GREAT MONGOOSE

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Unrevealed

Occupation: Superhero

Group Membership: Triumph Division (Anitun, Fighting Man, Mighty Mother, Red Feather, St. George, the Wishing Man)

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Ezekiel Stane, unidentified monks

Known Relatives: Great Mongoose (unspecified relation), unrevealed number of prior Great Mongooses (ancestors)

Aliases: Malaki Monggo (see comments)

Base of Operations: Triumph Hall, Manila, Philippines

First Appearance: Invincible Iron Man I#2 (August 2008)

Powers/Abilities: Unrevealed. Given his codename, I'd guess speed or agility powers, perhaps with some martial arts skills.

Height: 6'2" (by approximation)
Weight: 170 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black

 History:
(Invincible Iron Man I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Like many Filipino heroes, Great Mongoose was a legacy hero, the latest in a family line tracing back centuries who had all trained from childhood to assume the name as and when the previous name holder passed away or retired. As part of the Triumph Division he defended his people and homeland against all threats, both natural and man-made.

(Invincible Iron Man I#2 (fb) - BTS) - When a tsunami struck the Philippines, Great Mongoose and the rest of Triumph Division did their best to minimize the casualties and damage, saving countless lives with their efforts.

(Invincible Iron Man I#2) - After the crisis ended the grateful people of the Philippines erected a statue outside Manila Cathedral in the Plaza de Roma to honor the Triumph Division, and held a ceremony to publicly thank the heroes and present the monument to them, which Great Mongoose and his teammates all attended. However, unknown to any of them, the terrorist Ezekiel Stane, wanting to test his new biotechnology, had sent a group of suicide bombers to the event disguised as monks. Once the presentation speech had been completed the "monks" came forward out of the crowd offering the heroes wreathes of flowers to wear round their necks. Not wanting to appear ungracious, the Division members allowed the monks to present their gifts, but once close enough, the bombers activated. As the monks began glowing, the Triumph Division realized it was a trap and tried to stop them from detonating, but with only seconds between the monks' reveal and their detonation there wasn't enough time for the heroes to prevail. The bombers blew up, destroying much of the plaza and killing the entire Triumph Division and hundreds of innocent bystanders.

   The Division members were buried in private ceremonies over the next few days, attended by close family and the American hero Iron Man (Tony Stark), who was tracking Stane.

(Invincible Iron Man I#4 (fb) - BTS) - As per tradition, the late Great Mongoose was replaced in the role by a family member, as were his teammates. 

Comments: Created by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca.

   Mongoose is presumably the English version of his codename, but since he was Filipino his codename would presumably normally be in Tagalog. If I can trust Google Translate, Great Mongoose is Malaki Monggo; however, if anyone reading this speaks Tagalog and knows better, please do let us know.

   In Invincible Iron Man I#4 we learn that the Filipino heroes are a generational thing run down family lines, and meet this guy's successor. Since he looks too young to have an adult son, the successor might well be a younger sibling or cousin. Interestingly, in Aero#1 we have a flashback to when the heroine Wave first met and was recruited into the Triumph Division. While it might be assumed that the flashback is set after the explosion that claimed this generation of the Triumph Division and as such features the successors who replaced them, that's by no means a certainty. We're not afaik given any real time frame for how long ago Wave got her powers, the replacement Triumph Division members are virtually indistinguishable visually from their predecessors, and the only thing that suggests it wasn't this incarnation of the Division is that Wave wasn't present at the award ceremony where they were killed; however, there's any number of reasons why she might be absent - she was a probationary member, she was incapacitated using her ability to control water to try and stop the tsunami, etc. Have a look at the Great Mongoose from Wave's origin flashback (lower left) and judge for yourselves.

   Though we've seen the successor Triumph Division in action in Invincible Iron Man I#525-526, and they presumably have similar or identical powers to the group Stane killed, we unfortunately didn't really get to see what most of them could do; hence Great Mongoose's actual powers remain unrevealed.

   This profile was completed 09/27/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary's celebratory event.

Profile by Loki.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Great Mongoose has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Invincible Iron Man I#2, p8, pan2 (main image)
Invincible Iron Man I#2, p8, pan1 (full body image)
Invincible Iron Man I#2, p10, pan4 (fiery death)
 Aero#12, p9, pan1 (successor or same man prior to his demise?)

Appearances:
Invincible Iron Man I#2 (August 2008)- Matt Fraction (writer), Salvador Larroca (art), Warren Simons (editor)

First Posted: 09/28/2021
 Last updated: 09/27/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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