Gargantus
Encyclopedia
In the Marvel comics
, Gargantus is the first supervillain
Iron Man
has fought. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense
#40 (April, 1963). He was created by Stan Lee
, Robert Bernstein
, and Jack Kirby
.
as a giant Neanderthal man. Fortunately, Iron Man was in the vicinity and discerned that Gargantus was a robot (it had light bulbs in its eyes, which gave it away).
Iron Man challenged Gargantus to a fight and led Gargantus into a trap where it was pulled apart by three magnets controlled by Iron Man. Iron Man then exposed an alien space ship, hiding nearby in a cloud that he noticed was not moving, that had been controlling Gargantus by remote control. The aliens fled from the scene.
Much later, Gargantus returned in Tony Stark's nightmares, which were induced by Count Nefaria
. In these dreams Gargantus was with all of Iron Man's other enemies in a great battle against Iron Man. He had a more human appearance by then, and was capable of speech.
The reason for its design as a Neanderthal was that the aliens had not been to Earth since 80,000 years ago and thought our planet was still occupied by cavemen. The aliens postulated that if they made a large caveman, everyone on Earth would acknowledge it as their leader and surrender the planet without a fight.
#80 and #85.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, Gargantus is the first supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
has fought. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
#40 (April, 1963). He was created by Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, Robert Bernstein
Robert Bernstein
Robert Bernstein , sometimes credited as R. Berns, was an American comic book writer. He is best known for his work superhero work on DC Comics' Superman, and in establishing the origin and most of the mythos of Aquaman....
, and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
.
Fictional character biography
Gargantus was an android sent by an extraterrestrial invasion force to take over the small town of Granville. In order to hide their presence, the aliens decided to disguise the robotRobot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
as a giant Neanderthal man. Fortunately, Iron Man was in the vicinity and discerned that Gargantus was a robot (it had light bulbs in its eyes, which gave it away).
Iron Man challenged Gargantus to a fight and led Gargantus into a trap where it was pulled apart by three magnets controlled by Iron Man. Iron Man then exposed an alien space ship, hiding nearby in a cloud that he noticed was not moving, that had been controlling Gargantus by remote control. The aliens fled from the scene.
Much later, Gargantus returned in Tony Stark's nightmares, which were induced by Count Nefaria
Count Nefaria
Count Nefaria is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Avengers #13 and was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck.- Fictional character biography :...
. In these dreams Gargantus was with all of Iron Man's other enemies in a great battle against Iron Man. He had a more human appearance by then, and was capable of speech.
Powers and abilities
Gargantus is a giant robot that looks like a Neanderthal man, with the exception of its glowing artificial eyes. It has superhuman strength and the ability to hypnotize people. Gargantus also carries a giant wooden club, which was ineffective against Iron Man.The reason for its design as a Neanderthal was that the aliens had not been to Earth since 80,000 years ago and thought our planet was still occupied by cavemen. The aliens postulated that if they made a large caveman, everyone on Earth would acknowledge it as their leader and surrender the planet without a fight.
Other Gargantus
Gargantus was also the name of a giant blue aquatic humanoid monster that appeared in Strange TalesStrange Tales
Strange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
#80 and #85.