DAGON

Real Name: Dagon

Identity/Class: Extradimensional humanoid (1950s era)

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Professor Proctor, Major Walters

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unidentified world in another dimension; (temporarily) U.S. Atomic Experimental Station, somewhere in America

First Appearance: Mystery Tales I#47/2 (November, 1956)

Powers/Abilities: Appearing to be human, the extradimensional Dagon apparently had a pair of wings upon his back (which were concealed by a cloak), but he did not actually demonstrate the power of flight, nor any other paranormal abilities.

Although he came to Earth with benevolent intentions, Dagon was armed with a cylindrical weapon that projected a beam capable of melting stone.

Height: Unrevealed (6'3"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed

History:
(Mystery Tales I#47/2 (fb) - BTS) - From his technologically advanced homeworld in another dimension, Dagon used an energy beam to transport himself to Earth, on a mission to share his knowledge of atomic energy with humankind--he had only twelve hours to accomplish this, after which the beam's energy would dissipate, and he would automatically be returned to his own world.

(Mystery Tales I#47/2) - At an American atomic installation, Dagon appeared at noon in Professor Proctor's office. Dagon told Proctor that he came from another dimension to share the secrets of atomic energy, but first Proctor would have to tell him all that he had already learned about the subject. Proctor was suspicious of his mysterious visitor, and assumed him to be hostile, so he surreptitiously activated his intercom to summon Major Walters and the guards.

   When the security force burst in, Proctor told them that Dagon was a spy who told an imaginative tale; but Dagon explained his reasoning--because of his twelve hour time-limit, he had to know what humans already knew of atomic energy before he could reveal further knowledge. When the guards attempted to arrest him, Dagon fled the office and ran outside--the guards tried to follow him, but Dagon fired a warning shot with his weapon, deliberately aiming high so as not to hit them.

   As Proctor, Walters, and the guards pursued him around the installation, Dagon called out that it seemed mankind was not yet ready for the knowledge that he offered to impart, for humans were still suspicious and afraid. Dagon then opened a door and ran into the installation's reactor room--Walters and Proctor were reluctant to follow him inside, because any gunfire might hit the reactor and cause the whole base to blow up; however, that door was the only access into the reactor room, so the men decided to wait Dagon out.

(Mystery Tales I#47/2 - BTS) - While Dagon was in the reactor room, he happened to stand in front of a film square used to detect radiation leaks--because there was a radiation leak (see comments), the film recorded Dagon's bone structure, just like an X-ray image. When the twelve hours expired, Dagon was returned to his own world.

(Mystery Tales I#47/2) - As midnight approached, the impatient Proctor and Walters finally went into the reactor room; they saw no sign of Dagon, but Walters found the film square and presented it to Proctor--it had an X-ray image which showed that Dagon had a pair of wings upon his back, and both men were left wondering if they had misjudged Dagon's intentions.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Reed Crandall.

I wonder if Dagon suffered any ill effects from that radiation leak--maybe because of his advanced knowledge of atomic energy, he had also developed an immunity to it.

Considering how small Dagon's wings appeared in the X-ray image, would it be fair to classify them as vestigial rather than functional?
Or was he able to fly, despite how small the total surface area of his wings must have been, because something else about him generated sufficient lift and/or propulsive force, as is the case with Namor the Sub-Mariner and the Gargoyle (Isaac Christians)?--Donald Campbell

Profile by Ron Fredricks

CLARIFICATIONS:
Dagon should not be confused with:

• Agon - Inhuman king, father of Black Bolt--Thor I#148/2
• Dagon - the Lovecraftian/monster version, who could be an ancestor or even a previous incarnation--Savage Sword of Conan I#176
• Dagon - the Hyborian god of war, worshiped by the Kushites--Conan the Barbarian I#59
• Dagon - aka the Mesopotamian god, who is either the Hyborian god, or has yet to appear in the MU--still the profile covers some info on him
• Dagoth - demon, Dr. Strange foe--Marvel Premiere#7
• any other characters with similar names

Professor Proctor has no known connections to:

• Proctor (Dane Whitman) - of Earth-374, Avengers foe--Avengers I#344
• Proctor - UltraAvengers member--Ultraforce/Avengers#1
• any other characters with similar names

Major Walters has no known connections to:

• Carina Walters - lover of Michael Korvac--Avengers I#167
• Elaine Ann Walters - mother of Jennifer Walters--Savage She-Hulk I#15
• Sheriff Morris Walters - father of Jennifer Walters--Savage She-Hulk I#2
• any other characters with similar names

Professor Proctor & Major Walters Proctor (first name unrevealed) was a physicist and brilliant mathematician; he was the head of a U.S. atomic experimental station. Walters (first name unrevealed) was a member of the military, and head of security at the same installation. When Dagon unexpectedly appeared in his office, Proctor assumed the uninvited visitor was a foreign spy, so he summoned Walters and the security guards. Although Dagon told them that he came from another dimension to share his knowledge of atomic energy with mankind, Proctor thought he was just an ordinary man who told an imaginative tale, but Walters thought it was possible that Dagon was telling the truth. Hours later, after Dagon vanished, Proctor and Walters saw an X-ray image of Dagon's skeletal structure--it showed the mysterious man had a pair of wings upon his back. Both Proctor and Walters were left wondering if they had misjudged Dagon's intentions, and had thus cheated the world out of his knowledge. (Comment: Walters' actual rank was never mentioned, so I'm just guessing that he was a major.) --Mystery Tales I#47/2

images: (without ads)
Mystery Tales I#47/2, p1, pan1 (main image - Dagon)
Mystery Tales I#47/2, p1, pan3 (headshot - Dagon)
Mystery Tales I#47/2, p2, pan6 (Dagon fires weapon at pursuing guards)
Mystery Tales I#47/2, p4, pan7 (film square with X-ray image of Dagon's skeletal structure)
Mystery Tales I#47/2, p3, pan7 (Professor Proctor [left]; Walters [right])
Mystery Tales I#47/2, p4, pan2 (Walters [left] and Professor Proctor [right] go into reactor room)

Appearances:
Mystery Tales I#47/2 (November, 1956) - unidentified writer, Reed Crandall (pencils/inks), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 11/30/2024
Last updated: 12/01/2024