| Gargoyle | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance |
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| Created by |
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| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Yuri Topolov Isaac Christians |
| Species | |
| Team affiliations |
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| Abilities | (Topolov)
(Christians)
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Gargoyle is a name shared by two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first Gargoyle, Yuri Topolov, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, is a supervillain and the first enemy of the Hulk, who first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). The second Gargoyle, Isaac Christians, created by J. M. DeMatteis and Don Perlin, is a human/demon hybrid superhero and a member of the Defenders, who first appeared in The Defenders #94 (April 1981).
The first Gargoyle, Yuri Topolov, appears in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. [1]
The appearance of Gargoyle in Rampaging Hulk #1 is merely part of one of Bereet's fictional techno-art films.[ citation needed ] The first Gargoyle received an entry in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #17, where his real name was revealed.
The second Gargoyle, Isaac Christians, is a human/demon hybrid and a member of the Defenders. He was created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Don Perlin. Perlin's design was inspired by a sequence in Prince Valiant in which the titular hero disguises himself as a gargoyle. [2] During his long run on The Defenders, Gargoyle also was the co-star of Marvel Team-Up #119, written by his co-creator DeMatteis, who later described the issue as "one of my favorite favorite stories". [3]
In 1985 Marvel published a four-issue Gargoyle limited series, written by DeMatteis and drawn by Mark Badger. DeMatteis said of the series, "It was a psychological fantasy. You take the interior life and make it concrete... give it substance... and play with it". [4] Explaining why he decided to do a limited series starring Gargoyle, he said,
I'd always wanted to do that character the right way. We'd had him in Defenders for years and Don Perlin and I were... We came to like him so much, as a person... this was a classic case of the character coming alive for us. We came to like Isaac Christians, this little old man inside the Gargoyle's body, so much that it began to mellow out the way we portrayed the outer shell, the gargoyle aspect. And, before you know it, he's this cute little funny animal. Which he was never intended to be. [3]
In a 2013 interview DeMatteis said that Gargoyle "is a character I still have tremendous fondness for". [2]
Yuri Topolov is a Soviet scientist and the Hulk's first foe. An atomic accident caused from working with radiation that mutated him into a grotesque large-headed dwarf. The Gargoyle was informed about the Hulk by an imprisoned spy using a miniature transmitter. By firing a gun with will-weakening pellets, he succeeded in capturing both him and Rick Jones. Bruce Banner cures Topolov of his mutation via gamma rays. In gratitude, Topolov allows Banner and Rick to use his rocket to return to the United States. Afterward, Topolov sets off an explosion that kills himself and several Soviet generals. [5]
Topolov later turns up alive, having faked his death. He is frozen by the USSR in a cryogenic sleep near the Cold War's end, along with several other agents. They are accidentally awakened in the modern day and battle the Order. [6]
As the first Gargoyle, Yuri Topolov was a superhuman genius. Either human or mutate, he knows numerous sciences and is well-versed in mechanical theory. [7] He utilizes a pellet gun with will-sapping effects.
Isaac Christians is an elderly man who sells his soul to the Six-Fingered Hand, a group of minor demons, in exchange for prosperity for the dying hometown that his ancestors had founded (the fictional town of Christiansboro, Virginia). Christians makes a pact with the demon Avarrish to inhabit the body of a legendary gargoyle and act as an agent of the Six-Fingered Hand. The demons of the Six-Fingered Hand transfer Christians' life force into the Gargoyle body and send him to capture Patsy Walker, at that time operating as Defenders member Hellcat. Christians battles the Defenders, but joins them and rebels against the Six-Fingered Hand. [8]
Christians later returns to Christiansboro and is released from the Gargoyle body. However, a demon takes control of the Gargoyle body. Christians retakes control of the Gargoyle and kills his original human body to prevent the demon from returning. [9]
Moondragon, under the influence of the Dragon of the Moon, separates Christians from the gargoyle body, intending to use it as a vessel for the Dragon. The gargoyle body is carbonized and transformed into ash when the Defenders defeats Moondragon and the Dragon of the Moon. [10]
Christians' life force came to reside in a crystal talisman. He reconciled with the spirit of Moondragon, and journeyed with Pamela Douglas to Titan, where he witnessed the rebirth of Moondragon. The former Defender known as Cloud creates a new body for Christians, allowing him to switch between his gargoyle and human forms at will. [11]
Following the "Civil War" storyline, Gargoyle is one of the registered superhumans who are part of the Initiative. [12] He ignores Nighthawk's offer to join the Last Defenders and remains at Camp Hammond to serve as an instructor training the Initiative cadets before retiring. [13] [14] [15]
In Iron Man , Isaac Christians is revealed to have established a restaurant called Isaac's Oysters in Greenwich, with Eugene Patilio as his busboy. Both of them are approached by Iron Man for help in rescuing James Rhodes from Korvac. [16]
The second Gargoyle is the result due to a magical transfer of Isaac Christians' spirit into an ancient gargoyle body. In this form, Gargoyle possesses supernatural strength and durability, as well as a thick leathery hide. He has the ability to manipulate "biomystical" energy for numerous effects, such as shapeshifting, concussive blasts, and fear inducement. He could siphon life-forces from other people, causing temporary debilitating weakness onto them. Surrounding himself in a mystical field granted Gargoyle immunity to certain spells. Gargoyle is able to fly via levitation (his wings were incapable of producing sufficient lift, but useful for navigation). Christians can regrow lost or damaged limbs, even although they would differ wildly in appearance from the original. Overexpenditure of these energies in such a short time might weaken or even kill him. Not only that, he could also be commanded to act against his will by an evil wizard who spoke a particular obscure spell. Christians was a student in the occult with minor mystic capabilities. Prior to his transformation, he had considerable knowledge of magic, including rudimentary spellcasting and summoning demons. [17]
The Yuri Topolov incarnation of Gargoyle appears in Lego Marvel's Avengers . [19]
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defenders Epic Collection: The End of All Songs | Gargoyle #1-4 and Defenders #138-152 | January 2020 | 978-1302920708 |
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