The Golem is the name of a number of fictional characters appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. These include:
Monster
Publication history
The Golem first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #174 (June 1974), and was created by
Len Wein
Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ( ...
and
.
The character also appears in ''Strange Tales'' #176-177 (October, December 1974), ''Marvel Two-in-One'' #11 (September 1975), ''The Hood'' #3 (September 2002), #5-6 (November–December 2002), and ''Nick Fury's Howling Commandos'' #2 (February 2006).
Fictional character biography
Golem is a humanoid creature that was made in the 16th century by
Judah Loew Ben Bezalel
Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; between 1512 and 1526 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew''", 'Our Teacher, Rabbi ...
. It was made from purple stone or clay and protected the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
people from persecutors in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. In later years it was reanimated by Professor Abraham Adamson’s life force as Adamson died.
Golem later became a member of
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...
’s
Howling Commandos
The Howling Commandos is the name of several fictional groups appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Fictional team history
World War II
The first group of Howling Commandos (introduced in their own 1963 comic book seri ...
Monster Force.
Powers and abilities
Golem is tall and has superhuman strength which it draws from the land as long as it is in contact with the Earth.
Invaders ally
Publication history
This character first appeared in ''Invaders'' #12 (January 1977) as Goldstein, and was created by
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...
,
Frank Robbins
Franklin Robbins (September 9, 1917 – November 28, 1994) was an American comic book and comic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, where one of his p ...
and
Frank Springer
Frank Springer (December 6, 1929 – April 2, 2009) was an American comics artist best known for Marvel Comics' '' Dazzler'' and '' Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.''. As well, in collaboration with writer Michael O'Donoghue, Springer created one o ...
; he appeared in ''Invaders'' #13 (February 1977) as Golem.
The character subsequently appears in ''The Invaders'' #2-4 (June–August 1993).
Fictional character biography
Jacob Goldstein, the brother of the
Blue Bullet, was a resident of the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw, Poland, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He mystically transformed himself into a Golem in order to fight the Nazis. He assisted the
Invaders when his brother was kidnapped by
Doctor Death.
Powers and abilities
In Golem form, Jacob was a hulky humanoid of in height. His skin was hard as stone, giving him a good degree of invulnerability. His strength was greater than
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
's but less than
Namor
Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc. ...
's.
Hood foe
Dennis Golembuski was the grandson of a Polish freedom fighter who immigrated to America. Dennis may or may not have killed a man at the age of eight. He spent some time working as an underboss for
Kingpin, but he quit. He began to work for a mysterious new master.
Later he had
Mosh
Moshing (also known as slam dancing or simply slamming) is an extreme style of dance, dancing in which participants push or slam into each other, typically performed to "aggressive" live music such as heavy metal music, heavy metal and punk rock ...
brought to him for robbing a liquor store under his "protection". Mosh refused to hand over a percentage of his take from the robbery. So Golem and his assistant Madame Rapier kill Mosh. He recruited the
Constrictor,
Shocker and
Jack O'Lantern
A jack-o'-lantern (or jack o'lantern) is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a rutabaga or turnip. Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name comes from the reported phen ...
to help protect a batch of "bloodstones". After the
Hood
Hood may refer to:
Covering
Apparel
* Hood (headgear), type of head covering
** Article of Academic dress#Hood, academic dress
** Bondage hood, sex toy
* Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt
Anatomy
* Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitori ...
arrived and stole half the diamonds, he gave Madam Rapier a list of pawn shops for them to scout, in case Hood tried to sell them. Hood arrived at the Golem's office and asking for a cut of the diamonds if he returned the rest undamaged. Golem agreed, but after the Hood left, told Rapier to kill the thief at their rendezvous.
After the Hood double-crossed Rapier, knowing she planned to double-cross him, she was killed in a hail of police gunfire. The Hood confronted Jack O'Lantern and the other super villains. He handed the diamonds over to them, telling them to tell Golem to just leave him alone. After they reported back to him, he promised that nothing was ended between him and the Hood.
Powers and abilities
Dennis apparently possesses no powers beyond those of a normal man his age.
Other Golems
*Joseph, a resident of
Yancy Street, was known as Golem. Joseph was brought over to the United States from the old country by Loew, the creator of the original Golem. Joseph was buried under a building as persecutors dropped away and unearthed decades later with the building's destruction. He began mimicking the protective/defensive actions of the Yancy Street Gang against outsiders but was confronted by the
Thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...
. He was then sent to sleep in the East River by Grimm. Golem first appeared in ''Marvel Knights 4'' #22 (November, 2005). He was created by
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (born 1973) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series ''Glee'', ''Big Love'', '' Riverdale'', ''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' a ...
(writer) and
Valentine De Landro
A valentine is a card or gift given on Valentine's Day, or one's sweetheart.
Valentine or Valentines may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Valentine (name), a given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional char ...
(artist).
*In ''
Warheads'' #2, a being known as ''Golem'' briefly possessed Leona MacBride and then Mr. Grant.
*A member of the Vampire Hunters is Inspector
Judiah Golem. He first appeared in ''
Tomb of Dracula
''The Tomb of Dracula'' is an American horror comic book series published by Marvel Comics from April 1972 to August 1979. The 70-issue series featured a group of vampire hunters who fought Count Dracula and other supernatural menaces. On rare ...
'' vol. 3 #4.
*Agents of Cagliostro were known as the Golems. They first appeared in ''
Dr. Strange Annual'' #2.
Reception
The Golem was ranked #26 on a listing of Marvel Comics' monster characters in 2015.
Bibliography
*''Incredible Hulk'' vol. 2 #134
*''Marvel Handbook: The 1970''
*''Marvel Two-In-One'' #11
*''Nick Fury's Howling Commandos'' #1-6
*''Strange Tales'' #174, 176-177
See also
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golem (Comics)
Articles about multiple fictional characters
Characters created by Brian K. Vaughan
Characters created by Eric Powell
Characters created by Frank Robbins
Characters created by John Buscema
Characters created by Kyle Hotz
Characters created by Len Wein
Characters created by Roy Thomas
Comics characters introduced in 1974
Comics characters introduced in 1977
Comics characters introduced in 2002
Fictional golems
Fictional people from the 16th-century
Fictional people from the 20th-century
Fictional Polish Jews
Fictional Polish people
Jewish-related comics
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics demons
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Marvel Comics male supervillains
Marvel Comics superheroes
Marvel Comics supervillains
it:Golem (personaggio)