempted to use his mutant ability to render Wolverine into stone, Wolverine simply used his claws to reflect the mutant power back at its owner. Once Gorgon was rendered into stone, Wolverine shattered his body, disintigrating him. Although the Hand has the ability to resurrect its fallen, as Gorgon's body was destroyed it is unlikely this will be possible.

[edit] Powers and abilities

The Gorgon possessed a variety of near superhuman abilities as a result of genetic mutation and mystical enhancement at the hands of HYDRA.

The Gorgon possessed strength, stamina, agility, and reaction time that functioned with superhuman levels of efficiency. While no official limit has been revealed, these physical attributes appear to have been roughly equal to those possessed by Spider-Man. The Gorgon also possessed rapid healing powers that enabled him to regenerate damaged or destroyed tissue with extraordinary speed. The exact limits of the Gorgon's "healing factor" weren't revealed, but massive trauma inflicted by gunshots, slashes, puncture wounds, bludgeoning, and falling from great heights healed completely within a few minutes.

The Gorgon also possessed the ability to turn individuals into stone by looking at them. The Gorgon's eyes had no visible pupils and glowed with a bright green energy that would transform the tissues of his victim's bodies into solid stone if they looked straight into his eyes. The Gorgon always wore a pair of dark sunglasses in order to see without affecting those around him. Whether the sunglasses were ordinary or composed of some special material designed to block his power has yet to be revealed. The exact nature of this power has not been revealed, but the power is believed to be a result of genetic mutation rather than mystical. It has also been theorized that his ability to transform others into stone was his initial mutant ability and that his superhuman physical attributes were given to him by HYDRA and The Hand.

Aside from his physical advantages, Gorgon was a master of various forms of armed and unarmed combat. The Gorgon was an expert swordsman and preferred to use a katana during combat. Whether or not the sword itself possessed any special or unique properties is unknown. Despite the Gorgon's lack of morality and mercy, he possessed a genius level intellect.

[edit] Ultimate Gorgon

The character of Ultimate Gorgon was introduced in Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1. The familial relationships remain unchanged, with several differences: Ultimate Gorgon is a woman, her sisters are Medusa and Crystal. The royal family here is described as 'the purest bloodline in creation', possibly referring to inbreeding. Ultimate Gorgon remains the powerhouse of the family, with the added ability to hypnotise people, in effect turning them to stone. She is a physical match for Ultimate Ben Grimm, but haughty, referring to him as 'the grotesque'.

[edit] In other media

Gorgon, along with the other Inhumans, appears as a non-playable hero in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.