Thursday, December 17, 2015

Grodd Ain 't So Tough!

It's always interesting seeing how villains evolve over the years, often going from afterthought one-shots to the biggest bad-asses conceivable.

Take, for example, Grodd.

Yes, the very name conjures terror and angst in all DC fans. He's a Big Bad.

But in his first appearance? Not so much.

Grodd has just stolen the "force of mind power" from Solivar, and now he can bend other to his will!!

Remember--when Obi-Wan uses "force of mind," it's good--when Grodd or Killgrave use it, it's bad!!

Anyway, Flash and Grodd haven't met yet...but Solivar has just recruited Barry to take down Grodd before he can conquer the world.

And the first meeting between these titans? Their terrible struggle?




Done in 6 panels. The Flash just spins Grodd around really fast. Game over.

No, seriously, spinning him around fast was enough to completely defeat the evil ape!

Well...that was easy.

As I said...interesting. Grodd was a throwaway villain easily disposed of in the back-up story. Somewhere along the line, though, he became the final-panel-reveal-OMG-Flash-is-in-for-the-battle-of-his-life villain.

So, evildoers, don't give up. Perservere, and you, too, can make the Grodd leap from  disposable chaff to world-threatening figure!!

From Flash #106 (1959)
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2 comments:

  1. googumDecember 17, 2015 at 8:53 AM

    Didn't Grodd spend a good chunk of the 80's dead? (Sinestro too, come to think of it.) Like he wasn't serious enough for DC.

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  2. BKDecember 18, 2015 at 5:59 AM

    It was a pretty good "evilution" --from half a dozen Flash battles through the 60s to a Superman crossover in the 70s to Secret Society of Super-Villains in 1976 to the Legion of Doom on Superfriends by 1978. 20 years to get to the top and then came Crisis. But it seems post-1990 he has just been everywhere?

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