IVAN VON GENT

Real Name: Ivan von Gent

Identity/Class: Human mutate (1950s era)

Occupation: Scientist

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Unidentified old man

Enemies: Monster, townspeople

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Used unrevealed "nom de plume" (pen name) while vacationing in unidentified town; "crackpot" (as later called by townspeople); "The One Who Watches" (in story title, and as later called by unidentified old man)

Base of Operations: Unidentified town (see comments)

First Appearance: Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1 (February, 1957)

Powers/Abilities: A world-famous scientist, von Gent was highly skilled in the field of biochemistry. He had an obsessive personality, and it was said that once a scientific theory occurred to him, he would insist on confirming it through experimentation, regardless of the cost to mankind.

Theorizing that there was an unspecified element in human eyes which canceled out visual impressions of monsters, von Gent synthesized a chemical fluid which counteracted that element--he applied the fluid to his own eyes with an eye-dropper, and thereby gave himself the power to perceive monsters (see comments).

Height: 5' 10" (by approximation)
Weight: 180 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Brown

History:
(Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1 (fb) - BTS) - The past of Ivan von Gent is largely unrevealed, but he attained great fame for his work in science.

   Von Gent took a vacation to a small town near a lake--to avoid recognition, he anonymously registered at a hotel using a "nom de plume".

(Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1) - Early one morning, before the break of dawn, von Gent was awakened by the cries of an old man warning of a monster. The scientist joined a group of townspeople as they walked to the lake to investigate, and they demanded to know where the monster was; but the old man claimed it had submerged as soon as he cried out. Various townspeople complained that the old man had been pulling them out of their sleep for years with his crazy shouts of some monster, and the town's lawman was about to arrest the senior citizen for disturbing the peace. But von Gent revealed his true identity to the group, and told them he was intrigued by the old man and his visions. The scientist requested that he be left alone with the old man, for a most novel theory occurred to von Gent, one that could only be confirmed by an examination of the old man.

   When the townspeople left, von Gent explained his theory to the old man--assuming that the monster was real, and since the old man was the only one who could ever see it, the scientist theorized that there was an element in human eyes which canceled out visual impressions of monsters; he further speculated that the old man lacked that element, which therefore explained how he was able to see the monster. After examining the old man's eyes and taking a sample of his tears, von Gent walked away and told the old man to be prepared for a great surprise when he returned.

   Von Gent went back to his hotel room, and for three nights and two days, the brilliant scientist studied the tear sample--he finally isolated the element, then turned his attention to developing a counter-agent for it.

   By the early morning hours of the fifth day, von Gent had developed the counter-agent, and he administered it to his own eyes with an eye-dropper, then left his hotel room and walked to the lake.

   Arriving at the mist-shrouded lake before sunrise, von Gent found the old man still keeping his lonely vigil--von Gent told him to be prepared for a surprise the next time the monster surfaced. As the two waited in the fog, von Gent grew impatient, for he was chilled and his bones ached from the dampness--the old man remarked that his own bones had been aching from the damp for as long as he could remember. Suddenly, the old man heard a noise...he turned to see the monster rising from the waters...and because of the counter-agent, von Gent was able to see it, too!

   Now it was von Gent who cupped his hands around his mouth, and his strong voice shattered the dawn's stillness as he cried out to the townspeople, warning them of the monster.

   Before long, a group of townspeople came walking to the lake to investigate, and they demanded to know where the monster was; but von Gent told them it had submerged as soon as he had cried out--this elicited scornful remarks from the townspeople, who doubted the scientist's sanity.

   As the townspeople left the "crackpot" scientist in disgust, the old man bid von Gent farewell and began to walk away; the scientist questioned why the old man was leaving him alone, and the old man replied that since von Gent could see the monster, he could now be the one to cry out so it would be sure to submerge...and so, Ivan von Gent was left with the lonely task to be "The One Who Watches".

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Gene Colan (artist).

It was unrevealed exactly where in the world that town was located, and Ivan von Gent was the only character identified; but considering von Gent's European name, and the fact that he mentioned to the townspeople that he was vacationing in their town rather than their country, my guess is that these events took place somewhere in Europe (There were some mountains near the lake--possibly the Swiss Alps?).

It was unrevealed if von Gent's uncanny power of "monster-vision" worked for all monsters, or just this one in particular--if it works for all monsters (....and assuming he's not stuck watching that lake), then maybe von Gent could be a good member for the Monster Hunters
.
That Monster was only depicted in the two panels seen in its sub-profile, where it was obscured by fog, but it kind of reminded me of the Frankenstein Monster (...not so much the Marvel version, but the original flat-headed 1931 movie version--maybe the Monster was a second lookalike alien robot, or maybe it had some connection to First Line member Frank).

Since it arose from the waters of the lake, the Monster also reminds me of the mythical Grendell--could the Monster perhaps have been another child of Big Mother (...and thus Grendell's sibling)?

This 4-page story--The One Who Watches!--would be reprinted in Monsters on the Prowl#25 (September, 1973).

"Gent" is the Dutch spelling for the city of "Ghent" in Belgium. Perhaps the scientist was Belgian?
--Dim I Nticoudis    Or at least his family was originally from there.
--Markus Raymond

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Ivan von Gent/"The One Who Watches" has no known connections to:

The unidentified old man has no known connections to:

The Monster has no known connections to:

Unidentified old man

A resident of an unidentified town (see comments), he apparently had an anomalous condition with his eyes which allowed him to see monsters.

For longer than he could remember, the old man had camped out at the nearby lake, and in the early morning hours before dawn, he would sometimes see a monster arise from the lake's waters; but when he cried out to warn the townspeople, the monster would submerge back into the lake. Since the old man was the only one who had ever seen the monster, the townspeople doubted his sanity.

Early one morning, when the monster emerged from the lake, the old man cried out to awaken the townspeople; but by the time the citizens got to the lake, the monster had submerged, and the town's lawman was about to arrest the old man for disturbing the peace. But scientist Ivan von Gent (who was vacationing in the town) examined the old man's eyes and took a sample of his tears--after studying the sample, von Gent created a serum which allowed him to duplicate the old man's unique visual ability.

When the old man learned that von Gent could also see the monster, he "retired" from his task and walked away from the lake, leaving Ivan von Gent to be "The One Who Watches".

--Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1

Monster

Having a vaguely humanoid shape, and possibly amphibious, this creature apparently dwelt below the waters of a lake near an unidentified town (see comments).

Its true intentions were unrevealed, but for years, the monster would often arise from the mist-shrouded lake in the early morning hours before dawn; it was always driven back below the waters by the cries of an old man who camped out by the lake--of all the townspeople, the old man alone possessed the power to see the monster.

Later, scientist Ivan von Gent was able to duplicate the old man's unique visual ability, thus giving him the power to see the monster as well. The old man then "retired" from his lonely vigil, leaving von Gent to be the one to watch for the monster.

--Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1

Townspeople

The citizens of an unidentified town (see comments), for years their sleep had been disturbed by the cries of an old man who claimed to see a monster arising from a nearby lake; but since the old man was the only one who ever saw the monster, the townspeople thought him to be crazy.

Early one morning, when the townspeople walked to the lake to investigate yet another of the old man's monster-sightings, they were accompanied by scientist Ivan von Gent (who was vacationing in their town). When they reached the lake, the old man told them that the monster had submerged, and the townspeople scoffed at the old man's claims; but von Gent examined the old man's eyes, and discovered that the senior citizen possessed the ability to see monsters. 

Later, after von Gent chemically duplicated the old man's unique vision in his own eyes, the scientist saw the monster and cried out to warn the townspeople.

But the monster had submerged before the townspeople reached the lake; having their doubts about the world-famous scientist's sanity, the townspeople called Ivan von Gent a "crackpot" and walked away. 

--Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1

images: (without ads)
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p2, pan6 (Main Image - Ivan von Gent)
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p2, pan8 (Ivan von Gent)
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p3, pan5 (in his hotel room, Ivan von Gent makes scientific discovery)
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p3, pan6 (Ivan von Gent administers counteracting fluid to his eyes with eye-dropper)
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p4, pan7 (unidentified old man (off panel) tasks Ivan von Gent to be "The One Who Watches")
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p2, pan1 (unidentified old man cries out after seeing monster)
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p2, pan2 (unidentified old man tells town's lawman (background) that Monster has submerged)
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p1, pan1 (Monster rises from lake, seen by unidentified old man (left))
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p4, pan2 (Monster rises from lake, seen by unidentified old man (left) and Ivan von Gent (right))
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p2, pan3 (group of angry townspeople complains about unidentified old man's behavior)
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p2, pan4 (two angry townsmen)
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1, p4, pan4 (angry townspeople surround Ivan von Gent and unidentified old man)

Appearances:
Strange Stories of Suspense#13/1 (February, 1957) - unidentified writer, Gene Colan (pencils and inks), Stan Lee (editor) 

First Posted: 12/29/2019
Last updated: 12/29/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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