Gorilla Girl

Last updated
Gorilla Girl
Gorila girl.jpg
Gorilla Girl in her gorilla form, as depicted in Avengers: The Initiative #13 (July 2008).
Art by Steve Uy.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Marvel Team-Up #91
(March 1980)
Created by Steven Grant
Pat Broderick
In-story information
Alter egoFahnbullah Eddy
Team affiliationsThe Freaks
Initiative
Notable aliasesGorilla Woman
AbilitiesAbility to shapeshift into a super-strong and highly agile gorilla

Gorilla Girl (Fahnbullah Eddy) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Initially introduced in Marvel Team-Up , Gorilla Girl went on to make minor appearances as a trainee of the Initiative program. Gorilla Girl appeared in the series Marvel Apes alongside Gibbon and an alternate universe version of Speedball, both primate-themed characters.

Contents

Publication history

Gorilla Girl first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #91 (March 1980), and was created by Steven Grant and Pat Broderick. She made her first full appearance years later in Marvel Tales #256, which reprinted the Marvel Team-Up story and added a new story featuring her and other circus freaks. She has since appeared in various comics as a member of the Freaks, the Initiative, and Counter Force. She has also crossed over with other Marvel universes, such as Marvel Apes and Marvel Zombies . In her earliest appearances, she was depicted as an adult woman, but in her later appearances, she is implied to be a teenager.

Fictional character biography

Fahnbullah Eddy, [1] originally known as Gorilla Woman, is first seen serving as a carnival attraction as one of the members of a group called the Freaks. She possesses the ability to transform into a gorilla, with the source of her powers never being revealed. In her first incarnation, Eddy's human form is an adult woman. In later appearances, she appears to be much younger and is implied to be a teenager.

When Peter Parker visits the carnival, he realized that the Freaks, along with Ghost Rider, have been enslaved by the sorcerer Moondark. After Parker manage to free Ghost Rider, the two release the captured souls from Moondark's orb, freeing the carnies and defeating the sorcerer in the process. [2] [3]

After the events of "Civil War", Gorilla Girl is captured by the Thunderbolts. During her capture, she throws Penance down three flights of stairs, after which Penance beats her severely. [4] She later registers with the Initiative and joins Camp Hammond as a trainee. [5] [6] [7]

Gorilla Girl befriends the alternate universe simian version of Speedball, another Initiative recruit. She becomes involved in the plan of Norman Osborn to exploit the resources of her friend's home dimension. [8] [9] Gorilla Girl, Speedball, and Gibbon end up in the Marvel Zombies universe via a portal and are attacked by a horde of zombies. The heroes end up being saved by the heroes of the Marvel Apes universe, who have also crossed universes. Ape-X plans to destroy the portal, but Gorilla Girl attacks him to go in his place. Using the Wrencher's wrench, Gorilla Girl attacks the simian heroes and destroys the portal, setting time right. [10]

Powers and abilities

Fahnbullah Eddy can shapeshift into a super-strong and highly agile gorilla, maintaining her human mind and speech capability.

In other media

Gorilla Girl appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers , voiced by Cherise Boothe. [11] [12] [13]

References

  1. Civil War: Battle Damage Report (May 2007)
  2. Marvel Team-Up #91 (March 1980)
  3. Freaks at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
  4. Thunderbolts: Desperate Measures one-shot (September 2007)
  5. Avengers: The Initiative #13 (July 2008)
  6. "Preview: Avengers Initiative #13". CBR . May 15, 2008. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012.
  7. Sherman, Fraser (June 9, 2017). "15 Superheroes And Villains Whose Origins Have Never Been Explained". Screen Rant . Retrieved March 2, 2026. Along with established but obscure characters (Batwing, Razorback), the initiative also recruited many never-before-seen heroes. With so many new faces, it's no surprise that the writers introduced many of them — Gorilla Girl, Sunstreak, Boulder — without working out their background info.
  8. Marvel Apes: Grunt Line Special (July 2009)
  9. "Marvel Apes: Grunt Line Special". CBR . Archived from the original on May 23, 2009.
  10. Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution one-shot (January 2010)
  11. "Gorilla Girl Voice". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  12. Motes, Jax (February 26, 2016). "OP ED: 'LEGO Avengers' May Be The Most Subtly Diverse Game Out There". ScienceFiction.com. Retrieved March 2, 2026. Other notable black (American or otherwise) characters in the game include Black Goliath, Blue Marvel, Gorilla Girl, Heimdall, Luke Cage and Nick Fury.
  13. Manning, Shaun (October 30, 2015). ""LEGO Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron" Mixes Action, Humor & Fan-Favorite Scenes". CBR . Retrieved March 2, 2026. If you're playing Bruce Banner, you want to be able to transform into the Hulk; if you're playing Gorilla Girl, you want her to be able to transform as well. That's where the game comes into its own, is bringing these characters to life in all these different ways.