GORILLA-MAN

Real Name: Kenneth Hale

Identity/Class: Magically transformed human;
    1920's, 1930-1945, 1946-1959, pre-modern era, modern era

Occupation: Chief of Security at Avengers Mountain;
    Adventurer;
    former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent;
    former soldier of fortune;
    former soldier

Group Membership: Agents of Wakanda (American Eagle/Jason Strongbow, Black Panther/T'Challa, Broo, Doctor Nemesis/James Bradley, Fat Cobra, Ka-Zar/Kevin Plunder, Man-Wolf/John Jameson, Mockingbird/Barbara Morse, Odin, Rosalind "Roz" Solomon, Wasp/Janet Van Dyne), Agents of Atlas (Derek Khanata, Chang Li-Ten, Min, Temugin, 3-D Man/Delroy Garrett, Xan, Mr. Zu);
    formerly Agents of Atlas (Human Robot/M-11, Marvel Boy/Robert Grayson, Namora, Venus (a Naiad), Jimmy Woo);
    formerly Mercs for Money (Domino/Neena Thurman, Hit-Monkey, Machine Man/X-51, Masacre, Negasonic Teenage Warhead/Ellie Phimister);
    formerly S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Howling Commandos unit (Abominable Snowman, Bradley Beemer, Brother Voodoo/Jericho Drumm, Clone of Frankenstein, Glob/Joe Timms, Groot, Hellstorm, It the Living Colossus, Lilith, Living Mummy, Joshua Pryce, Clay Quartermain, Sasquatch/Walter Langkowski, Vampire by Night, Warwolf/Vince Marcus, Zombie"John Doe", many others)
    formerly Department Zero (Human Robot/M-11, Marvel Boy/Robert Grayson, Namora, Venus/Naiad);
    formerly the US Army

Affiliations: Agents of Atlas (Aero/Lei Ling, Brawn/Amadeus Cho, Crescent/Dan Bi, Io, Giant-Man/Raz Malhotra, Shang-Chi, Silk/Cindy Moon, Luna Snow, Sword Master/Lin Lie, Wave/Pearl Pangan, White Fox/Ami Han), Akoni, Atlanteans, Atlas Foundation, Avengers (Black Panther/T'Challa, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, Giant-Man/Henry Pym, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Iron Man/Tony Stark, She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters, Thor/Odinson, Wasp/Janet Van Dyne), Avengers of Earth-10170 (Luke Cage, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange, Gorilla-Man/Ken Hale, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Namor/Namor McKenzie, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew, Thor/Odinson, 3-D Man/Charles Chandler, Tigra/Greer Nelson, Uranian/Bob Grayson, Wasp/Janet Van Dyne, Wolverine/James Howlett, Yellowjacket/Hank Pym), Basil, Ji Banda, Ben Benson, Billy, Captain America (James Barnes), Cobalt Man (Ralph Roberts), Cressida, Dazzler (Alison Blaire), Kit Dekum, Domino (Neena Thurman), Dracula, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Fat Cobra, Agent Garland, Hendricks, General Hill, Hulk (Bruce Banner), Kofi, M-1, M-3, M-5, M-8, M-12, Mercs for Money (Deadpool/"Wade Wilson," Foolkiller/Greg Salinger, Masacre, Slapstick/Steven Harmon, Solo/James Bourne, Stingray/Walter Newell, Terror/Shreck), Jann of the Jungle, Kal'ti, Derek Khanata, Mr. Lao, Morbius (Michael Morbius), Namor, New Avengers (Luke Cage, Captain America/James Barnes, Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers, Ronin/Clint Barton, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Wolverine/James Howlett), Professor X (Charles Xavier), Protector (Isaac Ikeda), Mike Nguyen, Master Po, Power Pack (Energizer/Katie Power, Lightspeed/Julie Power, Mass Master/Jack Power, Zero-G/Alex Power), Radioactive Man (Chen Lu), Sam, Sarge, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Dum Dum Dugan, Clarissa Haines), Shiklah, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Tutu, Vanir, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Hildegarde), Winter Guard (Crimson Dynamo/Galina Nemirovsky, Darkstar/Reena Stanicoff, Red Guardian/Anton, Ursa Major/Mikhail Ursus), J. Avery Wolward, Wolverine (James Howlett), Jimmy Woo, X-Men (Angel/Warren Worthington III, Beast/Henry McCoy, Cloak/Tyrone Johnson, Colossus/Piotr Rasputin, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Dagger/Tandy Bowen, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Iceman/Robert Drake, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Psylocke/Betsy Braddock, Rockslide/Santo Vaccarro, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Sunspot/Roberto Da Costa, Surge/Noriko Ashida, Wolverine/James Howlett), Yellow Claw (Plan Tzu), Yuen Yee

Enemies: Aphrodite (aka Venus), Atlas Foundation (rogue parts), Bastoc (Mustafa Kazun), B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R. squads, Bloodface Guard, Bob, Borgia Omega, Lucrezia Borgia, Chronovirus, Circus of Crime (Bruto the Strongman/Bruce Olafsen, Fire-Eater/Tomas Ramirez, Great Gambonnos/Ernesto and Luigi Gambonno, Live Wire/Rance Preston, Princess Python/Zelda Dubois, Ringmaster/Maynard Tiboldt), Cotati, Crystalloids, Dark Elves, Dark Strider, Echo Worlders, Emil, Entea, Fin Fang Foom, Grizzly (Max Markham), Growing Man, H.A.M.M.E.R., Jade Claw (Suwan), Jason, Kala-Kulai tribe, Krang, Kree Sentry, Laserdactyls, Caroline le Fey, Lava Men, M-21, Malekith, Man Mountain Marko, Merlin (or an aspect - or possibly doppelganger - of him), Mikaboshi, "Mutant Crabs," Ngi, Mike Nguyen, General Nurong, Norman Osborn, Phorcys, Presence (Sergie Krylov), Prototype (Desmond Tarketon), Razor-Fist (Douglas Scott), Rock of the Buddha, Roxxon, Scorpia (Elaine Coll), Sentry (Robert Reynolds), Shadow Warriors, Sirenas, Skrulls, Skulora, Soulstriker, Mr. Thong, Thule Society (Vorster, others), Thunderbolts (Ant-Man/Eric O'Grady, Grizzly/Max Markham, Headsman/Cleavon Twain, Mr. X, Paladin, Scourge/Nuke/Frank Simpson), Titania (Mary MacPherran), Topaz (Cyndi Rossini), Tulem, Umbral Dynamics, Fritz Voltzmann;
    formerly Mr. Lao, Yellow Claw (Plan Tzu)

Known Relatives: Parents (unidentified), Lily Hale (nee Wolward; ex-wife)

Aliases: General Hale, Gorilla-Boss, Oregon

Base of Operations: Avengers Mountain;
    formerly Area 13, Pine Barrens, New Jersey;
    formerly Kenya, Africa;
    formerly West Haven (state unrevealed);
    formerly an orphanage (presumably in Missouri);
    formerly a farm in Missouri

First Appearance: Men's Adventures#26 (March, 1954)

Powers/Abilities: Gorilla-Man has the intelligence of a human with the strength and endurance of a gorilla. Gorilla-Man is effectively immortal/unaging, but it he were killed, his Gorilla-Man nature would be passed on to the person who killed him.

    He can understand when certain monkeys speak to him, including Hit-Monkey. He is susceptible to being controlled by the Scepter of the Manticore (at least when it was held by Shiklah).

    With access to technology of the Avengers and the Agents of Atlas, Gorilla-Man has used teleportation devices, rocket-ships, specially equipped guns, and many other forms of tech to enhance his powers.

    Even prior to his transformation, Ken Hale was an experienced adventurer, with access the resources of the wealthy J. Avery Wolward, Hale was proficient in firing guns, flying planes, driving cars, and using his keen brain and strong muscles to get through many difficult scrapes, and Hale developed knowledge in geography, archeology, history, and other subjects.

    Hale has a penchant for beer, though it takes much more to get him intoxicated as Gorilla-Man.

Height: 6'
Weight: 340 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:

(Gorilla-Man I#1 (fb) – BTS) – Kenny Hale grew up in Missouri on a farm with his parents, but after a tornado claimed their lives, he was sent to live in an orphanage.

(Men's Adventures#26 / Agents of Atlas I#2 (fb)) - Unable to find any sort of guide in Kenya, Kale ventured into the jungles alone, until he found the Gorilla-Man, but couldn't bring it down because it was too manlike.

(Agents of Atlas I#2 (fb)) - Hale didn't find his way out of the jungle and eventually became sick.

(Agents of Atlas I#2 (fb) ) - Hale was a man on a quest to cheat death.

(Agents of Atlas I#2 (fb)) - Hale  eventually encountered the Gorilla-Man again and this time Hale shot him (see comments).

    The Gorilla-Man turned into an elderly man upon his death while Hale himself became the new Gorilla-Man.

(Men's Adventures#26) - Just as in the dream, he stood victorious over the dead Gorilla-Man's body.

(Gorilla-Man I#3 (fb)) – Hale tried returning home to Lily as a gorilla, but she was horrified, so he lived among the gorillas in the Congo for a time.

(Agents of Atlas I#1 (fb) ) - Jimmy Woo, who was putting together a team (as part of Department Zero) to save President Eisenhower, used Jann of the Jungle to find Gorilla-Man.

(Atlas I#3/2 (fb)) – Gorilla-Man was present when Woo and Namora welcomed the Human Robot (M-11), found on the ocean floor, to join them.

(Wolverine: Agent of Atlas I#2) – The Human Robot electrocuted Wolverine before they realized he was an ally, after which they found Wolverine’s associate, Hendricks, who was being controlled by the insects, which had been designed by the Yellow Claw.

(Wolverine: Agent of Atlas I#3) – The Human Robot killed the largest mind-controlling insect, wiping out the others, and Wolverine killed Hendricks, feeling he had no choice. They departed Cuba, disgusted at the Yellow Claw.

(Agents of Atlas I#2 (fb)) – In 1958, the team helped Agent Garland and Kit Dekum identify a Russian craft with a dead crew on it. They went out for drinks with Dekum, but enemy agents soon attacked.

(Agents of Atlas I#3 (fb)) – Gorilla-Man got Dekum to safety away from the agents, leaving Venus and Marvel Boy behind as he called in Woo for help. Gorilla-Man was gassed, but Human Robot arrived to kill the men with a laser blast. Following a tech trail, the Department Zero agents were led to a portal that led them to a distant wasteland full of skeletons, both human and dragon.

(Agents of Atlas I#4 (fb)) – The Department Zero agents found themselves in the Dragon’s Corridor, another dimension used by Russian operatives for training and travel, and they soon found Suwan there. Hale was shocked when he discovered the bodies of Captain America and Bucky in stasis (Hale presumably did not realize that these were the 1950's replacements, William Burnside and Jack Munroe, respectively). Dekum passed through a portal, and the Department Zero agents rushed to follow, forcing them to leave Suwan, Cap, and Bucky behind. They lost their memories of the events.

(Enter the Heroic Age I#1/2 (fb)) – In 1958, in Hawaii, the Department Zero agents fought a corrupted Kree Sentry unit, saving civilians. The Sentry departed, promising to return years later.

(Atlas I#1/2) – In 1958, the Department Zero agents (minus Namora) found Emil, Bob, and others robbing graves in a plot to raise the dead. Plan Chu animated the zombies from afar.

(Atlas I#2/2) – The Department Zero agents defeated the zombies, and Plan Chu’s agents killed themselves.

(Avengers 1959 I#4 (fb) – BTS) – Woo assigned Hale to protect General Hill in Virginia.

(Avengers 1959 I#4) – Hale shot down a man who was trying to kill Hill, after which he and Hill discovered that the man was already dead, suggesting he was a reanimated corpse.

(Agents of Atlas I#5 (fb) - BTS) - One mission led the Department Zero agents into San Francisco's bay area.

(Agents of Atlas I#1 (fb) - BTS) - After six months activity the Department Zero agents were disbanded.

(Agents of Atlas I#2 (fb) - BTS) - During the 1980s Hale returned to the Gorilla Man valley to see if the curse could be removed, but he found the place to be a war zone.

(Agents of Atlas I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Hale left and soon encountered Venus (the Naiad). He told her about the horrors he had seen, and she went to the valley to help bring peace to the area.

(Gorilla-Man I#1 (fb) – BTS) – Hale made an enemy of Borgia Omega, a monstrous heir to the Borgia family, who sought to steal his family’s artifacts. Hale stopped his thefts more than once over the years.

see comments regarding X-Men: First Class

(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#1 (fb)-BTS) - At some point, Gorilla-Man was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Howling Commandos unit, and was made a member of their main squad.

(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#1) - The Howling Commandos launched an assault on a doomsday cult that was utilizing technology bought from the Lords of the Living Lightning. After defeating their targets, the Commandos returned to Area 13.

(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#2) - Gorilla-Man was sent with the Commandos to track down and capture Groot. Afterwards, He and Warwolf met with the Commandos' newest recruit, the Glob, and explained their situation to him.

(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#4) - When Goom broke out of his cell at Area 13, Gorilla-Man brought him down single-handedly. He then discussed with Groot the terms and conditions of being a member of the squad. When the recently-freed Merlin's forces assaulted Area 13, Gorilla-Man was among the Commandos to face them down.

(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#5) - With Area 13 overrun by Merlin's forces, Warwolf and Gorilla-Man realized that the portal to Merlin's location was still open. They had the cells to all of the giant monsters being held open, and jumped through the portal just before a stampede of monsters followed them. The main group of Commandos regrouped, and were soon joined by Groot, who returned from the stampede and offered his services.

(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#6) - The Commandos waited just outside of Merlin's camp, and they were soon joined by dozens of other Commando members who followed them through the portal. The group then launched an assault on Merlin's forces. During the battle, Gorilla-Man and Warwolf located Merlin, who fled when he realized he couldn't win this fight.

(Agents of Atlas I#3 (fb) ) - Gorilla-Man met M-11 during a recon mission for SHIELD. The robot told him about Woo's critical condition. It requested Hale's help to retrieve Woo from SHIELD's Mojave Base and to call Marvel Boy (Grayson) for assistance.

(Agents of Atlas I#1) - SHIELD learned about the G-Men and Hale gave Dugan and Khanata a debriefing on his former team as part of an investigation on Jimmy Woo. He later worked together with M-11 to break out the heavily injured, aged Jimmy Woo. They escaped in Marvel Boy's flying saucer. Inside the ship M-11 witnessed how Uranian technology restored Woo's body to a youthful and healed state (with a bit of memory loss).

(Agents of Atlas I#2) - Gorilla-Man, M-11, Marvel Boy and Woo caught SHIELD agent Derek Khanata when his investigations brought him to Woo's house. They took Khanata with them to Africa, where Hale was originally transformed into Gorilla-Man, to pick up Venus. Through M-11's eyes, the Yellow Claw had watched every move Woo and his team made and finally attacked them with a robot duplicate of himself and some automatons in Africa.

(Agents of Atlas I#3) - Gorilla-Man, Woo and Marvel Boy defeated Yellow Claw's robots. The team returned to San Francisco in Marvel Boy's flying saucer. Woo remembered how he had hand-picked the team, and Khanata pointed out that M-11 wasn't picked by him, but brought to him by Namora. In San Francisco the team returned to the place where Woo had accessed the underground with his killed team, but they found nothing special there. They were later told by M-11 that Namora wasn't dead, and M-11 gave them the coordinates where to find her. They found Namora's coffin.

(Agents of Atlas I#4) - Yellow Claw watched through M-11 as Woo's team found Namora. Marvel Boy realized that the dead Namora was an illusion, and M-11 freed Namora from the block of ice she was in while the rest fought giant crabs. Namora helped when she was free again and later thanked M-11 and joined Woo's team against the Atlas Foundation.

  Gorilla-Man helped taking down several operations of the Atlas Foundation including Atlas Nursery, Atlas Mortuary, Atlas Biotech, Atlas Orphanage and many others (not Atlas Comics, although Hale was sure it was a front).

  During a break on a Fiji island Gorilla-Man had a beer. The team was attacked again by Yellow Claw -- using animated Terra Cotta Warriors. They left after defeating them, and Woo finally realized that someone among them was a double agent.

(Agents of Atlas I#5) - Woo's team went to San Francisco's bay area to an inactive shipyard. Venus snapped upon realizing what she really was (after hearing Namora's story about the legends of a Naiad, who had been turned into a human). Upon listening to her scream, the whole team learned from Khanata's memory that M-11 was the traitor. Marvel Boy (Grayson) destroyed M-11, but the robot rebuilt itself while the others had to fight Namora, who became very angry over M-11's destruction (because the robot remembered her when nobody else did). Woo asked the rebuilt M-11 to sever his connection to Golden Claw, and the robot did it because it was part of Woo's team. M-11 then showed the team footage of Woo's last SHIELD mission, which revealed that the Atlas Foundation had also an agent in SHIELD. Woo and Marvel Boy weren't too surprised when they found out that M-11 had been built by the Atlas Foundation (inside his chest cavity was a part by Atlas Semiconduction).

(Agents of Atlas I#6) - After reviewing the footage played to them by M-11 again, Woo returned with his team again to San Francisco and the place where he had been nearly killed. With the right password (Master Plan) an elevator brought them down to a hidden temple where the dragon Mr. Lao attacked them as it had Woo's SHIELD team before. Protected by M-11's energy shield, the team survived, and Hale recognized Lao's voice as the man who had sent him to Africa many years ago. The team ultimately learned that Woo was a descendant of Golden Claw and therefore also of Ghengis Khan. Woo became the new CEO of the Atlas Foundation, and Golden Claw was consumed by Mr. Lao.
    Hale stayed with the Agents of Atlas.

(Spider-Man Family#4/2) - The Agents of Atlas watched Spider-Man chase a creations of a rogue, occult Atlas branch. They later worked together with Spider-Man to defeat the branch, which viewed the Agents of Atlas as usurpers and planned to oppose them with totemic automatons empowered by stolen human life forces. Afterwards Marvel Boy made Spider-Man forget them, and he only remembered them as the Agents of Butterfly. He remembered Hale as an ape called Oregon.

(Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust?#1/5) - During the "Secret Invasion," Gorilla-Man and the Human Robot freed a captured Namora from the Skrulls at Pox International Airport and kidnapped one of them. The Skrulls eventually found their ship and attacked, but the Agents of Atlas fought back. Eventually the Human Robot was ordered by Woo to use his Death-Ray, and all attacking Skrulls were killed. The Agents of Atlas then began to plan their underground movement against the Skrull invasion.

(Dark Reign: New Nation I#1/2) – Woo led the Agents of Atlas in stealing a large amount of gold from men working for Norman Osborn, seeking to get the attention of the corrupt new leader of national security.

(Agents of Atlas II#1) – Gorilla-Man, Human Robot, and Namora attacked a group of A.T.F. agents, including Jason, loyal to Osborn and led by Man-Mountain Marko in order to secure their guns. Later, the entire team saw Mr. Lao consume Marko in the Hidden City.

(Agents of Atlas II#2) – Gorilla-Man accompanied Human Robot and Namora in delivering new weapon tech to Grizzly, the new Osborn-appointed leader of the A.T.F., and a brief fight broke out when Hale used an EMP gun as a demonstration on a helicopter, and Grizzly threatened to turn that same gun back on Human Robot, but Namora quickly put an end to the fight.

(Agents of Atlas II#3) – The Agents flanked Woo and Temugin (now appointed by Lao as Woo’s second in command) as they met with Osborn and Sentry aboard a ship. After Sentry threw Temugin from the ship, Hale and Human Robot oversaw some weapon’s production while secretly gathering intel on Osborn. As the team flew away in a helicopter, Captain America (James Barnes) knocked them out of the air, and Human Robot held on to a building to stop them from falling.

(Agents of Atlas II#4) – Hale sparred with Captain America while Human Robot got Woo down to safety. The Uranian (Marvel Boy/Robert Grayson) read Cap’s mind, creating an interface for Hale and Woo to interact with the man’s memories, and they realized, through mock combat in Cap’s mind, that this Cap was the former Bucky and not an enemy, and Hale began to remember their adventures in the Dragon’s Corridor years before. The Uranian realized the truth of the Dragon’s Corridor, and they helped him get out of a memory loop in his own brain that he had been trapped in.

(Agents of Atlas II#5) – When the New Avengers stole from the Agents of Atlas, the two teams tried resolving issues peacefully, but Human Robot attacked, starting a fight between the teams. During the fight, Spider-Man webbed Gorilla-Man to the wall. As the fight ended, Hale picked up the scraps of Human Robot, and the Agents left through a portal.

(Agents of Atlas II#6) – After Human Robot was rebuilt, the Agents kept making plans to move against Osborn. They traveled to Atlantis/Oceanus to meet Namor, where they had a feast and a brief fight with Namor; when Venus used her powers, the others were shocked to see Namor and Namora kissing.

(Agents of Atlas II#7) – In Oceanus, the Agents attended the consummation ceremony of Namor and Namora before the Atlantean traitor Tulem guided them to the deadly Skulora plant, which he hoped would kill them, but they defeated the monster.

(Agents of Atlas II#8) – Returning from a solo mission, Hale was pleased to see Derek Khanata back with the team. Frustrated under Temugin’s leadership, Hale joined the others investigating an Atlas Foundation project that had been experimenting on humans, changing them to mutates. As they fought the mutates, the Hulk attacked, and Venus soon defeated him. Hale shot down a few of the scientists as they tried to escape.

(Agents of Atlas II#9) – Hale hunted down more of the mutates. The Uranian took the Agents aboard his ship to the Dragon’s Corridor in order to aid Woo in his fight with the Jade Claw. After saving Woo and M-11, the Agents escaped and end up stranded in the ocean.

(Agents of Atlas II#10) – Back at base, the Agents of Atlas discussed battle tactics against Jade Claw. Hale went with Human Robot and Chang Li-Ten to the secret chamber of Dr. Zu, son of the man who had designed M-11. After M-11 opened the door to Zu’s chamber with a series of electrical bursts, they found Zu living among the original Menace-series designees, including M-1, M-3, M-5, and M-8, and newer designs, including M-12, and Hale learned more about M-11’s origins, after which he saw Zu upgrade M-11. Hale later accompanied the agents to Botswana, where Atlas had a diamond mine, and they did battle with Jade Claw’s men through the open portal to the Dragon’s Corridor. M-11 then attacked Suwan and M-21, showcasing his upgrades, including the ability to fire lasers, electric attacks, and missiles.

(Agents of Atlas II#11) – Hale was briefly overcome by Venus’ song before snapping out of it and holding off Suwan’s men as Woo fled into the Dragon’s Corridor on a mission. Granted a reprieve, Hale took the repaired M-11 back to Zu, who uploaded the personality of great fighter Muhammad Ali into M-11. The Agents, along with Atlanteans, used a multi-faceted attack against the forces of Jade Claw, who was soon defeated.

(X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas I#1 (fb) – BTS) – When Venus went missing, the Agents of Atlas made plans to steal a Cerebro unit from the X-Men in order to find her. Hale went to Dr. Zu and was equipped with technology that allowed him to cloak himself, and he kept missiles and offensive weaponry on his back.

(X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas I#1) – Cloaked, Hale knocked out a few H.A.M.M.E.R. agents, after which Woo’s men Xan and Min took their place. The Agents of Atlas found a copy of Cerebro, but the X-Men (Cloak, Colossus, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Storm, Wolverine) attacked.

    Hale grabbed Cerebra, and the Agents fled back to their base, where the X-Men teleported in, now with Angel, Dagger, Iceman, Psylocke, Sunspot, Rockslide, Nightcrawler, Surge, and Beast.

(X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas I#2) – As the battle escalated, Hale hit Wolverine with a sonic attack before Mr. Lao attacked the X-Men. After Hale grappled with Beast, Mr. Lao attacked the X-Men, and then Namor arrived to intervene.

(X-Man vs. Agents of Atlas I#2 – BTS) – Uranian tried using Cerebra, but it interacted with his headband and ended up pulling the Agents and the original X-Men into a skewed psychic reality.

(X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas I#1-2) – The Agents and the X-Men battled until they realized they were in a psychic construct and freed themselves.

(X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas I#2) – Teaming with the X-Men, the Agents tracked Venus to the Adirondacks and then rescued her from a statue animated by the goddess Aphrodite.

(Assault on New Olympus I#1/2) – The Agents saved civilians during a rescue of Venus from the monstrous Phorcys.

(Incredible Hercules I#138/2) – After the team saved Venus and Phorcys fled, they chose to go after the Greek goddess Aphrodite to stop further attacks against Venus. Wearing Greek armor, the team approached the goddesses base, finding an army of mythical creatures guarding it.

(Incredible Hercules I#139/2) – The team tried using mental illusions of Greek disguises to pass the creatures, but a fight broke out.

(Incredible Hercules I#140/2) – After the team defeated the monsters and learned that a reality called the Continuum was being activated in one of Hercules’ adventures, Aphrodite attacked them.

(Incredible Hercules I#141/2) – As the Agents watched, Venus triumphed over Aphrodite and was proclaimed the new Goddess of Love.

(Thunderbolts I#139) – When the Thunderbolts infiltrated an Atlas Foundation holding, the Agents of Atlas went to confront them. During the fight, Hale restrained Paladin. The fight escalated when Nuke slashed into Uranian.

(Thunderbolts I#140) – Hale jumped on Nuke’s back, but Grizzly grabbed him and threw him far away. Hale returned to the others and found them badly defeated, and then the Agents retreated to focus on healing.

(Avengers vs. Atlas I#1) – After battling the Crystalloids in Mexico, another failed Atlas experiment, the Agents of Atlas battled an uprising of Lava Men in Arizona, but they discovered a mysterious sentient energy behind the attack.

    They tracked the energy to NYC, where the Avengers were battling the Growing Man, and a bizarre time phenomena seemed to revert the team to the original Avengers.

(Avengers vs. Atlas I#2) – In the ensuing battle, Hale grabbed Captain America’s shield and then used Pym Particles to make himself giant, after which he took down Giant-Man. When the fight stopped, they noticed the time-distortion energy again and saw the Hulk pass through.

(Avengers vs. Atlas I#3) – A chaotic battle against the Hulk ensued, even as the Avengers kept shifting into costumes from other time periods, and Thor soon teleported both teams to the Norwegian coast, where the battle de-escalated.

    The Uranian deciphered the truth about the threat they faced (before changing into his 1950s self), and they realized the Avengers had come from the time period when they first had battled Kang. M-11 projected results from that fight from years before, and they realized they were facing a Chronovirus, resulting from Kang’s time-stream manipulations.

(Avengers vs. Atlas I#4/1) – The Avengers and Agents of Atlas worked together to define the Chronovirus as a symptom in the time-space continuum related to Kang’s connections to Giant-Man based on their first battle. They quieted the storm and restored the Avengers to their own timeline, then made peace with the New Avengers.

(Avengers vs. Atlas I#4/2) – Hale had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, served by Billy, when a man with a gun entered, wanting to kill Hale to inherit his immortality. Hale tried to convince the man to back down, but the man shot Hale, who then killed the man. Hale later told Woo about the man as he put the man’s hat and gun in a collection of other men that Hale had killed who’d tried to kill him. He talked about having always to be on guard for those who might hunt him down.

(Enter the Heroic Age I#1/2) – The Agents of Atlas returned to Hawaii to defeat the Kree Sentry when it landed back on Earth. They saved civilians including Tutu and Akoni.

(Atlas I#3 (fb) – BTS) – Hale made friends with an Atlas servant named Chang Li-Ten, who fondly called him "General Hale."

(Atlas I#1/1) – The 3-D Man (Delroy Garrett) discovered an entrance to Atlas, finding the Agents waiting there.

(Atlas I#2/1) – After the Agents stopped Mr. Lao from killing 3-D Man, the Agents spoke with 3-D Man, realizing that he had been having dreams of old missions of the Agents of Atlas. M-11 informed the others of a call from Derek Khanata, and the team headed to Iceland, where they found a group of criminals controlling subterranean creatures. After a brief fight, the team looked over intel, realizing they were battling aliens called Echo Worlders who could possess others.

(Atlas I#3/1) – Hale joined Woo and 3-D Man in finding Chuck Chandler in a hospital, and they encountered more of the Echo Worlders there. Back at their base, they found Chang and other Atlas servants possessed, and a fight broke out. M-11 protected them as Venus was hit with a poisonous arrow and Namora was possessed.

(Atlas I#4) – M-11 turned his death ray on Namora to stop her from killing the others, but not before she’d pulled off Uranian’s helmet, reverting him to a frightening alien state. Gorilla-Man and 3-D Man held off the others until Mr. Lao fried them. The team healed and researched the origins of the Echo Worlders, then planned an attack on their home world. Hale showed 3-D Man M-11’s robot room, and he then strapped himself into a chair next to Woo and 3-D Man while Uranian uploaded their minds to the planet of the Echo Worlders, but the agents ended up in another reality instead, Earth-10170, where they found they were members of the Avengers. The 3-D Man in that reality yelled that the three of them were imposters.

(Atlas I#5) – Hale, Uranian, and Woo told the truth to the alternate Avengers, and they learned that these Avengers previously had been nearly destroyed by the Echo Worlders. Hale and the others’s minds then traveled to the world of the Echo Worlders, where they manifested physical forms and were soon joined by Venus and Namora. In the astral world, Hale got a vision of the gorilla tribe he had once lived among, and he confessed to Namora that he had known peace then and had been ashamed to return and see his old friends. Hale also struggled to realize that the psychic manifestation of himself in this world was still as a gorilla. They took the fight to the aliens and were shocked to see that M-11’s consciousness had built itself a giant suit of robot armor to aid them. The team worked together for days to fend off the Echo Worlders, also known as Lurans, using M-11 and 3-D Man as focal points to save their planet. Hale officially welcomed 3-D Man to the team.

(Darkstar and the Winter Guard I#1) – When Namora was kidnapped by Warlord Krang, the Agents (taught Russian telepathically by Uranian) teamed up with the Winter Guard to stop him. During the fight, Hale tossed Ursa Major into the mix.

(Gorilla Man I#1) – In Rome, Borgia Omega attacked, seeking to steal a priceless Borgia artifact, but Hale rushed in and grabbed the artifact and then defeated Borgia with gunfire, after which he hired all of Borgia’s female employees to work for Atlas instead. Back at Atlas, Woo gave Hale his choice of assignments, and he selected Mustafa Kazun, a warlord with a private army called the Bloodface Guard. After Uranian gave Hale a ride to the Congo, Hale activated an image inducer to appear as a human, and he soon found Ji Banda, an agent loyal to Derek Khanata, and revealed his gorilla nature to the man. After Ji Banda briefed Hale on Kazun’s threat, the Bloodface Guard closed in, and Hale armed himself and Ji Banda with guns.

(Gorilla Man I#2) – After opening fire on the Bloodface Guard, Hale and Ji Banda escaped on a boat, taking one captive, and Hale convinced the captive he was a sorcerer by revealing his gorilla nature. Hale shot down an attacking bi-plane, and Hale shared more about his origins with Ji Banda as they hiked through the jungle. They soon found Hale’s group of gorillas.

(Gorilla Man I#3) – After getting intel from the gorillas, Hale and Ji Banda found the Bloodface Guard and were captured, at which point Kazun revealed his presence, trying to assert mental control over the captives. After discreetly calling the recruited employees of Borgia Omega for help, Hale fought back until Ji Banda was poisoned. Hale was subsequently tied up, pretending to be under the influence of the staff to which he was now immune to. When the employees of Borgia attacked, Hale grabbed the staff and revealed that Kazun was actually Bastoc, who had acquired the serpent staff after Lily had put it up for auction years before. Bastoc tried tempting Hale with the ability to use the staff to cure his gorilla condition, but Hale broke the staff and let Bastoc get arrested instead.

(Deadpool Team-Up I#889 (fb) – BTS) – Hale got a lead on Borgia Omega on a remote island.

(Deadpool Team-Up I#889) – Hale landed a helicopter on the island to find Lucrezia Borgia, but he was attacked by Deadpool, and the two engaged in a lengthy battle involving a lot of tech, including Hale wearing a giant robot battle suit. In time, the two stopped fighting, and Borgia Omega attacked, having added an imprint of Lucrezia Borgia attacked them with Laserdactyls (laser-equipped pterodactyls), and Hale, after evading man-eating plants, jumped on the back of a Laserdactyl and turned it on Borgia Omega, blowing up his airship. Deadpool and Hale then took the captive villain aboard a raft and began rowing to safety.

(Heroic Age: Heroes I#1 – BTS) – Steve Rogers wrote about Gorilla-Man in his report on superhuman operatives.

(Hulk II#25) – Hale and the Agents of Atlas battled a monster.

(Chaos War I#1) – Hale saw the Uranian call out in pain after a psychic attack.

(Chaos War I#2) – Hale was among the heroes sent into a deep sleep, temporarily, by Amatsu-Mikaboshi.

(Fear Itself: the Home Front I#1/2) – The Agents of Atlas became aware of escalated threats by Neo-Nazis and began hunting down intel on them. In time, they found the leader, Vorster of the Thule Society, and he informed them that many of his agents had infiltrated Atlas years ago.

(Fear Itself: the Home Front I#2/2) – Realizing that Woo and Namora had fallen in love, Hale stopped Woo from shutting down all Atlas Foundation operations out of fear that the Thule Society had infiltrated them. After they stormed a Thule Society castle, Nazi robots attacked and Vorster was killed.

(Fear Itself: the Home Front I#3/2) – Hale and Namora began to worry that Woo was acting out of control. When Namora realized Woo was lying to her about having discovered spells written on Atlantean skins over Atlantean corpses, she screamed at him and sent him away, and Hale found himself blaming Namora for Woo’s problems, saying she shouldn’t have slept with him.

(Fear Itself: the Home Front I#4/2) – Hale and the Agents escaped the castle, which exploded. Worried about Woo’s well-being, Hale and Namora had M-11 play files back for them that showed he had chosen to delete the Atlantean texts rather than learn the spells within.

(Wolverine IV#17 (fb) – BTS) – Hale watched over the operations of the Jade Claw in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

(Wolverine IV#17) – Wearing a trench coat and hat, Hale watched the cops investigate a man who’d been murdered with a dragon tooth to the chest. Later, Hale saw Wolverine, Master Po, and Yuen Yee attack the Jade Claw’s holdings, defeating the guards. After nearly coming to blows with Wolverine, Hale joined the group and they traveled far below the Earth, where they found dragons being used for manual labor far below the ground. They were then attacked by Razorfist, Soul Striker, Darkstrider, and Rock of the Buddha.

(Wolverine IV#18) – After sparring with Soulstriker, who punched Hale in the soul, Hale and Wolverine surrendered when Po and Yee were put at risk. The villains tied Hale and Wolverine up between the dragons, leaving them to be pulled apart as the villains left, but Hale and Wolverine escaped, after which Fat Cobra arrived to knock out the dragons. As Fat Cobra explained how he’d been trapped in the subterranean caves for months, they found more of Jade Claw’s dragons and allowed themselves to be eaten in order to find the Jade Claw.

(Wolverine IV#19 (fb)) – The dragons vomited up the three heroes, who battled the Jade Claw’s forces, and Master Po soon arrived with his own dragons to help defeat the Jade Claw’s dragons. Jade Claw soon retreated.

(Wolverine IV#19) – Digging back to Earth, Wolverine took Fat Cobra and Hale for drinks at Harry’s Hideaway.

(Wolverine and the X-Men I#19) – Hale applied for a teaching position at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, offering to teach wrestling and firearms, but he was turned away.

(Fantastic Four I#645) – Hale and the other Agents helped fight off invaders from Counter-Earth.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Deadpool and the Mercs for Money II#2 (fb) – BTS) – Hale became acquainted with Domino at some point, and she called in a favor, having him escort Deadpool and the Mercs for Money through the jungles of Viet Nam to a temple.

(Deadpool and the Mercs for Money II#2) – Hale got the Mercs to the temple and then left them behind.

(Deadpool and the Mercs for Money II#4) – Hale joined Domino, Masacre, and Machine Man in going to Bagalia to aid Deadpool. Domino called them the new Mercs for Money.

(Deadpool and the Mercs for Money II#5) – The Mercs for Money stood against operatives of Umbral Dynamics, including Scorpia, Titania, Caroline le Fey, and the Presence, and they worked to free the Radioactive Man, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Nuke, and Cobalt Man, who had been held back there. During the fight, Hale fired on Presence, who then slammed Hale against the wall with a radiation blast. Presence was soon defeated. Back at Deadpool’s headquarters at Schaefer Theater, the group decided to stay together as the Mercs for Money, with members Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Hit-Monkey.

(Deadpool and the Mercs for Money II#6) – When Hit-Monkey threw poop at Hale, he warned the monkey about what would happen if Hale played the game as well. The team donned Deadpool uniforms (which had radioactive traces, conjured by Negasonic Teenage Warhead), with Hale in green, and fought the Circus of Crime and their weaponized Big Top in Atlanta, Georgia. During the fight, Hale opened fire on a mechanized elephant that Ringmaster rode into combat. When Deadpool argued with Domino about team leadership, Hit-Monkey shot Deadpool in the head. The team went to meet Dum-Dum Dugan and Clarissa Haines of S.H.I.E.L.D., and they learned that Hit-Monkey had been sent to monitor the team.

(Deadpool IV#28) – Hale and the other Mercs were called in for a mission.

(Deadpool and the Mercs for Money II#9) – Deadpool's wife, Shiklah, led her monster army to attack New York City, and the Mercs for Money put on monster disguises to break through the perimeter and get inside. Once there, Hale found himself under the mental control of Shiklah, who had control over all monsters through the Scepter of the Manticore.

(Spider-Man/Deadpool I#16) – As Morbius worked on a machine that would put all humans to sleep, Hale was ordered to attack the Mercs for Money. After he threw Machine Man into a wall, Hale grabbed Domino and Masacre and threw them off the roof, but Hit-Monkey gave them vines to hold onto. Hit-Monkey then convinced Hale to embrace his human side, breaking the monster control. Hale joined the Mercs in attacking Shiklah, but she used the machine and put them all to sleep.

(Deadpool and the Mercs for Money II#10) – After the sleep machine was shut down, Machine Man got Hale and the others to safety as the team prepared to face Dracula and Shiklah in combat.

(Deadpool IV#29) – The Mercs with Money watched as Deadpool and Shiklah settled affairs.

(Despicable Deadpool I#298) – Hale attended a meeting with other heroes to discuss the threat of Deadpool.

(Domino III#1) – Hale attended a surprise party for Domino, where Dazzler performed.

(Domino III#2) – When Prototype and Topaz attacked the party, Hale joined with Domino and her friends in standing against them.

(Avengers VIII#12 (fb)) – Hale spent time running up a huge bar tab in Timbuktu with bartender Kofi. When Black Panther recruited him for the Agents of Wakanda, Hale agreed, and he told Kofi to send his tab to Tony Stark. Other recruits included Wasp, Okoye, Ka-Zar, Broo, Fat Cobra, Odin, Man-Wolf, American Eagle, Roz Solomon, and Dr. Nemesis. Hale was appointed Chief of Security at Avengers Mountain.

(Avengers VIII#10) – At Avengers Mountain, in the corpse of a Celestial at the North Pole, Hale panicked, unable to find the security alarm, but he finally notified the Avengers about a threat.

(Thor V#9) – Hale hung out with Ka-zar at Avengers Mountain.

(Marvel Comics Presents III#2/3 (fb)) – Black Panther explained to Hale the origins of his gorilla powers, telling him how the Jabari had once bound the spirit of the gorilla god, Ngi, to a mortal form until it had gone mad, then they used spells to bind Ngi to a heroic gorilla man who would live forever. Hale was taken to Wakanda to go on a visionary journey, using the Jabari magics, to see if he could free himself from the curse.

(Marvel Comics Presents III#2) – In a vision, Hale saw himself ripping Black Panther in half and a tribe of gorillas who left him in his human form, then Hale confronted Ngi and the spirits of all the gorilla-men who had gone before him. Awake again, Hale told Black Panther that he now felt more connected to those who had gone before him.

(Avengers VIII#19 (fb) – BTS) – For some reason becoming once again eager to die and be free of his gorilla curse, Hale made a deal with Sarge, a vampire captive of the Avengers, promising to serve Dracula in exchange for freedom.

(Avengers VIII#19) – While the Avengers handled yet another world crisis, Hale met with Ursa Major (a double agent for the Avengers) in an exhibit at the Wundagore Zoo in Transia, and Hale ensured that Ursa Major had followed Black Panther’s instructions regarding Dracula. Just as Hale was prepared to get a drink, Ka-Zar picked him up in a flying car, and he was returned to Avengers Mountain. Black Panther informed Hale about the War of the Realms, and Hale was tasked with keeping the headquarters protected against invading forces of Malekith, and with keeping the civilians now housed in the Celestial safe. Hale fought off Dark Elves and plugged in a massive power source to help Black Panther. The Celestial showed Hale that Roxxon was invading Antarctica. After getting medical treatment, along with Odin, from Dr. Nemesis, Hale visited Sarge, pledging his loyalty to Dracula again.

(Avengers VIII#20) – Hale and Ka-Zar fought a Roxxon B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R. Squad together.

(War of the Realms I#5) – Hale worked with the Agents of Wakanda and the Vanir to defeat more B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R.s.

(Agents of Atlas III#1/2) – Allying with 3-D Man, Hale joined the Agents in looking for the forces of General Nurong in Thailand. After infiltrating the base using mental illusions from Uranian, the Agents revealed their presence before saving Cressida from another dragon, this one named Mr. Thong, who disappeared after the Agents fought a stone monster. The Agents regrouped, realizing the threat of the dragons was about to get worse.

(Marvel Comics#1000/16 (fb)) – Woo asked Hale to search the Celestial in which he was living for evidence on the Eternity Mask.

(Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda I#1) – Hale and Broo went into space in astronaut suits to fix the Wakandan satellite.

(Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda I#3) – Broo annoyed Hale by calling him “Gorilla-Boss,” then detected an anomaly in space, and they soon investigated. They were apprehended with a space plant who gave them dreams of their fondest wishes, and Hale wished that he’d won a drinking contest hosted by Howard the Duck.

(Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda I#4) – Black Panther, Okoye, Mockingbird, and Man-Wolf arrived to help the others, and they realized the entity Entea was keeping them all locked in their fondest fantasies. In his new fantasy dream, Hale was outdrinking Kraven the Hunter, White Rabbit, and Howard the Duck as Forbush Man served them, but he was soon awakened. Hale was immediately overcome with guilt over his betrayal of the Avengers, but he joined the Agents in stopping Entea.

(Atlantis Attacks I#1) – Jimmy Woo assembled Gorilla-Man and the others in the city of Pan, where they planned to aid the new Agents of Atlas in a fight against Namor.

(Atlantis Attacks I#2) – After they conferred with Mike Nguyen, who founded Pan, Jimmy Woo put Gorilla-Man and White Fox in charge of defending the city.

(Atlantis Attacks I#3) – When the Atlantean dragon was released but returned to Atlantis and exploded, the two teams of Agents for Atlas assembled and discovered that the Sirenas and Mike Nguyen were behind the attack. They debated the ethics of attacking Atlantis or defending Pan just before Namor attacked. Gorilla-Man and several of the others were frozen with a temporal gun.

(Atlantis Attacks I#4) – Gorilla-Man remained frozen until the temporal effect wore off, after which they found Namor in a battle with the heroes defending Pan. The conflict escalated until Mike Nguyen was revealed to be behind the attacks, and he controlled Brawn into fighting the others.

(Atlantis Attacks I#5) – Brawn fought the assembled heroes until he was freed from Nguyen's control, and the two groups of the Agents of Atlas subsequently worked together to protect Pan from a tidal wave.

(Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda I#7 (fb) – BTS) – When Hale complained about Thor and She-Hulk making a lot of noise at night, Broo made Hale special earplugs to tune out the noise.

(Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda I#7) – At Avengers Mountain, Hale was awakened by Mockingbird, who informed him that dragons (later revealed as aspects of Fin Fang Foom) were attacking, and he stood with her, Broo, Ka-Zar, Fat Cobra, and American Eagle to stand against them. Wearing his space suit, Hale fired a gun at the dragons.

(Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda I#8) – Hale helped win the fight against the aspects of Fin Fang Foom, and they soon reintegrated into the actual dragon himself. Okoye and the Warriors Three helped in the fight.

(Empyre I#3) – Hale and the Agents of Wakanda defended Wakanda from the invading Cotati.

(Power Pack IV#2) - Power Pack showed up at Avengers Mountain asking for Captain Marvel, but Hale told them she was on a mission.

(Avengers VIII#42) - Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur worked with Broo and Gorilla-Man of the Agents of Wakanda in preparing a room in Avengers Mountain that might possibly contain the Phoenix Force if it were trapped there.

(Avengers VIII#43 - BTS) - Blade asked Gorilla-Man to tend to the wounded Black Knight.

(Avengers VIII#45 - BTS) - She-Hulk shouted for Gorilla-Man to refill her coffee. Later he had a meeting to review mountain security with T'Challa.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Robert Q. Sale.

Agents of Atlas and the Gorilla Man series significantly altered/retconned Gorilla-Man's origins. Here's the original information:

(Men's Adventures#26) - Kenneth Hale had nightmares of two gorillas fighting each other, dreams which would end with one victorious over the other's body. Haunted by his dreams, he became interested in the legend of Gorilla-Men, and sought out his explorer friend Benson for help. Benson told him of a legend of half-human/half-gorilla creatures in Africa, and how their leader would fight another for the title of king. Hale determined that he would go to Africa and find the Gorilla-Man. He said farewell to his wife, and set off for Kenya.

Unable to find any sort of guide in Kenya, he ventured into the jungles alone, until he found the Gorilla-Man. Unable to bring himself to shoot the creature in the back, he grappled against it with his bare hands. After a ferocious struggle, the Gorilla-Man lay dead at Hale's feet, and Hale had himself been transformed into the new Gorilla-Man. Just as in the dream, he stood victorious over the dead Gorilla-Man's body. --Story a bit retconned in Agents of Atlas.

Until there's a Gorilla-Man of Earth-9904 profile, here's the information from What if I#9 (Earth-9904):

(What If I#9) - In 1958, the Gorilla-Man was sought out by the super-hero Marvel Boy to serve as a member of the Avengers, a team being set up by FBI agent Jimmy Woo. With the aid of Jann of the Jungle, Marvel Boy found the Gorilla-Man fighting a pack of lions, and they helped him drive them off. The Gorilla-Man was reluctant to return to the United States (for fear of being so close to his wife), but Marvel Boy promised to help find a cure for him using the science of the Eternals of Uranus, so the Gorilla-Man agreed, and joined the Avengers alongside Marvel Boy, 3-D Man, the Human Robot and Venus.

The heroes had difficulty working close alongside one another, and the Gorilla-Man in particular got his ire up after the 3-D Man made a crack about their base smelling like a zoo. The two of them grappled, but were settled down by Venus using her love-power. Just then, they received a communication from Jimmy Woo, who had witnessed the capture of President Ike Eisenhower by the superhuman forces of the Yellow Claw, so they set off to combat them.

Breaking into the Yellow Claw's base, the Gorilla-Man tried to fight Electro, but was frightened off by his electrical powers. Instead, he tackled the Cold Warrior and threw him at Skull-Face just as Marvel Boy did the same; the two collided and Skull-Face broke into pieces. Gorilla-Man then took one of Skull-Face's leg bones and smacked the Great Video over the head with it. All of the villains were defeated and the President rescued, although the Yellow Claw escaped.

Afterwards, the President disbanded the Avengers, afraid of how the public might react to their presence. Marvel Boy agreed to keep up his bargain with the Gorilla-Man, and find a cure for him on Uranus.

    A note on the Avengers of the 1950's: In the Avengers Forever limited series they were seemingly ret-conned out of existence. However, in a personal communication with Kurt Busiek (on Avengers Message Board), he specifically stated that he did not wipe the Avengers of the 1950s from existence. One alternate timeline containing them (Reality-9904) was wiped out. The group may well have existed in the mainstream past, but they just weren't called the Avengers. He suggested the name: "The G-Men." The first Agents of Atlas series resolved the matter, confirming a similar group on Earth-616, noting their earlier name to have been Department Zero and identifying their modern incarnation as the Agents of Atlas.

    Hale's origin was reprinted in Chamber of Chills#23

X-Men: First Class is a series that made great efforts to fit into continuity retroactively. However, editorial's official policy is that these stories are not part of "official" continuity until/unless specifically referenced in other stories. Anyway...

(X-Men: First Class I#8) - When X-Men mentor Charles Xavier fell victim to the valley, vanishing after sending out a telepathic distress call, wildlife photographer Miriam Christiansen suggested her friend Hale as a local guide to her nephew Warren Worthington III (Angel). The X-Men convinced Hale to assist them and they eventually located Xavier within a cave with an entrance carved to resemble a face. The cave's mouth closed when they entered and the X-Men where overwhelmed by feelings of despondency. Hale was unaffected and realized that the cave's enchantment was a trap. He forced Cyclops to breach the cave roof with his optic blasts and then helped the X-Men escape. After the cave's collapse, Hale declined to return to the US with the X-Men.

In his original origin Ken Hale (Gorilla Man) met his friend Benson at the Explorer's Club (you know the HQ for the Monster Hunters) and Ken Hale lived in the town of West Haven.
    --Gammatotem
---While it may be assumed via retcons that Mr. Lao was replacing Ken's friend Benson or was actually Benson, a flashback in the Gorilla-Man mini-series shows that Mr. Lao was introduced to Ken Hale AS Mr. Lao, which makes Ken's friend Benson a separate character. It all works out nicely though because all Mr. Lao did in the flashback was give Ken the idea of killing the Gorilla-Man & maps to its location. Ken's first appearance begins with him suffering nightmares about the Gorilla-Man. My guess is Lao introduced the idea to Ken, who pondered on the idea of killing an animal for days, the stress of which gave him nightmares & in an attempt to rid himself of the nightmar*es, he spoke to various people about the Gorilla-Man, including his explorer friend Benson.
    --Proto-Man

Profile by Prime Eternal Update by Markus Raymond (Agents of Atlas appearances - May, 2008), and Chadman (December, 2008 - February, 2021)

CLARIFICATIONS:
Gorilla-Man should not be confused with:

• Gorilla Girl, of the Freaks, @ Marvel Team-Up I#91
• Gorilla-Man, Dr. Arthur Nagan of the Headmen, @ Mystery Tales#21
• Gorilla-Man (Franz Radzik), scientist who transfered his mind into a gorilla's body @ Tales to Astonish I#28

images:
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Hardcover#4: Gorilla-Man (as Agent of Atlas)
Men's Adventures#26, p20, pan3 (head shot, human)
Men's Adventures#26, p20, pan1 (transformed, original appearance)
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#4, p4, pan4 (as Howling Commando)
X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas I#1, p8, pan1 (Dr. Zu’s upgrades)
Incredible Hercules I#139, p25, pan3 ("Greek" illusion, with Venus on his back)
Thunderbolts I#139, p18, pan2 (in space suit)
Avengers vs. Atlas I#2, p8, pan4 (giant form)
Deadpool Team-Up I#889, p10, pan2 (giant robot armor)
Deadpool Team-Up I#889, p19, pan1 (on laserdactyl)
Deadpool and the Mercs for Money I#6, p8, pan1 (green Deadpool uniform)
Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda I#7, p13, pan1 (with gun in space suit)