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GONDO

Real Name: Gondo

Identity/Class: Gorilla (early 20th Century, South Africa)

Occupation: Guardian of the jungle

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Waku, Lalei

Enemies: Rakatu, Lalei (loose)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Region around Bantu territory, South Africa

First Appearance: Jungle Tales I#4/2 (March, 1955)

Powers/Abilities: Gondo is a mighty gorilla and is respected by many animals and humans in his roaming area. He has the normal attributes of a mature male of his species, and is intelligent and respects leadership gained by a fair fight.

Height: 6'
Weight: 490 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:

(Jungle Tales I#4/2 (fb) - BTS) - Gondo was a large gorilla that dominated the jungle. The nearby animals respected him as an apex creature.

(Jungle Tales I#4/2) - Antagonistic rival and nearby war-driven ruler Rakatu sought to make war on the peaceful Prince Waku and the Bantu people, and began a continuous beating of war drums. The menacing beats caused animals to panic and set upon each other; Waku kept peace within his village. The jungle creatures sensed Waku was central to this great disturbance and the lethal apex wild creature that the Bantu dubbed Gondo the gorilla swung through the trees into the village toward Waku. Instead, Waku's sweetheart Lalei rushed forward to act as a sacrifice and Gondo grabbed her before clambering away to observe from the treetops. Rakatu and his warriors charged forward; Waku challenged Rakatu to a one-on-one fight, but the warlord threw a spear at the unarmed Waku. Understanding a challenge for rule was underway, Gondo quickly dashed in and grabbed the spear in mid-flight to ensure it would be an even contest. Waku was victorious in the duel and Rakatu cowardly in defeat. Gondo then understood who was responsible for the chaos in the jungle. The gorilla released Lalei and charged after the fearful Rakatu into the jungle.

 

Comments: Created by Don Rico & Fred Kida.

Gondo was colored brown (the last panel (headshot) is in shadow and hence darker) and appears to be like a western lowland gorilla, which is considered the most numerous and widespread of all gorilla subspecies. Gondo appears larger than the upper range for this species (up to 5'5"), so I've adjusted stats accordingly.

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Gondo has no known connections to:


images: (without ads)
Jungle Tales I#4/2, p3, pan5 (main image)
   p6, pan7 (headshot)


Appearances:
Jungle Tales I#4/2 (March, 1955) - Don Rico (writer), Fred Kida (pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)


First posted: 07/15/2025
Last updated: 07/15/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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