BOMBU

Real Name: Bombu

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Oobagon VIII)

Occupation: Would-be conqueror;
    formerly witch doctor

Group Membership: The Planetary Guild

Affiliations: His superior

Enemies: Jake Mason, humanity in general

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Bombu the Conqueror, Bombu the Merciless, Bombu the Witch Man, "Lion King"

Base of Operations: Currently unrevealed;
                                     formerly Esperanza country, Amazon Jungle, Brazil;
                                     formerly Oobagon VIII

First Appearance: Journey into Mystery I#60/1 (September, 1960)

Powers/Abilities: Bombu was incredibly powerful. He could cause animals to shrink to several times smaller than their normal size. He could cause objects to levitate in the air. Bombu also could teleport large items, including skyscrapers and could command storms to form. 

History: (Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell#1/1 (fb)-BTS) - Bombu conquered 275 worlds for his race. He was next assigned to go to Earth and start preparing it for them to conquer it as well.

(Journey into Mystery I#60/1 (fb)) - Bombu arrived on Earth, near the Amazon jungle, "ages" ago.  Believing the primitive tribe he encountered to be the dominant species on the planet, he used his unusual looks to pose as their witch doctor, and awaited the arrival of his fellow aliens.

(Journey into Mystery I#60/1) - A businessman named Jake Mason was travelling to South America when his small plane's controls gave out. Mason and his pilot crashed in the Amazon, where they were confronted by a primitive tribe. The warriors took the two to Bombu, who revealed his true nature to them before demonstrating his great powers. He created a harsh storm as part of the demonstration, but before he could command his followers to kill the Americans, a bolt of lightning struck the alien. Mason believed the witch doctor to be dead, and was horrified to learn that his "mask" was no such thing, and was actually Bombu's face.

(Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell#1/1 (fb) - Bombu awoke and was pelted with garbage by the disillusioned tribe as he made his way back to his spacecraft.

(Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell#1/1) - Bombu contacted his superior, who could not understand why Bombu had failed in his mission. He ordered Bombu to return to Earth and try again. This time, Bombu arrived in the middle of New York City, and threatened mankind with the dreaded machine known as the Wallah Wallah Bing Bang (actually a non-functioning prop). Two police officers ordered him down from his machine, and when he resisted (threatening them with another weapon, the Ting Tang), he was tasered and arrested. Placed in jail, Bombu was given one phone call, and he called his superior to report his failure.

(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 - BTS) - Bombu was released from jail, but the state of New York filed a lawsuit against him when they learned his phone call cost the precint $250,000.

Comments: Created by uncredited writer (most likely Stan Lee), Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.

    In his original appearance, Bombu was at best around 5 1/2 feet tall. When he returned in the Marvel Monsters book, he was well over 10' tall. I'm theorizing that he used his powers to make himself the size of a human originally, but after his ruse was discovered, he returned to his true size.

    He was only called Bombu the Witch Man on the cover of JIM. The "Lion King" alias was tagged on him by one of the arresting officers.

    The image of Bombu that appeared on the cover of JIM60 (and its reprint in Where Monsters Dwell#9) is nothing like his actual appearance.

    In the WMD reprint, Bombu was recolored blue.

    Mason was given the first name Jake in Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1.

Profile by Madison Carter

Clarifications:

Bombu has no known connections to

Bombu's superior

(Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell#1/1 (fb)-BTS) - Bombu's superior sent him to Earth to prepare it for conquering.

(Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell#1/1) - The superior failed to understand why Bombu failed, and ordered him to return to Earth to try again. He was surprised when Bombu reported back to him so quickly, but became confused when Bombu told him that he was using his only phone call.




--Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell#1


Jake Mason

(Journey into Mystery I#60/1) - Mason and his pilot crash-landed in the Amazon, where they were confronted by a savage tribe who worshipped Bombu. As Bombu displayed his awesome powers, he was struck down by lightning. The two men then escaped, but not before Mason realized that Bombu really was an alien.

(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS) - Mason was interviewed by Frank Johnson regarding his encounter with Bombu.

--Journey into Mystery I#60 ( JIM60, MM:Ulysses#1



images:
Journey into Mystery I#60, page 1, panel 1 (main image)
Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell#1, page 10, panel 6 (superior)
Journey into Mystery I#60, page 3, panel 4 (Mason)

Journey into Mystery I#60 (September, 1960) - Stan Lee(?, writer), Jack Kirby (penciler), Dick Ayers (inker), unknown editor
Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell#1 (December, 2005) - Keith Giffen (writer/penciler), Mike Allred (inker), Mark Paniccia (editor)

12/13/06

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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