Gorilla Grodd

Gorilla Grodd
Grodd, in The Flash #23.1 (September 2013) Art by Chris Batista
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	The Flash #106 (May 1959)
Created by	John Broome (writer) Carmine Infantino (artist)
In-story information
Species	Meta-Gorilla
Team affiliations	Legion of Doom Secret Society of Super Villains Injustice League Anti-Justice League Simian Scarlet Tartarus Black Hole Justice League
Notable aliases	Drew Drowden, William Dawson (when in human forms)
Abilities	Genius-level intellect Superhuman strength, stamina, endurance, durability, and senses Telepathy Telekinesis Mind control Speed Force

Gorilla Grodd is a supervillain appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of The Flash. The character was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in The Flash #106 (May 1959).^[1] He is an evil, super-intelligent gorilla who gained mental powers after being exposed to a strange meteorite's radiation.

Grodd makes his live appearance as a recurring character in CGI on the television series The Flash voiced by David Sobolov. He also appeared on the third season of Legends of Tomorrow.

Character biography[]

Gorilla Grodd is a hyper-intelligent telepathic gorilla able to control the minds of others. He was an average ape until an alien spacecraft (retconned from a radioactive meteor which also empowered Hector Hammond) crashed in Grodd's African home.^[2] Grodd and his tribe of gorillas were imbued with super-intelligence by the ship's pilot. Grodd and fellow gorilla Solovar also developed telepathic and telekinetic powers. Led by the alien, the gorillas constructed the super-advanced Gorilla City.^[3] The gorillas lived in peace until their home was discovered by explorers. Grodd forced one of the explorers to kill the alien and took over Gorilla City, planning to conquer the world next. Solovar telepathically contacted Barry Allen to warn of the evil gorilla's plans, and Grodd was defeated. The villain manages to return again and again to plague the Flash and the hero's allies.^[4]

In his first Pre-Crisis appearance, he met the Flash while searching for Solovar (who had been imprisoned) during a trip to the human world. Grodd probed Solovar's mind to find the secret of mind control so he could control Gorilla City, using its inhabitants to take over the world. Solovar breaks out of the cage and tells the Flash. The Flash defeats Grodd and temporarily removes his telepathy. When his power returns, he escapes and builds a machine to strip his fellow gorillas of their intelligence. The Flash finds out from Solovar where Grodd has escaped to and destroys the machine. Grodd is again imprisoned, but uses a burrowing machine he built earlier to escape. Assuming human form, he creates a drug to strengthen his abilities. After easily stopping the Flash, Grodd experiences a side effect that removes his new powers. The Flash arrests Grodd and takes him back to Gorilla City. Grodd fakes his death by transferring his mind into a man in Central City, but is caught and arrested. Later, he instigates the Flash's Rogues Gallery, breaking them out of jail to distract the Flash after transferring his mind to that of Freddy, a gorilla in a zoo. Thanks to Solovar, the Flash learns of Grodd's escape. Ironically, Grodd, despite using radiation to negate the Flash's speed, is defeated by the gorilla's mate when she hears him mention another gorilla. He and Freddy are restored to their normal bodies.

Grodd is recruited along with several other villains as one of the original members of the Secret Society of Super Villains. In this series, Grodd defeats Kalibak, the son of Darkseid, in a hand-to-hand grudge brawl, but is later defeated by Captain Comet who is able to repel Grodd's mental energy.^[5] During the hunt for a sorcerer's treasures, Grodd is able to fend off Wally West and escape him using the mentally-commanded Quadro-Mobile,^[6] then later knocks Captain Comet unconscious,^[7] and is shown to be able to hypnotize the new Star Sapphire,^[8] as well as protect others from mental probing.

In a confrontation with Wally West, Grodd increases most of the animals' brain power in Central City. He hopes to endanger all the humans' lives, but this plan backfires because some of the pets are too loyal to their humans. Grodd's plans are defeated by the Flash, assisted by the Pied Piper, Vixen and Rex the Wonder Dog.

Immortal villain Vandal Savage kidnaps Titans member Omen to form the perfect team of adversaries for the Teen Titans. Savage approaches Grodd, offering him membership in this new anti-Titans group known as Tartarus and promises of power and immortality. Grodd joins Tartarus on their mission to synthesize the immortal blood of the H.I.V.E. Mistress Addie Kane as Savage seeks to create a serum that will grant immortality. Their schemes are thwarted when the Titans intervene. Tempest later leads a rescue mission to save Omen from Savage. During the rescue attempt, Tartarus collapses upon itself due to each member having a different agenda, because Omen had purposely chosen members who would not work well together. When Siren switches alliances during the battle and aids Tempest in escaping, the Tartarus members go their separate ways.

Grodd has made no fewer than eighteen attempts to eliminate all traces of humanity from the face of the Earth. In Son of Ambush Bug #5 (November 1986), he travels to the Late Cretaceous "to wipe out all traces of human evolution from the time stream" (despite the fact that the ancestors of humanity would be his own ancestors as well). His plans are shattered by the sudden appearance of Titano and Ambush Bug waking from a nightmare. Whether or not Grodd's plan is a failure is disputable.

In the final issue of Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew, Grodd travels to Earth-C in an attempt to conquer, but is defeated by the efforts of the Zoo Crew (plus Changeling of the Teen Titans).^[9]

In the 1991 Angel and the Ape limited series, Grodd is revealed as the grandfather of Sam Simeon (Angel's partner). This is in conflict with Martian Manhunter (vol. 2) Annual #2 (1999), which states that Simeon is Grodd's brother.

In the Justice League of America Wedding Special, Gorilla Grodd is among the villains seen as members of the Injustice League Unlimited.

During the Final Night, Grodd attempted to use a mystical talisman called the Heart of Darkness (normally effective only in eclipses) that brought out the 'inner beast' of humans, turning the population of the town of Leesburg into feral monsters, including Supergirl. However, Supergirl was eventually able to fight off Grodd's influence, allowing her to oppose Grodd until the sun was restored. Grodd is assumed killed when an icicle fell into him.

One of Grodd's widest-ranging schemes was to arrange Solovar's assassination and manipulate Gorilla City into war against humanity, with the aid of a "shadow cabinet" of prominent gorillas called Simian Scarlet. In the course of this, Grodd absorbs too much neural energy from his fellow apes, leaving him with the intelligence of a normal gorilla.^[10] He has since recovered, and a failed attempt to set up a base in Florida leads to his capture and incarceration in Iron Heights.

Grodd had been trapped inside the human body of an overweight street bum. He was attacked by a gang known as the Vultures. One of them commented on how their member Iggo had the strength of a gorilla, which reminded Grodd of his true form. Suddenly changing back to his original shape and size, he quickly defeated the gang, making them believe that they are burning in molten lava by using his telepathic abilities. Reading the minds of the crooks, he saw that one of the former members of their gang was a friend of the Flash, and a plan began to form in his mind.

Grodd found another space rock, identical to the one that had given him his powers, and contacted Hector Hammond, a human who had also gained similar powers. Grodd was able to take control of Gorilla City after increasing his evolutionary abilities but was defeated once more.

Grodd is also seen in the Superman/Batman arc "Public Enemies" controlling numerous villains and heroes in order to take down Superman and Batman for the prize of one billion dollars offered by then U.S. President Lex Luthor. Despite his use of foes such as Mongul, Solomon Grundy, Lady Shiva, and Nightshade, Batman is able to deduce the mind behind the attacks and they quickly dispose of Grodd.^[11]

He is responsible for Hunter Zolomon's crippling, resulting in the man's transformation into the villainous Zoom after trying to change the event to never have happened. Hunter would often think about how Grodd used him as a plaything in that fight while talking this over with the Flash.^[12]

In Birds of Prey, Grodd makes a deal with Grimm to get Blockbuster an ape heart.^[13]

In the JLA Classified story arc, Grodd and his forces attack the Ultramarine Corps. Grodd has most of the citizens they are protecting killed. He personally eats some of the humans. During the course of this incident, Beryl informs the team that Grodd ranks number three on the latest "Global Most Wanted".^[14]

In the Salvation Run mini-series, Grodd teams up with the Joker to gather their own faction of the exiled supervillains.^[15] He kills Monsieur Mallah and the Brain, and was knocked off a cliff by the Joker.^[16] He is seen alive and attempting to deliver payback to the Joker.^[17]

In Justice League of America, Grodd is shown among the members of Libra's new Secret Society and placed in the Inner Circle.^[18] In the Final Crisis storyline, Gorilla Grodd was among the high ranked superheroes and supervillains that were turned into Justifiers.^[19] He is sent to apprehend Snapper Carr and Cheetah, but fails.^[20]

The New 52[]

In the new continuity of The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), before Flash makes earthfall into the super ape's midst, Grodd II was crown prince of Gorilla City speaking with his father, King Grodd, about how the light that touched their fair city was destiny. Destiny which had once again tilted its hand and brought their culture to being, but Grodd rebuffs these claims stating their destiny was their own to command, and that they were destined for dominance.^[21] The Flash (Barry Allen) first encounters Gorilla Grodd after a trip through the Speed Force which strands him in their hidden community, all of which just shortly after Grodd has been newly crowned as gorilla king after killing his father and consuming his mind.^[22]

The Flash is hailed as a messenger spoken of in gorilla prophecy by all but Grodd who sees the interloper as a threat to his ascension and designs for world conquest. When told of the treachery planned by the Ape Elders from his most trusted general, Grodd led a personal execution detail in an attempt to kill Barry and assume the mantle of the Light Bringer. But The Flash foils Grodd's attempts by outmaneuvering him until King Grodd causes the caves containing Gorilla Cities history to collapse upon himself, knocking him unconscious, allowing the Flash to escape.^[23]

After having been unearthed by General Silverback while still buried beneath the rubble of the ruined cave, Grodd eventually recuperated after his previous battle with Flash. He found that he still had some followers among the ape army and would eventually slaughter most of the elders, saving one needed for his invasion plans.^[24] Grodd returns and attacks Central City with an army of gorilla soldiers searching for payback against The Messenger.^[25] After a while of waiting out the battle, Gorilla Grodd would make his way to one of Dr. Darwin Elias's labs which contain canisters of Flash's excess speed energy,^[26] consuming these batteries temporarily supercharges Grodd's own Speed Force evolved physiology enabling him enough speed and power to overwhelm the flash nearly killing him.^[27]

During the "Forever Evil" storyline, Gorilla Grodd returns to Central City during a ceremony commemorating Flash between the humans and gorillas at the time when Ultraman had caused an eclipse. Gorilla Grodd, brandishing several new powers courtesy of The Light, proceeds to take control of Central City as its king and renames it Grodd City.^[28] Eventually growing bored with this, Grodd uses his heightened abilities to take off, the rest of his apes following him to parts unknown.

DC Rebirth[]

In "DC Rebirth," Grodd is the one who founded the terrorist organization called the Black Hole and he is using technology that could contain the power of the Speed Force.^[29][30]

Since he is defeated by the Flash with his plans of controlling the Speed Force foiled, he has been recruited by Lex Luthor who promised him incredible power to paralyze people's movements called "The Still Force" which was released due to the shattering of the Source Wall.^[31] It also enabled him to act as a guardian of Turtle.^[32]

Powers and abilities[]

Grodd's psionic abilities allow him to place other beings under his mental control and transfer his consciousness into other bodies. Grodd also has (on occasion) vast telekinetic abilities ranging from force beams, telekinetic transmutation of matter and lifting thousands of tons mentally. In recent issues he has shown the ability to absorb intelligence through the consumption of human brains. He possesses great superhuman strength far exceeding that of an ordinary gorilla. He is a scientific genius who has mastered Gorilla City's advanced technology and who has created many incredible inventions of his own. He also uses large laser guns.^[4][33] His thought process still operates at a relatively human speed; the Flashes have shown some degree of immunity to his telepathic illusions by moving so fast that their thoughts process Grodd's illusions in slow motion. In one story, Grodd either gains or strengthens his already vast psychokinetic abilities via ingesting a pill he develops after evolving himself into a human, enabling him to control the forces of nature. But after he turns back, he loses this power as his brain is not evolved enough; in later stories, however, Grodd has been seen using both his psionic attributes openly without the need of accelerated evolution.

In the New 52 reboot of DC continuity, Grodd, like all the super apes of Gorilla City, gained their powers from The Light; the gorillas' identifying term for Flash's Speed Force, the very embodiment of which represents relative space and time. Being of noble blood King Grodd is tougher, stronger, quicker and far more physically and mentally dynamic than other members of his evolved species. He boasts enhanced gorilla strength, enough to easily rend flesh from bone, pick up and/or smash cars and injure Flash through his speed aura, being durable enough to resist supersonic punches from the Flash, rip his way out of barbed wire unharmed and even survive impacts from a charging mammoth affected by the speed force.^[24][34] He has sharp enough reflexes to keep up with even the most nimble meta-humans with relative ease as he was able to grasp at Flash more than once while he was running, having intercepted many of his high-speed attacks more than once. Another facet to his physiology is that he, along with other apes like him, can assimilate both the knowledge and powers of enemies who they kill by devouring their brains, a process dubbed by their forefathers as "Cerecorbis". This process increases Grodd's intelligence, bestowing him with a super genius IQ on top of whatever memories his vanquished enemies had as well as any abilities they might have possessed.^[35] Via direct ingestion of The Light's energies, he gains enhanced speed and further augmented dynamism, enabling him to not just effortlessly keep up with, but outright overpower Flash in a straightforward fight, although this augmentation was short-lived as the speed force batteries he drained to get his jump were a finite source, causing him to shrivel and weaken over time. Thanks to his time trapped within the force dimension, however, Grodd gained an even greater acceleration of his development; not only retaining his previous abilities of bolstered strength and super speed, but also accelerating his developmental process, granting him telepathy much like what his species' elders grow into with age, as well as telekinesis which is unique to him.^[28]

For a brief time, Grodd's connection to the light had dimmed due to an infraction of clashing timelines, but he would again regain his abilities after having siphoned the lion's share of Barry Allen's speed force abilities after contracting a fatal illness.^[29] Establishing his connection to the Speed Force and strengthening his formidable psionic abilities once again.^[30] After joining Luthor's Legion of Doom, Grodd would come into all new powers thanks to acting as the guardian of The Turtle's latest life incarnation.^[31] Now acting as a crucible to channel the infant Turtle's Still Force powers, Grodd can now use that same hidden energy to further bolster his telepathy as well as sap energy from other Speed Force conduits. Inhibiting their ability of rapid motion to an unknown extent on top of grinding universal expansion to a standstill using its power over entropy.^[32]

Other versions[]

Antimatter Universe[]

Gorilla Grodd has a counterpart on the post-Crisis antimatter universe's Earth called General Grodd who is a member of the Justice Underground. He is a freedom fighter from a militaristic ape nation.^[36]

Flashpoint[]

In the Flashpoint timeline, Gorilla Grodd has succeeded in overthrowing Solovar and taken over Gorilla City. Gorilla Grodd began a campaign to control all of Africa. Despite his conquest being a great success, Gorilla Grodd feels unfulfilled since none of his enemies have been able to prove a challenge to him, and the war between Aquaman and Wonder Woman has overshadowed his actions, constantly frustrating him. He soon begins to feel bored by his accomplishments since they prove far too easy for him and often lets his enemies live, hoping for them to become greater challenges in the future. He also decides to begin a campaign to control Europe, knowing perfectly well that this action will make him a target for the Atlanteans and Amazons.^[37] Gorilla Grodd arrives at the scene to attack during the Atlantean/Amazon war.^[38]

Injustice: Gods Among Us[]

Gorilla Grodd makes a brief appearance in Injustice: Gods Among Us's prequel comic, in which during the Justice League's manhunt for Mirror Master, Grodd is one of the villains interrogated by Shazam.^[39] He is a playable character in the game's sequel, Injustice 2.

In other media[]

Television[]

Live-action[]

• Gorilla Grodd appears in the TV series set in the Arrowverse:
  • Gorilla Grodd appears on The CW's The Flash, voiced by David Sobolov. This version was a test subject for General Wade Eiling's experiments in developing psychic abilities for interrogation under S.T.A.R. Labs' supervision but the experiments ended when Eiling tortured Grodd. In Season One, he gets exposed to Eobard Thawne's particle accelerator explosion's energies, giving Grodd super-intelligence and telepathic powers. Thawne lets Grodd get revenge on Eiling and later distracts Team Flash, torturing Joe West until being driven off by Barry Allen as the Flash. In Season Two, Grodd returns to try to force Caitlin Snow to create more gorillas like him. However, Grodd is distracted by Harry Wells to save Caitlin, and is banished by the Flash to Gorilla City in Earth-Two. In Season Three, Grodd manipulates Team Flash into helping stage a coup of Gorilla City so that he can lead the gorillas in an invasion of Earth-1, but Team Flash is able to help Solovar retake command with the rest of the gorillas returning to Earth-2 while Grodd is sent to an A.R.G.U.S. prison on Earth-1. Grodd will return at some future date as Nora West-Allen mentions having heard of a fight that will take place with Grodd and King Shark. This happens in the episode "King Shark vs. Gorilla Grodd" where Grodd returns and mind-controls Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow into stealing Tanya Lamden's telepathy crown in his plot to take control of the minds of Central City. Sacrificing his restored humanity, Shay Lamden of Earth-2 becomes King Shark again and fights Grodd, his more feral brain structure preventing Grodd from controlling King Shark's mind directly. With help from Flash and XS, King Shark defeats Grodd and removes the telepathy crown from him. Grodd is then placed in a medically-induced coma to keep him from using his powers. Grodd returns in an episode titled "Grodd Friended Me"^[40] where he is still an induced coma when Barry is accidentally placed in his mind. While voicing his knowledge of the Crisis, Grodd states that he found out that Gorilla City is now on Earth-Prime and wants to return to it. In order to get through the gatekeeper who happens to be a mental copy of Solovar, Grodd and Flash had to work together. Once that was done and Barry is back in his mind, Caitlin arranges for Grodd to be released on probation as Lyla places a tracking chip in him so that Flash will know where to find him if he goes back to doing bad things.
  • Gorilla Grodd appears in season three of Legends of Tomorrow, motion-captured by an uncredited Daniel Cudmore and voiced again by David Sobolov.^[41] The character is an older version who is now an anachronism. In the episode "Welcome of the Jungle", he exists during the Vietnam War and used his powers to enslave both American and Viet-Cong soldiers to form his own 'kingdom'. He tried to take over the Waverider only for Martin Stein, Gideon and Isaac Newton to manipulate events that caused Grodd to fall towards the napalm fire caused by the air strike. He is saved upon being brought back to the present by Damien Darhk persuading him into working together. In the episode "Guest Starring John Noble", Mallus in Nora Darhk's body instructed Damien to send Grodd to the 1990s to target the college-age Barack Obama. This plot was thwarted when the Atom imprisoned him in a jar. To save Nora, Damien released Grodd on Vixen's village following the African warlords' defeat. Nathan Heywood (equipped with a totem) was able to send Grodd flying away from the village. Grodd is taken into custody off-screen by the Time Bureau after Mallus' death and returned to his cell in A.R.G.U.S.
• Grodd, unrelated to the Arrowverse's version, made a cameo appearance in the fourth episode of The CW's Legacies. He is seen chasing after a character named M.G. through a dark forest before he wakes up, revealing that he was reading a Flash comic book featuring Grodd before he fell asleep.

Animation[]

• Gorilla Grodd appeared on the ABC animated series Challenge of the Super Friends, voiced by Stanley Ralph Ross. He is one of the Flash's two villains (along with Captain Cold) that appear as members of Lex Luthor's Legion of Doom. This version, though highly intelligent, never displays telepathic abilities. In "The Time Trap", he creates a method of time travel, which the Legion of Doom apparently uses other times. In "Revenge on Gorilla City", Grodd hatches a plot to take control of Gorilla City and use its citizens to conquer the world.
• Gorilla Grodd later appeared in the 1980s Super Friends version, voiced again by Stanley Ralph Ross. In the short episode "Two Gleeks Are Deadlier Than One", he and Giganta capture and replace Gleek with a robot duplicate in order to infiltrate the Super Friends and learn what they are planning. In "Revenge of Doom", Grodd was seen with the Legion of Doom when they got back together.
• Gorilla Grodd appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by John DiMaggio. In the episode "Terror on Dinosaur Island!", he and his ape followers plot to devolve the human race with an E-Ray from their headquarters on Dinosaur Island. They ran into conflicts with Batman and Plastic Man. With Batman devolved into an ape, Plastic Man helps the ape Batman fight Grodd and his servants. When the E-Ray is activated, it evolved the humans back to their natural state as Batman put the E-Ray on reverse when Grodd was not looking. It even evolved Grodd to a human and ended up incarcerated at Iron Heights in the end, planning his revenge. Grodd was later shown (still in human form) in the episode "Day of the Dark Knight" escaping Iron Heights and attempting to attack Batman but stopped by the Green Arrow. The character has a heroic counterpart in a parallel universe in "Deep Cover for Batman!" which resembles Solovar; Batman almost punches the counterpart but stops short and explains 'You look like someone I know'. The original Grodd (now a gorilla again) joins Owlman, the Joker and other villains in the episode "Game Over for Owlman!". Grodd is Batman's primary opponent once more in the episode "Last Bat on Earth" in which he travels to a post-apocalyptic future. There, he takes command of an army of intelligent apes and uses superior technology to defeat their opponents, a city of similarly evolved tigers; it is revealed that Grodd takes great offense to people calling him a monkey or a chimpanzee. Batman pursues Grodd to this time, enlisting Kamandi's help in defeating Grodd. At the end, Grodd is trampled by his retreating forces and is taken back to the present in handcuffs with Batman. Grodd returns as the primary adversary of Batman, Detective Chimp, B'wana Beast and Vixen in the episode "Gorillas in Our Midst" forming an alliance with Monsieur Mallah and Gorilla Boss to create the ape army G.A.S.P. (short for Gorillas and Apes Seizing Power) to take over the world. Grodd captures the undercover Detective Chimp and later captures Batman, revealing both a ploy to capture Gotham City and an obsession with Batman in the form of a utility belt, proclaiming he has had it for years, but just simply has not worn it. He and his gorilla army later invade Gotham and face off against B'wana Beast and Vixen, who his gorilla army captures and places in a zoo. They later recapture Batman and Detective Chimp when they return to Gotham and attempt to rescue Gotham, but was defeated when they use B'wana Beast's powers to both escape and to empower Batman with the form of a Bat-Griffin.
• Gorilla Grodd appears in Justice League Action, voiced again by David Sobolov. In the episode "Mxy's Mix-Up" he leads his army of gorillas into attacking the United Nations where they end up fighting Superman, Batman and Stargirl. Mister Mxyzptlk crashes the battle mixing up Superman, Batman, and Stargirl's minds. This does cause some difficulty during their fight against Grodd and his army. When the Justice League's bravo team arrives with Firestorm, Grodd witnesses Mister Mxyzptlk mix up their minds as well. When Martin Stein's mind tricks Mister Mxyzptlk into saying the latter's name backwards, the Justice League's minds are restored to their bodies as they defeat Grodd and his army who are then arrested by the police. In the episode "Harley Goes Ape", Grodd uses a helmet to mind control Titano. Superman and Stargirl arrive to fight the apes, but are repelled. Harley Quinn arrives - having use to work with Titano, she distracts him. Enraged, Grodd has Titano try to kill Harley. However, Superman knocks off the helmet and Titano flings Gorilla Grodd into a police truck. Later when Harley is put in the same truck, he sheepishly apologizes and Harley decides to act as his psychologist.
• Gorilla Grodd appears in Harley Quinn. He appears as a member of the Legion of Doom.

DC animated universe[]

Gorilla Grodd is featured in multiple animated series set in the DC animated universe, voiced by Powers Boothe.

• Gorilla Grodd appears in the Justice League animated series. This version hates bananas which he resents being offered. Introduced in season one's "The Brave and the Bold", he is a fugitive from the secretive Gorilla City, a spurned would-be tyrant who vows vengeance on his fellow primates. Maintaining an e-mail relationship with scientist Dr. Sarah Corwin (voiced by Virginia Madsen), he comes to Central City to cloak the metropolis in a similar shield as Gorilla City's. This provides him a hidden base from which to launch a nuclear assault against Gorilla City, while he controls Central City's populace with his mind-control helmet. The Flash, Green Lantern and Gorilla City's head of security Solovar rush to defeat Grodd himself while the Justice League stop the bombs. Grodd becomes incapacitated when he tries to use the mind-control helmet on the Flash, not knowing that the Flash had switched around various wires at high speed. Later in Gorilla City, Grodd is shown in a zoo-like prison cell, appearing as though he were brain damaged. As the League and Solovar depart from the area, the camera zooms in on Grodd's face in the episode's last few seconds as he comes to his senses and gets an angry look on his face as the banana in his hand breaks. Grodd returns in season two's "Secret Society", showcasing a different side to the villain. No longer focused on Gorilla City, Grodd becomes an opponent to the Justice League as a whole. With his loyal follower Giganta, he recruits for a Secret Society manipulating each member; Killer Frost's simple enjoyment of murder, Sinestro's hatred for all Green Lanterns, Parasite's hatred for Superman, Shade being offered by Grodd to be a master criminal, and Clayface's hatred for Batman and being promised by Grodd to find a way to be human again while keeping his shapeshifting abilities. It also turns out that Grodd's accident with his mind-control helmet has given him mental powers, which he utilizes in this story as a subtle type of tampering with the League's emotions. Having watched the League via secret cameras for weeks, Grodd manipulates the superhero group's feelings until his nemeses start lashing out at each other and end up walking away from the team. Having separated his nemeses, Grodd tries to capture each superhero and invades a football halftime show to try to do away with the superheroes publicly, but gets foiled when J'onn J'onzz frees the others. Grodd's allies battle the League one last time but fails to beat them, and Grodd is subsequently defeated by Superman.
• Gorilla Grodd appears in Justice League Unlimited. In season one's "Ultimen", Giganta teams up with Bizarro in an attempt to break Grodd out of prison, but was defeated by Wonder Woman and Long Shadow; Grodd does not actually appear in the episode. In the final season, Grodd turns up as the leader of an expended version of a Secret Society as a sort of co-op for supervillains with each free to act on their own, but able to call in help should it be needed (for twenty-five percent of their spoils) against the expanded Justice League. After having the Secret Society seek out various valuable artifacts over the last season's course, Grodd reveals his master plan: to turn every human on the planet into an ape. The plan however is thwarted by the League. Unimpressed, Lex Luthor usurps Grodd's position as the Secret Society's new leader due to reclaiming the god-like power when merged with Brainiac. Luthor keeps Grodd prisoner in the Secret Society's headquarters in the hopes that he will reveal how to reconstitute the living supercomputer's last remaining fragment. When Lex attempts to probe Grodd's mind, bad fortune leads to Lex switching minds with Wally West due a psychic resonance between Grodd and the Flash. When Luthor has the headquarters refit for space travel, promising the Secret Society a place of leadership in the new order with himself as absolute ruler, the spurned Tala eventually releases Grodd, arranging a mutiny within the supervillain group. Grodd and Luthor eventually finally find themselves alone together and engage in fisticuffs. Grodd attempts to use his mind-control ability on Lex, but Luthor had anticipated this and turns Grodd's own power back on himself, giving Luthor control of Grodd. After humiliating Grodd, Luthor forces him to step into an airlock. Grodd is released from Luthor's mental grip and then shot into space.

Film[]

Live action[]

• Gorilla Grodd is alluded in a scene appearing in Justice League (2017). As Bruce Wayne / Batman attempts to recruit Barry Allen / The Flash into the Justice League, the latter quickly mentions his unique abilities including "gorilla sign-language".^[42]

Animation[]

• Gorilla Grodd makes a small cameo in Justice League: New Frontier. The government made a robot copy of Gorilla Grodd in a plot to capture the Flash.
• Gorilla Grodd has a cameo appearance in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, voiced by Brian George (although his only line was "No!"). This version has the same mind-controlling role on the same villains he used in the comics (like Mongul, Solomon Grundy, Lady Shiva and Nightshade) to capture Superman and Batman. He was subdued by Batman.
• Gorilla Grodd appears in JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, voiced by Travis Willingham.
• Gorilla Grodd appears in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. He brainwashes some villains into helping him steal some banana crates only to be defeated by the Justice League.
• Gorilla Grodd appears in Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise, voiced by Clancy Brown. A member of the Legion of Doom, he is also seen depicted with a friendship with Lena Luthor.
• Kevin Michael Richardson reprises his role as Gorilla Grodd in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom. He appears as a member of the Legion of Doom.
• Gorilla Grodd is a central character in Batman Ninja, voiced by Takehito Koyasu in the Japanese version and by Fred Tatasciore in the English dub.^[43][44] Grodd invents a machine which is intended to send Gotham City's villains away, but Batman's attack causes Grodd, Batman, and Gotham's villains to instead be teleported to Feudal Japan.

Video games[]

• Gorilla Grodd is featured in Justice League Heroes, voiced by Neil Kaplan. A robot double of Brainiac frees Gorilla Grodd from his prison so he can take revenge on Gorilla City for imprisoning him.
• Gorilla Grodd is the first boss in Justice League Heroes: The Flash. He attempts to take over Keystone City with cyber-gorillas and other robots provided by Brainiac, but is stopped by the Flash.
• Gorilla Grodd appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame, with John DiMaggio reprising his role. He appears as one of the villains.
• Gorilla Grodd makes an appearance in DC Universe Online, voiced by Jens Anderson. He appears as a boss in one of the many solo instances. When the players have defeated Ultra-Humanite on Gorilla Island, Grodd is shown watching the outcome from his base where he states that Ultra-Humanite is no true ape. In the hero campaign, the players infiltrate Grodd's lab in order to rescue Flash. After the player and Flash defeat Grodd, he escapes. In the villain campaign, the players help Grodd fight the Flash and the original Flash during a raid at S.T.A.R. Labs. He is supported by Gorilla Brigadiers, Gorilla Grenadiers, Gorilla Lieutenants, Gorilla Marksmen, Gorilla Scouts, Gorilla Smashers, Gorilla Soldiers, Gorilla Technicians, Gorilla Troopers, Grodd's Pounders, and Captain Shortly.
• In the Batman: Arkham Knight "Season of Infamy" episode "Beneath the Surface", Gorilla Grodd's name is engraved on a cell door in Iron Heights Penitentiary where Warden Ranken was attacked by Killer Croc.
• Gorilla Grodd appears as a playable character in .

Lego[]

• Gorilla Grodd appears in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, voiced by Travis Willingham. He is available through downloadable content.
• Gorilla Grodd appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Ike Amadi in a British accent. He is found by the player in Odym and has two quests. In the first one, he requires the player to help him create a "Banana Cannon" by giving him a banana because he "cannot work on an empty stomach". In the second quest, Grodd requires the player to defeat his former girlfriend Giganta with his "Banana Cannon".
• Gorilla Grodd appears as a main character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by David Sobolov reprising his role from the Arrowverse and Justice League Action.^[45] He first appears in the story waiting for Lex Luthor and a small group of villains consisting of Heat Wave, Captain Cold, Cheetah and Reverse-Flash to meet him at the throne of Gorilla City, where they ended up battling and defeating Solovar before Grodd joins the Legion of Doom (which Grodd was visibly reluctant). Later on, he leads a small group of villains (Killer Frost, Scarecrow and the Rookie) in invading Oa to rescue and recruit Sinestro.

Injustice[]

• Gorilla Grodd makes a cameo appearance in Injustice: Gods Among Us. He is an interactive character in the Stryker's Island stage. Grodd also appears as a support card in the iOS App.
• Gorilla Grodd appears as an antagonist and a playable character in Injustice 2, voiced by Charles Halford.^[46][47] Seeking to fill the power vacuum left by Superman's regime, Grodd forms a team of supervillains known as The Society in order to help him in his mission to conquer Earth and subdue mankind. In addition to The Society, Grodd rules over Gorilla City after murdering Solovar (which is revealed by Doctor Fate and Atrocitus if either of them faces Grodd in battle) and leads a militant Gorilla Army. Grodd, his army, and the Society are confronted by Black Canary and Green Arrow. After they defeat both Catwoman and Bane and pacify Doctor Fate when Nabu tries to abduct Green Arrow and Black Canary, Grodd and his army appear, having captured Harley Quinn, before engaging either Black Canary or Green Arrow. Grodd is defeated and handcuffed but begins laughing as Brainiac's Skull Ship appears in the sky and abducts the hero couple. He is later revealed to be assisting Brainiac in collecting Earth. After the Society disbands from finding out the true nature of Brainiac's plans, Grodd goes on to confront Aquaman and Black Adam in Kahndaq with Green Arrow and Black Canary under his control to help Brainiac collect the power of the Rock of Eternity. Grodd reveals he intends to get close to Brainiac in order to learn his weaknesses and kill him at the right moment in order to take control of his Skull Ship and its technology. He also manages to take control of Blue Beetle whom he uses to trick Black Adam and Aquaman to lead him to the Rock of Eternity before he orders Blue Beetle to attack, though he is defeated. Grodd then confronts the pair but is defeated by the two and he is executed by Aquaman as payback for assisting in Brainiac's attack on Atlantis. In his single player ending, he kills Brainiac and steals his technology to enhance his telepathic power, enslaving the human race. He then begins a universal conquest using Brainiac's Skull Ship and technology. With Brainiac's Skull Ship he leads his enhanced Gorilla Army to conquer the universe as its new Emperor. Grodd has a habit of saying, "Kneel before Grodd," which is a reference to General Zod.^[48] In normal battles against The Flash, it may be stated, prior to fighting, that Grodd is his worst enemy (at least in the Injustice universe), as when Flash says that he would not wish something on his worst enemy, Grodd replies, "As yours, I'm disappointed." It is also hinted at various points in the game that Grodd's evil and possible insanity has driven him from a herbivorous lifestyle to a more carnivorous one, a drastic differentiation from the villain's usual characterizations, as he reveals to Blue Beetle (when he faces him in battle) that while most gorillas are herbivores, he is not, and during mid-battle clashes, when called out by Blue Beetle for threatening to eat humans' brains, he outright calls himself a "recreational carnivore."

Web series[]

Gorilla Grodd appears in the web series DC Super Hero Girls, with John DiMaggio reprising his role from Batman: The Brave and the Bold. He appears as the vice-principal of Super Hero High.

Miscellaneous[]

• Gorilla Grodd appears in the direct-to-video DC Super Friends: The Joker's Playhouse (2010), voiced by Phil LaMarr.
• Gorilla Grodd appeared in issue #18 of the comic book tie-in to Young Justice. This version is a Kobra venom-enhanced gorilla that was experimented upon by Brain and Ultra-Humanite, resulting in enhanced strength and intelligence.

Reception[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by . (May 2021)

Gorilla Grodd was ranked 35th in IGN's list of 100 Greatest Comic Book Villains.

See also[]

• Gorillas in comics

References[]

External links[]

• Alan Kistler's Profile On: The Flash
• Arrowverse entry for Gorilla Grodd