Richard Rory
Richard Rory | |
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Citrusville art by Jim Mooney from Man-Thing #17 | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Man-Thing Volume 1, #2 |
Created by | Steve Gerber (writer) Val Mayerik (artist) |
In-story information | |
Full name | Richard Rory |
Species | human |
Team affiliations | Defenders (former) |
Partnerships | Man-Thing Omega the Unknown (former) She-Hulk (former) |
Abilities | none, though seems to be affected by extremes of luck. |
Richard Rory is a fictional character appearing in
Fictional character biography
Richard Rory, an eternal
Rory had several more adventures, most of which were resolved by Man-Thing, whom he had never feared, making an appearance. He also guided Daredevil to Ted Sallis's old shack, which was being used by Gladiator and Death-Stalker.[4]
He decided to remain in
When Rory is released, Ruth Hart allows him to stay in her Hell's Kitchen apartment, where she lives with Daily Bugle photographer Amber Grant and James-Michael Starling, a young orphan and former patient with a mental link to Omega the Unknown. Greg Salinger has also come to New York, equipped with the Foolkiller gear Rory never dreamed he would seek for his own use. Searching for James-Michael, he helps the Defenders deal with the Foolkiller, initially attempting to get Salinger to join the team, but it does little good, and Kyle Richmond's mansion is burned to the ground by Foolkiller's purification gun when he learns that the team does not kill their foes.[7]
Omega the Unknown was killed by
When we next see him, he is still down on his luck, wandering through the streets of Las Vegas. He finds a silver dollar on the ground and decides to use it in the slot machine of a nearby casino. He hits the jackpot, and is horrified that no money comes out, assuming it is his constant bad luck. The manager explains to him that a prize that large can be given only in the form of a check. He places the entire amount on a single spin of the roulette wheel at the urging of a showgirl in the employ of the casino manager. Instead of losing, as the casino manager hoped, he wins, breaking the bank.[9]
While driving his new car, he gets involved in a minor accident with She-Hulk, who changes back into Jennifer Walters in the nearby alley. It does not take him long to realize that they are the same person, but he chooses to withhold that he knows. He decides what he really wants to do with his money is buy the Citrusville radio station that fired him, and Jennifer accompanies him. When She-Hulk shows up in the swamp, where he is briefly reunited with Man-Thing, Rory's suspicion that she is Jennifer is confirmed beyond doubt, but he still does not let on that he knows.[10]
One evening at the station, he believes he has made contact with an alien lifeform, but it turns out to be
After this episode, with the radio station trashed, he returns to Los Angeles with Jennifer, where he becomes rival to her boyfriend, Daniel "Zapper" Ridge, in spite of sleeping only on her couch. Only when she walks into her house as She-Hulk with Richard there does he reveal that it is no surprise. At the end of She-Hulk's series, Rory wanders away, alone again, She-Hulk having, for a time, chosen Zapper, even though Rory, at great physical pain, was much more integral in getting Mr. Walters to accept that his daughter is She-Hulk than Zapper was.[12]
With Zapper and Zapper's rich new wife, Rory showed up for Jennifer's Christmas party many years later, once again a wealthy man, this time inherited from an aunt he never knew he had, though with his track record, whether this is to last remains to be seen.[13] It has been pointed out, however, that Gregory Ross Curtis, the new identity of the severely burned third Foolkiller Kurt Gerhardt, bears a striking resemblance to Richard Rory.[14]
He was also among the group pulled out of time for She Hulk's trial by the Time Variance Authority.[15]
In his most recent appearance, he saves Stu Cicero, a supporting character of She-Hulk, from Man-Thing, but Stu drives off in Rory's
Notes and references
- ^ letters column, Man-Thing #6
- ^ Man-Thing #2
- ^ Man-Thing #2 (Feb 1974)
- New Orleans, Louisiana, it is clearly a reference to a two-part text story in Monsters Unleashed#8-9. All stories in question are Gerber's, perhaps implying that the story was published in a different place than originally intended.
- ^ Man-Thing #20 (Aug 1975)
- ^ Omega the Unknown #9 (Aug 1977)
- ^ Defenders #75 (Sep 1979)
- ^ Defenders #78 (Feb 1980)
- ^ The Savage She-Hulk #7 (Aug 1980)
- ^ The Savage She-Hulk #8
- ^ The Savage She-Hulk #13 (Feb 1981)
- ^ The Savage She-Hulk #20; #24-25 (Sep 1981; Jan-Feb 1982)
- ^ The Sensational She-Hulk #36
- ^ "Foolkiller (Kurt Gerhardt)".
- ^ She-Hulk (vol. 2) #3
- ^ She-Hulk (vol. 2) #20
Appearances list
in chronological order
- Man-Thing Vol. 1, #2-7 by Steve Gerber
- Giant Size Man-Thing #1 by Steve Gerber
- Daredevil Vol. 1, #113-115 by Steve Gerber
- Man-Thing Vol. 1, #11-12, 17-20 by Steve Gerber (also flashback in #22)
- Iron Man Annual #3 by Steve Gerber
- Omega the Unknown #8-10 by Roger Stern (8) and Steve Gerber
- Defenders #74-76, 78 by Ed Hannigan and Steven Grant
- Daredevil #140 by Bill Mantlo (flashback)
- The Savage She-Hulk #7, 8, 13–17, 19–22, 24, 25 by David Anthony Kraft
- The Amazing Spider-Man #225 by Roger Stern (flashback)
- The Sensational She-Hulk #36 by John Byrne
- She-Hulk vol. 2 #3 and 20 by Dan Slott
External links
- Richard Rory at the Appendix to the Marvel Handbook