Real Name: Gool

Identity/Class: Unrevealed (see comments) (unrevealed centuries ago to late 1940s era)

Occupation: Rampaging monster

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Professor Clark Dane, mankind in general

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "The mole-thing"

Base of Operations: Mobile; originally from a cavern in Earth's core

First Appearance: Marvel Tales I#93/2 (August, 1949)

Powers/Abilities: Having a vaguely humanoid form and a featureless face, the Gool was a rampaging engine of destruction. Its great size (see comments) probably meant that it had immense strength, although no specific examples were depicted. The Gool also possessed a telepathic sense--on one occasion, it was able to mentally project a thought into the mind of a human (Clark Dane).

Originally dwelling in Earth's core, the Gool traveled to the planet's surface in a rock-boring ship.

Following its exposure to an atomic bomb blast, the Gool was apparently mutated--afterwards, its lumpy orange hide continuously emitted lightning-like electrical discharges; its body temperature was such that heavy artillery shells instantly melted upon contact, making it impervious to harm.

Having only a primitive intelligence, the Gool was guided mainly by its savage instincts of hate and destruction.

Height: Unrevealed (see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: None

History:
(Marvel Tales I#93/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Gool's origin is unrevealed, but "since the beginning of the Earth," it slumbered in a huge cavern at the core of the planet, near a rock-boring ship (see comments).

(Marvel Tales I#93/2 (fb) ) - After centuries of lying dormant, the Gool awakened and began to move about. It sensed that there was a world beyond its own, and that world was up, above the mass of rock. The Gool's savage instinct directed it to invade and conquer the mysterious upper world it telepathically felt existed.

   Meanwhile, at a laboratory in San Francisco, Professor Clark Dane's seismic instruments began to register tremors originating from the Earth's core--unbeknownst to Dane, these readings were actually caused by the first stirrings of the Gool.

   When its battle urge was aroused to its highest pitch, the Gool climbed aboard the rock-boring ship--with a tremendous roar, the ship began its journey and tunneled upward.

   On July 24, 1946, Professor Dane's instruments indicated the subterranean tremors were getting closer and centering in one particular spot; he predicted something stupendous would erupt the next day at Bikini Atoll--unbeknownst to Dane, these tremors were caused by the rock-boring ship transporting the Gool.

   Dane telephoned U.S. military official Major Sardon and told him that he planned to fly to Bikini Atoll to observe the predicted event; however Sardon denied Dane's request, telling him only that the area was restricted at the time. But being a scientist working for the war department, Dane was able to secure passage on an army plane headed for the South Pacific; however, Dane was never able to reach his intended destination, because the plane was ordered to land at a military base on an island south of Bikini Atoll.

   On July 25, 1946, the Gool emerged on the planet's surface at Bikini Atoll, just as an atomic bomb test was being conducted. Following the world-shaking release of radioactive power, the creature had apparently been mutated by the bomb's radiation, for it now continuously released lightning-like discharges from its body. The Gool submerged into the ocean and began to walk southward.

   The Gool came ashore on the beach of the military base. The soldiers began to battle the creature, but their artillery was ineffective against the monstrous giant's onslaught. The Gool left a fiery path of destruction and death as it trampled the opposing soldiers and smashed the base's buildings.

(Marvel Tales I#93/2) - The Gool was about to crush the remaining life on the island...but it suddenly halted, for it sensed the presence of Clark Dane, the only man who had been aware of its existence. The creature began to project a thought into Dane's mind, a thought which came to the Professor in four words: "I AM THE GOOL!"

   Then the creature turned and plodded back toward the island's beach; with slow, ponderous steps, the Gool strode back into the sea and vanished, its ultimate destination known but to itself.

   But some time later, the Gool emerged from the sea again, with hate and destruction goading it on! Where will it show itself next? Europe? Asia? Africa? Perhaps... IN YOUR HOMETOWN! (see comments)

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Ed Winiarski.

This 8-page story--The Gool Strikes!--was featured on this issue's cover, where the character's name was "misspelled" as Ghoul.

The depiction of the Gool's size was inconsistent throughout the story--in some panels, it appeared to be about 30 feet tall, and in others, perhaps 10 feet--maybe this size-changing was a side-effect of the radiation it absorbed?

The origin of the Gool--or how it got that rock-boring ship--was never revealed; I'm guessing that maybe it was a Deviant mutate, and the ship was Deviant technology--maybe Warlord Kro had the Gool created as a standby "sleeper" weapon, to be used once humans developed atomic weapons.

Although the story's ending was unresolved, the caption in the final panel--DON'T DARE MISS THE "MARK OF THE GOOL" IN THE NEXT ISSUE--implied there would be a continuation; however, the promised sequel never appeared--I'm assuming Professor Dane would probably have come up with something to stop the monster, but I guess we'll never know.

Or maybe the Gool's rampage of destruction was ended by the immortal monster-hunter Ulysses Bloodstone.

Or perhaps that promised sequel eventually did appear (sort of)--maybe the Gool returned to the Earth's core, but later came back up as the Molten Man-Thing (They do kind of resemble each other.)

The Gool predates other nuclear-spawned movie monsters like Godzilla, and it would seem to foreshadow all the giant oddly-named creatures that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby would create over a decade later.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Gool has no known connections to:

Professor Clark Dane has no known connections to:

rock-boring ship

A giant screw-shaped, jet-propelled vehicle, it was originally located at the Earth's core--its origin was unrevealed (see comments).

When the dormant Gool revived and its instincts directed it to conquer the surface of the world, it climbed aboard the rock-boring ship. With a tremendous roar, the vehicle began to tunnel upwards; it eventually carried the Gool to Bikini Atoll.

The fate of the rock-boring ship was unrevealed--possibly it was destroyed during the atomic bomb test which mutated the Gool.

--Marvel Tales I#93/2

atomic bomb blast

As part of the Operation Crossroads nuclear testing program, an atomic bomb was dropped at Bikini Atoll on July 25, 1946. Unbeknownst to the U.S. military, the Gool was immediately below, tunneling up from the Earth's core in a rock-boring ship.

The Gool was mutated by the bomb's radiation, giving it the power to release intense electrical discharges from its body.

(Comment: The atomic tests at Bikini Atoll were also attributed to being responsible for the creation of the Screemies (as speculated by Captain Rak)).

--Marvel Tales I#93/2

Professor Clark Dane

A scientist working for the U.S. war department, Dane was stationed at a laboratory in San Francisco with Doctor Kirby.

Dane was observing a seismic indicator when the instrument registered tremors originating from the Earth's core--unbeknownst to Dane, these tremors were caused by the first stirrings of the Gool, which was reviving from its centuries of dormancy.

On July 24, 1946, Dane found that the tremors were centering in one particular area--Bikini Atoll--and he predicted something stupendous would erupt there the following day--unbeknownst to Dane, these tremors were caused by the Gool traveling up to that location in a rock-boring ship.

Dane telephoned Major Sardon of the U.S. military, because he wanted to fly to Bikini Atoll to observe the predicted event; however, Sardon denied Dane's request, only telling the Professor that the area was restricted at the time.

Because of his status, Dane was able to secure passage on an army plane headed for the South Pacific. But Professor Dane was never able to reach his intended destination--the area was restricted because the U.S. military was about to conduct an atomic bomb test there--and Dane's plane was ordered to land at a military base on an island just south of Bikini Atoll.

On July 25, 1946, the military base was attacked by the Gool, which had been mutated by the radiation of the atomic blast, and the creature became charged with electric power. But the monster halted its rampage of destruction when it telepathically sensed the presence of Clark Dane, the only man who had been aware of its existence. The creature projected a thought into Dane's mind, a thought contained in four words: "I AM THE GOOL!"

Then the giant monster strode back into the sea--Dane was relieved, and could only wonder where it would turn up next.

Clark Dane went back to his other scientific duties, almost forgetting the Gool, and his final fate was unrevealed (see comments).

--Marvel Tales I#93/2

images: (without ads)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p1, pan5 (Main Image - The Gool, rising from water)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p4, pan3 (Headshot - The Gool)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p2, pan2 (The Gool, battling military)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p8, pan1 (The Gool (rear view), projecting telepathic message to Professor Clark Dane)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p4, pan4 (The Gool climbs aboard rock-boring ship)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p4, pan5 (rock-boring ship tunnels to surface)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p6, pan5 (airplane drops atomic-bomb on Bikini Atoll, as rock-boring ship tunnels to surface)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p6, pan6 (atomic blast at Bikini Atoll)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p4, pan1 (Professor Clark Dane checks seismic indicator)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p1, pan4 (horrified Professor Clark Dane first sees the Gool)
Marvel Tales I#93/2, p2, pan4 (Professor Clark Dane (left) questions unidentified soldier)

Appearances:
Marvel Tales I#93/2 (August, 1949) - unidentified writer, Ed Winiarski (pencils), Artie Simek (letters), Stan Lee (editor)

First Posted: 08/09/2020
Last updated: 08/09/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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