Dr. Gorilla

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The World's Smartest Gorilla! Matching his Super Gorilla Strength and Genius IQ against evil in all it's forms! The son of the villainous General Gorilla, this able minded ape has put his amazing abilities to work in order to make the world better. Doctor, Author, Teacher and Hero, Dr. Gorilla can do it all!



"Never fear! Dr. Gorilla is here!"

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DR. GORILLA
Dr. Gorilla
Player:
Origin: Science
Archetype: Tanker
Security Level: Confidential
Personal Data
Real Name: Cyril Christian Gorilla
Known Aliases: None
Species: Eastern Lowland Mountain Gorilla
Age: 42
Height: 7' 4"
Weight: 789 lbs.
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Russet Brown
Biographical Data
Nationality: Congonese(by birth), Citizen of the UK
Occupation: Doctor, Scientist, Author, Adventurer
Place of Birth: Unknown
Base of Operations: Paragon City, RI
Marital Status: single
Known Relatives: General Gorilla(father), Dr. Henry Drummond (adoptive brother)
Known Powers
Super Gorilla Strength, Praeternatural durability, Can leap great distances, Genius IQ, Quadrodextrous
Known Abilities
Dr. Gorilla is a polymath of the first order. He is a brilliant doctor, surgeon and psychiatric expert. He is an uparalleled scientist, author and researcher. Very few subjects escape his range of knowledge. A polyglot, Dr. Gorilla speaks over 70 languages, ancient and modern.
Equipment
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Contents

History

Early History

Having fled Nazi Germany, to Argentina, to several Balkan Countries, General Gorilla, found himself fleeing once again the enemies who'd swore his capture, now he went to the Congo. He'd been attempting for years to duplicate the process that had created him, he had fled with his prize, a nearly full term test-tube gorilla, with all signs to have inherited all of the General's abilities; a son. Agent Anthony Coulter from MI6 Intelligence Forces out of England had been tracking the sinisiter simian for a decade, and his efforts had finally paid off. The General had holed up in the last place he could in the world, and escape would be impossible if he were detected. A little used, subterranean, Nazi Command center had been made into a makeshift laboratory to bring the scion of the wicked General Gorilla into the world. Under staffed, in wretched conditions and exceedingly primitive medical equipment, the General and his team were successful, but at the very same moment, Agent Coulter and his commando team were raiding the installation. Explosives the team had used damaged the support structure of the facility, and while fleeing the General was buried in hundreds of tons of debris. The agents found the newborn gorilla and brought it back to MI6 along with whatever evidence they could find.


General Gorilla's plan to duplicate the process used upon him were well know to MI6 and other, world intelligence agencies, so the infant gorilla was taken to the Oxford Research Lab for Advanced Studies. There they hoped the scientists could discover something their own experts had failed to detect. It took very little time for the scientists to realize that this gorilla showed unusual intelligence. Before the creature was a year old, it was more than apparent that the gorilla could read, and spoke sign language with uncanny fluency. On it's first "birthday", the infant gorilla spoke, quite clearly and in an unchildlike fashion. When asked why he did not speak sooner, to this he replied "I was under the belief it was proper for children to start talking at around age 1...". The scientists were amazed, and the talking gorilla became the sensation of the world.


Simultaneous to the young gorilla's genius intellect blossoming, was the unusual occurance of the birth of Henry Drummond. Drummond was just turning 2 when the little gorilla started talking and was already in the world spotliight. The remarkable child had learned to speak at 4 months, read before his 1st birthday, and by age two could multiply exponents and spoke three languages. In an effort to cultivate the mind of this remarkable child, and the amazing ape, the two were raised together. Drummond's family had died in a train accident, and Oxford University adopted him. Drummond and the gorilla grew to regard one another as brothers, and were largely unaware of the unusual aspects of their upbringing. Twelve scientists lived in the Mortlake House, a residence on campus converted to a research and home for the duo and the scientific staff. Despite continuous studies, and a very structured education system, the two youngsters had a remarkably wholesome childhood. They were well loved by the scientists, and given opportunity to enjoy their childhood, the whole time the world watched them in fascination. When Henry was eight and Cyril, as the gorilla called himself, was seven, the primate made the unusual move, and applied to Oxford Medical School. It had been discussed that Henry, the older, and more gifted intellectually (Henry Drummond possesses an unrateble IQ, and is considered the world's smartest person) apply to college, but the young gorilla had gone ahead and done it. He was accepted as the youngest student every to attend Oxford. The same year Henry was accepted to MIT and moved to Massachusetts, in America. The two still got together for vacations and holidays. Ironically the more timid gorilla excelled socially in school, while the pushier child, Drummond, became isolated and introverted.

Oxford

The Clue Crew

Shortly after graduating from Oxford, Dr, Gorilla spent 2 years,"finding himself". Mostly he travelled, visited the great places of the world and getting to know humanity outside the small group of researchers's that'd raised him. In 1976, he decided to see America, here he met three teenagers (and their cat), who played in a counter-culture, beatnik style band. They invited Dr. Gorilla to join them on their journey from city to city, letting him perform some of his own "beat-style" poetry as an accent piece. The band was, Dharma King and the Buddhists, and on at least two occasions, were embroiled in some interesting capers. After eight months with the band, the young people and Dr. Gorilla went their seperate ways.

Dr. Gorilla's involvement and touring with the small ensemble caught the eye of media agent Sal Rothstien (who would become,and remains, Dr. Gorilla's professional agent to this day) who pitched the idea of a fictionalized, animated version of the experience. Dr. Gorilla and the band were re-united, by now all were enrolled in college or beginning careers, but the doctor wanted them to recieve the proper ammount of royalties. In September 1977, Dr. Gorilla and the Clue Crew aired it's first episode (Lighthouse Blues) and was an instant success. It would continue on for three years, producing 83 aired episodes and 4 "lost" episodes.

The presentation was fairly simple and formulaic. The band was now called, Guru and the Gorilla-maniacs, and was populated by animated versions of the original teenagers, Dr. Gorilla and Winkie the Cat. Rolling from city to city in their "Gig Rig", a converted tractor-trailer truck, the gang found that each musical engagement was also coupled with some mystery. The Clue Crew was, Ronnie, the guitarist, portrayed as a rather dumb, but popular jock, Brenda Blue, the beautiful, ditzy drummer and go-go dancer, Stony the beatnik, played bass, and was a combination of comic relief and cowardice, and the scheming but bumbling Winkie the Cat, on keyboards, Dr. Gorilla played bongos and "laid down some heavy jive". Invariably most episodes would have a catchy number and generally a chase montage set to one of the band's songs (ironically, none of the original band, played any of the music). Music generated by the show was successful enough to have two albums recorded, but their sales were unremarkable, and no more came of it.

The show was exceedingly popular, spawning mountains of merchandise from toys, to clothes, to lunchboxes. Several times it has been attempted to be resurrected in a modern form, but never succesfully. Two, terrible, made for TV, live action movies were made in 1979 and only aired once. The show remains in syndication and can still be seen worldwide, it has been translated into 23 languages. The show was not without criticism, potrayals of the famous doctor's Super Gorilla Strength, and improbable events made it the target of ruthless criticism from older fans of the show. Despite the critics, the show ran it's course and aired it's last episode on February 1980 (The Creature from Coney Island). Dr. Gorilla wrote 12 episodes of the show himself, but was allowed little creative input, so he kept his professional distance. The good doctor loved the show, thinking it both wonderful and nostalgic, only wishing he could be more a part of the process. A sample of a Clue Crew episode went like this...


EXCERPT FROM EPISODE 14, SEASON 2 (MUMMY'S THE WORD!)

THE CLUE CREW IN AN OLD BOILER ROOM

BRENDA: I FOUND SOMETHING? GOLLY, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS?

STONY: I'M HOPING IT'S FOOD, MAN!

WINKIE: OR MONEY!

RONNIE: GUYS, SERIOUSLY, LET ME TAKE A LOOK. WHOA...WHAT IS THAT, IT'S LIKE...

STONY: TOTALLY WIERD IN A FAR OUT WAY? LET'S JUST GET OUTTA HERE, ISN'T ANYONE ELSE HUNGRY...OR TERRIFIED?

DR. GORILLA: LET ME SEE THAT! WHY THAT IS ODD...IT'S A PHOENICIAN COIN...OVER 3,000 YEARS OLD...

BRENDA: GEE WHIZ, LIKE DOC, WHAT'S A "FUN FASHION" COIN DOING DOWN HERE?

WINKIE: AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT'S IT WORTH?

RONNIE: YOU THINK THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH MISSING MUSEUM CURATOR AND OUR CANCELLED GIG AT THE ANCIENT CULTURES EXPO?

DR. GORILLA: IT COULD BE...IT COULD BE...LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT A MYSTERY ON OUR HANDS...

STONY: OH BROTHER...IN YOUR CASE BIG BRAINS, THAT'S A LOTTA HANDS...

LAUGH TRACK


When interviewed years later, in a 1990 reunion special, Dr. Gorilla said, that it had been the only time he was unaware that he was a gorilla and that his friends were human. Today, the real-life Clue Crew have grown up and are approaching middle age (Dr. Gorilla was the youngest member, save for Winkie, who died in 1996, at the age of 27). Ronald "Ronnie" Fellows, went to Yale, studied business and started what would become a fabulously successful frozen yogurt company. Ronnie, was hardly the dumb jock portrayed in the show, being rather a sensitive and artistic fellow and the leader of the original group. Ronnie honored his Clue Crew heritage with two flavors of frozen yogurt, "Gig Rig", and "The Doctor prefers Mangoes", resepectively. Brenda "Blue" Smith, became a member of her local TV News team, she was always disappointed that her character was potrayed so dumb. Archibald "Stony" Anderson, stayed with music. and after never achieving popular success, began composing music for TV shows and commercials, he says the portrayal of his own character was a "living mirror". Winkie the Cat, stayed with Stony until he passed, but had little to say at the reunion, but being a real-life cat, this was to be expected. To his credit, the Siamese behaved the perfectly the entire show without tranquilization or incident (in fact, the organizers of the event had booked a Winkie double, fearing the animal had already passed on).

Public Figure

Recent History

Personality

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<Polaroid of Dr. Gorilla taken in Central Park by a fan>

Dr. Gorilla is a complex and well meaning individual. Outwardly he is a dry, British intellectual, prone to puns and quotations. He is a methodical thinker and possesses a generous heart. Dr. Gorilla is strongly aware that he is an outsider, and understands that he is more often than not, viewed as a curiosity or novelty. An extremely private primate, the doctor spends his rare moments of free time gardening, writing and reading (He has a weakness for Chaucer, Bocaccio, Milton and particularly Blake). As a gorilla, he finds humans exceedingly unattractive creatures physically, small, frail, hairless and soft looking. The doctor is a confirmed Anglican, and very devout in his faith, but is open-minded and welcome to everyone.

Internally Dr. Gorilla is lonely, he is strongly conscious of the fact that his malicious father is the only other representative of his species, a fact which he bears with some guilt. Dr. Gorilla is exceedingly well liked by anyone who can overcome his frightening physical appearance, but he retains few close friendships. Simone Carswell is his truest confidante, but he esteems the friendship of the Space Paladin as a kindred spirit, he regrets that his adoptive brother and he have become less close in recent years. In the past he was very close to the teenage Clue Crew (Ronnie, Stony, Brenda and Winkie the cat), since they have become adults their friendship has cooled with distance, in truth the doctor misses those "crazy kids" more than he mentions. Despite his minor feelings of isolation, the doctor is cheerful and optimistic, finding wonder and wisdom in culture and friendship of man.

Dr. Gorilla entered into crime-fighting and mystery solving quite reluctanly, far more at home researching and writing, occasionally lecturing and teaching a few classes at Oxford. When his good friend; Dr. Gabriel Young (the 2nd Torch Titan), was brutally murdered, he joined the All Star Sentinels of America as their medical officer (being one of the leading minds on meta-humanity). His duties slowly took him ito the field, and coupled with his previous career in mystery solving, he gravitated to full time super-hero activities, a field he finds gratifying.

Powers

Dr. Gorilla is the son of General Gorilla, a genetically modified primate and an unknown female gorilla. Uitilzing similar in vitro genetic maniplation, that the Nazis used on him, General Gorilla, assured his son the same powers as his own. Alterations to brain structure, muscular and respitory physiology and fortification of his integumentary system provide him the following abilities:

Dr. Gorilla's Powers during the Clue Crew years

The representation of Dr. Gorilla's powers was very different during the Clue Crew years. While travelling with that zany band of trouble prone teenagers, the doctor's only real represented power was his Super Gorilla Strength, which varied greatly from episode to episode, at times seemingly limitless, and at other times barely superior to humans. He possesses no particular invulnerabilities during this time period, and is easily coerced by guns and other weapons as normal people are. While he is displayed on several occasions as a remarkable climber, this ability is often convienently absent. He shows no ability to leap, and is often represented as clumsy. Dr. Gorilla's intellect is portrayed in an equally dichotomous fashion, being brilliant and immensely clueless simultaneously.

Simone Carswell

<Simone> is simply the most capable human being the species has produced. She balances poise and ability with natural grace, I would be nothing without her... excerpt from 1997 Larry King Interview with Dr. Gorilla


Simone Carswell is the doctor's personal assistant and secretary. She is a very attractive woman in her early thirties, of possibly Asiatic heritage and speaks with a very slight, but undefinable accent, she wears horn rimmed glasses and expensive clothes. She handles all his public bookings, arranges his lecture and teaching schedule, schedules all his appointments and patients, as well as act as his public press agent when necessary.

While it is unknown how the two met, it is obvious that Simone has travelled with the doctor as a partner in adventure in his early years. She helped him tackle Varney the Vampire (Strange Tales of Horror and Suspense #72, Dr. Gorilla vs. The Vampire!), as well as the ghost of Houdini (Dr. Gorilla and the Clue Crew Comics! #7, Houdini's Ghost!). She is a crack shot with a pistol, speaks French, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Greek and Arabic, types 120 words per minute and keeps her private life very private. Simone is married, little is known about her husband; Allen, other than that he is an atsronaut and that he is Dr. Gorilla's golf partner. Simone's salary remains a mystery, but it has been indicated that it was the object of shock and envy from a Fortune 500 Company CEO.

Simone Carswell has been with the doctor for most of his career. We do know that when Dr. Gorilla served in Scotland Yard, that this was before he and Simone were acquainted. Likewise, Simone is only very scarcely represented during Dr. Gorilla's, Clue Crew years. Only making four appearances in the 83 episodes. It was explained later that this was the period she met and married Allen.

Affiliations

Selected Bibliography

Dr. Gorilla is a voluminous author, writing on almost every imaginable subject. His works are recieved well by both intellectuals and everyday citizens, but few will fail to admit some of his work is a bit too erudite. Able to write with both his hands and feet, and his remarkable brain power, the doctor can successfully write three seperate ideas simultaneously, allowing him to produce vast quantities of written material. While he has written over 1,000 books a selected few are listed here for those curious:



















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<duskjacket to the 2006 release of "ASSA; Red, White and the USA..." >

Popular Appearances

Dr. Gorilla has appeared in many different publications, television series and documentaries. The very popular primate has appeared in almost every AMAZING COMICS title. His appearances include, but are not limited to; Tipsy Travellight; Gabby Girl about Town (Issues 4,16,23,114,), Maiden Glory: Maiden of Might (Issues 23, 93, 62), Maiden Glory; The Valiant Valkyrie (Issue 1), ASSA (Issues 72, 100, 314,215,216,217,218,220,321,322,450,452,etc...), More Strange Tales of Space (Issue 5), Love Stories: Great Comics for Girls (Issues 45, 79), Spy Hunter: Master of Super Espionage (Issues 14,27, 54), Airman Ace; Tales of the Wild Blue Wonder! (Issues 2,7), well the list goes on and on. He also stared in the very popular 1977-80 ABC Saturday Morning Cartoon; Dr. Gorilla and the Clue Crew, a formulaic, mystery themed show, highly critized by ardent fans for the inconsistancies in representations of Dr. Gorilla's; Super Gorilla Strength (ie: Dr. Gorilla in Episode 4, Season 1 "Phantom of the Roller Disco"; Dr. Gorilla lifts the entire Roller Disco for the last 4 minutes, where in Episode 7, season 2 "Caveman Freakout!!!", Dr. Gorilla is tied up with normal ropes. Dr. Gorilla hosted the acclaimed BBC series,"Seige Perilous; World Leaders Roundtable", and has appeared as an expert and a guest on countless television programs; Dick Cavett, Leno, Letterman, King...


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<Maiden Glory: Maiden of Might #23 & More Strange Tales of Space #5, covers>

Trivia


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<Dr. Gorilla's business card>

Artwork

All the artwork on this site was done by Dr. Gorilla himself! Check out allstars.guildportal.com to see more!

Character Reference Shot

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