passionivan1passionivan-portraitIVAN PASSION

Real Name: Ivan Passion (see comments)

Identity/Class: Human, unspecified reality (see comments)

Occupation: Spy

Group Membership: Formerly L.U.S.T. (Legion of Undesirable Sinister Types)

Affiliations: Pussycat and S.C.O.R.E. (Secret Council of Ruthless Extroverts)

Enemies: L.U.S.T.;
    formerly S.C.O.R.E.

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None (see comments)

Base of Operations: His home

First Appearance: Male Annual#3 (1965)

Powers/Abilities: Ivan Passion was considered by S.C.O.R.E. to be L.U.S.T.'s most dangerous agent. Smart and experienced, he was an expert at identifying disguised enemies and blowing their covers

    While he presumably possessed many other excellent espionage skills which had earned him his much-feared reputation, his deadliest weapon seemed to be his good looks and smooth demeanor. Women (even highly trained S.C.O.R.E. agents) found him irresistibly attractive and were thus easily subdued by him. This allure seems to be based purely on his natural appearance and mannerisms, rather then due to any mental or pheromonal-based superhuman powers.

    He held a high opinion of himself. He had no qualms about demanding kisses, even from unknown women.

    He was very concerned with his appearance. When embraced by Pussycat, he became concerned that she might crush the fabric he was wearing.

    He valued his days off and was reluctant to get any work done on them, even when unexpected opportunities arose.

Height: Unrevealed (6'3"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (220 lbs.; by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed (story is in black and white)
Hair: Probably black (story is in black and white)passionivan3

History:

(Male Annual#3 (fb) - BTS) - Ivan Passion was a top agent for the criminal organization L.U.S.T. passionivan4

    S.C.O.R.E. had sent numerous undercover female operatives after Ivan. But none were able to defeat him; all succumbed to his charms.

(Male Annual#3 (fb) - BTS) - In yet another attempt, S.C.O.R.E. sent Agent S, their final undefeated female spy, against Ivan. But he was easily able to expose Agent S's identity -- possibly because she was still wearing her S.C.O.R.E. badge (see comments).

(Male Annual#3 - BTS) - Morale was low at S.C.O.R.E. headquarters as Agent S, now unconscious, was carried in. The disheartened male agents feared they might never defeat L.U.S.T. They knew their only hope was to find a new female agent -- someone totally innocent-looking whom L.U.S.T would never suspect. The right candidate would have to be able to "take a man's mind off his job" as well as be "too dumb to be frightened." The agents became momentarily distracted by the presence of Pussycat, their extremely attractive coworker, before realizing that she, in fact, was a perfect fit for what they are looking for.

    After a very thorough (ahem) physical examination, Pussycat received her mission briefing from the Chief. He pulled back a curtain on the wall to reveal a large portrait of Ivan. He informed Pussycat that her task would be to defeat him. He told her she must act cold and indifferent to him, so as to give him an inferiority complex and cause him to lose his confidence. But before he could even finish his instructions, Pussycat had plastered her body against the portrait, completely enamored with Ivan's image.

(Male Annual #3) - The Chief and Pussycat arrived at a deserted street, where they planned for her to intercept Ivan on his way home. The Chief reiterated to Pussycat that she "must louse up his libido, irritate his id, and sink his psyche ." Pussycat was ready -- well, as ready as she would ever be.

    Pussycat watched Ivan walk up the street. As he approached, she reminded herself that she must "play it cool... be aloof... hard to get." But then Ivan demanded that she kiss him, and she instantly lost all self-control. Wrapping herself around his body, she immediately confessed to being a S.C.O.R.E. agent and offered to tell him all of her organization's secrets. However Ivan was not interested, it being his day off following a tough week. Still clinging to him as he walked home, Pussycat persisted, and he finally agreed to hear ONE secret.

    He asked where S.C.O.R.E. hid its top-secret papers. Pussycat explained that they were kept in the cutest thinagamajig... which, as she further elaborated, was about the same size as one of those silly old watchamacallits. Pussycat knew she shouldn't be betraying her fellow agents.... but this was Ivan Passion she was dealing with, and she was after all only human. Cuddling Ivan's head in her arms, she offered to spend the entire day telling him secrets. Upon hearing this, Ivan finally relented -- it was now HIS turn to succumb to HER charms. passionivan5

    The Chief and a pair of S.C.O.R.E. agents were gathered outside Ivan's home, monitoring the situation. The two agents feared the worst, but the Chief still professed faith in Pussycat. However even he began to lose hope when he saw Pussycat emerge from the house alongside a gleeful-looking Ivan. But it turned out that Pussycat had indeed prevailed! Ivan was through with L.U.S.T. and was now on S.C.O.R.E.'s side. He assured his new allies that L.U.S.T. didn't stand a chance against them.

    One of the S.C.O.R.E agents questioned whether they could really trust Ivan -- whether he would actually stay on their side. But Pussycat, well aware of her own assets, confidently stated "He'll stay, boys! He'll stay!"

Comments: Created by Wally Wood, possibly in collaboration with Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, or others.

    "Pussycat" was a comic strip that ran in several of Martin Goodman's men's magazines in the late 60s and early 70s. It was one of a number of comics that were inspired by the success of Harvey Kurtzman's and Will Elder's "Little Annie Fanny" strip in Playboy. It combined that comic's bawdy humor with the spy fiction that was popular at that time. The stories were in black-and-white and typically ran four to five pages.

    This particular story, "The Mirthful Misadventures of a Merry, Mixed-Up Miss!" was the very first Pussycat comic published. It appeared in 1965's Male Annual#3 and was later reprinted in 1968 in an Adventures of Pussycat one-shot.

    It is unrevealed whether Pussycat's stories took place on Earth-616, although there is nothing specifically to prevent it. An Agent Pussycat was mentioned in 1967's Not Brand Echh#2, so it's possible the stories took place on Earth-665, which would fit tonally. A somewhat different version of Agent Pussycat (this time serving Hydra) appeared in Defenders IV#9, which took place in the 1960s on Earth-12109.

    It is unrevealed whether "Ivan Passion" is his actual name or merely an alias. With this sort of story one never knows!

    It is never explicitly stated that the enemy spy who uncovered Agent S's identity at the beginning of the story was Ivan Passion (He is only referred to as "the man from L.U.S.T. strikes again"). But that seems to be the implication.

    Creator speculations courtesy of Amazing Heroes magazine and the Grand Comics Database.

Profile by Zuckyd1.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Ivan Passion should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Male Annual#3, pg. 4, panel 5 (main);
     pg. 3, panel 5 (portrait on wall);
     pg. 4, panel 7 (walking home);
     pg. 5, panel 3 (listening to Pussycat);
     pg. 5, panel 9 (defeated)

Appearances:
Male Annual#3 (1965) - unknown writer (possibly Stan Lee or Wally Wood), Wally Wood and possibly Steve Ditko (artist)

First posted: 09/01/2026
Last updated: 05/12/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know

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