Super villains have always been developed in the Marvel Universe to counterbalance the powerful superheroes of all time. But Gorgon, a pure goon, was one of the greatest Marvel villains ever made. Gorgon, also known as Tomi Shishido, is a supervillain with an extensive list of skills who was the one who killed Wolverine.
In this video, I will be discussing the power of Gorgon, who was created by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. and made his debut in Wolverine volume 3, issue no. 20, published in December 2004. Gorgon served as the primary antagonist of the “Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Enemy of the State” storylines. His real name is Tomi Shishido, and physical characteristics include a height of six feet four inches, a weight of 215 pounds, and jet black hair. He has brilliant emerald eyes without pupils or irises.
Gorgon is skilled in a variety of areas, some of which are mutant traits he was born with and others which he picked up mystically soon after being raised from the dead. Gorgon, one of the Marvel Universe’s most terrifying martial artists, does not receive nearly as much attention as he merits.
Let us investigate this character’s abilities in detail and learn more about him.
The Becoming of Gorgon
Tomi Shishido is a strong mutant who leads the radical mutant group Dawn of the White Light. He is a member of the Hand and Hydra. He had near-superhuman levels of intelligence as a toddler. He gave his first speech at the age of two weeks. He was able to walk at the age of three months. He was able to read and write by the time he was one. He was recognized among the top five painters in contemporary Japan at the age of four. He tried suicide for the second time at the age of six and had already written his first opera.
He discovered his condition as a mutant with the capacity to turn individuals he makes eye contact with into stone when he was thirteen years old. As a result, he was called the Gorgon by the Japanese media. He learned to fight and function in daily life while blindfolded to cope with his lethal talents due to low-level telepathic powers. He also invented a mathematical formula at this age that demonstrated the existence of God without a doubt. This later experience seems to have had a profound impact on Shishido, who came to feel that if God existed, man could only be his slave, causing him to acquire a strong loathing for the very notion of God.
The Gorgon created the Dawn of the White Light, a mutant murder cult, when he was a youngster and, for four years, terrorized Japan. He murdered his family and sole true friend when he was eighteen in order to attract the attention of the Hand, an ancient ninja clan.
He was scared and kept the former in his Kobe apartment. He was soon visited by the Kraken, a renowned Hydra agent. He gave the Godkiller sword to the young Gorgon, a relic that would grant him his destiny. When Zeus and Amatsu-respective Mikaboshi’s pantheons of deities, the Olympians and the Amatsu-Kami, went to battle, the Godkiller was one of two blades fashioned at their request. This gift granted the Gorgon the ability to slay the one thing he despised the most: gods.
The Gorgon, seeking darker and more important things than the Dawn, discovered the Hand sanctuary in the rural parts of Japan and slew all of its guards while blinded to show off his talents. There is a significant dialogue where the Hand asks the Gorgon whether this is how he wanted to impress him by killing all the guards, to which The Gorgon responds, “I am worth a thousand of your guards. A million, even.”
After that, the Gorgon vowed his devotion to the Hand’s Jōnin. When the Gorgon’s devotion was called into doubt, he stabbed himself with his own sword and asked to be revived with his last breath. Impressed by his commitment, the Hand raised the Gorgon from the dead and made him one of their greatest fighters. He became the High Priest of the Hand and controlled the clan within a year. He formed an alliance with Hydra not long after.
Some Major Events Involving The Gorgon
After the major feat performed at the Hand Sanctuary, The Gorgon established an alliance with Hydra. That is how his relationship with Elsbeth Von Strucker was formed, who was actually the wife of the HYDRA leader, Baron Strucker.
The Gorgon had the Hand abduct the son of Ichiro Yashida, Wolverine’s dead fiancée, Mariko Yashida, falsely stating he wanted to test himself against the warrior Wolverine. Wolverine met his captors in Japan only to discover that it was all a set-up. He wiped off all Hand fighters, leaving just the Gorgon. Wolverine was rendered unconscious after being pierced in the chest by the Gorgon, who then claimed that the boy had already been killed. The Gorgon brainwashed Wolverine and released his weakened body in South America with the aid of Baron Strucker in order for his corpse to be retrieved by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Under the influence of the brainwashing, Wolverine launches a series of terrorist assaults, killing dozens of uniformed heroes and hundreds of S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, as well as the X-Man Northstar. Even though Wolverine is finally liberated from their control, he infiltrates the Baxter Building and steals from Reed Richards technology blueprints that are incredibly beneficial to HYDRA.
After S.H.I.E.L.D. executes an attack that destroys Nick Fury’s safe home and kills Elsbeth Von Strucker, the Gorgon attempts to murder him. Before he can complete the mission, Wolverine intercepts him. The two fight mercilessly, inflicting horrific injuries on one other.
When the Gorgon gains the upper hand and attempts to turn Wolverine into stone with his mutant power, Wolverine pulls out his claws at the very last moment, allowing the Gorgon to see his own reflection in the claws. As a consequence, the Gorgon’s strength is returned to him. Wolverine shatters his body once the Gorgon is transformed into stone.
Baron Von Strucker orders the high priests to use the last stone bits to revive the Gorgon, whom he wishes to be the final member of his new governing Council after HYDRA’s commanders attack the second Twilight Dawn. When HYDRA takes over an ex-SHIELD confinement facility named Red Worm and the squad heads there on a rescue operation, Gorgon runs across the Secret Warriors team that Nick Fury put together.
When the squad realizes Gorgon is about to execute his hostages, they decide to attack the HYDRA headquarters. When Gorgon confronts Hellfire, the difficulties of the latter encounters in the fight, prompt Yo-Yo to offer assistance. On the other hand, Gorgon uses the Godkiller sword to sever Yo-Yo’s forearms with a speed that astounds everyone in the combat.
Stonewall faces the Gorgon after the team invades one of HYDRA’s bases because of what he did to Yo-Yo. Gorgon cuts at Stonewall’s body, but the latter finally overcomes him by getting stronger and utilizing it. He is subsequently shown with the rest of HYDRA’s supreme council, where he expresses doubts about Nick Fury’s capacity to represent a significant danger to them. Years later, it was discovered that the Kraken had given Tomi the Godkiller sword at his house in Kobe, Japan.
When Tomi inquired as to why he had been given such a costly item, the Kraken said, “Who am I to deny a man his destiny?” and then walked away. Tomi’s determination to prove his greatness by slaying a deity in combat has been apparent from his boyhood.
As Fury’s crew raids the HYDRA headquarters, Gorgon is pitted against Phobos, son of Ares and God of terror. Phobos’ blade Grasscutter smashes Gorgon’s Godkiller after a fierce struggle. Phobos looks to have prevailed, but Tomi kills him with one of his shattered sword parts, completing his pledge to one day murder a deity. Gorgon grabs Grasscutter as a spoil of war after the battle.
Norman Osborn or the H.A.M.M.E.R. approaches the Gorgon many years later, seeking HYDRA’s assistance in forming a new Dark Avengers squad to avenge his failure during the Siege of Asgard. When Shishido asks Osborn which Avenger character he should play, he says, “I think it’s clear, Gorgon, that you are going to be whoever you want to be. The question is, who do you want to stick it to the most?”. As a result, Tomi decides to play Wolverine in order to avenge his humiliation at Logan’s hands.
Tomi subsequently became the leader of his own sect of The Hand inside the East Asia branch of their organization and finally took control of Madripoor. After he wreaked havoc on the lawless island continent, a new Avengers squad was dispatched to examine the situation and report back to base. Tomi had just finished an old rite confined to Hand lore: a song about “A humble little island shunned by many, rests upon the back of a Dragon,” just as some of their members were reacquainting themselves with the hired workers.
After wreaking havoc in Madripoor, the Hand and Gorgon (who had been re-appointed as their leader) utilized a ceremony to reawaken a dragon. And guess what? The island rested on that dragon’s head. Shang-Chi attempted but failed to oppose him. The dragon then flew to Hong Kong, where it was met with resistance by the Ascendants. Shang Chi transformed into a giant and fought the dragon using Pym Particles. But not before ripping Gorgon’s base from Madripoor and hurling it many kilometers away.
The Orphans of X used the Hand’s forces to battle Muramasa and his people in an effort to capture Wolverine, Honey Badger, and Daken, which angered Gorgon. Muramasa persuaded him to supply Laura and Gabby with conveyance so they could hunt down Daken (who allowed himself to be kidnapped after embedding Megan Kinney’s phone inside him to function as a tracker) as well as the rest of the Orphans when he arrived.
What Makes Gorgon So Deadly
There are a lot of solid moments where the Gorgon could demonstrate his skills and powers effortlessly, and all of us fans have been rendered speechless every time he pulled a move like that. For instance, when he catches the sword of Electra, he bites it into two halves and says, “but time is running out.” He also goes on to kick a tree limb off the ground, that too, while tackling a group of ninjas.
And, in turn, creating after images. His moments with Shang Chi have always been too entertaining, for instance, when he steamrolls Shang Chi or tosses Shang Chi up to a roof. The Gorgon is so full of might that he still does not give up despite getting stabbed by Electra and Wolverine. He could read Electra’s mind and have telepathic conversations with Norman Osborn.
Let us talk about his powers and abilities a little more in detail.
We all know that Tomi Shishido is a strong mutant with a variety of natural and enchanted superhuman talents that enable him to fight (and beat) experienced assassins like Elektra, as well as withstand several attacks from ferocious mutants like Wolverine. Shishido’s main mutant power is the ability to turn everyone who looks at him into stone. He initially demonstrated this skill by killing his own family, showing the Hand that he was prepared to sacrifice everything for their glory. His gaze did not fall on Phobos, probably due to the latter’s divine status. On the other hand, Tomi was unaffected by Phobos’ terror stare since he declared that he was incapable of experiencing fear.
The Gorgon also has a moderate level of telepathy, which he utilizes to read people’s minds and forecast combat actions. Tomi can also sense and interpret the emotions of those around him. When he used his telepathy to find Elektra had been stealing from the Vatican, he could extract memories from her mind as well. Shishido is likewise a polymathic genius who has excelled in a multitude of professions.
He was gifted with near-superhuman intellect as a youngster. He has demonstrated the capacity to rapidly recover from a close-range RPG explosion and keep fighting to the best of his ability. Even when Wolverine was slashing and pulling chunks of skin off him, the Gorgon could out-move and destroy him easily because of the Hand’s renewal.
Gorgon now has a slew of new talents and upgrades to his previous ones, thanks to his demise and resurrection at the hands of a specific ninja cult. Gorgon’s strength allows him to bench press one or more tonnes at his peak, classified as a class 2 on the strength scale. He is fast enough to outrun Wolverine’s heightened senses, going at speeds of 111–115 mph over lengthy strides and probably faster in short spurts. Gorgon’s musculature creates lesser tiredness poisons during physical exercise than an average human’s muscle. He can keep going for at least 24 hours before the tiredness toxin starts to affect him.
Gorgon has greatly enhanced hearing and other abilities as a result of spending most of his life with his eyes shut. With razor-sharp response times, he can avoid bullets or deflect them with his swords with great ease. Even with his eyes hampered by scorching ashes, he was able to battle in utter darkness. He has superhuman reflexes.
Due to superhuman durability and agility, Gorgon’s bodily tissues are significantly strengthened and unmatched by even the most potent human specimens. He can endure a bomb blowing up in his face, several stabs from Wolverine’s indestructible claws, and many chi-enhanced attacks from Shang-Chi, among other things. He physically outperforms the best human athlete in terms of coordination, balance, agility, and bodily mobility.
Tomi frequently used elemental Japanese steel swords or a Katana in his criminal endeavors. He would use them to a fantastic effect since he is a superb swordsman. The Gorgon used to wield the Godkiller, a terrible sword capable of inflicting fatal wounds on mythological beings and gods.
Godkiller’s opponent, Grasscutter, broke him during his battle with Phobos. Gorgon claimed Grasscutter or the Kusanagi for himself after conquering and murdering the God of terror. He wields claws identical to Wolverine’s as a member of Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers. Their make-up is unknown. Tomi has access to a variety of personal instantaneous teleportation technologies as the C.E.O. of several highly sophisticated companies such as HYDRA.
The Mighty Gorgon and his Prowess
Tomi Shishido is one of Marvel Earth’s most formidable fighters, having defeated both Elektra and Wolverine at the same time, despite having the advantage of preparation and a surprise strike. His physical abilities include superhuman speed and stealth, to the point that Wolverine couldn’t detect him. He was so competent that he could fight and defeat Phobos, the God of terror, bragging about his ability to slay a god in single combat.
The Gorgon endured multiple punches during a confrontation with Shang-Chi before quickly counterattacking and severely hurting the Master of Kung Fu. With his weapon, he has deflected and chopped apart bullets, as well as chopped off the hands of the speedy Slingshot, all while fighting three other opponents. Gorgon has a bizarre origin story and is an absolute psychopath who just wants to murder a God one day. Gorgon has done some horrific things to Wolverine, and he has truly broken him. He is one of Marvel’s most beloved villains and is vastly underappreciated.