PAUL IGNATIUS
Real Name: Paul Robert Ignatius
Identity/Class: Human (World War I to modern era)
Occupation: Retired;
former president and executive vice president of The Washington Post
newspaper, president and CEO of Air Transport Association, Secretary of
the Navy, head of the Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense
(Installations & Logistics), Undersecretary to the United States
Army, Assistant Secreatary to the Army (Installations & Logistics),
cofounder and chairman of Harbridge House, Inc., research assistant,
Harvard University instructor, US Naval Reserve officer
Group Membership: Formerly The Washington Post staff, Air Transport Association, the United States Navy, the United States Army, US Naval Reserve
Affiliations: Air Transport Association, the Avengers (Captain America, Giant-Man, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp), Adi Ignatius, Amy Ignatius, David Ignatius, Sarah Ignatius, Nancy Weiser Sharpless, the United States Army, the United States Navy & Naval Reserve, the Washington Post staff
Enemies: Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards of Earth-6311)
Known Relatives: Hovsep B. Ignatius (father, deceased), Elisa Jamgochian Ignatius (mother, deceased), Nancy Weiser Sharpless (wife), David, Adi (sons), Sarah, Amy (daughters)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Washington,
D.C., USA;
formerly Glendale, California, USA
First Appearance: (in a Marvel comic): Avengers I#8 (September, 1964)
Powers/Abilities: Paul Ignatius had no superhuman powers, but was a skilled military officer who presumably went through rigid military training. Paul was skilled at dealing with terrorist threats, as he attempted to speak with Kang peacefully.
Height: Unrevealed (see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed (see
comments)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Bald (formerly white and earlier, brown)
History: (real life
history) - Paul Robert Ignatius was born
in Glendale, California on November 11, 1920 and later attended local
schools before graduating in 1942 from the University of Southern
California. Becoming a lieutenant in the US Naval Reserve, Ignatius
served in World War II, mostly as an aviation ordnance officer on the
Manila Bay escort aircraft carrier in the Pacific. At some point,
Ignatius married Nancy Weiser Sharpless. Later acquiring his Master's
Degree from Harvard University in 1947, Ignatius served as a Harvard
research assistant and instructor from 1947-1950 until forming
Harbridge House, Inc., a management consulting and research firm, in
1950. Also in 1950, Paul Ignatius fathered his first son David, to be
followed by son Adi and daughters Sarah and Amy. In 1961, Ignatius
became the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations &
Logistics) and remained in that position until February 1964, at which
point he became the Under Secretary to the Army.
(Avengers I#8) - During an attempted takeover of the world by Kang the Conqueror, the Avengers battled furiously. Their battle was interrupted by an army motorcade which announced the arrival of Paul R. Ignatius, the Undersecretary of the United States Army. Mr. Ignatius proceeded to ask the Avengers to stand aside as he attempted to speak with Kang. Paul then asked Kang to state his business and explain his hostile actions. Kang refused to explain his actions, but did agree to explain his history, so that the world would know how futile it was to defy him. As Paul and the Avengers listened, Kang explained his history as Rama-Tut and his origins in the year 3000. After telling his story, the Avengers once again attacked Kang, but were halted when Kang trapped them inside a futuristic machine that paralyzed them. Seeing the Avengers defeated, Paul announced to Kang that he had gone far enough and that even a man from the future would not be permitted to menace the United States. Kang warned Mr. Ignatius that he would be next and then ordered Paul to take an ultimatum to the rulers of the various nations of the world that if they did not surrender to him, they would be destroyed. Paul told Kang he was mad and that he was only one man, but Kang reminded the Undersecretary that his ship alone could obliterate the moon. A nearby soldier told Paul that if he gave the word, every missile in the United States' arsenal would be fired at Kang's ship, but Paul explained that it was too big a decision for just him to make. He then announced that he would confer with the White House and that Kang must be kept under guard until his return.
(real life history) - Later that year, Ignatius became the head of the Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations & Logistics) and in late 1967, he became the Secretary of the Navy. Following his time in government service, Paul Ignatius served as president and CEO of Air Transport Association and president and executive vice president of The Washington Post newspaper. In May 2013, the United States Navy named a destroyer ship U.S.S. Paul Ignatius after Ignatius and the destroyer was commissioned at Port Everglades, Florida in 2019.
Comments: Adapted into Marvel Comics by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
My copy of Avengers I#8 was on a CD-Rom called Marvel Collector's Edition Vol.1, which reprinted the first ten issues of many Silver Age books, so I apologize if the page numbers I gave in the images section were different than the ones of the original issue, as mine were coming from a CD-Rom.
Also, I thought it would be a good thing to point out that during the course of Avengers I#8, Paul Ignatius were never called by his name, only by "undersecretary" and other such titles. I found his name was given in the Official Marvel Index to the Avengers II#1 (October, 1994).
One more thing. Just to clarify: Paul R. Ignatius is the man in the bluish suit in the images, not the soldier-looking guy. I couldn't find any better images of Paul without a soldier to his side, so I thought I might need to make it clear who was who.
I'm embarrassed to say that I was not aware Paul R. Ignatius was the real US Undersecretary to the Army at the time Avengers I#8 was published (Cut me some slack! He served as Undersecretary nearly 20 years before I was even born!). After reading up on Mr. Ignatius, I added in the real life information into this profile and was pleasantly surprised to see that Mr. Ignatius is still alive and kicking at an impressive 101 years old as of the date of the profile's update (6/16/2022)!! --Proto-Man
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Paul Ignatius should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Avengers I#8 (September, 1964) - Stan Lee (writer, editor), Jack Kirby
(pencils), Dick Ayers (inks)
First posted: 08/03/2005
Last updated: 06/17/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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