Glorian (Thomas Gideon) is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...
appearing in
American comic books published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
.
Publication history
Glorian first appeared in ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' #135 (June 1973), and was created by
Gerry Conway
Gerard Francis ConwayThomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...
and
John Buscema.
Fictional character biography
Thomas Gideon, son of billionaire Gregory Gideon and his wife Claire, was born in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...
. Thomas' father concocted a scheme to defeat the
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
within one week. As a result of Gregory Gideon's machinations, Thomas and the
Thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focus ...
were accidentally trapped in Gregory Gideon's time machine. They were returned to the present, and Thomas reconciled with his father.
A few years later, Thomas was aboard a private
jet
Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to:
Aerospace
* Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines
** Jet airliner
** Jet engine
** Jet fuel
* Jet Airways, an Indian airline
* Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline
* Journey to Enceladus a ...
with his parents when it was caught in the heat-pulse and blast wave of a
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
n nuclear weapon test. The plane crashed, killing all but Thomas and his father. Picked up by a Russian trawler, the two Gideons were eventually hospitalized. There they were told that they were dying of radiation poisoning. The elder Gideon spent his remaining months designing a device to tap the mutated
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
s of the hero team
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
which he believed would somehow reverse his cellular decay and that of his son at the expense of the Fantastic Four's lives. His selfish scheme was thwarted by the hero team, and the elder Gideon was killed when his pawn, the
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...
Dragon Man, broke free of his control. In the midst of the wreckage appeared the
alien Shaper of Worlds, attracted to the site by the dreams of one of Gideon's henchmen. Though the henchman's dreams proved inadequate, the Shaper took Thomas Gideon, cured him of his radiation poisoning, and took Thomas as his apprentice dream-shaper, to undertake learning the Shaper's skills.
The Shaper helped Thomas attain his true potential, and Thomas became the Shaper's assistant, Glorian. Glorian first encountered the monster known as the
Hulk, but was apparently killed. It was only later revealed that Glorian was actually the transformed Thomas Gideon.
Still an
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...
ling at heart, Glorian often returned to Earth and involved himself in the lives of its superheroes. At one point, Glorian traveled to Las Vegas, and tried to help the Hulk by giving him his heart's desire. Instead, however, Hulk became involved in a plot against Glorian by the
demon Satannish
Satannish is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
Satannish first appeared in '' Doctor Strange'' #174 and was created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan.
Fictional character biograph ...
, who was after Glorian's soul. In the guise of "Nick Cloot", Satannish had Glorian sign a contract in exchange for help. In the end, the Hulk intervened on behalf of Glorian, and so saved Glorian from Satannish's grasp. The Shaper of Worlds finally saved Glorian and took him back into space.
Later, Glorian was attracted to the fevered dreams of the young
mutants known as
Generation X
Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s ...
.
[''Generation X'' #28] Glorian helped the mutants, who were lost at sea, ultimately transporting them to L.A. at the request of
Skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...
.
[
Glorian later reappears in the '']Annihilation
In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy ...
'' miniseries in the pages of '' Ronan''. He manipulates Gamora
Gamora is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #180 (June 1975). Gamora is the adopted daughter of Thanos, and ...
and Ronan the Accuser
Ronan the Accuser is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Ronan was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby and he first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #65 (August 1967). He is the Supreme ...
and attempts to use the energy from their battles to attempt to reshape the world. This is interrupted by the forces of Annihilus
Annihilus () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an adversary to the Fantastic Four. The character debuted in '' Fantastic Four Annual'' #6, which was published in November 1968. Annihilus ...
, forcing Glorian to kill instead of create.
During the "Last Days" part of the ''Secret Wars
''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...
'' storyline, Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first ...
and Dawn encounter Glorian in a white area alongside his assistant Zee. They explain to Silver Surfer and Dawn all about the Secret Wars. It turns out Glorian is planning to rebuild the universe for the heroes to return to after they finish up in Battleworld
Battleworld is a fictional patchwork planet appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The first Battleworld debuted in the '' Secret Wars'' crossover where it was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck.
...
with the help of the Shaper of Worlds.[''Silver Surfer'' vol. 7 #13]
Powers and abilities
The Shaper of Worlds activated the latent psionic abilities that Thomas Gideon possesses (and, allegedly, all human beings possess). As Glorian, he has the ability to restructure finite pockets of reality by mentally manipulating the cosmic energies that bind atoms along the probability lines. He has the psionic ability to tap and manipulate tachyons, subatomic particles which travel no slower than the speed of light. Glorian can use tachyons to create hyperspatial "rainbow bridges" which can transport himself, or others if he is present, at trans-light speeds. When Glorian steps upon the bridge, the particles of his body are converted to tachyon particle analogues, freeing him from such physical limitations as needing air or food during his travels through space. He can also create rainbow-like energy bands to bind an adversary. Presumably Glorian has limited telepathic abilities that enable him to learn what another person's dreams and wishes are. Glorian can only restructure the perceived reality of a volume with a maximum radius of in all directions from his person. The changes he makes will last for a maximum of 23.1 hours. These figures may increase as Glorian masters his powers. Glorian can only recreate the outward aspects of a living being or environment, and not the living being or environment itself.
In other media
Glorian appears in the '' Avengers Assemble'' episode "Hulk's Day Out", voiced by Robin Atkin Downes
Robin Atkin Downes is an English actor known for his work in animation and video games.
Early life
Downes was born in London. He earned an MFA from Temple University in Philadelphia.
Career
Downes has voiced characters in animated films ...
. He appears as a friend of the Hulk and resides in a dimension inside a rainbow. A master craftsman, Glorian is the creator of the glass figurines Hulk keeps in his quarters in Avengers Tower. While helping Hulk to regain his memory, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Falcon follow Hulk to Glorian's pocket dimension. After a fragment of the Badoon-Cylek emerged from Hulk's vomit and was defeated by Hulk, Glorian did comment that Hulk is a good smasher compared to Glorian's building hobby.
References
External links
Glorian at MarvelDirectory.com
*
{{Hulk
Characters created by Gerry Conway
Characters created by John Buscema
Comics characters introduced in 1965
Fictional characters from New York (state)
Fictional characters who can manipulate reality
Marvel Comics mutates