Red Ghost

Red Ghost and his Super-Apes were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Fantastic Four #13 (April, 1963) and #29 (August, 1964).[1]

Ivan Kragoff was born in Leningrad, in what was at the time the Soviet Union. Before becoming the Red Ghost, Ivan was a Soviet scientist bent on beating the Americans to the moon and claiming it for the Communist empire. He assembled a crew of three trained primates — Mikhlo the gorilla, Igor the baboon, and Peotr the orangutan — which he subjected to specialized training regimens of his design.[2] He then took off on his lunar rocket trip on behalf of the USSR, while on the very next panel, the Fantastic Four were aiming their own rocket for the same destination.

Kragoff knew enough of the Fantastic Four's history, and he purposefully designed his rocket in such a way that he and his crew would be heavily exposed to the cosmic rays that he expected would infuse them with superpowers. This was successful: Kragoff gained the ability to become as intangible and invisible as a "ghost", Mikhlo became super humanly strong and durable, Igor gained the ability to shapeshift and could transform into nearly anything, and Peotr gained the ability to attract and repulse objects.[3]

The Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, as he called them, battled the Fantastic Four soon after gaining their powers, first meeting the Thing. Red Ghost encountered Uatu the Watcher 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 the Invisible 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.[4]

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.[5] The Red Ghost was expelled from the Communist Party and his Super-Apes were impounded. He formed an alliance with the Mole Man who was trying to use an earthquake machine to attack the surface world, and battled the Avengers, but was defeated.[6] Back with the Super-Apes again, Kragoff appeared among the villains assembled by Doctor Doom to destroy the Fantastic Four.[7] Kragoff eventually lost his original powers. He formed an alliance with the Unicorn to steal Anthony Stark'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.[8] He battled Iron Man and the Unicorn, but was defeated by Alpha and Beta, who turned against him.[9] He later formed an alliance with Attuma and battled the Defenders, but was defeated.[10]

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 in an intangible and, at times, invisible state.[11]

Months later, Mister Fantastic went into space to expose himself to cosmic radiation to revitalize his own powers. Unknown to Richards, Kragoff, still intangible, was also aboard the spaceship. Kragoff used his invisibility to hide from Richards for days until he was able to immerse himself in cosmic radiation, restoring his powers to what they originally had been. The Red Ghost could again become tangible or intangible and visible and invisible at will. He even gained the power to make other objects in his vicinity intangible and invisible. Fully recovered, he battled Mister Fantastic, and escaped.[12]

With the Super-Apes, the Red Ghost attempted to steal a rare mathematical treatise from Empire State University. He battled Spider-Man, but escaped.[13] He attempted to cause earthquakes in Soviet cities, and battled the Soviet Super-Soldiers.[14] He forced the Black Fox to accompany the Super-Apes on robberies. He once again battled Spider-Man, but escaped.[15][16]

Alongside Klaw, Living Laser, and Venom during the Acts of Vengeance, he attempted to steal alien technology from the Watcher's home on the moon. Red Ghost used the powers he had gained from his re-exposure to attack Quasar. He was captured in this attempt.[17] With the Super-Apes, the Red Ghost attempted to steal the alien technology of the smartship Friday; he battled Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, and Power Pack, and was captured.[18]

The Super-Apes later show up alone, having separated themselves from the Red Ghost and started a life of crime on their own by taking over a private zoo in Salina, Kansas. They had turned the animals against the local population and captured three members of the New 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.

Shortly after the Fantastic Four returned from a pocket dimension created by Franklin Richards, the Super-Apes had gained high levels of intelligence and were working on a virus that would take out humans, leaving simians dominant. The Red Ghost, conversely, had degenerated into a childlike mental state and spent most of the time interested in a bunny rabbit.

The Red Ghost and the 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 — the Socialist Simian Republic of Niganda, "A country where a new form of Marxist-Leninist socialism can grow, based on the purity of the ape world."

Red Ghost later appeared as a member of Intelligencia.[19] While Red Hulk was fighting the X-Men, Red Ghost managed to capture Beast and Black Panther and sent his Super Apes to assist Red Hulk only for them to attack Red Hulk. Mikhlo was killed by Red Hulk which enraged the Red Ghost.[20]

The Red Ghost replaced Mikhlo with Grigori, a baby gorilla that was possibly stolen from the Leningrad zoo. The Red Ghost gave Grigori super strength via scraps left behind by Department X. Red Ghost's new team was short lived as not long after creating Grigori, when the She-Hulks attacked and captured the foursome.[21]

The Red Ghost was with the Intelligencia when they were attacked by the Sinister Six. During the battle, he and his apes were killed when Doctor Octopus used the Zero Cannon to launch them into space.[22]

MODOK Superior was able to revive Red Ghost and his Super Apes and the other Intelligencia members where they began to formulate their plans after their predicted shatter of the superhero community.[23]

During the Civil War II storyline, the Red Ghost and his Super Apes appeared working on a new science project when Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, entered the laboratory. Red Ghost sent the Super-Apes to attack Steve, who kills them one by one. Red Ghost tries to escape, losing his right arm and left leg in the process, and is killed by Steve, who confiscated his project so he could use it for his own agenda.[24]

The Red Ghost possesses the ability to become intangible at will. Through concentration, the Red Ghost can achieve different degrees of intangibility and can even become like a diffuse mist. He can either float while intangible or walk on air (in a manner similar to Shadowcat). He has used his power offensively by leaving an object inside a person's body or phasing out their heart. The Red Ghost can become transparent or invisible when in intangible form, to the extent that Reed Richards was unable to detect him hiding in the same spacecraft over several days with sensitive equipment. The Red Ghost can alter the tangibility of parts of his body independently of each other. Thus, he can grab an object in a hand while the rest of his body remains intangible.

Since his additional exposures to cosmic rays, Red Ghost can make people and objects become intangible if they are nearby or in his field of vision.

While he is intangible, his body metabolism enables him to go without eating or without breathing for extended periods of time.

• Red Ghost at Marvel.com