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History

Early Life

When he was two weeks old, Tomi Shishido said his first sentence. When he was three months old, he could already walk. By the time of his first birthday Tomi could read and write. At age four he was ranked among the top five artists in modern Japan. When he was six Tomi tried to kill himself for the second time and had composed his first opera. When he was thirteen, Tomi discovered that he was a mutant. He develop low level telepathy, not being able to control minds but gaining the ability to read them at short distance. His eyes also gained the power to project energy that turns whoever he has eye contact with into stone. The Japanese media dubbed him as the Gorgon. Tomi soon learned how to fight and operate in daily life while blindfolded, in part thanks to his telepathic abilities. At this age he also devised a mathematical formula that proved, without question, the existence of God.[6] This latter event seemed to deeply affect Tomi, who came to believe that if God existed, then man could be nothing more than his slave. Shishido soon developed a great hatred to the sole concept of there being a God.[7]

The Hand

The Gorgon formed a mutant death cult called the Dawn of the White Light and subjected Japan to many terrorist attacks during the next four years. When he was 18, he killed his family and only real friend to get the attention of the ancient ninja clan known as The Hand and show them that he had no fear.[6] The former he petrified and kept in his apartment in Kobe. Soon after killing them, he was visited by the legendary Hydra agent known as the Kraken. He provided the young Gorgon with the Godkiller. Gorgon asked why he was given such a valuable thing and the Kraken replied "Who am I to deny a man his destiny?" and left.[8] The Godkiller was one of two blades forged at the beheast of Zeus and Amatsu-Mikaboshi when their respective pantheons of deites, the Olympians and the Amatsu-Kami, went to war. This gift gave the Gorgon the power to kill that which he hated more than anything else, Gods.[9]

Aspiring for darker and better things than the Dawn, Gorgon found the Hand sanctuary in rural Japan and slew all of its guards while blindfolded to demonstrate his abilities. Gorgon went inside and pledged his allegiance to the Hand's Jōnin. When the master questioned his dedication, Gorgon impaled himself with his own sword, telling the master to resurrect him with his dying breath. Impressed, they brought him back from death and he worked as one of their best warriors. Within a year, he became their High Priest and ran the ninja clan.[6]

Wolverine

Men kidnap the son of Ichiro Yashida, the cousin of Wolverine's dead fiance. The kidnappers asked for 1 million US dollars ransom and when all the authorities fail him, Ichiro called in Wolverine. Logan traveled to Japan and met with the captors only to find that it was a trap laid out for him. He fights off undead Hand warriors until only he and the kidnapper remain. Before he is able to get the location of the boy, Wolverine is impaled through the chest by Gorgon. Gorgon told Wolverine that "they" fed Ichiro's son to "their" pigs.[10]

He was responsible for the capture and brainwashing of Wolverine. Although Wolverine was eventually freed from their control, Wolverine managed to infiltrate and steal technological blue prints from Reed Richards that were very useful to Hydra.[11]

It is revealed that Gorgon became connected to Hydra and formed a relationship with Elsbeth von Strucker, the wife of Hydra leader Baron Strucker.[12] Wolverine battled Daredevil while Elektra was forced to fight Gorgon. Both battles lasted a while, but when Wolverine is heavily injured the brainwashing wears off temporarily and he tells Matt that he was never really the target. Killing and brainwashing Elektra was the actual objective. Gorgon succeeded and Elektra is taken to the ceremonial stand for the brainwashing ritual.[7] Gorgon then sent Wolverine against the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to battle his friends.[13]

Wolverine, under the brainwashing, committed a number of terrorist attacks resulting in the deaths of numerous costumed heroes and hundreds of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. After this he became Leader of the Hand and Hydra.[14]

Death

Eventually, Gorgon attempted to assassinate Nick Fury after S.H.I.E.L.D. launched an attack which destroyed his safe-house and killed Elsbeth von Strucker in the process. He was intercepted by Wolverine before he could complete the objective. The two engaged in a brutal battle, inflicting devastating injuries upon one another.[15] Gorgon managed to gain the upper hand and attempted to use his mutant ability to transform Wolverine into stone. Wolverine extracted his claws at the last moment, allowing Gorgon to see his own reflection in the claws. As a result, Gorgon's power was reflected back upon him. Once Gorgon had been turned into stone, Wolverine shattered his body.[16]

Return

Years later, after Nick Fury discovered that Hydra had apparently been controlling S.H.I.E.L.D. from the start, Baron Strucker decided to create a High Council to rule Hydra and guide it in the coming war with Fury. He gathered long time Hydra agent the Viper, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine as the new Madame Hydra, the biological experiment known as the Hive and the Kraken, the man who gave the Godkiller to the Gorgon, secretly killed and replaced by Jake Fury.[17] Wanting a final member for his Council, Strucker had Hydra steal the Gorgons fragments from a decommissioned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.[18] He and his lieutenants then attacked the second Twilight Dawn, the Hand’s temple of resurrection, and forced the high priest to use the remaining stone fragments to resurrect the Gorgon. This act consumed the life of all the Hand members present. The ritual was successful and the Gorgon joined the new ruling Council.[17] Following his resurrection, Gorgon encountered Fury's Secret Warriors when Hydra took over an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. containment facility called Red Worm. Gorgon used his sword to slice off Yo Yo Rodriguez's forearms. Phobos, son of Ares and the god of fear, attempted to use his powers on Gorgon but was ordered to retreat. Gorgon made a promise to himself that one day he would kill a god.[19]

Gorgon was present, with the rest of Hydra's ruling council, when the Secret Warriors invaded one of H.A.M.M.E.R.'s bases. Stonewall later confronted Gorgon because of what the latter did to Yo-Yo. Gorgon slashed at Stonewall's torso, but the latter eventually overpowered him by growing and using his added strength. Kraken, assuming that there must be a traitor in their midst, ordered a retreat of Hydra's forces, much to Gorgon's disappointment.[20]

Gorgon battled agents of Leviathan when they attacked Nemesis. He easily defeated the attackers through the use of his sword and petrification. He made it to their leader and tortured him for answers. The leader revealed that they had Viper. Gorgon rushed through Nemesis, only for Leviathan to escape with Viper.[21]

In Gehenna, Gorgon caught Madame Hydra getting ready to search for Viper, despite not being cleared psychically. Madame Hydra argued that Kraken was wasting his time searching for a possible traitor, while Leviathan may be extracting all their secrets from Viper. Gorgon was scanned by the re-purposed PSI-Agents, who determined that he was not a traitor. He then apologized for letting Madame Hydra leave. However, Kraken revealed that he had planted tracking devices on all of their transports and determined that Madame Hydra was in Russia.[22]

At a meeting between Hydra and Leviathan, Orion gave out an offer of subservience from Hydra. Strucker refused and ordered Gorgon to kill him. However, Orion survived a stab to the shoulder as Magadan knocked him away with his hammer. From that moment on, Hydra and Leviathan were at war.[23]

When Fury's team attacked Gehenna, Gorgon faced off against Phobos. After an intense battle, Phobos' sword broke Gorgon's Godkiller. It appeared that Phobos had won, but Gorgon used one of the broken pieces of his blade to kill Phobos, thus fulfilling his vow to one day slay a god. After the battle, Gorgon took Grasscutter for himself as a spoil of war.[24]

Dark Avengers

When Hydra made an alliance with Norman Osborn's H.A.M.M.E.R., Gorgon became part of the New Dark Avengers as their Wolverine. Along with Madame Hydra he planned to kill Osborn when he became too dangerous and use the Dark Avengers to cause discord by serving as a voice of the disenfranchised. Gorgon and the other members of the Dark Avengers were defeated when their teammate Skaar revealed himself as a double-agent and summoned both the Avengers teams to take them down.[25]

Avengers World

After sowing chaos in Madripoor, the Hand and Gorgon (appointed again as their leader) used a ritual to awaken a dormant dragon upon which head the island rested.[1] Shang-Chi tried to oppose him but failed.[2] The dragon then proceeded to fly to Hong Kong, where it encountered the resistance from the Ascendants.[26][27] Using Pym Particles, Shang Chi turned into a giant and defeated the dragon in combat. However, before that he ripped Gorgon's base away from Madripoor and threw it several miles away.[28]

All-New Wolverine

Gorgon was less than pleased to learn the Orphans of X made use of the Hand's resources to attack Muramasa and his people in an attempt to capture Wolverine, Honey Badger, and Daken. Upon his arrival he summarily executed the Orphans member within the Hand as punishment, and was convinced by Muramasa to provide Laura and Gabby with transportation so they could locate down Daken (who allowed himself to be captured after implanting Megan Kinney's phone inside him to serve as a tracker) and the rest of the Orphans.[29]

The Scarlet Samurai

Later on, Gorgon resurrected Mariko Yashida making her one of his enforcer known as the Scarlet Samurai.[30] Gorgon then planned to kill the current leader of the Clan Yashida, Shingen Harada II a.k.a The Silver Samurai in order to replace him with Mariko which would have resulted in an abrupt takeover of the Yashida Corp by the Hand.[31]

After taking care of the Silver samurai, Gorgon was able to acquire a fresh supply of a new designer made supplement called Regenix decvelopped by Yashida Corp. The Regenix allowed its user to gain accelerated regeneration abilities but the drug was addictive and short lived and could cause the death of its users in case of prolonged use. Renegix also lost its effectiveness if exposed to low temperatures.

Gorgon used the Regenix for his army making his undead assassins almost unstoppable but the stock of Regenix was running low, and soon enough Old Man Logan became involved. Gorgon tasked the Scarlet Samurai to take care of Logan, and alongside the undead ninja of the Hand powered by Regenix, she was able to beat him. With Logan beaten, Gorgon then told Mariko to reveal her identity to him which horrified him.[30] Gorgon then told Mariko to kill Logan, but she hesitated, her memory of Logan slowing coming back, Logan used this opportunity to escape and swore he would kill Gorgon for what he did to her.[30]

Not long after, the Silver Samurai revealed he survived Gorgon's previous attack and teamed up with Logan to stop him. The duo was able to defeat Gorgon's army and free Mariko from his control, seeing no other way Gorgon escaped to Madripoor where a rogue shipment of Regenix just arrived to the Island.[32] Gorgon intended to use the Regenix to conquer Madripoor but Logan and the Scarlet Samurai tracked him to Madripoor where they destroyed the last batch of Regenix before facing him.[33] Gorgon was able to stab Logan through the chest with a sword but the old man also managed to severely wounded him with his claws. Weakened and still bleeding from Logan's attack, Gorgon was then confronted by Mariko who defeated him but as she was about to kill him, he was saved by his ninja army and was able to escape.[34]

House of X

Gorgon was eventually welcomed to the new mutant island of Krakoa, created by Xavier, Magneto, and Moira X. He entered through the teleportation gateway alongside other villainous and fractious mutants, who had been invited to join the nation in order to heal mutantdom and start over as a whole species together.[35][36]

Gorgon accepted Xavier's offer and joined Krakoa,[35] and assumed the responsibility of defending the state in times of conflict or war as one of the Great Captains of Krakoa.[37]



Powers and Abilities

Powers

Gorgon possesses a variety of superhuman abilities, some of which were due to natural genetic mutation and some of which were mystically bestowed upon him after his resurrection by the Hand.[38][39][40]

Mutant Powers Transmutation: Gorgon's primary mutant ability is the power to transform anyone that made direct eye contact with him into stone, similar to the Gorgon, Medusa, from ancient Greek Mythology. [38] [39] [40] Telepathy: Gorgon possesses a moderate form of telepathy, the limits of which are unknown. However, he is able to mentally communicate with individuals, as he did with Elektra. Gorgon used his telepathy to mentally "see" everything around him, even when he was blindfolded. He typically uses his telepathy during combat situations, enabling him to predict an opponent's offense and strategy. [38] [39] [40] Empathy: He has the ability to sense other people's emotions psionically. [38] [39] [40] Genius Level Intellect: Shishido is also a polymath super-genius, demonstrating extreme levels of advancement and expertise in a variety of fields throughout his life. He can process and analyze multiple information streams quickly, eidetic memory (meaning that he never forgets anything and has perfect recall), speed reads, and high deductive/reasoning skills. [38] [39] [40]



Post-Resurrection Powers Superhuman Strength: Physical strength was enhanced to low superhuman levels. At his peak, able to lift roughly 1 ton. [38] [39] [40] He was stated to possess " Class-2 Superhuman Strength ". [10] Superhuman Speed: Gorgon is capable of running and moving at speeds (possibly within the range of 111-115 mph) superior to that of the finest human athlete. He demonstrated bursts of speed that, at least over short distances, made him too fast for Wolverine to see, even with his heightened sense of sight and hearing. [38] [39] [40] Superhuman Stamina: Gorgon's advanced musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. The full limits of his stamina aren't known, but he can physically exert himself for at least 24 hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood began to impair him. [38] [39] [40] Superhuman Durability Gorgon's skin, bone, and muscle tissues are augmented to levels that are considerably stronger and harder than human and the tissues are impervious to injury to an extraordinary extent. [38] [39] [40] Regenerative Healing Factor: Gorgon posses an accelerated healing factor that allows him to rapidly regenerate damaged or destroyed bodily tissues. The full extent of his healing powers are unknown. He has shown the ability to regenerate damaged/missing organs. He may be immune to all diseases, infections, poisons, nerve-toxins of any kind and completely resistant to diseases like anthrax, smallpox and HIV. [38] [39] [40] Superhuman Agility: Gorgon's ability, balance, and bodily coordination are all enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural limits of even the finest human athlete. [38] [39] [40] Superhuman Reflexes: Gorgon's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are superior to those of the finest human athlete. Gorgon demonstrated sufficient reflexes to enable him to deflect oncoming bullets with his sword with surprising ease and casualness. [38] [39] [40]



Abilities

Genius Intelligence: Gorgon is a certified genius, possessing superhuman intellect in multiple artistic and scientific areas. His great intellect enables him to quickly learn and master multiple forms of martial arts. He is a formidable combatant, a master of multiple martial art techniques and is also a master swordsman, even before his resurrection.[38]

Weaknesses

Gorgon is not immune to his own powers. Should he see his own eyes in a reflection he will turn to stone.



Paraphernalia

Equipment

Sunglasses: Gorgon always wore a pair of dark sunglasses that completely obscured his eyes, enabling people to look at him without being turned to stone as the glasses blocked this ability. Whether the sunglasses were composed of some special material or were simply a pair of ordinary sunglasses is unknown.

Oriental Mask: After his resurrection, Gorgon has taken to wearing a ceremonial mask that enables him better control over his petrifying gaze. It is currently unknown what special properties allow this effect. He seems capable of viewing his opponents without turning them to stone.

Transportation

Former Transportation Madripoor: Atop the brow of a centuries old Dragon Beast near the size of its continental neighbor.[2]

Weapons

Swords: Gorgon almost always carried and used a Japanese katana in combat situations. While he had access to the advanced technology of the Hand, Hydra, and Dawn of the White Light, he preferred close quarter combat.

Former Weapons Godkiller:[8] Gorgon carried a powerful blade called Godkiller that could inflict mortal wounds even to mythical beings and gods. This powerful artifact was given to him by the Hydra commander Kraken. Grasscutter[5] Claws: He was given a pair of gloves that give him the appearance of having retractable claws similar to Wolverine's

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