Gorgon (Tomi Shishido)


Gorgon is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in the third volume of Wolverine as an enemy of Wolverine. During the Krakoan Age, Gorgon was given a second chance on the mutant nation of Krakoa and joined the Legionaries, Krakoa's peacekeeping force.
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Publication history

Gorgon first appeared in Wolverine #20, and was created by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. The character was killed in Wolverine #31, only to be resurrected later in Secret Warriors #2.
Gorgon was among several villains who were given a second chance on the mutant nation of Krakoa. In January 2022, Marvel Comics ran a voting contest where voters could pick between one of ten characters to join the X-Men: Gorgon, Gentle, Armor, Micromax, Penance, Avalanche, Bling!, Firestar, Siryn, and Surge. In July 2022, Gorgon appeared in a digital comic released as a companion to the second Hellfire Gala. This comic revealed that the election had also been held in-universe, with Gorgon losing the vote.

Fictional character biography

Tomi Shishido is a member of the [The The Hand (comics)|Hand (comics)|Hand] and Hydra and a powerful mutant, leading the extremist mutant society Dawn of the White Light. As a child, he possesses near superhuman levels of intelligence, being able to speak, walk, read, and write by the age of one.
At age 13, Shishido formulated a mathematical formula that proved the existence of the One-Above-All and manifested the mutant ability to petrify others by sight. The media dubbed him "the Gorgon", after the Gorgon of Greek mythology. Shortly after, he became the leader of the Dawn of the White Light, a terrorist cult. At age 18, Shishido sought to join the Hand and killed his family to prove that he was ruthless enough to do so.
After finding the Hand's sanctuary and killing all of its guards while blindfolded, Gorgon pledged allegiance to the Hand. When the Jonin questioned his dedication, Gorgin fatally wounded himself with his sword to prove himself, telling the Jonin to resurrect him before dying. After being resurrected, Gorgon was recruited into the Hand.
Gorgon manages to capture Wolverine, who is brainwashed and forced to attack S.H.I.E.L.D. and kill hundreds of agents, among other crimes. After attacking the X-Mansion, Wolverine is caught and freed from the brainwashing. He attacks Gorgon, who nearly kills him until Wolverine reflects his vision with his claws. Gorgon's body is petrified and subsequently shattered by Wolverine.
During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Hydra forces the Hand to resurrect Gorgon using the fragments of his body. He is also given the sword Godkiller by Kraken. Godkiller is destroyed in a battle against Phobos, who wields Grasscutter. Gorgon uses the remnants of Godkiller to kill Phobos, then takes Grasscutter for himself.
In Fear Itself, Gorgon joins H.A.M.M.E.R. and Norman Osborn's incarnation of the Dark Avengers, during which he poses as Wolverine. He and the original Madame Hydra secretly plan to kill Osborn if their co-conspirator proves to be too dangerous and use the Dark Avengers to cause discord by serving as a voice of the "disenfranchised" unsatisfied with the status quo. While impersonating Wolverine, Gorgon uses false claws that are a part of his costume. Gorgon and the Dark Avengers are defeated when Skaar infiltrates the group and summons the Avengers to stop them.
Gorgon is among the mutants invited by the Quiet Council of Krakoa to live in the newly established mutant nation of Krakoa, provided he no longer holds any grudges against his fellow mutants. He accepts and later even drinks a beer with Wolverine during a party. Gorgon becomes part of Krakoa's security force, the "Great Captains of Krakoa", and serves as a bodyguard for Charles Xavier, Magneto, and Apocalypse at political events.
Gorgon participates in Saturnyne's X of Swords contest against Arakko, where he single-handedly turns the tide of the tournament in Krakoa's favor by defeating 13 of White Sword's one hundred champions before being killed by White Sword himself. White Sword offers to resurrect Gorgon as one of his champions as a reward for his bravery, but he declines and is praised as a hero upon his death.
Gorgon is later resurrected by the Five, but his mind is damaged because he died in Otherworld. Fabian Cortez tries to take advantage of his brain damage by taking him to Central Park and strengthening his telepathy so he could hear all the hateful things people are thinking about him. Cortez hopes to use Gorgon to kill all these people so he can bypass Krakoa's law against murder. However, Nightcrawler intervenes and stops Cortez. Gorgon also unsuccessfully applies to be a member of the X-Men and the Quiet Council of Krakoa.

Powers and abilities

Gorgon possesses a variety of superhuman abilities as a result of genetic mutation and mystical enhancement from the Hand. His primary mutant ability is the ability to transform an individual into stone via eye contact. He often wears a mask or dark sunglasses to see without affecting those around him.
After his resurrection, Gorgon's strength, durability, and speed were heightened to superhuman levels, the exact limits of which are unrevealed. Gorgon also possesses an accelerated healing factor that enables him to repair damaged or destroyed tissue with extraordinary speed and efficiency.
Aside from his physical advantages, Gorgon possesses telepathy that allows him to detect the thoughts and emotions of others. His telepathy also enables him to perceive his surroundings if necessary, such as when he is blindfolded.
Gorgon is an extraordinary hand-to-hand combatant, even before his resurrection, trained in multiple forms of martial arts. He is an expert swordsman and typically wields a katana.

Other versions

During the Spider-Geddon storyline, Arnim Zola creates a clone of Gorgon to serve him, with intelligence and skills inferior to the original. This clone ambushes Superior Octopus to reclaim him for Hydra. Gorgon petrifies Superior Octopus, but the latter transfers his consciousness to a clone body and kills him.

In other media