APE-MAN

Real Name: Gordon Keefer

Identity/Class: Human mutate; formerly human technology user

Occupation: Criminal

Group Membership: Ani-Men (Bird-Man/Henry Hawk, Cat-Man/Townshend Horgan, Dragonfly/Veronica Dultry, Frog-Man/Francois LeBlanc); Organization (Bird-Man/Henry Hawk, Cat-Man/Townshend Horgan, Frog-Man/Francois LeBlanc, Organizer/Abner Jones); Unholy Three (Bird-Man/Henry Hawk, Cat-Man/Townshend Horgan)

Affiliations: Count Nefaria, Dr. Archibald Stancheck, Exterminator (Philip Sterling), Madame Masque (Whitney Frost), Dr. Hellen Rachelson, Kenneth Sturdy;
formerly Debbie Harris

Enemies: Gail Callan, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Chuck, Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Debbie Harris, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Rick Jones, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Adam Townes, X-Men (Banshee/Sean Cassidy, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Colossus/Piotr Rasputin, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Thunderbird/John Proudstar, Wolverine/James "Logan" Howlett)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Monk Keefer, Gort

Base of Operations: New York City, New York

First Appearance: (as "Monk") Avengers I#12 (October, 1965); (as Ape-Man) Daredevil I#10 (December, 1965)

Powers/Abilities: After his mutation into an ape-like being by the Maggia, Ape-Man possessed superhuman strength and agility. Ape-Man wore a strength-enhancing suit. While working for the Exterminator, Ape-Man wore antennae that allowed him to communicate with his teammates, and wielded a T-ray (time displacement ray) that would temporarily transport its victims to a limbo-like void. Keefer was a naturally strong fighter.

Height: 6'5"
Weight: 325 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Gray

History:
(Avengers I#12) - Monk Keefer and his armed allies were robbing a Stark Industries facility when Captain America and Rick Jones tried stopping them. Cap knocked some of the robbers down with his shield before they opened fire on him. Cap rushed past and knocked some of the men back before Monk punched him down. Jones tried charging Monk and delivering a karate blow, but Monk easily withstood the attack; then Cap took Monk down with a series of punches.

(Daredevil I#10 (fb) - BTS) - While serving time in a New York prison, Monk Keefer was contacted by the Organizer and invited to join him in criminal pursuits. Keefer agreed and was told he would soon be broken out of prison.

(Daredevil I#10) - Cat-Man dropped a blackout bomb over the prison and liberated Keefer, taking him back to the Organization's headquarters via helicopter, where they met Frog LeBlanc and Henry Hawk. Organizer explained his plot to take over the local government, using these four as costumed criminals that could keep all proceeds from their crimes. They were suited as Ape-Man, Frog-Man, and Bird-Man, forming the Organization along with Cat-Man. Ape-Man was soon sent to rob the famous Rajah Ruby (see comments) from millionaire Adam Townes, and he did so successfully. Frog-Man was attacked by Daredevil during a mission and the Organizer was concerned. When Daredevil foiled one of Bird-Man's missions, the Organizer determined that they would eliminate Daredevil now and put another plan in place to implicate Daredevil in a crime. Cat-Man and Bird-Man were sent to kidnap Debbie Harris, who was secretly an accomplice of the Organizer, but Cat-Man was captured. Organizer sent Ape-Man to silence Cat-Man at the police station. Ape-Man took a grenade, but Daredevil knocked it out of his grasp. Ape-Man ran for it, but the leaping Daredevil hit him with both feet. Ape-Man quickly recovered and punched the hero aside and ran away, unwittingly leading Daredevil to their hideout.

(Daredevil I#11) - When Daredevil attacked, Ape-Man, Frog-Man, and Bird-Man left Harris tied up and fled. Organizer heard claims that Nelson was keeping damaging information about the Organization in his personal safe, so he sent his three operatives to investigate. Later, Bird-Man and Ape-Man were shocked when Frog-Man seemingly betrayed them, not realizing that it was Daredevil disguised in Frog-Man's costume. Organizer, whose plot to assassinate the mayor was publicly exposed, dropped "Frog-Man" through a trapdoor and led the other two on a prepared escape route. The Organizer then had Ape-Man and Bird-Man publicly kidnap Abner Jonas to throw suspicion off himself. However. Daredevil attacked the costumed henchmen and defeated Bird-Man with a series of punches, then evaded several blows from Ape-Man, who soon fell over, exhausted. The Organizer was soon exposed as Abner Jonas and arrested.

(Daredevil I#39 (fb) - BTS) - Cat-Man, Bird-Man, and Ape-Man escaped from prison and reunited as the Unholy Three. They were recruited by the Exterminator and started on a crime spree.

(Daredevil I#39) - While the Unholy Three committed a robbery, Daredevil attacked the trio, managing to repel them and deliver several blows while only being hit a few times himself. Cat-Man managed to kick Daredevil through a plate glass window and the Unholy Three fled. The Exterminator was furious with the three of them for their failure. He then demonstrated his dangerous T-Ray gun, which would temporarily knock its victims out of the timestream. He demonstrated the gun on Ape-Man, who disappeared for a half-hour. After Ape-Man returned, the Exterminator then sent them to use the device on Debbie Harris, in order for the Unholy Three to get their revenge and for Exterminator to have clout against potential district attorney Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. They used the device on the doorman and a patron as well as Harris, sending the crowd running for it.

(Daredevil I#40) - The trio continued their crime spree, using the T-Ray to vanquish a bank guard and even to open the vault. Daredevil attacked again, getting the best of the villains while taking few shots of his own until Ape-Man managed to hit the hero with the T-Ray. The villains triumphantly departed with their money. They also hit pursuing policeman Chuck with another shot from the ray.

(Daredevil I#41) - Foggy Nelson initiated a smear campaign against the Unholy Three, so they hunted him down. Though Nelson tried to stand against them, they easily captured him and returned him to the Exterminator. The Exterminator planned to use the maximum setting on Nelson, but Daredevil attacked yet again and swiftly defeated the Three with powerful blows. The Exterminator's equipment exploded and both Daredevil and Nelson survived.

(Marvel Team-Up I#25 (fb) - BTS) - The Unholy Three started high-profile kidnappings, ransoming their captives for large amounts of money.

(Marvel Team-Up I#25) - Bird-Man kidnapped young Gail Callan; Cat-Man subsequently collected the ransom money from her blind attorney, Matt Murdock, but he lost it when Daredevil and Spider-Man attacked. From their hideout in Coney Island, Ape-Man and Bird-Man were furious that the money was gone. Ape-Man threatened Gail, who was tied to a chair, but didn't plan on harming her. When Daredevil and Spider-Man attacked, Bird-Man swore to kill Gail. Daredevil kicked Cat-Man while Spider-Man saved Gail and put up a web wall, which Ape-Man tore through. Daredevil traded blows with Cat-Man and Ape-Man, who soon went running for it, while Bird-Man went after Gail. While the others were defeated, Ape-Man grabbed Gail and threatened to throw her off the top of the roller coaster, but the heroes started the cars and saved Gail while Ape-Man went crashing to the ground. The Unholy Three were soon arrested.

(X-Men I#94 (fb) - BTS) - Using his Maggia connections, Count Nefaria had Ape-Man (who began calling himself Gort), Bird-Man, Cat-Man, Frog-Man, and new ally Dragonfly mutated by Professor Sturdy, Dr. Stancheck, and Dr. Rachelson to become more animal-like. Calling them his Ani-Men, Nefaria put together a plot to blackmail the world.

(X-Men I#94) - The Ani-Men were transported into NORAD's Rocky Mountain Valhalla Base when Joe Harris inadvertently activated the teleporting technology. They defeated the soldiers in the room before Count Nefaria joined them and flooded the rest of the military installation with anesthetic gas. Nefaria then released a media message, demanding a ransom from every country in the world, otherwise he would launch nuclear missiles at them. Dragonfly soon notified Nefaria that the X-Men's aircraft was approaching, and Nefaria was thrilled to get revenge on his old foes, launching missiles at them; when the mutant heroes evaded the missiles, he used a sonic disruptor on them, destroying their aircraft.

(X-Men I#95) - But the X-Men (Banshee, Cyclops, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, Thunderbird, Wolverine) survived, and Nightcrawler teleported into Valhalla Base, where Frog-Man kicked him. Frog-Man chased Nightcrawler around the tunnel, incensed at being called a mutant, until the hero knocked him unconscious with a punch. Nefaria was furious at Frog-Man, but left him to his fate as he prepared to deal with the rest of the mutants. Nefaria tried gassing the X-Men, then had Dragonfly hypnotize a group of soldiers to go after the heroes, who easily persevered. The Ani-Men, with a revived Frog-Man, then attacked. Ape-Man jumped on Thunderbird and tossed him into Banshee. Cyclops fired on an evading Bird-Man. Nightcrawler jumped at Frog-Man. Colossus punched Ape-Man. Storm launched lightning at an evading Dragonfly. Cat-Man leapt on Wolverine, who fell back until Colossus knocked Cat-Man out with a punch. As Frog-Man leapt over Nightcrawler, Cyclops hit him with an optic blast; Bird-Man picked up Cyclops until Nightcrawler knocked him out of the air. Storm zapped Ape-Man with lightning, but it took combined punches from Wolverine and Nightcrawler to down him. Dragonfly tried hypnotizing Cyclops, but his visor opened and his optic blast downed her. The X-Men soon defeated Nefaria, though Thunderbird was killed in the battle.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#16: Ani-Men) - At some point after the NORAD missile adventure, the Ani-Men (with the exception of Dragonfly) reverted to normal human form.

(Iron Man I#115 (fb) - BTS) - When Count Nefaria was prematurely aged to an elderly man, he had his daughter, Madame Masque, recruit the four Ani-Men. They were tasked to capture Tony Stark, who would be ordered to help de-age Nefaria back to normal..

(Iron Man I#115) - The Ani-Men waited at Stark's penthouse until he returned. Ape-Man knocked him backward into Frog-Man, who kicked him into Bird-Man, then Cat-Man knocked him back with a punch. When Stark rushed for his briefcase, Frog-Man kicked him back again, but Stark knocked Cat-Man out with a punch. Madame Masque and the elderly Count Nefaria then revealed themselves.

(Iron Man I#116) - The Ani-Men continued beating on Stark while Nefaria and Masque watched. After Ape-Man struck Stark, Stark ducked under Cat-Man's leap and grabbed a gun from a secret wall compartment. Stark fired several stray shots until Frog-Man knocked him out. When Stark awoke, he was tossed by Ape-Man near his briefcase, so Stark opened it and quickly donned his Iron Man armor contained in the case, shocking the Ani-Men. Iron Man swiftly defeated Frog-Man, knocking him into Cat-Man and through the wall. When Bird-Man tried to fly away, Iron Man quickly grounded him. Ape-Man then launched himself at Iron Man, who knocked him back. Then an unexpected explosion set by the Spymaster killed all four Ani-Men.

(Daredevil I#158 (fb)) - Death-Stalker (formerly the Exterminator) stopped by the morgue to examine the corpses of the deceased Ani-Men.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Dick Ayers.

Maybe that Rajah Ruby Ape-Man was sent to steal had some connection to the Star of Capistan, which would empower the Red Rajah.--Ron Fredricks

Ape-Man received an entry in OHOTMU: Master Edition.

New and additional images by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by Chadman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Ape-Man (Gordon Keefer) should not be confused with:

Adam Townes should not be confused with:

Adam Townes

(Daredevil I#10 - BTS) - Millionaire Adam Townes' famous Rajah Ruby was stolen by Ape-Man at Organizer's orders.

--Daredevil I#10 (Daredevil I#10 - BTS

images: (without ads)
Daredevil I#10, p5, pan1 (main image - Ape-Man)
Avengers I#12, p13, pan2 (Gordon "Monk" Keefer punches Captain America)
Daredevil I#10, p3, pan4 (Monk Keefer in prison; Cat-Man [foreground])
Daredevil I#40, p10, pan4 (Ape-Man punches Daredevil)
Iron Man I#115, p13, pan2 (Ape-Man tosses Tony Stark aside)

Appearances:
Avengers I#12 (January, 1965) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Don Heck (penciler), Dick Ayers (editor)
Daredevil I#10 (October, 1965) - Wally Wood (writer/inker), Bob Powell (penciler), Stan Lee (editor)
Daredevil I#11 (December, 1965) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Bob Powell (penciler), Wally Wood (inker)
Daredevil I#39 (April, 1968) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Gene Colan (penciler), Artie Simek (inker)
Daredevil I#40-41 (May-June, 1968) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Gene Colan (penciler), John Tartaglione (inker)
Marvel Team-Up I#25 (September, 1974) - Len Wein (writer), Jim Mooney (penciler), Frank Giacoia (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
X-Men I#94 (August, 1975) - Chris Claremont (writer), Dave Cockrum (penciler), Bob McLeod (inker), Len Wein (editor)
X-Men I#95 (October, 1975) - Chris Claremont (writer), Dave Cockrum (penciler), Sam Grainger (inker), Len Wein (editor)
Iron Man I#115 (October, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Roger Stern (editor)
Iron Man I#116 (November, 1978) - Dave Michelinie (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Bob Layton (inker), Roger Stern (editor)
Daredevil I#158 (May, 1979) - Roger Mackenzie (writer), Frank Miller (penciler), Klaus Janson (inker), Allen Milgrom (editor)

First posted: 02/26/2009
Last updated: 09/29/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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