ORRGO

Real Name: Orrgo

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial/Extradimensional (Pre-Modern to Modern era)

Occupation: Would-be conqueror

Group Membership: S.T.A.K.E. (a sub-division of S.H.I.E.L.D.)'s Howling Commandos (Dum Dum Dugan, Glyph/Nadeen Hassan, Hit-Monkey, Manphibian, Man-Thing/Ted Sallis, Jasper Sitwell, Teen Abomination/Jamie Carlson, Vampire by Night/Nina Price, Warwolf/Martin Reyna);
formerly S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Howling Commandos unit (Abominable Snowman, Bradley Beemer, Brother Voodoo, Clone of Frankenstein, Glob/Joe Timms, Gorilla Man/Ken Hale, Groot, Hellstorm, It the Living Colossus, Lilith, Living Mummy, Clay Quartermain, Sasquatch/Walter Langkowski, Vampire by Night, Warwolf/Vince Marcus, Zombie"John Doe", many others); (formerly)

Affiliations: A.I.M., the Headmen, Kid Kaiju (Kei Kawade), MODOK;
temporarily Abominable Snowman, Blip, Bruttu, Crawling Creature, Creature from Krogarr, Creature from the Black Bog, Fin Fan Foom, Googam, Goom, Gorgilla, Green Thing, Insect Man, Klagg, Kraa, Metallo, Monsteroso, Monsteroso, Monstro, Monstrom, Moomba, Old Man Logan of Earth-21923, Oog, Pildorr the Plunderer, Quogg, Rommbu, Sporr, Thing that Crawled by Night, Tim Boo Ba, Ulvar, Vandoom's Monster, Zetora, Zzutak;
formerly Paul Kraye

Enemies: Elsa Bloodstone, Ulysses Bloodstone, Deadpool ("Wade Wilson"), Defenders (Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange, Hellcat/Patsy Walker, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Nighthawk/Kyle Richmond, Silver Surfer/Norrin Radd, Sub-Mariner/Namor McKenzie, Valkyrie/Samantha Parrington), Dracula, Elektra, Jo-Jo (a gorilla), Kobik, Paul Kraye, Leviathon Tide (Leviathon Mother, others), Merlin, Secret Warriors (Devil Dinosaur, Inferno/Dante Pertuz, Karnak, Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, Moon Girl/Lunella LaFayette, Quake/Daisy Johnson), vampires;
formerly S.H.I.E.L.D., the entire human race

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Doggy, God from the Sky, Orrgo the Unconquerable

Base of Operations: Unnamed planet in an unnamed dimension, formerly underground.

First Appearance: Strange Tales I#90/1 (November, 1961)

Powers/Abilities: Orrgo possesses incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers.  His mental powers are so great that he can take over the mind of everyone on Earth almost instantaneously.  He can shoot incredible power blasts, transform matter (including organic matter), levitate entire cities, make volcanoes erupt, and produce an unlimited amount of other powers.  

Physically, he is also quite large (approximately 25-30 feet in height) and has three fingers on each hand.  Allegedly, his durability is not proportional to his size, as Orrgo may have been slain by a single blow from a gorilla, but the canonical status of the details surrounding this weakness due to the story in question remain unconfirmed (See Comments). 

Weakness: When summoned by the Headmen, Orrgo could be completely controlled by an  idol known as the God from Beyond, when it was powered by the Star of Capistan.  He would obey every order of the one who held the idol, and whoever had touched the idol would be immune to Orrgo's mental powers.

History: (Defenders II#9 (fb))  -  Millennia ago, a creature from the sky (Orrgo) conquered humanity and elevated itself to a position of godhood.  His rule over humanity lasted until Ulysses Bloodstone defeated and banished the creature, and none like it had been seen since.

(Strange Tales I#90/1) - Orrgo, but one member of an entire alien race, arrived on Earth to display his superior powers over humans.  With great telepathic and telekinetic abilities, Orrgo succeeded in taking over the world rather quickly.  Putting humanity under his mental domination, he returned to the place where he first arrived -- a circus.  Needing rest, Orrgo fell asleep.  Unbeknownst to him, one of the circus's residents, a gorilla named  Jo-Jo, escaped and, recognizing Orrgo as the reason he was not being fed properly, struck and killed the alien.  The invasion of Earth was called off, as the remaining invaders assumed humans had defeated their brother.

(Defenders II#5) - The Headmen, a group of criminal super-scientists, stole the God from Beyond from a museum, and they summoned Orrgo.

(Defenders II#9) - The Headmen and MODOK summoned Orrgo, using the God from Beyond (powered by the Star of Capistan), from a thousand years ago when Orrgo was worshipped (See Comments).  Defenders Hellcat, Valkyrie and Nighthawk all went to battle him, but Orrgo defeated them in seconds with a powerful blast.  Afterward, Orrgo started wreaking major havoc by trashing the city, transforming the Avengers and Fantastic Four, and then by causing chaos all over the world.  Just by willing it, he made volcanoes erupt, cities levitate, and populated areas burst into flame.  He then telepathically reached out and took over every mind on the planet except for the Headmen, MODOK, and the Defenders, who were all immune to his mental powers since they had touched the idol.

(Defenders II#10) -  While the Headmen had some fun with science, Orrgo maintained control of the world.  After the Defenders came to attack them at their base, the Headmen commanded Orrgo to summon an army of super-villains, which he did.  While Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, Hulk, and Namor were busy with the villains, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, and Hellcat burst into the base of the Headmen (who were abandoned by A.I.M. and MODOK).  Nighthawk managed to get hold of the God from Beyond.  The heroes ordered Orrgo to undo all damage that he had done to Earth.  With the damage undone and the villains teleported back to where they originated,  Strange then thought that they could use Orrgo to banish evil from the world, but Hellcat broke the idol, saying it would be a violation of free will to do such a thing.  

However, Orrgo was then freed from the heroes' control, and free to think for himself again.  Enraged, Orrgo threatened to devastate the planet.  Hellcat reminded him that his race had always been defeated by humans and asked if he really wanted to fight them.  Leaving Earth's dimension for his own, Orrgo decided he shall return when humanity was extinct.

(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#6 (fb)-BTS) - At some point, Orrgo was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and placed into their Howling Commandos unit.

(Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#6) - Orrgo was among the Commandos who launched an assault on Merlin's forces.

(Punisher VII#11) - Orrgo was one of the many refugees in Monster Metropolis after attacks by the Hunter of Monsters Special Force.

(Thunderbolts Annual II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Orrgo was captured by Elsa Bloodstone and held captive at Bloodstone Manor along with other monsters.

(Thunderbolts Annual II#1) - Orrgo got injured by Deadpool and Elektra when they were thrown into the same prison as him by Elsa's allies Living Mummy and the Frankenstein Monster.

(S.H.I.E.L.D. III#9/2) - Orrgo got caught by S.H.I.E.L.D. and incarcerated at Area 13 underneath Area 51. He was seen in his cell when Dugan was shown around the base by Maria Hill, Paul Kraye and Martin Reyna.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#1 (fb) - BTS) - Orrgo became S.T.A.K.E.'s communications officer.

(Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6 (fb) - BTS) - Orrgo kept a tracking beacon active at all times.

(Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#1) - After Hit-Monkey set up a transceiver on the S.S. Chaney Dugan contacted Orrgo at the S.T.A.K.E. HQ. Orrgo performed a scan of the vessel to locate the Earth Idol of Golthana and told Dugan to no let any humans touch it, but it was already too late for the latter. When Man-Thing fought the humans transformed into plant creatures Orrgo informed Dugan that Man-Thing was effectively neutralizing them. After the idol got destroyed due to its connection to the plant creatures, which had been burnt by the touch of the Man-Thing, Orrgo informed Maria Hill of the idol's destruction. A livid Hill ordered Orrgo to be returned to his cell. She called the mission a complete failure, but Dugan considered it the mission a win.

(Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#3) - When Dugan called in that he and his team had arrived at the Museum of Egyptian Culture in San Francisco Orrgo informed Kraye. Orrgo also told Kraye that he was not pleased with Hit-Monkey's participation and that he didn't know why he had to stay and base. Kraye told Orrgo that he was at the base for intel and that he would do what he was told. Orrgo liked it when Dugan severed the connection with Kraye to anger S.T.A.K.E.'s incompetent leader.

   When Glyph, influenced by her brother Navid from afar, lost control over her spirit summoning powers again Orrgo, who didn't believe in ghosts because they defied logic, took a swing at them. After Glyph had been calmed down by Vampire by Night again Orrgo informed Kraye that operations had returned to normal. He was amused by the occurrences that day.

(Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6 (fb) - BTS) - Orrgo accessed S.T.A.K.E.'s mainframe under Kraye's watch without permission.

(Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6 (fb) ) - Afraid Orrgo would expose him as a traitor Kraye activated security measures to knock out Orrgo with an energy field and called Maria Hill to inform her that Orrgo was out of control and needed to be contained and extracted to Pleasant Hill. Hill believed Kraye and sent four helicopters to transport the unconscious Orrgo to Pleasant Hill. Feeling sorry for Orrgo Hill asked Kobik to transform Orrgo into something nice.

   Transformed into a dog Orrgo became Doggy a Pleasant Hill family's dog. He was happy in his new life.

(Avengers Standoff: Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha#1/Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6) - Orrgo reverted to his true form, felt confused (he still had a frisbee in his mouth) and attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in Pleasant Hill alongside superhuman criminals.

(Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6) - Feeling betrayed by the Howling Commandos Orrgo walked across town in search for Kobik. He told her how happy he was with his family and how it was real for him, then attacked Kobik, who took him down with an energy blast. Moments later the Howling Commandos arrived on the scene and Dugan ordered Kobik to get away from Orrgo. Kobik used her powers to turn Dugan against the other Howling Commandos. Meanwhile Manphibian explained to Orrgo how he was one of them unlike Kraye, who hurt Orrgo. After getting back to his feet Orrgo promised Vampire by Night to stop Kobik to give her a chance to help Dugan regain control over his body. Orrgo fought Kobik and was soon joined in his battle by Vampire by Night, who tried to restrain her. But Kobik tapped into Orrgo's mind to play with him and turned into a gorilla at a circus to fight him. Kobik asked Orrgo if he wanted to be Doggy again, but he didn't want to because he considered the Howling Commandos his family now. He vowed to remember his time in Pleasant Hill, but now he wanted to fight alongside his friends. Glyph and Vampire by Night used their powers to revert Kobik to her child form. Angry at them she teleported the Howling Commandos, including Orrgo, back to Area 13. Arriving there Orrgo was glad he was back where he belonged. Learning that Kraye had set loose all the prisoners of S.T.A.K.E. he told the Howling Commandos that they were needed immediately to recapture the monsters.

(New Avengers IV#12 - BTS) - Dugan thought about his team, including Orrgo, when he informed John Garrett that the Howling Commandos were doing well even without him. He still hoped he could get back to them soon.

(Old Man Logan II#14 (fb) - BTS) - During the attack of the Howling Commandos (Glyph, Hit-Monkey, Manphibian, Man-Thing, Teen Abomination, Warwolf) on Castle Dracula, Warwolf called S.T.A.K.E. Command for backup.

(Old Man Logan II#15) - Orrgo came to Castle Dracula as the Howling Commando's backup against Dracula and his vampire forces. He broke through the roof and already dreaded the paperwork he would have back at S.T.A.K.E. HQ after this mission. Orrgo fought off Vampire by Night, then picked up Dracula, which distracted him long enough for Old Man Logan to decapitate the Lord of Vampires and break his control over Orrgo's teammate Vampire by Night.

(Monsters Unleashed II#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Inhuman Kid Kaiju summoned Orrgo along with numerous other monsters to an area outside San Diego, California in defense against the Leviathons.

(Monsters Unleashed II#3) - Orrgo joined the fight against the Leviathons. Earth's heroes watched the monsters summoned by Kid Kaiju defeat the Leviathons.

(Doctor Strange#1.MU) - Orrgo helped defeat the Leviathons outside San Diego, California.

(Monsters Unleashed II#3) - After the battle Orrgo and the other monsters were teleported back from where they came.

(Monsters Unleashed II#4) - Orrgo fought alongside Earth's heroes against the Leviathons in New York City.

(Monsters Unleashed II#5) - The Leviathon Mother esily took out Orrgo and numerous other monsters. After Kid Kaiju's own monsters defeated the Leviathon Mother Orrgo was among the last monsters to be teleported back to where he came from.

(Secret Warriors II#2 (fb) - BTS) - Captain America, the leader of Hydra, sent the Howling Commandos out to capture Quake and her team of Secret Warriors. Dugan set up a trap for them at a farm somewhere in the United States.

(Secret Warriors II#2) - Orrgo participated in the attack on the Secret Warriors when they fell into Dugan's trap. He failed to hit Ms. Marvel and was then knocked out by Devil Dinosaur. The Secret Warriors then escaped the Howling Commandos.

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby

There is a bit of a continuity mess up here.  The flashback, which was told by Morgan of the Headmen in Defenders II#9, seems to contradict Strange Tales I#90.  There are a few possibilities to how this fits together: 

  1. Orrgo could have been driven off of Earth following the flashback, and then returned in the pre-modern era.

  2. The flashback could be a lie, legend, or error made by Morgan.

  3. The 1960s comic could be the story as it was told in a comic book in the MU, but not as it actually happened on Earth-616.

  4. Orrgo is a common name in his race, or perhaps every single one of them is named Orrgo.  Like George Foreman's kids...or perhaps they recognize each other's minds...Marglar?

  5. Orrgo in the Defenders story is yet another manifestation of Khlog (see below).

  6. A combination of the of numbers 1-5, particularly #2, 3, and 5. --Kyle

Interestingly enough, about 8 years before writing the above Defenders stories (with Erik Larsen), Kurt Busiek wrote Strange Tales III#1, an excellent one-shot graphic album.  In that story, a creature named Khlog took the form of Orrgo, who was just a character from a comic book.  In that story, Khlog could only take the form of creatures that were not using that form.  That story made it seem as if the story from Strange Tales I#90 did not really take place on Earth-616.  So, the real deal about Orrgo's past on Earth remains uncertain.
    For a discussion on the relationship of Orrgo and Khlog, see the comments for Khlog's profile.
    --Snood.

How did Hellcat know anything about how many times his race has been to Earth?  It's a good thing he didn't fight them, because he probably could  have won pretty easily.

Just an interesting side note: I believe that the month of Orrgo's debut in Strange Tales I#90 is the same month as Fantastic Four #1 (November, 1961). So is he a Marvel monster or a pre-Marvel monster?
    To me, unless proven otherwise, all of the monster era stories occurred at their actual date of publication, or close to it, somewhere in the pre-modern era--Snood.
    
Per Ron Byrd:   
        In Strange Tales#90 (dated November 1961), the date of Orrgo's arrival was given as July 19, 1963, oddly enough, nearly two years in the future as of that time.  Again oddly, when the story was reprinted in Fear#2 (dated January 1971), the date was changed to July 19, 1973, which is what it remained when reprinted in Monster Menace#4.  

Thanks to Madison Carter for letting me use both an image, and very useful information on Orrgo's first appearance from his site.

The flashback in Defenders II#9 must take place more than a "millennium" ago (i.e. within the past thousand years), since Orrgo is clearly menacing prehistoric, caveman-type humans. I suppose it COULD have been that recent if Orrgo was in the Savage Land, but the warrior who defeats him is obviously supposed to be a young Ulysses Bloodstone, so it probably takes place early in the post-Hyborian Age era instead, not long after the Bloodgem is fused to Ulysses' chest circa 8000 BC.
--Continental Op

Maybe Orggo's first recorded visit was technically his second.  He might have been driven off the first time by a temporary alliance between Bloodstone and Ulluxy'l Kwan Tae Syn (who would naturally disapprove of any competition).--Carycomix

Orrgo, or another of his race, appears to be one of the specimens in a Celestial ship in Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur#1. It's a rough outline of a figure, so it may not even be him.

PROFILE BY Stunner 

Profile edited/updated by Kyle Sims & Markus Raymond (Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.).

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

 

images:
Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6, Cover (main image)
Strange Tales I#90, Cover (first appearance)
Defenders II#9, Cover (Orrgo VS Defenders)
Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6, p1, pan5 (as Doggy)

Appearances:
Strange Tales I#90 (November, 1961) - Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Defenders II#5 (July, 2001) - Kurt Busiek (writer) , Erik Larsen (writer/pencils), Sal Buscema (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Defenders II#9 (November, 2001) - Kurt Busiek, Erik Larsen & Eric Stephenson (writers), Ron Frenz (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Defenders II#10 (December, 2001) - Kurt Busiek, Erik Larsen & Eric Stephenson (writers), Erik Larsen (pencils), Sal Buscema (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#6 (May, 2006) - Keith Giffen (writer), Mike Norton (penciler), Derec Aucoin & Norman Lee (inkers), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Punisher VIII#11 (January, 2010) - Rick Remender (writer), Tony Moore (artist), Axel Alonso (editor)
Thunderbolts Annual II#1 (February, 2014) - Ben Acker & Ben Blacker (writers), Matteo Lolli (artist), Jordan D. White (editor)
S.H.I.E.L.D. III#9/2 (October, 2015) - Al Ewing (writer), Stefano Caselli (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#1 (December, 2015) - Frank J. Barbiere (writer), Brent Schoonover (artist), Jon Moisan & Katie Kubert (editors)
Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#3 (February, 2016) - Frank J. Barbiere (writer), Brent Schoonover (artist), Jon Moisan & Katie Kubert (editors)
Avengers Standoff: Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha#1 (May, 2016) - Nick Spencer (writer), Jesús Saiz (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.#6 (May, 2016) - Frank J. Barbiere (writer), Brent Schoonover (artist), Jon Moisan & Katie Kubert (editors)
New Avengers IV#12 (August, 2016) - Al Ewing (writer), Paco Medina (pencils), Juan Velasco (inks), Tom Brevoort & Will Moss (editors)
Old Man Logan II#14-15 (January-February, 2017) - Jeff Lemire (writer), Filipe Andrade (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Monsters Unleashed II#3 (April, 2017) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Leinil Francis Yu (pencils), Gerry Alanguilan & Michael Jason Paz (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Doctor Strange#1.MU (April, 2017) - Chip Zdarsky (writer), Julian Lopez (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Darren Shan (editor)
Monsters Unleashed II#4 (May, 2017) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Salvador Larroca (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Secret Warriors II#2 (July, 2017) - Matthew Rosenberg (writer), Javier Garrón (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

First Posted: 04/15/2003
Last updated: 06/06/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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