Grey Gargoyle

Grey Gargoyle (Paul Pierre Duval) is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Grey Gargoyle
The Grey Gargoyle battles Thor on the cover of Journey into Mystery #107 (Aug. 1964). Art by Jack Kirby.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceJourney into Mystery #107 (Aug. 1964)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoPaul Pierre Duval
Team affiliationsMasters of Evil
A.I.M.
The Worthy
Lethal Legion
Hood's crime syndicate
Notable aliasesPaul St. Pierre, Mokk: Breaker of Faith, Medusa X[1]
AbilitiesGenius chemist
Superhuman strength and durability
Ability to turn creatures and objects to stone via physical contact

Publication history

The Grey Gargoyle first appeared in Journey into Mystery #107 (Aug. 1964) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.[2]

Fictional character biography

Paul Pierre Duval is a French chemist who courtesy of a chemical accident gains the ability to turn anything to stone by touching it. Turning his body to stone, Duval dons a mask and cape and becomes a criminal with the alias the Grey Gargoyle.[3] Duval, however, becomes bored and decides to try to achieve immortality by confronting the Thunder God Thor and stealing his mystic hammer, Mjolnir.[4] Thor is turned to stone in their first battle, but turns back to Don Blake when he falls over and strikes the floor with his hammer. As Blake he defeats the Gargoyle by luring him into the Hudson River in New York City, using a projection of Thor, leaving the villain buried at the bottom.[5] The Grey Gargoyle eventually reappears after being hauled up from the river, whereupon he turns to stone two people examining him. Thinking Don Blake, who has just had the power of Thor removed from him, can help him find Thor, the Grey Gargoyle goes after him. He pursues them through the streets, becoming angry at their escaping him and finally deciding to eliminate Blake. However he is delayed by an Asgardian blinding him with an arrow that gives off light, after which the Asgardian restores the Thunder God's power. The Grey Gargoyle is incapacitated by Thor once again as he uses his hammer to trap the Grey Gargoyle by tapping a lamppost as a power source and sending a bolt which fuses the Gargoyles limbs. Odin then fully restores Thor's power.[6]

The Grey Gargoyle appears in the title Tales of Suspense, attempting to steal an experimental device for use against Thor, but is stopped by his fellow Avenger Iron Man.[7] The character continues to play the role of industrial saboteur in the title Captain America, attempting to steal an experimental chemical called Element X before being stopped by Captain America; the Falcon and Nick Fury.[8] An appearance in the title Marvel Team-Up against Captain America and fellow hero Spider-Man ends with the Gargoyle being trapped in a rocket and launched into deep space.[9]

The character reappears in the title Thor, and is revealed to have been rescued by the crew of the alien spaceship the Bird of Prey and nominated their captain. After a battle with Thor the character is lost in space once again.[10] The Grey Gargoyle eventually returns to Earth in a meteorite in the title Avengers, and battles briefly before being defeated and imprisoned.[11] The character reappears in the title as part of Baron Helmut Zemo's incarnation of the Masters of Evil. In an encounter with the Avenger the Black Knight, the Gargoyle grasps the hero's enchanted sword and is reverted to human form, his power temporarily neutralized.[12]

In the title Iron Man the Gargoyle adopts the false identity of sculptor Paul St. Pierre, and intends to make a fortune in the art world by selling persons transformed to stone as authentic sculptures. The ruse, however, is discovered by Iron Man, who defeats the villain.[13]

The character is recruited by arch villain Doctor Doom during the Acts of Vengeance storyline, and paid to neutralize the Hulk. The Hulk, however, resists the Gargoyle's power and then humiliates him by breaking his arm.[14]

The Gargoyle appears in the title She-Hulk[15] and in another title of Thor where he is summoned by Zarrko to fight the Thor Corps but was defeated by Beta Ray Bill.[16] He later appeared as the pawn of an alien shapeshifter in the title Fantastic Four. The Gargoyle's power temporarily incapacitates Fantastic Four member the Thing, who recovers with the added benefit of being able to now transform between human form and his superstrong rock-like form.[17] After another appearance in the title Thor and almost instant defeat by the god slaying entity Desak,[18] the Gargoyle features in the title New Avengers with other criminals attempting to escape the prison facility The Raft.[19]

After a brief appearance in the humorous title She-Hulk,[20] the Grey Gargoyle battles heroines Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel in the title Civil War: The Initiative;[21] appears briefly in the fourth volume of the title New Warriors[22] and in the Spider-Man title published under the Marvel Adventures imprint.[23]

Grey Gargoyle is recruited to join a "crime army" formed by the villain the Hood in the title New Avengers.[24] During the "Dark Reign" storyline Grey Gargoyle is recruited by former Avengers foe the Grim Reaper to join a new incarnation of the Lethal Legion, who oppose criminal mastermind Norman Osborn.[25]

During the Heroic Age storyline, it is claimed that he has a discarded and disavowed daughter named Mortar who is a member of the Bastards of Evil.[26]

The Grey Gargoyle is later shown as an inmate of The Raft.[27] When an EMP surge shuts down the Raft's defenses, the inmates attempt an escape. Grey Gargoyle is compelled by the Purple Man to stop a door from closing by jamming his head into the mechanism.[28]

During the Fear Itself storyline, Grey Gargoyle is transformed via Asgardian magic into Mokk: Breaker of Faith upon lifting one of the Hammers of the Worthy that was launched to Earth by Serpent. Mokk transforms the entire population of Paris to stone. When Iron Man intervenes, Mokk damages his armor and energy supply, forcing him to flee, and also fends off attacks from Detroit Steel, Sasha Hammer and Rescue.[29][30][31][32][33] Mokk is reverted to Grey Gargoyle by the end of the storyline, and the people of Paris were returned to normal by Odin.[34]

During the Avengers: Standoff! storyline, Grey Gargoyle was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D.[35]

During the Opening Salvo part of the Secret Empire storyline, Grey Gargoyle is recruited by Baron Helmut Zemo to join the Army of Evil.[36]

Powers and abilities

During an experiment, Paul Duval spilled an unknown organic chemical compound on his right hand, causing a mutagenic reaction that permanently transformed the hand into living stone. As a result, Duval can turn any matter touched with his "stone" hand to a similar substance, with the effect lasting for approximately one hour.

Duval can also use the effect to transform himself into a being of living stone - with no loss of mobility - possessing superhuman strength and durability.

Duval also has a master's degree in chemistry.

In other media

Television
  • Grey Gargoyle appears in the Mighty Thor segment of The Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Chris Wiggins.
  • Grey Gargoyle appears in the Iron Man animated series, voiced by Ed Gilbert with additional dialogue provided by Jim Cummings.[37] He is a servant of the Mandarin. Although a recurring villain in the first season, Grey Gargoyle's role is greatly decreased in the following season, where he is captured by Iron Man and makes his final appearance as an inmate of the Vault in a non speaking cameo.
  • Grey Gargoyle appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episodes "The Man in the Anthill", "The Breakout" Pt. 1, and "This Hostage Earth", voiced by Troy Baker.[37] In "The Man in the Anthill", Grey Gargoyle is an inmate of the Big House where he was seen reading a book in his cell at the time when Whirlwind was being incarcerated there. When Whirlwind asks why the villains aren't taking action against their imprisonment, Grey Gargoyle calls him an idiot and states "You don't know where you are". In "The Breakout" Pt. 1, Grey Gargoyle is among the inmates of the Big House that escape from prison when the power fails. He is seen turning some S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to stone during his escape. In "This Hostage Earth", Grey Gargoyle appears as a member of the Masters of Evil where he helps Enchantress claim the Norn Stones. After Grey Gargoyle turns Karnilla to stone, Enchantress has Executioner "reward him". Enchantress and Executioner return to Baron Zemo where they tell him that Grey Gargoyle "didn't make it".
  • Grey Gargoyle is featured in the Iron Man: Armored Adventures episode "Doomsday". He appears as a Makulan Guardian in Latveria whose touch can turn anyone to stone. Grey Gargoyle was destroyed by Doctor Doom off-screen before Gene Khan and Howard Stark can get the ring.

Video games
  • Grey Gargoyle appears in the video game Spider-Man and Captain America in Doctor Doom's Revenge (1989).
  • The Grey Gargoyle is featured as a boss in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Tom Kane.[37] He is encountered in Mandarin's lair.
  • Grey Gargoyle appears as a boss in the PSP, PS2, and Wii versions of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Joe Roseto.
  • Grey Gargoyle is featured as a boss in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
gollark: <@352760312203575306> Computers can read tapes, then transmit the data along to other tape drives to be played, but I don't think you can do this in real time.
gollark: You mean the tape thingies? Sort of.
gollark: Oh. String.format. right.
gollark: How did CC break *multiplication*?!
gollark: Finally fixed in PS#4F329133.

References
  1. Christopher Hastings (w), Salva Espin (p), Salva Espin (i), Matt Yackey (col), Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt (let), Devin Lewis (ed). Secret Agent Deadpool #1-6 (September–November 2018), United States: Marvel Comics
  2. DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 158. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  3. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 149. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  4. Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 101. ISBN 978-1465455505.
  5. Journey Into Mystery #107 (Aug. 1964). Marvel Comics.
  6. Journey Into Mystery 113 (Feb. 1965). Marvel Comics.
  7. Tales of Suspense #95 - 96 (Nov. - Dec. 1967). Marvel Comics.
  8. Captain America #139 - 142 (July - Oct. 1971). Marvel Comics.
  9. Marvel Team-Up #13 (Sep. 1973). Marvel Comics.
  10. Thor #257 - 259 (Mar. - Jun 1977). Marvel Comics.
  11. Avengers #190 -191 (Dec. 1979 - Jan. 1980). Marvel Comics.
  12. Avengers #271 (Sep. 1986). Marvel Comics.
  13. Iron Man #235 - 236 (Oct. - Nov. 1988). Marvel Comics.
  14. Hulk #363 - 364 (Dec. 1989 - Jan 1990). Marvel Comics.
  15. Sensational She-Hulk vol. 2, #27 (May 1991). Marvel Comics.
  16. Thor #440
  17. Fantastic Four vol. 2, #38 - 39 (Jan. - Feb. 2001). Marvel Comics.
  18. Thor vol. 2, #47 (Apr. - May 2002). Marvel Comics.
  19. New Avengers vol. 4, #1 (Jan. 2005). Marvel Comics.
  20. She-Hulk #10 (Oct. 2006). Marvel Comics.
  21. Civil War: The Initiative (Apr. 2007)
  22. New Warriors vol. 4, #1 (Aug. 2007). Marvel Comics.
  23. Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #29 (Sep. 2007)
  24. New Avengers #35 (Dec. 2007). Marvel Comics.
  25. Dark Reign: Lethal Legion #1 - 3 (Aug. - Oct. 2009). Marvel Comics.
  26. Young Allies #1 (Aug. 2010). Marvel Comics.
  27. Thunderbolts #145. Marvel Comics.
  28. Thunderbolts #147. Marvel Comics.
  29. Matt Fraction (w), Salvador Larocca (a). "Fear Itself Part 1: City of Light, City of Stone" The Invincible Iron Man 504 (July 2011), Marvel Comics
  30. Matt Fraction (w), Salvador Larocca (a). "Fear Itself Part 2: Cracked Actor" The Invincible Iron Man 505 (August 2011), Marvel Comics
  31. Matt Fraction (w), Salvador Larocca (a). "Fear Itself Part 3: The Apostate" The Invincible Iron Man 506 (September 2011), Marvel Comics
  32. Matt Fraction (w), Salvador Larocca (a). "Fear Itself Part 4: Fog of War" The Invincible Iron Man 507 (October 2011), Marvel Comics
  33. Matt Fraction (w), Salvador Larocca (a). "Fear Itself Part 5: If I Ever Get Out Of Here" The Invincible Iron Man 508 (November 2011), Marvel Comics
  34. Matt Fraction (w), Salvador Larocca (a). Fear Itself 7.3: Iron Man (January 2012), Marvel Comics
  35. Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. #6. Marvel Comics.
  36. Captain America: Steve Rogers #16. Marvel Comics.
  37. "Grey Gargoyle voice - Mighty Thor franchise | Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 24, 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.