GRUTO
Real Name: Gruto
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Pacion Rex); pre-modern era thru modern era
Occupation: Goodwill ambassador
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Laura;
formerly Dan Mitchell
Enemies: Fantastic Four (Human Torch, Invisible Girl, Mr. Fantastic, Thing), Dan Mitchell
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Creature from Nowhere
Base of Operations: Pacion Rex (planet)
First Appearance: Journey into Mystery I#67/1 (April, 1961)
Powers/Abilities: Gruto was much larger than a human, but displayed no superhuman powers.
History: (Journey into Mystery I#67/1 (fb)) -
Gruto was sent to Earth as a goodwill ambassador from his home planet
of Pacion Rex. As his race had found the secrets to peace, health and
long life, they sought to spread them to other worlds.
(Journey into Mystery I#67/1) - When arriving on
Earth,
something went wrong with Gruto's spaceship, and it crashed. He was
found by journalist Dan Mitchell and Dan's girlfriend Laura. Now
suffering from amnesia, Gruto could not remember what his mission was,
but the two humans befriended him. However, this was a ploy on
Mitchell's part, who intended to use Gruto to save his job. He revealed
Gruto's presence to the local authorities, but the alien convinced them
he meant no harm. To create a sensationalistic story, Mitchell then
fabricated an article on Gruto. Filled with lies about Gruto being an
invader who intended to conquer humanity, it sent the world into a
panic. Laura, distraught over Dan's misuse of Gruto's trust, begged the
alien to leave Earth before the humans attacked him. While he orbited
Earth, hoping to remember his mission, a hydrogen bomb was launched at
his spaceship, and the impact caused his memory to return. He landed
back on Earth, explained his mission and chided the humans for their
ways. He then departed, leaving none of his race's secrets with them.
(Marvel Monsters: Fin Fang Four#1 (fb)-BTS) - Under
unknown circumstances, Gruto returned to Earth, where he encountered
the recently-formed Fantastic Four. The details of their encounter are
unknown, but Gruto may have been transported to Monster Isle.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee(?), Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
I'd like to think that the Thing's remark about encountering Gruto (along with several other monsters) in FFF#1 was a reference to one that ended peacefully. Unless, y'know, Gruto suffered amnesia again and went on a real rampage.
Reprinted in Where Monsters Dwell#11.
Clarifications:
Gruto has no known connections to
Journalist who's career was spiraling downward. He
needed a fresh story, and after finding the ship Gruto crashed in,
cooked one up. He befriended the alien, but told the world that Gruto
was an invader, hoping the publicity would garner him a Pulitzer Prize.
After Gruto's memory returned, he announced his benevolent intentions
to the world, which ostracized Mitchell.
--Journey into Mystery I#67
A planet in a distant galaxy, the residents of Pacion Rex had
long ago succeeded in discovering vast amounts of knowledge. They knew
the secrets to immortality, space/time travel, and many others. They
sent Gruto to Earth to share their knowledge with humans.
--Journey into Mystery I#67 ( 67 (fb)
images:
Journey into Mystery I#67, page 4, panel 4
(Gruto)
page 13, panel 4 (Dan)
page 13, panel 4 (Laura)
page 13, panel 1 (Pacion Rex)
Journey into Mystery I#67 (April, 1961) - Stan Lee
(writer? - uncredited), Jack Kirby (penciler), Dick Ayers (inker)
Marvel Monsters: Fin Fang Four#1 (December, 2005)
09/25/07
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099
Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff,
you should check out the real thing!
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