Goom

Goom
Goom's first appearance in Tales of Suspense #15. Art by Jack Kirby.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Tales of Suspense #15 (March 1961)
Created by	Stan Lee Jack Kirby Dick Ayers
In-story information
Team affiliations	S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Paranormal Containment Unit
Abilities	Mental powers Immense head Arsenal of advanced technology

Goom is a fictional extraterrestrial created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in the anthology comic book Tales of Suspense #15 (March 1961) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He is depicted as the father of Googam.^[1][2]

Publication history

Goom first appeared in Tales of Suspense #15^[3] and was created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby,^[4] and Dick Ayers.

Fictional character biography

Goom is an alien from Planet X who attempted to conquer the Earth. He was defeated and returned to his home planet by other aliens from Planet X.^[4][5] His son Googam soon followed in his father's footsteps.^[4][6]

Xemnu later created a duplicate of Goom which the Hulk destroyed.^[7]

At some point, Goom was captured by the alien Collector and imprisoned alongside other monsters. These captives were freed by the Mole Man, but were defeated by the Beast, Giant-Man, the Hulk and the Thing, and Mister Fantastic exiled them into the Negative Zone.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Somehow, Goom and other monsters returned to Earth and took up residence on Monster Isle. On a Valentine's Day, Goom attempted to find a human mate on Earth, but the goddess Venus instead set him up (somewhat against his will) with the alien Shivoor.^{[volume & issue needed]} Goom vanished afterwards, leaving his son Googam alone on Earth.^{[volume & issue needed]}

The microscopic dictator Tim Boo Baa took advantage of Googam's search for his father to manipulate Googam into bringing him to Earth, where he was defeated by Googam's allies, the "Fin Fang Four".^[8]

Goom was later captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and placed in the custody of their Howling Commandos Monster Force.^{[volume & issue needed]} Goom later appeared on Monster Isle when Shadowcat and Magik appeared to look for a mutant girl named Bo. Goom was among the monsters that attacked the three until Magik teleported herself, Shadowcat, and Bo to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.^[9]

During the Monsters Unleashed storyline, Goom was among the monsters seen falling from the sky near San Diego. It turned out that Goom and the other monsters that were dubbed "Goliathons" were summoned by the Inhuman kid Kei Kawade where they helped to fight the Leviathon Tide.^[10] In one of these battles, Goom mocked his son Googam for struggling in his battle against an Insectoid Leviathon.^[11]

Powers and abilities

Goom has mental powers and an immense head. He had advanced technology which was seen in Tales of Suspense #15 including a spaceship, a disintegration-inducing "Neutron Ray", and a time machine, which had the ability to change the age of others.

Other versions

Marvel Adventures

In the Marvel Adventures continuity, Goom is depicted as an alien from the Negative Zone who monitors Earth through television transmissions. He ends up absorbing phrases from 2000s rap culture after the Human Torch accidentally switches his feed to MTV.

In other media

• Goom makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "This Man-Thing, This Monster! (Six Against Infinity, Part 3)".^[12]
• Goom appears in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.^[13] The version is female, lacks mental powers, and can breathe fire, ice, and acid. After Arkon causes him to crash-land on Monster Isle, Hulk encounters Goom's hatchlings (voiced by Clancy Brown, Benjamin Diskin, and Eliza Dushku)^[14][15][16] and rescues them and their mother after Arkon captures them. Afterwards, he leaves behind a drone to monitor Goom and her children. In the series finale "Planet Monster", Goom assists the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and the Avengers in fighting the Supreme Intelligence's invasion of Earth.

References

Further reading

• Cotter, Robert Michael "Bobb" (2008). The Great Monster Magazines: A Critical Study of the Black and White Publications of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786433896.
• Rhett Thomas, John (2015). The Marvel Legacy of Jack Kirby. Marvel Comics. ISBN 978-0785197935.

External links

• Goom at Marvel Wiki
• Goom at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe