WILLY GREGG
Real Name: Willy Gregg
Identity/Class: Human technology user (1950s era)
Occupation: Unrevealed
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Doctor Bralt
Enemies: Martians
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "The ugliest man on Mars" (as called by himself)
Base of Operations: The planet Mars;
formerly his home, somewhere in the eastern USA
First Appearance: Journey into Mystery I#12/3 (September, 1953)
Powers/Abilities: Having no paranormal physical abilities, Gregg was an ingenious inventor who built a rocket-ship.
He also had a "powerful homemade broadcasting hookup" that was capable of transmitting his voice and image to televisions around the world.
Height: 5'10" (by approximation)
Weight: 170 lbs (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Distinguishing Features: Willy Gregg's face was horribly
disfigured; but after having plastic surgery, he became an exceedingly
handsome man.
History:
(Journey into Mystery I#12/3 (fb) - BTS) - The past of
Willy Gregg is largely unrevealed, but because of his horribly
disfigured face, he was an outcast from human society. He was determined
to end his miserable existence of rejection by traveling to another
planet and starting a new life, so he began to build a rocket-ship to
take him on a one-way trip to Mars.
(Journey into Mystery I#12/3) - Gregg had just picked up some new equipment to finish his rocket; as he walked along the street to return to his home, he ignored the cruel remarks and reactions from the bystanders who were revolted by his appearance--soon he would begin a new life on a new world, where nobody would ever call him ugly again!
After feverishly working for a week, Gregg completed his rocket, then he made a world-wide television broadcast to announce that in a few days, he would be the first man to set foot on Mars.
The next day, Gregg was inundated with mail and telephone calls--frantic pleas from beautiful actresses, politicians, scientists, and kings, all begging to be taken along on Gregg's history-making journey, even though they knew it would be a one-way trip. He made another broadcast on TV channels around the world, to let everyone know that when he succeeded in his interplanetary flight, no one would share in his hour of triumph, because he would be going alone.
But later that night, Gregg's home was visited by Doctor Bralt, who begged to go to with him to Mars (it seems Bralt was trying to flee from his own troubles; see his sub-profile for details). Initially, Gregg rejected Bralt's request; but then Bralt pointed out that even if Gregg landed on Mars, the Martians would still think he was ugly, so Bralt offered to perform plastic surgery on Gregg to make him handsome, and Gregg agreed to take Bralt along.
After the operation, the bandages were removed, and the surgery was a miraculous success--Willy Gregg looked in a mirror and found himself to be one of the most handsome men in the world!
True to his word, Gregg took Bralt aboard his rocket, and they blasted off toward Mars. Hours later, they began to pick up radio broadcasts as they neared the red planet--although the language was incomprehensible, it was proof that there was intelligent life on Mars! Gregg was greatly pleased, because with his new handsome face, people would no longer reject or avoid him, and he could at last have a happy life!
But the next day, after the rocket landed on Mars and Willy Gregg stepped out, the gruesomely inhuman Martians fled in terror, and Gregg wondered why they had reacted as such; Bralt pointed out that the Martians were all uglier than Gregg used to be.
Finally comprehending that the Martians had a different standard of handsomeness, Willy Gregg was horrified by the irony, because now he was the ugliest man on Mars!
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Pablo Ferro.
This 3-page story--All About Mars--was too short to provide much more detail than what is presented here.
It remains to be explained how so many different races/beings allegedly originated from Mars.
Profile by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Willy Gregg has no known connections to:
Doctor Bralt has no known connections to:
These Martians have no known connections to:
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An interplanetary spacecraft built by Willie Gregg, it was approximately 30 feet in length; it could accommodate two people, and its source of power was unrevealed. It transported Gregg and Doctor Bralt on a one-way voyage from Earth to Mars within the period of twenty-four hours. The interior of the rocket included a radio receiver, which was used to pick up radio broadcasts from Mars. --Journey into Mystery I#12/3 |
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A famous plastic surgeon, Bralt (first name unrevealed) was on staff at an eastern hospital, where he was about to perform a routine operation. But as he was preparing to give the patient anesthetic gas, he was distracted by his own selfish thoughts ("Hope I'm not late for the theatre tonight...") and he turned the wrong valve on the gas canister, which resulted in an explosion and a major fire. Doctor Bralt was one of the few to get out of the hospital alive, but he knew that all the death and destruction was his fault, and he feared legal prosecution. Realizing that he could no longer live on Earth, Bralt went to the home of Willy Gregg and made a deal with him: Bralt would operate on the disfigured Gregg's ugly face and make him handsome if Gregg would agree to take him on his one-way trip to Mars in his rocket-ship. Gregg accepted the offer, and the operation was a miraculous success--Bralt's skills had made Gregg one of the most handsome men on Earth! Bralt then accompanied Gregg as the rocket blasted off, headed to Mars. But when they landed and emerged from the spacecraft, the inhuman natives of the red planet ran away in fear; the handsome Gregg wondered why the Martians had such a reaction, and Bralt explained that they had different standards of beauty and perfection. To his horror, Gregg realized his new handsome physical appearance made him disgustingly ugly to the Martians. --Journey into Mystery I#12/3 |
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Possibly insectoids, these green-skinned humanoid creatures inhabited the planet Mars. (see comments) Although their civilization did not seem to be advanced enough to have attained space-travel, they had at least developed radio communication. When a rocket-ship from Earth landed by their city and the (newly-) handsome Earthman Willy Gregg stepped out, the Martians fled because they found Gregg to be revoltingly ugly. --Journey into Mystery I#12/3 (Comment: These two panels were the extent of the appearance of these Martians, so very little is known about them. Although they were listed as enemies, they didn't take any hostile actions against Willy Gregg, other than running away because--by their standards--they found him to be ugly [...and they probably didn't find Doctor Bralt too pleasant to look at, either].) |
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images: (without ads)
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p2, pan1 (main image - disfigured Willie Gregg)
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p1, pan1 (headshot - disfigured Willie Gregg; citizens react to his appearance [background])
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p3, pan4 (after plastic surgery, Willie Gregg sees his new face in mirror)
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p3, pan6 (handsome Willie Gregg makes plans to start a new life on Mars)
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p1, pan2 (disfigured Willie Gregg looks upon his completed rocket-ship)
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p3, pan5 (handsome Willie Gregg and Doctor Bralt inside rocket-ship)
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p2, pan6 (Doctor Bralt)
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p2, pan7 (Doctor Bralt makes a deal with Willie Gregg)
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p3, pan7 (Martians flee in horror as handsome Willie Gregg and Doctor Bralt emerge from rocket-ship)
Journey into Mystery I#12/3, p3, pan8 (as Martians flee, handsome Willie Gregg realizes that they find him to be ugly)
Appearances:
Journey into Mystery I#12/3 (September, 1953) - unidentified writer, Pablo Ferro (pencils/inks), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 12/15/2025
Last updated: 12/11/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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