Grogg

History: In ancient China, the Great Wall was built to repel invading dragon creatures. The Great Wall did its job well, but was unable to stop those dragons who had wings; among these was Grogg. At some point in time, Grogg crawled beneath the Earth to slumber. In present times, the Soviet Union was conducting a secret nuclear bomb test. Roused by the force of the blast, Grogg went on a rampage against the military observers of the blast, then went on to menace the Soviet Union. Grogg was eventually lured to a Soviet missle base, then tricked into boarding a rocket. The rocket was launched, its destination: Mars.

Grogg was later seen among a group of monsters being held in the Collector's subterranean museum beneath the surface of Canada. The monsters escaped captivity during the Collector's battle with the Mole Man, and some of the monsters (including Grogg) attacked New York City, but were fought off by an alliance of the Thing, the Hulk, Giant-Man, and the Beast. The defeated monsters were later dispatched into the Negative Zone.

A mind-controlled Grogg has recently reappeared as a part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s “Howling Commandos” division (an elite fighting group of monstrous special operatives), where he acted as transportation for the group.

Height: 30 ft.
Demonstrated Powers: Grogg had great strength and was seen destroying buildings. Grogg could use his wings for flight, was bulletproof, and could breathe fire from his nostrils. Grogg did not speak, nor did he show any signs of intelligence.

Comment: Speculation - In Iron Man # 272, it was revealed that Fin Fang Foom was one of the survivors of a spacecraft which crashlanded on Earth centuries ago. The spacecraft was from a race of dragon-like aliens called the Makluans from the Andromeda galaxy (see Axon-Karr). Most of the Makluan survivors took on human form in China (the dragons could alter their size and shape, which could explain why Grogg's size changed so much in the story). The Makluan technology from the wreckage was used by Iron Man's nemesis, The Mandarin, in Tales of Suspense # 62.

Since no explanation was ever given for Grogg's origins, it is possible that Grogg was one of the survivors of the Makluan crash (although he did not speak to give any indication that he was). Grogg (like Fin Fang Foom) slumbered beneath the Earth. Perhaps Grogg entered the Soviet rocket in an attempt to use it to return home.

Comment: Grogg should not be confused with the extra-dimensional creature Grogg (introduced in Avengers (vol. 1) # 328) nor with Grog the god-slayer (introduced in Thor # 390), nor with the dragon-like monster Grogoom (seen in Marvel: Heroes & Legends # 1).

For another entry on Grogg, click HERE.

It's possible that, on a parallel-Earth, that he was the amnesiac sole survivor of the crash that killed all the other Makluans. And, as that Soviet rocket took him to Mars, his presence there might have been regarded by the “native” Martians as an act of bio-warfare against them. As a result; the invasion that gave rise to Earth-Killraven.

The quotation marks are meant to signify that—as a fan of Alan Moore's LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN V.2—I love the concept behind it. Re: that HGW's Martians were actually invaders of the Red Planet, as well!

I've just read the Grogg story, and it says the Great Wall of China was actually built to fend off “dragon-creatures”, of which only a few had wings like Grogg. This, plus Grogg's obvious intelligence as shown in this story, supports the notion that he was a Makluan, like Fin Fang Foom. (He shows less intelligence in the sequel story, however.)

D'oh! Just read the “History” portion of this entry more fully. Sorry for the repetition.

I should note that in the reprint, the country Grogg attackas was changed to Bodovia. Bodovia was a fctional country that Tony Isabella created for British Marvel reprints.
It has also appeared in pre-1961 story reprints such as:

Chamber of Chills#8 (in a story set in the 1920's)
Monsters on the Prowl#23/1
Monsters on the Prowl#23/2

A pretty slick concept about using the Great Wall of China to repel Grogg and other such dragons from invasion. A simple story but at the same time given us a partial history lesson. As a kid I welcomed these stories and looked forward to the next new monster that Kirby would draw.

Grogg must have been popular with the fans because he returned a few months later although a different color. And since that type of story was well received possibly Fin Fang Foom came a few issues later to see if that was still the case , ( FFF had similar features to Grogg.)

How could any one not like both Grogg and FFF ? ..Drawn by the one and only Kirby !

GROGG should not be confused with that frothy beverage enjoyed by pirates all over the Caribbean…

Grogg also appears in the first two issues of the new Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big in Japan mini-series, where it is revealed that he is of a race that has been on Earth since before Fin Fang Foom's race arrived.

“Big In Japan” has never appeared in any comic book store I frequent. Nor even been reprinted as a graphic-novel-styl compilation. So, I regard anything that alludes to Grogg being a Deviant as apocryphal, rather than canonical.

“Big In Japan” has never appeared in any comic book store I frequent. Nor even been reprinted as a graphic-novel-style compilation. So, I regard anything that alludes to Grogg being a Deviant as apocryphal, rather than canonical.

How about a Grogg vs. Fin Fang Foom boxing match?
Puppet Master controls one and Mad Thinker controls a second ?

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