Real Name: Boris Monguski
Identity/Class: Human technology user;
citizen of Russia
Occupation: Soldier
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Agent of Russia
Enemies: Hulk (Bruce Banner), Rick Jones
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "The Gladiator from Outer Space" (in story title)
Base of Operations: Russia
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk I#4/2 (November, 1962)
Powers/Abilities: Having no paranormal powers, Monguski employed an exoskeleton costume to appear as Mongu. Having a size comparable to that of the Hulk, the exoskeleton seemed to be motorized, which allowed sufficient range of motion to appear to be a living alien being, but did not demonstrate any superhuman strength or other abilities. As Mongu, he wielded two large spiked axes, which were actually only props made from cork and cardboard; he traveled in a phony spaceship.
Monguski was accompanied by at least 13 fellow soldiers, and they were all armed with conventional Soviet weaponry.
Height: (Monguski) 6' (by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: (Monguski) Bald; (Mongu) black
History:
(Incredible Hulk I#4/2 (fb) - BTS) -
Monguski was tasked by scientists in Russia to capture the Hulk, so that
they could learn the secret of his great strength, and thus create an
army of warriors like him. Knowing of America's interest and belief in
UFOs and extraterrestrial life, Monguski had a costume built to make him
appear to be a giant alien warrior, and he had a conventional military
aircraft disguised as a spaceship.
Monguski flew his "spaceship" to America, while his fellow soldiers were smuggled in with a separate helicopter.
(Incredible Hulk I#4/2) - With his men stationed in a prearranged area of the Grand Canyon, Monguski posed as the extraterrestrial conqueror Mongu; he landed his "spaceship" outside of a town near Gamma Base, which drew the attention of reporters. Mongu issued a televised challenge to "Earth's mightiest mortal". He made the bluff that if Earth's champion could defeat him, then he would depart forever, but if he were victorious, his warriors would attack and conquer Earth; then he climbed aboard his "spaceship" and took flight.
Monguski landed on an isolated plateau in the canyon, and as he had predicted, his challenge drew the attention of the Hulk, who was accompanied by Rick Jones. The Hulk (still early in his career and dominated by the "Joe Fixit" portion of his personality) smelled a rat when Mongu recognized him; the jade giant grew further suspicious when he grabbed one of Mongu's axes and easily crushed it, learning that it was only a phony prop.
As his troops came out of hiding and surrounded the Hulk, Monguski opened his costume's chest panel and revealed himself. The Hulk made short work of the soldiers, and when one of them used the "spaceship's" Sound Gun against him, the Hulk burrowed a path underground; upon reaching the underside of the craft, the Hulk tore a hole through the floor of the "spaceship" and pulled the soldier out, then he wrecked the phony spacecraft.
Monguski had his soldiers take Rick hostage, and threatened his life unless the Hulk surrendered. But as the helicopter swooped in to pick them all up, the Hulk threw a piece of wreckage and took out the landing gear of their escape ship, preventing it from landing to take them away. Realizing that harming Rick would only get them in more trouble with the Hulk, Monguski and his men surrendered. The Hulk tied Monguski and the Soviet soldiers together with the helicopter's tow cable, and ordered them all to go back to "Vodka-land".
A few hours later, the once deserted plateau was a bee-hive of activity, as the military came to investigate. The soldiers found the wrecked phony spaceship and Monguski's abandoned costume, but blamed the Hulk for rigging the entire hoax in an effort to make himself look like a hero.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
An "Alpha Generation" or precursor of Mongu was kept dormant for an undefined time-period since the Cold War (essentially the end of World War II in 1945 to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991). A group of Soviets were held in stasis until they detected a nuclear explosion in the USA, at which point they sent android duplicates of these agents -- "Beast-Man" (Igor Grozick), Crimson Dynamo (Mark 1 armor), Gargoyle (Yuri Topolov), Iron Maiden, Mongu, and Thermal Man -- to attack. The energy unleashed by the Order's battle with the Infernal Man in the Order II#1 (September, 2007) was detected by the sleeping Soviets, who sent in the "Alpha Gen Soviet Super Soldiers." Pepper Potts/Hera was able to track the sleeping Soviets to Drenkov Island, and Supernaut terminated the Soviets' life support. The Crimson Dynamo precursor proved to be a robot and detonated a nuclear bomb, but the Order's Aralune smothered the explosion.
The Russians used the fake alien invasion plot other
times: Oleg
and the Spacemen
and Martians (Igor, Ivan) [Tales to Astonish I#3 (May, 1959) 2nd story
"I Discovered The Men From Mars!"--stopped by American spy Dan Hadley]
and [Tales of Suspense I#26 (February, 1962) 2nd story "Never Trust A
Martian" (Communist Spies plan to fake a Martian invasion, but they
get abducted and killed by real Martians)]. The Russians must have
borrowed the idea from the Nazis [Gool (Ludwig) and his Martians
[Captain America Comics#15 (June, 1942) Captain America 2nd story (In
Gotham City)].
--Gammatotem
Profile by Snood. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
"Mongu, the Gladiator from Outer Space"/Boris Monguski has no known connection to:
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Supposedly the extraterrestrial Mongu's spacecraft, it was actually a disguised Russian MiG jet used by Boris Monguski; the specifications (top speed, etc.) of the camouflaged aircraft are unrevealed, but it likely didn't have the capability to actually fly in the vacuum of outer space. The phony spaceship was eventually destroyed by the Hulk. |
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It was armed with a "Sound Gun" located within its interior. This weapon was able to bombard its victim with deafening sound; but the Hulk was able to overcome the sonic assault by burrowing a path underground, where the intense sound wave couldn't penetrate his ear-drums. When he reached the underside of the ship, the Hulk tore a hole into it and pulled the weapon's operator away, then destroyed the aircraft. (Note: The physical configuration of the Sound Gun reminds me of Klaw's sonic claw--maybe in his earlier days, he designed this weapon for the Russians.) --Incredible Hulk I#4/2 |
 
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images: (without ads)
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, cover (main image - Mongu holding Rick Jones)
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, p2, pan8 (headshot - Mongu)
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, p3, pan5 (Mongu issues challenge as he boards his spaceship)
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, p6, pan1 (Boris Monguski emerges from Mongu exoskeleton)
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, p10, pan1 (military officials and reporters find abandoned Mongu exoskeleton)
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, p1, pan1 (Mongu's spaceship [front view])
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, p8, pan3 (Hulk smashes phony spaceship [side view])
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, p7, pan6 (one of Monguski's soldiers operates Sound Gun)
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, p7, pan7 (Hulk gets hit by sonic-waves from Sound Gun)
Incredible Hulk I#4/2, p8, pan2 (Hulk pulls Soviet soldier from Sound Gun)
Appearances:
Incredible Hulk I#4/2 (November, 1962) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Goldberg (colors), Jon D'Agostino (letters)
Order II#1-2 (September-October, 2007) - Matt Fraction (writer), Barry Kitson (pencils), Mark Morales (inks), Alejandro Arbona (assistant editor), Warren Simons (editor)
First posted: 09/08/2001
Last updated: 11/04/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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