BOB O'BRYAN
Real Name: Robert "Bob" O'Bryan
Identity/Class: Human technology user
Occupation: Unrevealed; former director, scenery and special effects designer
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Beast (Henry McCoy), Ben
(co-worker), Charlie (co-worker), Dorian
Delazny, Fin
Fang Foom, Hulk (Bruce Banner), It the Living Colossus, Magnor,
Mr. Maxwell, Matt
O'Brien, Felix
Simon, Wonder Man (Simon Williams);
formerly Lotus
Newmark
Enemies: Dr.
Garrison Braun, Charlie (rival), Doctor
Doom (Victor von Doom), Karrg
the Mightiest Robot of All, Kigor,
Grant Marshall, Otto
Ranetti, Stonians
(Granitor,
Strator,
others), Dr.
Aloysius Vault;
formerly Beast (Henry McCoy), Fin Fang Foom, Hulk (Bruce Banner), Wonder
Man (Simon Williams)
Known Relatives: Diane Cummings (wife), Nadia O'Bryan (niece)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#20/2 (August, 1961)
Powers/Abilities: Bob O'Bryan is a college graduate and skilled special effects designer. He apparently also possesses a vast understanding of advanced technology and robotics.
He can transfer his consciousness into the gigantic statue known as It the Living Colossus to control it presumably due to his exceptional will power. Originally his mind could only animate the Living Colossus for up to an hour before it was forced out and returned to his own though it was often less due to the amount of mental energy he had to exert to control the statue (i.e. making the statue fly or talk put a bigger strain on him). He could animate the Living Colossus from miles away though the closer he was to the Living Colossus the less mental energy he exerted and the longer he could control it. While controlling the Living Colossus his own body was originally in a coma-like state.
Over time his control over the Living Colossus became easier due to his mental connection to the statue and his mind becoming finely attuned to the Kigor technology within the statue, which later only left his physical form in a trance-like state. This later enabled O'Bryan to not only reassemble the statue after it was smashed to dust, but also control individual body parts even if they were disconnected from the statue.
O'Bryan controlled the robot version of the Living Colossus remotely via manual control panel or a cybernetic helmet. He uploaded pre-programmed skills like self-defense programs to enhance the robot's unarmed combat powers.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Blue (apparently wears lenses sometimes)
Hair: Black (apparently dyes his hair)
History:
(Tales of Suspense I#20/2 (fb) - BTS) - Bob O'Bryan was a scenery
designer, who was in love with actress Diane Cummings. His numerous
attempts to win her love were rejected.
(Tales of Suspense I#20/2) - Bob worked on a movie Diane Cummings was acting in and approached her once again after filming for the day was done. He promised her a happy life together if she married him, but she was not interested in him because he wasn't as romantic, dashing and brave as her co-star Grant Marshall. Diane kissed Grant while Bob sauntered away after his umpteenth rejection and wondered if things would be different if he were a big hero or star like Grant.
Bob and his assistants Charlie and Ben built a giant construct when they heard that the gigantic It the Living Colossus under the control of the Kigor was moving through Los Angeles causing destruction. With the Living Colossus approaching Hollywood the minutes ticked down and Bob and his crew finished their statue that looked like it was made of stone, but was actually just plaster of Paris filled with explosives to the brim. Diane and Grant were still on set when It arrived at the studio lots and Diane got stuck. Bob came to her rescue by telling the aliens inside the Living Colossus that he had built an even bigger creature that was standing right behind them. The Kigor abandoned It the Living Colossus to take control over the other creature, but as soon as they entered Bob ordered Charlie to blow it up with the aliens inside. Diane finally realized that Bob was a real hero and they became a couple.
(Astonishing Tales I#21 (fb) - BTS) - Bob and Diane became engaged. They both worked on Dorian Delazny's sci-fi show Star Lords, but the show's ratings were so bad that it was going to get cancelled before the second season. Bob used special effects he had developed that intertwined footage of the Living Colossus with footage from Star Lords to put together a demo reel for the show's producer Dorian Delazny.
(Astonishing Tales I#21) - Delazny showed archive footage of the Living Colossus to Bob, Diane and Grant to show them why in a world with monsters like the Living Colossus their sci-fi had no chance to get good ratings. Bob was not going to give up and showed Delazny the footage he had put together, which impressed Delazny enough to give the go-ahead for a second season with Bob getting star billing right after Diane. Grant got in Delazny's face because he didn't want to share credits with Bob, but Delazny made it clear to him that he was under contract and had to do whatever he told him. Grant blamed Bob and threatened him, which scared Diane because she knew how vindictive Grant could be.
That afternoon Grant attempted to scare Bob away by causing a limelight to fall, but it actually crushed Bob after he pushed Diane to safety. Grant got away with the crime because nobody saw him, but Bob ended up crippled and broke off the engagement with Diane, who still wanted to marry him, because he loved her too much to tie her down with a man that would never walk again.
Bound to a wheelchair Bob continued working for Delazny Studios on miniatures for Star Lords the series his beloved Diane was still starring in. He often looked at the Living Colossus lying on the studio grounds and fought about how much he loved Diane and how he could never return to her. One night he saw agents of Dr. Vault attempting to steal the Living Colossus, but upon seeing this Bob's mind left his body and animated the Living Colossus. Vault used nerve gas to somehow render the Living Colossus unconscious and force Bob's mind back to his own body. Bob concentrated to once again take control over the Living Colossus and it worked after Dr. Vault had condensed the Living Colossus' form to a mere thirty feet. Under Bob's control the Living Colossus broke free, but got buried in a cave by Dr. Vault and his men. The Living Colossus escaped the case through the water and went after some of Vault's fleeing men, but they died in a car crash that caused a fire at a resort. Bob used the Living Colossus to safe children from the burning building, but the Living Colossus collapsed when the police went after it because Bob couldn't remain in the Living Colossus any longer. Back in his body Bob realized that there was some time limit to how long he could stay out of his body, but what mattered more to him was that he could call upon and control the Living Colossus whenever there was danger.
(Astonishing Tales I#22) - Bob saw through a window that the Living Colossus had been returned to the studio by the authorities because It couldn't be destroyed according to the newspapers. Diane tried to fix things with Bob, but he needed more time to get over the accident and the fact that he controlled the Living Colossus (not that he told her any of that). They were interrupted by Grant Marshall, who tried to dissuade Diane from trying to be with Bob while also hoping that nobody would find out that he caused the accident that crippled Bob. The Stonian Magnor crashed the little meeting to warn them about the threat to Earth posed by Granitor and his Stonian army. A Stonian group of invaders led by Strator crashed through the window to take care of the traitor Crustor and bring Bob and Diane to Gorgolla so they could bring Granitor's terms to Earth's leaders. Bob broke free and dropped on to the Living Colossus, which he took over only seconds before he landed to stop his deadly fall with It's breath. Bob then used It to put his comatose body back into the building and went after Strator and his team to save Diane. Bob nearly exposed that he was in control of the Living Colossus when he called Diane, to her surprise, by her name. The Living Colossus overpowered Granitor, who fled the scene to join the rest of his army. Diane remained his captive and It was unable to follow them.
(Astonishing Tales I#23) - Bob's mind couldn't hold on to his control over the Living Colossus any longer, but managed to climb back down to the street before his mind returned to his own body. As the Living Colossus dropped on to a police car Bob woke up next to the still unconscious Grant Marshall. Bob crawled back to his wheelchair and already planned to take control over the Living Colossus once again to safe Diane from the alien invaders. He realized that he could stay in control of the Living Colossus the closer he was to It and rolled on to the set of Star Lords where producer Delazny was already looking for his stars Diane and Grant. Bob explained that Grant had been knocked out by a gargoyle and then asked actor Felix Simon for a lift to the capitol building. On their way there Bob saw some of the Stonians in the sky and decided to not wait any longer to take control of the Living Colossus once again even though he was still a few blocks away. Bob went into a coma next to Felix, who quickly took him to a hospital while the Living Colossus went after Granitor and his Stonians once again. While Bob fought the Stonians as the Living Colossus in a battle that was also joined by Fin Fang Foom, Bob's body was declared dead at the hospital.
(Astonishing Tales I#24) - Dr. Vault took control over Fin Fang Foom to capture It the Living Colossus, but Bob escaped with the giant statue underwater where he found an entry to Dr. Vault's cavern headquarter. Bob stored the Living Colossus there while he returned to his seemingly dead body, which was on his way to the morgue when he suddenly regained consciousness in front of a shocked Felix Simon, who was already working on Bob's eulogy.
A bit later in a hospital room a doctor explained to Bob that he had been in a deathlike coma. The doctor was afraid that this could occur again and Bob was sure that it would whenever he took control of the Living Colossus. Felix offered Bob to move in with him because he was now aware of Bob's medical condition and wouldn't rush him to the embalmer in the future. Diane arrived and was glad that Bob was still alive and told him that she wouldn't allow him to push her out of his life any longer. He stopped trying after a kiss by her though the doctor reminded her that he needed rest after nearly dying a few minutes ago.
Bob was still in hospital when he took control over the Living Colossus again to fight Fin Fang Foom until an electrical discharge broke Dr. Vault's control over the alien dragon, which took off after revealing that Dr. Vault was responsible for Fin Fang Foom's attack on the Living Colossus.
(Incredible Hulk II#244 (fb) - BTS) - Diane eventually convinced Bob to try moving his legs again because she believed that it should be possible for someone that could take mental control over a giant statue. It worked and they got married soon after Star Lords went off the air. Bob hid It the Living Colossus in Dr. Vault's former hideout and spent his six months honeymoon with Diane traveling around the world. Dorian Delazny kept tabs on them.
(Incredible Hulk II#244) - Bob and Diane returned to Delazny Studios after their honeymoon and were welcomed back by Dorian Delazny, Felix Simon and Grant Marshall, who invited everyone to an event at the Graumann's Theater that would honor his work as an actor in the movie Bloodlust. Bob enjoyed bickering with his old rival Grant again and reminisced about his time controlling the Living Colossus.
The event was interrupted by the Hulk, who quickly got annoyed by Grand Marshall. Diane begged Bob to help Grant, but Bob had already taken control of It the Living Colossus again to finally stop the Hulk's rampage, but it wasn't as easy as he thought. When Dr. Vault heard about the fight on the news he rushed to an apparatus he invented to take control over the Living Colossus. Bob tried to keep Dr. Vault's mind away, but the ongoing fight against the Hulk broke his concentration and his mind was forced out of the Living Colossus. Bob and Diane watched as It attacked the Hulk again only to literally get pulverized by the Hulk. Bob wasn't bothered by It's destruction because he had a loving wife and normal existence unlike the Hulk.
(Wonder Man Annual#2/3 (fb) - BTS) - Bob returned to his life as a special effects designer.
(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#2 (fb) - BTS) - O'Bryan worked on the FX for the restructured Star Lords show known as Star Kings and such movies as Hands of Hundu, The Iron Warrior and For Services Rendered.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone#1 - It the Living Colossus) - He worked on the movie The Shadow Puppets.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#169/4 (fb) - BTS) - Bob borrowed ideas from others to create such derivative movies as Kongo the Giant Gorilla, Gidron the Fire-Breathing Lizard and Gammelon the Atomic Beast to break into the movie business.
(Wonder Man Annual#2/3 (fb) - BTS) - He eventually came up with the idea to do a movie series about It the Living Colossus. He convinced the studio to let him build a robot version of It to star in the movies and supervised the robot's creation. He also built a cybernetic helmet to project his mind into the robot, but was worried to use it because controlling the previous version of the Living Colossus had put him into a coma. He instead used a computer to control the robot.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#169/4 (fb)) - Bob was personally involved in building the robot.
(Wonder Man Annual I#2/3) - During filming of Return of the Living Colossus Bob temporarily lost control over the It robot in a scene starring Simon Williams. He wasn't sure how it happened, but upon checking his control board it seemed like somebody was jamming his signal. While Bob was still trying to find the problem caused by Charlie, another special effects designer that had lost the contract on the Living Colossus movies to Bob's company, took full control over the Living Colossus to go on a rampage at the studio so O'Bryan would be blamed and lose his multi-million dollar contract with them. While Wonder Man (Williams) tried his best to stop the giant robot without damaging it, Bob tried to counteract the signal that was jamming his by overloading his control board. It fried his controls, but when Diane got threatened by the out-of-control Living Colossus Bob donned his cybernetic helmet to regain control over the robot by controlling it with his mind. He saved Diane and fortunately didn't end up in a coma as he feared. Wonder Man caught Charlie, who went to prison for his crime.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#169/4 (fb) - BTS/Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone#1 - It the Living Colossus) - Otto Ranetti worked as Bob O'Bryan's assistant on Return of the Living Colossus.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#169/4 (fb) - BTS) - Otto stole the designs of the Living Colossus and had his own giant robot created to star in a movie for Sun Studios. At some point Bob installed a self-defense program in It the Living Colossus.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#169/4 (fb)) - Bob's producer Dan riled him up about Otto's theft and suggested Bob should use It to destroy Otto's robot.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#169/4) - Using the cybernetic helmet Bob to control the Living Colossus he rode on It's shoulder through the California desert to the set of Ranetti's movie to confront him. The two special effects men pitted their giant robots against each other while Bob continued berating Otto for stealing his designs. Otto reminded Bob of his own derivative movies. Bob's Living Colossus beat Karrg due to It's self-defense program, but Bob showed mercy to Otto because he had realized that Otto was right about Bob stealing ideas in the past as well. Bob wished Otto good luck and promised to pay for the damages to Karrg and returned home with the Living Colossus.
Bob talked to Diane about the events and she was proud of him. Bob had decided to beat Otto and Karrg at the box office instead of in real life because that was the only arena that mattered in Hollywood.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone#1 - It the Living Colossus) - Return of the Living Colossus was a success at the box office and DVD sales, but received some scathing reviews from Roger Ebert, Trish Starr and Moné Peterson.
(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#3 (fb) - BTS) - Lotus Newmark, under the guise of working on a new film with him, contacted Bob to gain hypnotic control over him to make him and the Living Colossus the muscle for her extortion ring. Lotus helped Bob to concentrate for weeks to pull the original It the Living Colossus back together.
(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#1) - After learning of Wonder Man's return to Los Angeles Lotus Newmark told Bob to help her get her revenge on the hero. The hypnotized Bob was ready to do her bidding.
(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#2 - BTS) - Bob and his wife were visiting Alex Flores and her husband Felix Simon.
(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#2) - Bob observed Wonder Man and Beast visiting Alex and Felix from a window and called Lotus to inform her. Because her hypnotic powers sapped the initiative of her pawns she had to tell Bob to use the directional microphone to learn what Wonder Man was talking about with Alex.
A day later, Bob attended an event in Hollywood with Diane at the Maria Stark Pavilion. Wonder Man and Beast had a run-in with him and Beast turned out to be a massive fan of Bob's FX work on movies like the Hands of Hundu, The Iron Warriors, For Services Rendered and the Star Kings series. Bob was surprised that anyone would remember the Hands of Hundu. When Simon saw Lotus Newmark at the event he tried to confront her even though she was just some independent producer according to Diane. Lotus was surprised when Simon knew about her protection racket with Armed Response and silently ordered Bob to bring in It the Living Colossus to deal with Wonder Man.
(Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#3) - Under Lotus' hypnotic control Bob used the Living Colossus to attack Wonder Man and Beast. Diane tried to snap Bob out of it, but was knocked out by Lotus, who asked Bob to get her and him to safety using the Living Colossus while Wonder Man was down. The Living Colossus flew away with Bob and Lotus in It's hands, but Wonder Man followed them and ripped off the Living Colossus' left arm, which hurt Bob a well. Lotus reminded Bob that only he could control Living Colossus and so Bob reasserted control over the ripped off arm to knock down Wonder Man with it. Beast jumped off a helicopter, landed on the flying Living Colossus and knocked out Lotus after he resisted her mental control. With her knocked out Bob lost control over the Living Colossus, which dropped from the sky though Wonder Man prevented it from landing on a busy street. Lotus was arrested and Bob felt terrible for what he had done while he was under her control, but Wonder Man didn't blame him at all.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone#1 - It the Living Colossus (fb) - BTS) - Bob became the director of the movie Revenge of the Living Colossus, which starred Simon Williams and the original It the Living Colossus controlled by Bob.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone#1 - It the Living Colossus) - Bob O'Bryan was interviewed by film critic Matt O'Brien for the column O'Brien on Film. They talked about the upcoming movie, Bob's life and his history with the giant statue known as It the Living Colossus.
(Civil War: Battle Damage Report#1) - O'Bryan and It the Living Colossus were considered potential Initiative recruits by Tony Stark.
(Deadpool Team-Up I#895 (fb) - BTS) - Bob controlled It the Living Colossus while in his wheelchair during a battle against Doctor Doom. After the battle Bob remained in a vegetative state when the Living Colossus got lost after it crashed in the ocean near the Galápagos Islands. His niece Nadia hoped Bob's mind was only temporarily lost drifting somewhere between his body and the Living Colossus.
(Deadpool Team-Up I#895) - Nadia hired Deadpool and they took Bob's vegetative form to the Galápagos Islands on a ship to where the Living Colossus dropped off the military's radar. They used a submarine to travel into a crevice where they finally found the Living Colossus, but were attacked by two giant sea monsters. Bob fell out of his wheelchair and on to Deadpool and Nadia noticed that the Living Colossus was moving when Deadpool tried to get Bob off of him. Deadpool used Bob's body to puppeteer the Living Colossus to fight off the monsters, which damaged the submarine. Bob suddenly woke up and Nadia begged him to control the Living Colossus to safe them. Bob defeated the monsters using the Living Colossus and returned the damaged submarine to the surface. Back on the boat while looking at the inert Living Colossus from his wheelchair, Bob was a bit surprised by his niece throwing up when Deadpool was coming on to her.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers.
Bob's physical stats are taken from It the Living Colossus' profile in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition#23.
Bob's physical appearance is all over the place and there is no consistency in his physical appearance. It was also a bit surprising that he seemed to be back in his wheelchair in Deadpool Team-Up, but maybe it was just the easiest way for him to control the Living Colossus without falling over. Later on it was clearly because of his vegetative state and it would probably take some time and physical rehab for him to get to walk again after regaining his consciousness.
Profile by Markus Raymond.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Bob O'Bryan should not be confused with:
 |
Ben and Charlie worked with Bob O'Bryan on special effects and helped him build a giant statue out of plaster of Paris filled with explosives to trick the Kigor aliens controlling It the Living Colossus. Their plan worked when the aliens took control over their statue because it was bigger than the Living Colossus and Charlie blew it up on Bob's order to kill the alien invaders. --Tales of Suspense I#20/2 |
 |
Charlie ran a rival special effects company in Hollywood. When Bob got the job on Return of the Living Colossus even though Charlie's effects were better, Charlie stole Bob's plans of the robot version of the Living Colossus and built his own controls for the robot that could override Bob's controls. During filming of Return of the Living Colossus Charlie used the Living Colossus robot to attack Simon Williams during a scene, which shocked Bob O'Bryan, who tried to find out why he lost control over the robot. Charlie again controlled the Living Colossus robot to rampage through the cleared set so Bob would be blamed and his company would get fired. Charlie was sure he would then get the job and millions of dollars. While Wonder Man fought the Living Colossus robot without trying to damage it, Bob worked on regaining control over it and overloaded the power on his controls, which short-circuited his and Charlie's controls. Charlie got knocked out and Bob regained control over the rampaging robot using a cybernetic helmet. Charlie was found in his car by Wonder Man and got arrested and sent to prison. One year later Charlie was still in prison and had no interest in watching the Return of the Living Colossus movie when it was on at the prison's auditorium because he was still mad about Bob making millions Charlie believed he deserved. --Wonder Man Annual#2/3 |
images: (without ads)
Tales of Suspense I#20, p8, pan5 (main)
Incredible Hulk II#244, p8, pan5 (head shot)
Astonishing Tales I#21, p7, pan1-3 (mind leaving his body and possessing
It the Living Colossus)
Astonishing Tales I#22, p12, pan3 (in wheelchair)
Wonder Man Annual#2/3, p3, pan7 (working on It's controls)
Wonder Man Annual#2/3, p11, pan6 (using cybernetic helmet)
Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#3, p19, pan2 (brown hair)
Deadpool Team-Up II#895, p2, pan1 (vegetative state)
Tales of Suspense I#20, p9, pan5 (Ben and Charlie the co-workers)
Wonder Man Annual#2/3, p4, pan3 (Charlie the rival)
Appearances:
Tales of Suspense I#20/2 (August, 1961) - Stan Lee (writer/editor),
Larry Lieber (writer), Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks)
Astonishing Tales I#21 (December, 1973) - Tony Isabella (writer), Dick
Ayers (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Astonishing Tales I#22 (February, 1974) - Tony Isabella (writer), Dick
Ayers (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Astonishing Tales I#23 (April, 1974) - Tony Isabella (writer), Dick
Ayers (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Astonishing Tales I#24 (June, 1974) - Tony Isabella (writer), Dick Ayers
& Larry Lieber (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#244 (February, 1980) - Steven Grant (writer), Carmine
Infantino (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Allen Milgrom (editor)
Wonder Man Annual I#2/3 (1993) - Barry Dutter (writer), J.B. Jones
(pencils), Bob Dvorak (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#169/4 (December, 1994) - Barry Dutter (writer),
José Fonteriz (artist), Richard Ashford (editor)
Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast#1-3 (May-July, 2000) - Roger Stern
(writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort
(editor)
Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone#1 (January, 2006)
- Michael Hoskin (head writer), Ronald Byrd, Madison Carter, Jeff
Christiansen, Sean McQuaid, Eric Moreels, Barry Reese & Stuart
Vandal (writers), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Civil War: Battle Damage Report#1 (April, 2007) - Anthony Flamini (head
writer/coordinator), Ronald Byrd (writer), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Deadpool Team-Up II#895 (May, 2010) - Christopher Long (writer), Dalibor
Talaji? (artist), Axel Alonso (editor)
First Posted: 09/01/2026
Last updated: 01/19/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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should check out the real thing!
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