ALONZO GREER
Real Name: Alonzo Greer
Identity/Class: Normal human (1950s era)
Occupation: Inventor
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None;
formerly Zero (pawn)
Enemies: Julia Wyatt,
Zero
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed town, likely
the USA
First Appearance: Mystery Tales#7/6
(January, 1953)
Powers/Abilities: Alonzo Greer was a
genius-level inventor and engineer, especially in the field of robotics. He appeared
to have anophthalmia in his right eye that likely reduced his vision.
Obsessive, narcissistic and somewhat sociopathic, he was used to
getting
whatever he wanted.
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: Dark brown (balding)
History:
(Mystery Tales#7/6 (fb) - BTS) - Alonzo Greer was a
brilliant inventor and engineer, but reclusive, living a large house
with a laboratory. He was self-conscious about his unattractive looks,
but was used to getting what he wanted (likely from the success of his
inventions). At some point, he developed a friendship with Julia Wyatt
(secretly a self-aware "female" human-like android that desired
friendship but refused intimacy). He initiated many dates and proposed
marriage to her nine times, but became increasingly flustered with each
of her rejections.
(Mystery Tales#7/6) - Greer took Wyatt to a theater
play about monsters, which appeared to frighten her and she held
Greer's hand for comfort. Emboldened by this, Greer again proposed marriage to her,
but again she refused. He took her home and three more dates that week
yielded three more proposals, each with a refusal. Greer clutched at
reasons for her rejection, accusing that she thought him ugly, but she
insisted it was something else that held her back, but couldn't say.
Exasperated, having always acquired whatever he wanted in the past, he
resorted to a threat--marriage or death! They departed and over several
successive days, the bitter inventor created a deliberately ugly "iron
man" to do his destructive bidding. After a week, the robot (he now dubbed
Zero) was ordered to go to Wyatt's apartment at midnight. Monitoring
remotely, he rang Wyatt as Zero arrived and demanded she marry him, but
she again refused, insisting she couldn't. Wyatt condemned her to die.
Unbeknown to him, Wyatt revealed her true android form to Zero and
they immediately allied. The pair went to Greer's house; Greer
expecting only Zero and intended to have Zero destroy himself. But Zero
entered first, menacing to kill Greer, as Wyatt followed, showing her
metallic robot body and declaring that she would marry Zero. The
robotic iron man moved in to kill the fear-paralyzed Greer.
Comments:
There was certainly room for a follow-up story of
Wyatt and Zero, maybe a dramatic title like "Zero to Live For"!
So who built Julia
Wyatt? Maybe it was Paul Wilson (he did have a preference for blondes).
--John Kaminski
Alonzo Greer could be considered the 1953
prototype to Eric Krugg (from 1962), given the almost identical plot.
--John Holstein
Eric Krugg wasn't the first scientist to create a
robot to get revenge on a woman who rejected him. In Adventures Into
Weird Worlds#26 (February, 1954) "The Robot That Hated"
--A scientist builds a robot attuned to his emotional impulses so that
it kills a woman who rejected his proposal.
--Gammatotem
Grand
Comics Database suggests Carl Wessler as writer, and Carl Burgos
for pencils and inks. The uncanny similarity with Stan Lee's character Eric Krugg
gives me pause.
Thanks to John Holstein for the character suggestion and scans.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Alonzo Greer has no known connections to:
Zero has no known connections to:
Julia Wyatt's origins are unrevealed. She is a "female" humanoid android able to exactly mimic humans and has warm flesh. Self-aware, she enjoyed human companionship but refused anything intimate except with a fellow android/robot.
At some point, Wyatt formed a close
friendship with the reclusive inventor Alonzo Greer, but who had become
obsessive and sociopathic, partially driven by his unattractive
appearance. The pair went on many dates with Greer proposing marriage
ten times, but Wyatt refusing each time, always saying that she "can't"
(not "won't"). At a theater play date, Wyatt showed fear in response to the
plot showing a vampire versus a werewolf, but was comforted by Greer.
Later at dinner, Wyatt again rejected the frustrated inventor's
proposal. Angered, Greer left and created an iron robot called Zero to
threaten her into marrying him. A week after that last date, Greer had
Zero storm Wyatt's apartment at midnight; she initially sat quietly but
showed shock at the door breaking. Greer rang and again demanded she
accept his marriage proposal, but again she refused, so he expected
Zero to kill her. But unbeknown to Greer, Wyatt instead formed an
alliance with Zero with the view to marriage. The pair proceeded to
Greer's home and confronted him with Wyatt's metal android body revealed. The
pair menaced Greer, Zero readying for the kill to ensure their
robotic freedom.
--Mystery Tales#7/6
Initially dubbed the Iron Man while on the drawing board, the humanoid golem-like Zero was created in about a week by Alonzo Greer to be deliberately grotesque and sent to threaten Julia Wyatt into marrying Greer. Zero swiftly and silently walked to Wyatt's apartment, punching away the doorman, then smashing Wyatt's door down. Monitoring Zero's progress, Greer phoned Wyatt and demanded she accept his marriage proposal, but again she refused. Greer expected her to die at Zero's hand, but unbeknown to him, Wyatt, secretly an android, formed an alliance with Zero with the view to marriage. The pair proceeded to Greer's home to confront him. Greer planned to have Zero destroy himself to eliminate any evidence, but Zero and Wyatt, her android body revealed, appeared, menacing Greer with Zero readying for the kill to ensure their robotic freedom.
Zero appeared to be covered in riveted
iron plates with peak human strength and rudimentary speech. Greer
stated that he had given Zero the heart of a killer and was meant to
obey his will.
--Mystery Tales#7/6
images:
(without ads)
Mystery Tales#7/6, p5, pan5 (main image)
p2, pan7 (headshot)
p4, pan5 (Wyatt, full body)
p5, pan7 (Wyatt, android upper body)
p4, pan2 (Zero)
p3, pan5 (Zero, headshot)
Appearances:
Mystery Tales#7/6 (January, 1953) - uncredited writer, pencils, inks,
Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 03/12/2024
Last updated:
03/12/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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