ERIC KRUGG

Real Name: Eric Krugg

Identity/Class: Human technology user

Occupation: Movie figure builder

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Diane Harper, his robot

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Maker of hideous monsters" (as called by himself)

Base of Operations: An unidentified American city

First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery I#77/1 (February, 1962)

Powers/Abilities: Eric Krugg was a genius in the field of robotics.

History: (Journey Into Mystery I #77/1 (fb) - BTS) - The past of Eric Krugg is unknown, but at some point he gained notoriety in the film industry for building movie monsters.

(Journey Into Mystery I#77/1 (fb)) - About a year prior, Krugg had been hired by Paragon Pictures to make a display for a new horror film. He was at a local museum, viewing exhibits of prehistoric life-forms as research for ideas, when he met Diane Harper, the museum's assistant curator. Krugg became immediately infatuated with her, and he figured she'd be a pushover for the famous "Eric Krugg charm" and soon he'd add her to the list of all the others whose helpless hearts he'd broken. So Krugg took Diane out to dinner and professed his love, but taken aback by Krugg's comment, Diane shied away from him and turned him down, only telling him that she was "waiting."

  Humiliated, Krugg became obsessed over Diane's rejection, so he went back to the museum and tried to speak to her, but once again she turned him down and told him she was "waiting." Enraged, Eric Krugg stormed off, warning her, "If I can't have you, NO ONE will!!"

  (Journey Into Mystery I#77/1) - Krugg spent his time working on an instrument for his revenge, and eventually completed his robot man. He made the mechanical man with a handsome face, so no one would think to associate it with him and his previous works. The vengeful schemer then conducted a series of tests on the robot's physical abilities, which the robot passed thoroughly. Krugg dressed the robot and sent it off on its mission, ordering it to go to the museum, find Diane Harper, and terminate her.

  While Krugg waited in his apartment, the mechanical man walked through the stormy night. Reaching the museum, the robot climbed to the roof, looked through the skylight, and saw Diane working at her desk. The robot jumped through the skylight and crashed into Diane's office...

(Journey Into Mystery I#77/1 - BTS) - ...but Krugg's mechanical man learned of the true natue of Diane, and both of them headed back to Krugg's apartment...

(Journey Into Mystery I#77/1) - As Eric Krugg sat in his apartment, he checked the time -- figuring the deed was done, he surmised the robot would be returning soon. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. As Krugg opened the door, he got the shock of his life -- the robot had disobeyed his orders and brought Diane back alive! Diane thanked Krugg for giving her what she had been "waiting" for -- a mate! Then Diane rolled back the "flesh" of her arm and revealed her secret -- Diane Harper was also a robot!

  As the two robots slowly advanced toward him, the fearful Krugg could only step backwards, back toward an open window...

  Eric Krugg apparently fell to his death, leaving only Diane with her robotic Romeo. The two robots then turned and left their unwitting match-maker's now-vacant apartment...

Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby.

Where did Krugg get the knowledge to build a robot? Purely speculative, but maybe "Eric Krugg" was an alias for Dr. James Bradley -- the two have a slight physical resemblance to each other -- maybe Bradley survived his apparent death (@ Invaders II#4) and established a new identity.

So who built Diane Harper? Well, dear reader, I'll leave that up to your speculation ...
I dunno... maybe it was Paul Wilson (he did have a preference for blondes).

Eric Krugg wasn't the first scientist to create a robot to get revenge on a woman who rejected him. In Adventures Into Weird Worlds#26 (February, 1954) "The Robot That Hated" --A scientist builds a robot attuned to his emotional impulses so that it kills a woman who rejected his proposal.
--Gammatotem

Profile by John Kaminski

CLARIFICATIONS:
Eric Krugg has no known connection to:

• Walter Krugg, victim of Fate @ Tales to Astonish I#33/3
• Nelson Cragg, depowered mutant @ Generation M#3

Krugg's robot man

Built in the form of a man by Eric Krugg, it was strong enough to bend iron, bullet-proof, and could leap great distances in a single bound. It was also equipped with suction-cups, which could be attached to its shoes to allow it to walk up walls.

Having some degree of autonomy, it was programmed by Krugg to slay Diane Harper, but later disobeyed its programming when it learned the truth about "her."

--Journey Into Mystery I#77

Diane Harper

Actually a robot built in the form of a beautiful woman, "she" worked as the assistant curator of a museum and became the object of the obsessive Eric Krugg's affection, but rejected him because he wasn't "her" type.

--Journey Into Mystery I#77

images:
Journey into Mystery I#77, p1, pan1 (main)