KURRGO

Real Name: Kurrgo

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Xantha) technology user

Occupation: Former dictator of the Xantha

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Leader (former), Robot (servant)

Enemies: Fantastic Four (Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, the Thing)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Master of Planet X

Base of Operations: Formerly Xanth and New Xanth, later his interstellar ship

First Appearance: Fantastic Four I#7 (October, 1962) 

Powers/Abilities: None. Kurrgo relied on his advanced technology, such as his robot, atomic scanners, hostility ray, warp-drive starships, anti-gravity beams, etc. His robot possessed vast superhuman strength and durability, probably Class 75 to 90. It also could project an anti-gravity ray.

Height: 4' 5"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Eyes: Yellow
Hair: Dark grey

History: Kurrgo was a member, and formerly the ruler, of the Xantha race. While his race was far older than humanity, and possessed advanced technology, they were helpless to stop an immense asteroid which was set on a collision course with their planet, threatening them with imminent doom. Having never had an interest in space travel, the Xantha only had two starships, and they had no means to construct others to carry the entire race of five billion to safety in time.

Having observed the human scientist Reed Richards via his long-range scanners, Kurrgo determined that he might find a way to save the Xantha. Kurrgo sent his robot to Earth, where it used his "Hostility Ray" to turn the population of Washington DC against the Fantastic Four, who were speaking there. Playing on their paranoia about acceptance with their new powers, the robot convinced them that they were no longer welcome on Earth, and convinced them to go to Xanth/Planet X for sanctuary.

Once on Planet X, Kurrgo convinced the FF to save his race, or perish along with them. Reed Richards used the Xanth equipment to manufacture large amounts of Dr. Henry Pym's "Pym Particle" in the form of reducing gas. This enabled the entire population to fit inside one ship and escape the destruction of their planet. Reed gave Kurrgo the enlarging gas to be used to allow them to return to normal size when they reached their new destination. However, Kurrgo's hunger for power got the better of him -- thinking that once on the new planet, he could be the only one to return to normal size, enabling him to become absolute ruler, Kurrgo attempted to keep the giant capsule to himself. But he was not able to carry the capsule to the ship in time, and was left behind as the planet began to undergo massive earthquakes; ironically, Reed Richards later revealed to his teammates that he was not able to create any enlarging gas, and that the second capsule had been empty. He figured that since size was all relative, being tiny on their new planet wouldn't matter.

(Marvel Feature#11 (fb)) - Kurrgo survived, rescued from the dying planet by his loyal robot. The robot carried him to a hidden spacecraft and they narrowly escaped the destruction of Xanth. Kurrgo searched for years before finally locating New Xanth. However, in that time, the Xantha had greatly progressed, and despite their relatively great size, both he and his robot were driven off by their weaponry. 

(Marvel Feature#11) - Kurrgo swore revenge, and traveled to Earth, planning to take the world's strongest being, the Thing, as his servant and forcing him to help overcome the Xantha. Upon arriving on Earth, Kurrgo soon learned that the Thing was no longer the strongest -- that was now the Hulk. When Kurrgo attempted to enlist the Hulk, he encountered resistance from the Leader (then-paralyzed from the effects of the Brain-Wave Booster), who wished to use the Hulk for his own plots.

Rather than engage in a battle against each other, Kurrgo and the Leader agreed to direct the Thing and the Hulk into battle, with each acting as champion to the respective villain. To the winner would go the services of both monsters, as well as the scientific knowledge of the loser. The Thing and the Hulk were teleported to a ghost town in the American south-west, and the Thing was duped into believing an "Ultrex Bomb" was planted in the other end of the city, which would detonate in less than 30 minutes and destroy the entire planet. The Hulk blamed the Thing for the teleportation and attacked him, while the Thing fought to overcome the Hulk to stop the bomb. However, unbeknownst to all involved, Kurrgo was secretly beaming energy to the Thing, doubling his power to enable him to defeat the Hulk. Ultimately, the Thing destroyed the bomb, but learned it was a fake, while the battle remained unresolved. The Thing and Hulk were brought aboard Kurrgo's ship, where the Thing figured out that Kurrgo had been enhancing his power, which caused the Leader to claim victory by default. Kurrgo sent his robot after the Hulk and Thing, who smashed it back into the ship's control panel, overloading it. The Hulk and Thing jumped ship, but neither villain was seen to escape.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

The Leader survived, and Kurrgo's ship had teleportation capabilities.  Hmm, I wonder if there's any chance Kurrgo could have survived too?  I'd like to see him and Xemu, Master of the Fifth Dimension get together.

Kurrgo's original ship was the ship the Fantastic Four used on a number of later interstellar missions, although it is usually named as the Skrull saucer.
As I remember the story from FF#7, the people of Planet X only had the saucer and the rocket ship and were never much into space travel; maybe that saucer was a ship that Kurrgo bought/stole/traded from some Skrulls, so it actually IS a Skrull saucer, which Reed Richards discovered behind the scenes while making a closer inspection of it (maybe he found a "Made on the Skrull Homeworld" sticker), so that's why it was always referred to as a Skrull ship.
--John Kaminski

Marvel Feature#11 is an interesting story, but the main motivation behind it is pretty shaky. Ah, what's the difference? It was fun anyway.

The profile should make mention of a big boo-boo Roy Thomas made when writing the Marvel Feature #11 story. At the end of Fantastic Four #7, as noted in the profile, it is stated that Reed Richards never produced any enlarging gas and the canister he gave to Kurrgo was empty. However, in Marvel Feature #11, Kurrgo and his robot are much larger than the relocated Xanthians. How come?
--Dale4767
In re-reading the story, I see no evidence that Kurrgo ever subjected himself to the shrinking process. Perhaps he intended to do this at the last second in order to board the ship, but he still would have needed the enlarging gas to return to normal size. As he never reached the ship, he never subjected himself to the shrinking gas and retained his original size.
--Snood

Kurrgo has an entry in Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook.

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