Spider-Tracer: The Wrath of Gog

First of all, allow me to say that I hope that this first Spider-Tracer article of 2020 finds you all well. Hard to believe that I’ve been writing these for over two years now, but I’ll tell you, I enjoy writing them now just as much as I did when I first started them. And I hope you are, too!

 

Anywho, for our first Spider-Tracer article of the year, we’ll be looking back at a character that I had tons of questions about when I first saw him in an early 90’s Spider-Man story. As you know, that’s the point of these Spider-Tracer articles; to educate you fellow Spider-Man fans on the history of our favorite Wall-Crawler. I know that if I was clueless about who this big lug of a character was, I’m certain many of you are in the same boat, or, perhaps, have never even heard of him before. He helped make kidnapping Gwen Stacy fashionable. That’s right, this month we’ll be taking a look at… Gog!

 

 

The menace of Gog first appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #103. A member of the Tsiln race, Gog’s alien ship crashed in the Savage Land. There were two small, youthful creatures aboard. One, a female, was deceased, having not survived the crasj. The male, however had lived. Discovered by Kraven the Hunter, he decided to keep and raise the young alien as a pet. The creature quickly matured, becoming three hundred feet tall. Given its great size and strength, Kraven determined to use the beast to conquer the Savage Land.

 

 

However, Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, and J. Jonah Jameson head into the Savage Land following reports of a giant, terrible creature (guess who!). Wanting to get the scoop on whatever it was, Jameson brings Parker to get photographic evidence of what they find, and Gwen goes along to… sell newspapers. Yes, Jameson wanted to bring her along since he thought a female angle would appeal to the female readership of the Daily Bugle, and because “a petty face never scared gents away from the newsstand.”, as he put it.

 

It wasn’t long before Gog showed up and absconded with Peter Parker’s girlfriend. But where Peter Parker failed to save her, certainly Spider-Man would, right? Fortunately for Spidey, he wouldn’t have to fight both Kraven (who desired Gwen as his mate, I kid you not!) and Gog by himself; he’d receive help from Ka-Zar and Zabu the sabretooth tiger! While Ka-Zar and his furry friend took care of Kraven (who seemingly perished falling over the side of a cliff) Gog gave chase after Spider-Man. During Gog’s relentless pursuit (during which he was able to fight and kill a T-Rex, believe it or not!), Gog slipped into some quicksand, seemingly perishing as well. As we know, this was not the end of Kraven; nor would this be the end of Gog either, surprisingly!

 

 

Following “The Amazing Spider-Man” #104, Gog next appeared in “Astonishing Tales” Vol. 1, #’s 17-18. It was revealed that with his great lungs able to prolong his life far longer than creatures of a smaller size, Gog was soon rescued by the Plunderer, Ka-Zar’s sinister brother.

 

 

We also discover that the two bracelets upon Gog’s wrists, when brought together with enough force, allow Gog to teleport. Going from the Savage Land to the concrete jungle that is New York City, Gog soon simply teleported away from the battle, abandoning the Plunderer in the process.

 

 

It would be nearly 20 years before Gog returned in 1992 during the “Revenge of the Sinister Six” storyline in “Spider-Man” #22. Doc Ock and four other members of the Sinister Six invade an alien dimension to gather weapons with which they plan to conquer the world. It’s here that they recruit their sixth and final member Gog; turns out that this is where he teleported to following his appearance in “Astonishing Tales”.

 

 

Gog makes short work of Danny Ketch as Ghost Rider as well as the incredible Hulk, which was during his Smart Hulk days. Thankfully for them and the other heroes that show up to join the fray (Nova, the Fantastic Four, and Deathlok), Solo, another of their allies, is able to create a canon that manages to defeat the tallest member of the Sinister Six to date.

 

 

Following the battle, Mr. Fantastic then informs Spider-Man he’ll send Gog back to the dimension he came from, once he shrinks him down to make him a little more manageable.

 

Without explanation as to how he got there, Gog next showed up years later at full size on Monster Isle in “Uncanny X-Men” Vol.3, #33 when he attacks Kitty Pryde, Magik, and a young mutant by the name of Bo. The three mutants eventually manage to teleport away.

 

 

And that, my friends, is the last we heard of ol’ Gog. Where do you think he’ll show up next? Do you prefer him in Spider-Man books, or is he too other-worldly for your tastes? Let me know in the comments section below!