Gorgilla

Publication history

Gorgilla first appeared in Tales To Astonish #12 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Fictional character biography

Gorgilla was originally a 20 ft (6.1 m) half-man/half-ape native to the island of Borneo, who is discovered by an expedition seeking the "missing link" between man and apes. After Gorgilla saves the expedition from a dinosaur, a Tyrannosaurus rex, they in gratitude decide to leave the island and never mention Gorgilla.

Gorgilla, however, becomes curious about mankind and stows away on a ship bound for New York. Gorgilla stops an assassination attempt while in New York, but dies from a fall from the Statue of Liberty.

This is later corrected and it is revealed that the adventurer Doctor Druid talks Gorgilla down from the Statue of Liberty and ensures that he is returned to Borneo.

Gorgilla is among those summoned by Yandroth and influenced into attacking the Defenders, but is defeated by the Defenders.

Gorgilla is later deposited on Monster Isle by the Fantastic Four and eventually undergoes a rehabilitation program, which involves him being shrunken down to human size and hypnotically stripped of his powers so as to allow him to enter human society. Gorgilla takes up a job as a window cleaner at the Baxter Building and later joins fellow monsters Fin Fang Foom, Elektro, and Googam as part of the "Fin Fang Four" to defeat the microscopic alien conqueror Tim Boo Baa.

During the Monsters Unleashed storyline, Gorgilla, Fin Fang Foom, Green Thing, and Zzutak confront Kei Kawade in the forest outside his house where they caught him offguard.

Powers and abilities

Gorgilla has super-strength, agility and durability.