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| Red Ghost | |
|---|---|
 Cover art forFantastic Four: Foes #5 (July 2005). Art byJim Cheung. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four #13 (April 1963)[1] |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Ivan Kragoff |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations | Intelligencia |
| Partnerships | Attuma |
| Abilities |
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Ivan Kragoff is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerStan Lee and artistJack Kirby, the characterfirst appeared inFantastic Four #13 (April 1963).[2] Kragoff is aSovietscientist andsupervillain known under thecodenameRed Ghost.[3] He first served as an antagonist to theFantastic Four before later confronting other superheroes, including theAvengers.[4] He is also the leader of theSuper-Apes—Mikhlo (Михло), Igor (Игорь), and Peotr (Пётр).[5]
Ivan Kragoff is aCold War–era villain depicted as aSoviet scientist determined to surpass the Americans and reach the Moon before them during theSpace Race. Seeking to replicate the Fantastic Four's exposure to cosmic rays, Kragoff launched himself into space with three trained apes—Mikhlo, Igor, and Peotr—who also underwent mutation and became his Super-Apes. The experiment granted Kragoff the ability to become intangible, while his apes gained abilities such as super strength and shapeshifting. The character reflects the period's fascination with space exploration and scientific experimentation, though his Cold War–inspired origins became less prominent in later decades.[6]
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Ivan Kragoff and the Super-Apes debuted inFantastic Four #13 (April 1963), created byStan Lee andJack Kirby.[7] He subsequently appeared in several Marvel titles, includingIron Man (1968),[8]Marvel Apes: Speedball (2009),[9] andAvengers Assemble (2024).[10]
Ivan Kragoff was born inLeningrad, in what was at the time theSoviet Union. Before becoming the Red Ghost, he was a Soviet scientist bent on beating theAmericans to theMoon and claiming it for theCommunist empire. He assembled a crew of three trained primates — Mikhlo thegorilla, Igor thebaboon, and Peotr theorangutan — which he subjected to specialized training regimens.[11]
Kragoff knew of the Fantastic Four's history, and deliberately designed his rocket to give his crew superpowers viacosmic rays. Kragoff gained the ability to become intangible and invisible, Mikhlo became superhumanly strong and durable, Igor gained the ability toshapeshift and could transform into nearly anything, and Peotr gained the ability to attract and repulse objects.[12]
The Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, as he called them, battled the Fantastic Four soon after gaining their powers, first meeting theThing. Red Ghost encounteredUatu theWatcher during this fight, who said he would bring the two warring groups together in a fight for supremacy over the Moon. The Red Ghost and his apes first defeated the Four and kidnapped theInvisible Girl. But he was defeated by the Fantastic Four and left on the Moon when the apes rebelled against him after the Invisible Girl deactivated a force field, allowing them access to the food the Red Ghost kept from them. Mikhlo then broke down the metal door, freeing the Invisible Girl. The Red Ghost got into the Watcher's base hoping to use his secrets, but was unable to understand the technology, and was thrown from the area by the Watcher. The Fantastic Four then used a paralyzing ray to stop him.[13]
With his Super-Apes, he later again battled the Fantastic Four on the Moon, and again encountered the Watcher. Kragoff was accidentally teleported to Earth by the Watcher's matter transporter.[14] The Red Ghost was expelled from the Communist Party and his Super-Apes were impounded. He allied with theMole Man who was trying to use an earthquake machine to attack the surface world, and battled theAvengers, but was defeated.[15] Back with the Super-Apes again, Kragoff appeared among the villains assembled byDoctor Doom to destroy the Fantastic Four.[16] Kragoff eventually lost his original powers. He allied with theUnicorn to stealIron Man's cosmic-ray intensifier, which he used to gain the new superhuman power of a mist-like form and to give powers to his new trained apes, Alpha and Beta. He battled Iron Man and the Unicorn, but was defeated by Alpha and Beta, who turned against him.[17] He later formed an alliance withAttuma and battled theDefenders, but was defeated.[18]
Kragoff next experimented with a cosmic-ray intensifier to attempt to increase his own superhuman powers, but instead unintentionally caused himself to be unable to leave a state of intangibility. He had his original Super-Apes kidnap Anthony Stark and forced him to build a "cosmitronic cannon" and return him to a tangible state. He battled Iron Man, but the next time Kragoff became intangible, his atoms began to disperse as a side effect of his treatment with the cannon. Kragoff's consciousness managed to force his atoms to remain together, although his body remained intangible.[17]
Months later,Mister Fantastic went into space to expose himself to cosmic radiation and revitalize his powers. Unknown to Richards, Kragoff was also aboard the spaceship and hid from him until he could restore his powers as well. Fully recovered, he battled Mister Fantastic and escaped.[19]
With the Super-Apes, the Red Ghost attempted to steal a rare mathematical treatise fromEmpire State University. He battledSpider-Man, but escaped.[20] He attempted to cause earthquakes in Soviet cities, and battled theSoviet Super-Soldiers.[21] He forced theBlack Fox to accompany the Super-Apes on robberies. He once again battled Spider-Man, but escaped.[22][23]
During the "Acts of Vengeance" storyline, the Red Ghost, alongsideKlaw, theLiving Laser, andVenom, attempted to steal alien technology from the Watcher's home on the Moon, during which he was defeated and captured.[24] With the Super-Apes, the Red Ghost attempted to steal the alien technology of thePower Pack's smartship Friday; he battled them, Mister Fantastic, and theInvisible Woman, and was captured.[25]
The Super-Apes later show up alone, having separated themselves from the Red Ghost and became independent criminals by taking over a private zoo in Salina, Kansas. They had turned the animals against the local population and captured three members of theNew Warriors when they entered the complex. Instead of fighting their way out of the situation, they used their intellect and settled on a peaceful coexistence with the people of the town.[volume & issue needed]
Shortly after the Fantastic Four returned from a pocket dimension created byFranklin Richards, the Super-Apes had gained high levels of intelligence and were working on a virus that would eliminate humanity, leaving simians dominant. The Red Ghost, conversely, had degenerated into a childlike mental state and spent most of the time interested in a rabbit.[volume & issue needed]
The Red Ghost and his Super-Apes teamed up again and the Red Ghost regained his original intelligence. They attempted to build a new Communist state in the political vacuum of Niganda, "a country where a new form of Marxist-Leninist socialism can grow, based on the purity of the ape world."[volume & issue needed]
The Red Ghost later appeared as a member of theIntelligencia among other super-geniuses.[26] While theRed Hulk was fighting theX-Men, the Red Ghost managed to capture theBeast and theBlack Panther and sent his Super-Apes to assist the Red Hulk only for them to attack the Red Hulk. Mikhlo was killed by the Red Hulk, which enraged the Red Ghost.[27]
The Red Ghost replaced Mikhlo with Grigori, a baby gorilla who gains superhuman strength from scraps left behind by Department X. The Red Ghost's new team was short-lived as, not long after creating Grigori, the She-Hulks attacked and captured the foursome.[28]
The Red Ghost was with the Intelligencia when they were attacked by theSinister Six. During the battle, he and his apes were killed whenDoctor Octopus used the Zero Cannon to launch them into space.[29]MODOK was able to revive the Red Ghost, the Super-Apes, and the other members of Intelligencia.[30]
During theCivil War II storyline, the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes are working on a new science project when Steve Rogers, the originalCaptain America, attacks them and kills the Apes. The Red Ghost tries to escape, losing his right arm and left leg in the process, and is presumably killed by Steve, who confiscates his project for his own agenda.[31]
Through unknown means, Miklo, Igor, and Peotr are revived and ally withZiggy Pig's Masters of Animal Evil.[32]
The Super-Apes later take over theCentral Park Zoo, joined by thechimpanzee Yaroslavi. They battleHawkeye'sThunderbolts before police officers subdue them using sleeping gas.[33]
The Red Ghost takes refuge inKingsport, Massachusetts, where the town is besieged by the ghosts of primates who died from cosmic radiation experiments and are hunting their former master. TheAvengers Emergency Response Squad end the threat by letting the primate ghosts have their revenge on Red Ghost while leaving him alive to face justice. The primate ghosts move on to the afterlife as the Avengers Emergency Response Squad see that Red Ghost is delivered tothe Hague.[34]
Ivan Kragoff is a brilliantscientist andcosmonaut who acquired his powers after deliberately exposing himself and three trained apes tocosmic rays during a space mission. The exposure granted Kragoff the ability to become intangible and phase through solid matter, while the apes each developed unique superhuman abilities, forming a team under his command.[35] Mikhlo, the gorilla, gained superhuman strength; Peotr, the orangutan, developed limited telekinetic abilities; and Igor, the baboon, acquired the power to shapeshift into any form.[36]
An alternate version of Ivan Kragoff appears in theAmalgam Universe. This version is thesecretary of state of Gorillagrad.[37]
An alternate version of Ivan Kragoff appears inMarvel Zombies: Evil Evolution.[38]
An alternate version of Ivan Kragoff’s assistant,Sorba Rutskaya, fromEarth-1610, appears inUltimate Fantastic Four. After a failed attempt to merge withSue Storm and acquire her powers, Rutskaya is instead infused with simian DNA, transforming into a multi-headed, gorilla-like being capable of intangibility and of generating primate-like minions.[39]
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