IRON OGRE

Real Name:  Iron Ogre

Identity/Class:  Extradimensional (Otherworld) ogre

Occupation: Haunter of Roads and Bye-ways

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Servant of Cormac

Enemies: Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Captain Britain (Brian Braddock), Moondog, Vortigen 

Known Relatives: None known

Aliases: None known

Base of Operations: The roads and bye-ways leading to Otherworld

First Appearance: glimpsed in shadow Hulk Comic #11/2 (May 16th 1979)

properly seen Hulk Comic#12/2 (May 23rd 1979)

Powers/Abilities: The Iron Ogre wears an armour said to have been forged in the fires of hell. Either through this, or through a natural toughness, it is described as being impervious to both magical and physical attacks. How much of this is hyperbole is uncertain - what is known for sure is that the Black Knight's Ebony Blade cannot pierce it's armour, nor could the magic of Vortigen. It was vulnerable in a small, unarmoured spot around the armpit, and a carefully placed blow there could kill it.

The Ogre also possessed some degree of superhuman strength. Again, we saw too little of it to accurately gauge the level, but it was strong enough to break the Ebony Blade with a stamp of it's foot. The Ogre employed the chains attached to it's wrists as weapons, using them to strike, throttle and entangle foes. 

History:  (Hulk Comic#11/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Iron Ogre, a creation of magic, a mindless shell designed only for destruction, haunts the roads and bye-ways, striking fear into the hearts of travellers of old. In more modern times, the Ogre falls under the sway of Cormac, one of the fallen Walkers. He is assigned to guard the paths to Otherworld, to prevent Vortigen from returning there, preferably by killing him.

(Hulk Comic#11/2) - Vortigen and his allies, Captain Britain and the Black Knight, are camped for the night, having recently evaded the goblin and troll forces of Mordred. Moondog the elf has just joined them, when Vortigen hears the sound of metal clanking. He calls for silence, and the group can now hear chains rattling, the heavy tread of iron-shod feet, and the deep wheezing of laboured breathing. Vortigen realises with horror that this heralds the approach of the Iron Ogre.

(Hulk Comic#12/2) - As the monstrous creature enters the firelit clearing, the Black Knight wonders out loud if this is visitation is another of Mordred's evil conjurings. At this the Ogre lunges forward, swinging the chain that connects its hands, and narrowly missing the Knight. Captain Britain returns the attack, punching the Ogre in the chest, but it is the superhero who cries out in agony, as his hand impacts on the armour protecting the beast. Unconcerned by the blow it has received, the Ogre advances on Britain, swinging the chain, and wrapping it around the hero's neck. Then it throws him hard to the ground, stunning him. The Black Knight steps in, and slashes out with the Ebony Blade, but his star-forged weapon is unable to penetrate the hell-forged armour. The sword slides harmlessly off the monster's forearm, and then the creature sends the Knight reeling with a blow to the chin. He drops his sword, and the Iron Ogre stamps down on it, smashing the supposedly indestructible weapon into pieces.

Vortigen attempts to intervene, using his rowan staff to cast a spell of banishment, but that too slides off the Ogre. In response, the Ogre snatches the staff out of Vortigen's grip, and snaps it like a twig over it's knee. Captain Britain, having got his wind back, jumps at the creature from behind, urging his fellows to attack it simultaneously, but it reaches back and hoists him over it's head. It advances on the camp fire, perhaps planning to immolate the hero. Luckily for Captain Britain, when the Iron Ogre lifted it's arms upwards, Moondog noticed a patch between it's arm guard and breast plate, an unprotected gap in it's armour. Knowing he will only have one chance to save his ally, he looses a shot from his bow. The tiny arrow flies swift and sure, and though the wound is small, it appears to be as deadly to the beast as a blow to the heart would be to normal beings, toppling the Ogre. It lands face first in the fire, and the blaze swiftly starts to consume the creature.

(Hulk Comic#13/2) - Captain Britain stands over the corpse of their adversary, wondering who might have created it and for what purpose. Vortigen responds that he knows the answer to these questions..."and the very thought chills my blood!" 

Comments: Created by Parkhouse and Neary/Stokes.

Because we see very little of the Iron Ogre before it is dispatched, it's hard to gauge just how powerful it really is. It's described as being impervious to physical attacks, but the evidence we have of this is that it takes a punch from Captain Britain (in the days before he gained superhuman strength) and a blow on the armoured forearm from the Ebony Blade. Moondog shoots it dead with an arrow in the armpit, but I've got to wonder why he didn't try and hit it's unarmoured head. Perhaps the head is magically protected by the armour too, in spite of appearing vulnerable, but we have no evidence one way or another. Similarly, once the Ogre dies, it falls into a fire and is described as being consumed by the flames. So was it vulnerable to fire while alive, or did the magic protecting it vanish upon death? Iron is traditionally considered poisonous to many supernatural beings, so it might be the very fact the Ogre can wear it demonstrates just how dangerous this being is meant to be.

The Ogre has chains attached between it's wrists, although the length is sufficient that it doesn't impede the creature's fighting skills. Was the Ogre previously bound somewhere, until Cormac released it? Or maybe the chains are the sign that Cormac has pressed the creature into his service.

Profile by Loki

CLARIFICATIONS:  The Iron Ogre has no known connection to and should not be confused with

• Ogre, an operative of Factor Three and, later, a technical expert for the Thunderbolts @ X-Men I#28
• Ogre impostor, Techno's impersonation of the preceding @ Thunderbolts#33
• the Ogres of La Hacienda, also known as the Fathers @ Man-Thing I#8
• Ogre, of the Wicked Brigade, @ Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#16
• Ogres of Earth-Nightside (Gorgeous George, Greta), @Nightside#1
• Ogress, Diane, of the Riot Squad, @ Incredible Hulk II#345, 266
• Ogrus, @ Death's Head I#3
• Ogur, the gigantic guardian for Mogul of the Mystic Mountain, @ Thor I#138/2
• any of the innumerable beings who call themselves Iron something