Sunday, January 13, 2013

Le Crime Ne Paie Pas


Can YOU


Name This Marvel Villain??



This villain is in the habit of setting his sights high. Riches, world conquest, immortality--he seems to have quite the agenda.  Chemist Paul Duval achieved his formidable powers by accident, due to his carelessness in the lab:



And so began the career of the Grey Gargoyle, whose merest touch could transform objects into solid stone for either an hour, or forever. And it didn't take him long to realize how such a power could advance his goals. Duval began small crime sprees for profit; but he grew bored, and decided to raise the stakes by tackling both heroes and crimes more on a par with both his power and ambition. Not only have his schemes of power played out on a major scale, but he isn't shy about pitting his abilities against some of Marvel's heaviest hitters--and making a good showing against them, at that.

First, starting at the top with Thor, from whom he wanted immortality:



Then a battle with Iron Man, in order to gain weaponry from Tony Stark to defeat Thor:



He also came into conflict with SHIELD, in pursuit of the deadly "Element X":



And Captain America and the Falcon took a crack at him (heh heh, "crack"):



And he made the Avengers look like complete idiots before they rallied with teamwork:



On the other hand, the Hulk didn't have much trouble with him:



Though the Gargoyle's schemes have often been thwarted, he's nevertheless proven that he's a deadly threat to be reckoned with. A capable strategist, he exhibits not only an aggressive personality and a supreme confidence in his power, but also a relentless drive toward his goal. He's often been sought out by powerful organizations as a mercenary, as his desire for profit remains a constant in his life. Unfortunately, with his track record thus far in the big leagues, he's discovered that crime, indeed, doesn't pay.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I really liked this villain. He had such an unusual power that usually meant having to fight from a distance. One thing though: why can a man made of stone fly?

Comicsfan said...

I've always wondered that, myself. I think Stan Lee perhaps wanted to maintain the Gargoyle's association with the stone gargoyles of fiction which (as I understand it) could take flight using their wings, and so gave the Grey Gargoyle the power of "limited flight" (with his cloak giving us the illusion of something to assist in gliding). That description holds true, in a way, since I can't recall seeing the Gargoyle ever soar through the air--it's always short-range jaunts, which have the added benefit of keeping him from lumbering around at a crime scene and help to maintain the story's pacing. Also, I suppose calling it "limited" flight is probably meant to keep us from asking too many questions about it. :)