Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Vile Menagerie: KORGE


Alter Ego KORGE!
God of RAGE!
Marital Status SINGLE!
Known Relatives NONE!
Group Affiliation NONE!
Base planet VONN!
Justice League DEBUT! Original Series 115! January/February 1975!
Fifty Feet TALL!
Bright Red IRISES! Pale Orange SCLERA!
Long White HAIR!

History
After the planet Mars was rendered uninhabitable, survivors fled to a far distant world that was little more hospitable called Vonn. While exploring the planet, science leader J'onn J'onzz and his party came upon a pair of bolted metal doors set into a mountainside. Curiosity led the Martian Detective to deduce a means of unlocking the doors, from which sprang a giant pale hand. A towering figure emerged, claiming to be a god of rage imprisoned for eons, who began brutalizing the Martians. When the Martians began to fight back, this Korge somehow knew that they had an inherent vulnerability to open flames, which he produced to herd them back to their settlement. Once there, Korge read J'onzz's mind, and demanded he bring his former associates in the Justice League of America to Vonn under penalty of one Martian death per day until their arrival.

Two days later, the Martian Manhunter reached the JLA satellite in orbit around Earth via a vessel supplied by Korge, and the group agreed to teleport back to Vonn. In turn, Korge defeated the Flash, Green Lantern, Superman in single combat. Recognizing their inability to face Korge individually with powers the Angry God had already countered, the Atom rewired Korge's "Space Warp" device to transfer the present Leaguers' minds and powers into one another's bodies and face him en masse. The element of surprise and the confusion of multiple attackers overwhelmed Korge, Martian Manhunter delivered the final blow, and Korge was undone.

Powers & Weapons:
Beyond his great size and its accompanying strength, Korge was virtually invulnerable to direct assault. Any being that came into contact with Korge's skin transferred unto him the secret of their greatest vulnerability, which he could then spontaneously manifest. The means of this revelation appear to be telepathic, although evidence suggests Korge's range was limited, and may have required a tactile component. Korge's defensive power appears to be based in transmutation, allowing him to create fire from thin air, turn himself and all objects in contact with his skin yellow, turn surfaces slippery, and irradiate a rock into green kryptonite. Korge appears to be dependent on external stimuli to produce these defenses, and it is not known if his alterations are permanent or whether they can be manifested by will alone.

Inside Korge's tomb was kept a "space-warper," a teleportation device for multiple humanoids of standard height. The device could transmit up to five beings' essence across untold distances of space, and then "follow" them to their destination for additional usage. Physicist Ray Palmer proclaimed its circuits centuries ahead of Earth science.

Weaknesses:
Korge's defenses lock on an individual body's abilities after direct contact. Should the "essence" and abilities of one individual be transferred to another, or an attack launched from an unfamiliar source from a distance outside of the reach of Korge's powers, the last angry god would be left vulnerable.

Distinguishing Features:
Korge stands multiple stories tall, and has white skin with jaundiced patches. His hands have four digits, including three fingers and an opposing thumb. These digits appear to be wrinkled and very coarse, and each has a brown clawed fingernail measurable by feet. He has twin fanged teeth like a vampire, and unique two-toned eyes. Korge also spoke solely in three word broken sentences, with greatest emphasis always placed on the last word.

Quote: "With each VICTORY! Korge's power INCREASES!"

Created by Denny O'Neil and Dick Dillin

3 comments:

will_in_chicago said...

Korge is a classic Bronze Age villain and I think that he is a great example of his era. So, I would suggest keeping him as he shows how even heroes need to work together.

Diabolu Frank said...

I'm old enough to hear "classic" and "Bronze Age" as a contradiction in terms. Korge is fun in small doses, like GWAR.

will_in_chicago said...

Yeah, drag him on out every now and then. Perhaps have him get into a fight with another "god".