Gorilla-Man is an alias used by three different fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books 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 ...

, beginning in 1954 with the character of Kenneth Hale, and continuing with Arthur Nagan, who also appeared in 1954 and Franz Radzik, who first appeared in 1962.

Publication history

The character of Kenneth Hale first appeared in ''Men's Adventures'' #26 (March 1954). Dr. Arthur Nagan first appeared in ''Mystery Tales'' #21 (Sept. 1954), and was created by

Bob Powell Bob Powell (né Stanley Robert Pawlowski; While gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, and gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, Bails and Ware note: "family name corrected by his son, Seth R. Powell July 2006." October 2, 1916

. This story was reprinted in ''Weird Wonder Tales'' #7 (Dec. 1974).

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', '' Omega the Unknown,'' '' Marvel Spotlig ...

created the Headmen after reading the reprint issue. The character subsequently appears in '' The Defenders'' #21 (March 1975), 31–33 (January–March 1976), 35 (May 1976), ''The Defenders'' Annual #1 (Oct. 1976), ''Power Man/Iron Fist'' #68 (April 1981), ''Marvel Age'' Annual #1 (1985), ''The Sensational She-Hulk'' vol. 2 #1–3 (May–July 1989), ''Avengers: Deathtrap: The Vault Graphic Novel'' (1991), ''Web of Spider-Man'' #73 (Feb. 1991), ''Marvel Comics Presents'' #97 (1992), ''The Defenders'' vol. 2 #5 (July 2001), 7–10 (Sept.–Dec. 2001), and ''Heroes for Hire'' #6–8 (March–May 2007). Gorilla-Man appeared as part of the "Headmen" entry in the original ''The

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed by sporadic ...

'' #5, and in the ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89'' #3. Franz Radzik first appeared in ''

Tales to Astonish ''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a science-fiction anthology tha ...

'' #28 (Feb. 1962).

Fictional character biography

Kenneth Hale

Kenneth Hale was a happy-go-lucky soldier of fortune. He is characterised as risking his life for thrills, but with a fear of death. He heard of a local tribal legend from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

that stated, "If you kill the magical Gorilla-Man, you become immortal". The character traveled to Africa to find the Gorilla-Man. Hale abandoned his goal at the last minute, but his encounter with the Gorilla-Man forced him to shoot. The story follows that Hale then became immortal, but at the cost of becoming a Gorilla-Man himself. After operating his own team for a while, Hale retired, residing in a large treehouse near the Congo. He served as a guide for the original

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...

and proved himself to be a formidable one. He was given a special yearbook and was acknowledged as an ally, or "X-Ape". The character of Hale later worked with the Avengers,

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 dea ...

's Howling Commandos unit, and the

Agents of Atlas The Agents of Atlas are a fictional character, fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first lineup was composed of characters originally appearing in unrelated stories published in the 1950s by M ...

. During the "

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...

" storyline, Gorilla-Man and Human Robot rescue

Namora Namora () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Ken Bald and Syd Shores, she first appeared in '' Marvel Mystery Comics'' #82 (May 1947). She is from Atlantis and is the daughter of a ...

from the

Skrull The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated fro ...

s. After Norman Osborn gains a position of power in the American government, Gorilla-Man and the Agents of Atlas begin working against Norman's interests. In order to stop the acquisition of powerful weaponry, the Agents steal the gold straight out of Fort Knox. Operating on his own, Gorilla-Man tracked heroin dealers to an underground facility in Chinatown, San Francisco. There he teams up with

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

, Master Po, and Fat Cobra, who are part of a larger group seeking to stop the heroin shipments. They discover a vast underground empire, looking to control all crime above ground. Working together, the heroes manage to obliterate the criminal group. As part of the 2016

Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including '' U ...

branding, Gorilla-Man appears as a member of

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also c ...

's incarnation of the Mercs for Money. Black Panther later visits Gorilla-Man and persuades him to join the Agents of Wakanda. During ''

The War of the Realms "The War of the Realms" is a 2019 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. The storyline has been met with positive reviews, with critics praising the storyline and the art. Premise The story details the heroes banding together when Malek ...

'' storyline, Gorilla-Man is seen talking to

Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...

in the Wundagore Zoo in

Transia The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

, discussing about an undercover operation he's running for Black Panther, until Ka-Zar picks him up and takes him to Avengers Mountain. He helps Black Panther destroy the enemy forces that were attacking the mountain by activating a weapon inside the Celestial's body, but gets wounded after a few Dark Elves infiltrated the mountain. While recovering, he talks to Odin and it's later revealed that he betrayed the Avengers for Dracula's Legion of the Unliving. He's later seen helping Ka-Zar and

Blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Histor ...

in fighting Roxxon's Berserkers when infiltrating their secret base in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

Arthur Nagan

Dr. Arthur Nagan is a former surgeon who took the organs from

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

s to use in people. However, his scheme was thwarted by the gorillas who somehow transplanted his head onto a gorilla's body. He is a member of the

Headmen The Headmen is a group of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Headmen first appeared (as a team) in '' The Defenders'' #21 (March 1975) and were created by Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema, ...

and fought with The Defenders on several occasions. Upon his release from prison, he attacked Power Man, who was temporarily de-powered. He is a former member of the

Lethal Legion The Lethal Legion is the name of seven teams of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first version of the Lethal Legion appeared in '' The Avengers'' #78 (Jul. 1970). The secon ...

. He later rejoined by the

and participates in the plan to give his ally, Chondu, a new body — specifically, the body of a clone of She-Hulk. The Headmen hire the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime, then later

Mysterio Mysterio (Quentin Beck) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #13 (June 1964). He is primarily depicted a ...

to test She-Hulk for compatibility. She is subdued and cloned, but escapes with the aid of Spider-Man. Nagan is arrested by the New York city police. Nagan is seen without the Headmen during a

Vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

outbreak. He and the female

Frenzy ''Frenzy'' is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer was based on the 1966 novel ''Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Squa ...

, being held in neighboring cells, are freed by Electro. The Headmen tracked Spider-Man to a party Alicia Masters was hosting in order to procure Spider-Man's body for Chondu. Human Torch and Spider-Man defeated the enemies and the Headmen were soon arrested. Later allied with the A.I.M., they plotted to control an ancient space-god in order to rule the world. They resurrected the alien space god Orrgo and conquered the world with him, but the Defenders quickly defeated Orrgo and the Headmen. Nagan and the Headmen then fought the

Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in '' Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to ap ...

while attempting to transplant Chondu's head onto

Humbug A humbug is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, often as a hoax or in jest. The term was first described in 1751 as student slang, and recorded in 1840 as a "nautical phrase". It is now also often used as an exclama ...

's body. It is revealed in the

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

series that Nagan is one of the inmates left behind in the

Negative Zone The Negative Zone is a fictional setting, an antimatter universe appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The location is depicted in various publications from Marvel, most frequently in ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Captain Mar ...

's Prison 42. There, he is involved in a fight with

Star-Lord Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in '' Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 197 ...

, who is trying to stop Blastaar and his horde from invading Earth via the closed portal in the prison. He sided with Blastaar's forces when the Shadow Initiative invaded to take the prison back. Despite inflicting heavy casualties on the Shadow Initiative's forces, Nagan and his allies were betrayed by fellow inmate Hardball. Hardball killed the Negative aliens but let Nagan live. During the " Fear Itself" storyline, Nagan is among the criminals who escaped from the Raft after Juggernaut, in the form of Kuurth: Breaker of Stone, leveled it. He was detained by

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

. Gorilla-Man was later behind a hostage crisis until he was defeated by

Captain Ultra Captain Ultra (Griffin Gogol) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history He first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #177 (Dec. 1976) and was created by Roy Thomas, George Pérez and Joe Sinnott ...

. During the "Opening Salvo" part of the " Secret Empire" storyline, Gorilla-Man appears in an underground lair where he was building his army of Gorilla-Men while operating under the alias of King of the Gorilla-Men. These Gorilla-Men are the results of gorilla heads being surgically-attached to human bodies. He then finds

Robert Maverick General Robert L. Maverick is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the second character to use the Red Hulk identity. Publication history Created by Al Ewing and Gerardo Sandoval, the character ...

who just turned back from his

Red Hulk Red Hulk is an alias that is used by different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. While the first two were created from members of the United States army, the third one is a form of Hulk's Joe Fixit ...

form. While attempting to pull Robert's head out of his body in order to strengthen his Gorilla-Men army, Gorilla-Man and his Gorilla-Men are attacked and defeated by

Squirrel Girl Squirrel Girl (Doreen Allene Green) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Will Murray and writer/artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' vol. 2 #8, a.k.a. ' ...

, who unleashes her flying squirrels on his army.

Franz Radzik

Franz Radzik, a scientist who created an electromagnetic ray machine to transfer his mind into a gorilla's body was known as Gorilla-Man. He was sent into deep space on an experimental rocket ship and first appeared in ''Tales to Astonish'' #28 and 30. The former story was reprinted in ''

Adventure into Fear ''Adventure into Fear'' is an American horror comic book series published by Marvel Comics from cover dates November 1970 through December 1975, for 31 issues. This is its trademarked cover title for all but its first nine issues, though the ser ...

'' #5, the latter in ''Gorilla Man #3''. NOTE: This is not to be confused with a story from ''

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in ''Strange Tales''. It was a showcase for the science ...

'' #1. In it, a man who admires evil things is injected with a formula by an evil scientist which turns him into an ape, as he hopes to become a creature of evil. A student is knocked out by the evil man. He is tied to a chair and gagged at the home of the scientist. The mind of the man is sent back through the ages as he becomes an ape. However, the other man is able to free himself. He breaks the scientist's neck, but is captured and caged at the local zoo.

Powers and abilities

As Gorilla-Man, Kenneth Hale possesses the body of a mountain gorilla, while retaining his normal human intelligence. He has access to various weapons with a preference for firearms. Even as a human, he is skilled at fighting. Hale also has been cursed with virtual immortality and maintained the same level of physical prowess over decades. The Arthur Nagan version of Gorilla-Man is an experienced transplant surgeon and inventor. His large gorilla body possesses immense physical attributes. The Franz Radzik version of Gorilla-Man has similar powers as the other two, but it left him unable to speak.

Other versions

In an alternate Earth that appears in ''Avengers Forever'' #4–5, a similar version of Hale as Gorilla-Man appeared in the Avengers of the 1950s. Their timeline was destroyed by

Immortus Immortus (; Nathaniel Richards) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the future self of Pharaoh Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Kang the Conqueror, and Iron Lad / Kid Immortus, and a descend ...

. On Earth-O-Men, Ken Hale appears as the Gorilla-Man on an Earth dominated by the aliens the

s.''Paradise X: Heralds'' #3. Marvel Comics.

In other media

Video games

* The Ken Hale version of Gorilla-Man appears as a playable character as part of the Agents of Atlas DLC pack in ''

Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on 14 November ...

''.