Gorilla City
Gorilla City is a city that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
Gorilla City
In time, the few but special race of Gorillas where for countless years the thrived in their city behind the mountains. They hid their existence from mankind as they knew they could be wiped out by humanity. (The Flash v1 #106)
King Solivar held a judgement over the murderer Koris in the sentence whereupon he was visited by the Harbinger. She came to enlist his aid for a great crisis affecting the cosmos and teleported him away with the Gorilla City guards unable to stop her. (Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #1)
Modern
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
King Solovar attempted to form diplomatic relations with the rest of mankind and appeared before the U.N. as he intended to have Gorilla City take part in world affairs. However, he was seemingly killed when a bomb in his transport detonated. In the chaos that followed, his nephew Ulgor was appointed as the Prince-Regent with no one aware that he was a puppet of the Simian Scarlet Cultural Purity Movement. Under their guidance, they had Ulgor declare war against humanity with bombs being detonated that transformed humans into gorillas. (JLA Annual v1 #3)
Nmandi led the efforts to build a new Gorilla City that was a self-sufficient settlement where his kind could reside without venturing outside again. (Flash v2 #194)
The machinations of the Joker saw a deadly plague spreading through the city and killing hundreds. In exchange for a cure, the gorillas were forced to stage an attack on New York City in order to target President Lex Luthor. Gorilla Grodd was freed from prison to lead the forces as he wanted his people to live. They were ultimately stopped by the newest incarnation of the Outsiders when they were forced into the waters. Seeking to prevent his people from drowning, Grodd revealed the truth about their attack and that it was a ruse. The Joker was stopped from his torture of President Luthor and the gorillas were returned to their city with them being accompanied by infectious disease specialists from S.T.A.R. Labs to aid them finding a cure for the plague. (Outsiders v3 #3)
Nnmandi came to be the new ruler of Gorilla City and keeper of the peace where he set about rebuilding his home so that they could live in isolation from the rest of the world. During this time, Gorilla Grodd came to escape his cell in Iron Heights Penitentiary and made his way back to his home in order to take control of it. This saw him telepathically controlling some gorillas and sending them against the Flash who was in pursuit of him. Nnmandi was aware of the upcoming attack and later freed the telepathically controlled gorillas with the Flash battling the supervillain who intended to kill the ruler of Gorilla City. Despite his attempts, Grodd was defeated by the Flash who intended to take him back to Keystone City to stand trial for his crimes. However, Nnmandi believed that human should not be in a position to judge apes and thus took custody of Grodd who was to be imprisoned within Gorilla City. He then wiped the memory of Gorilla City from the mind of the Flash and sent him back to Keystone. Afterwards, Nnmandi was disturbed at the seeming bloodlust in the Flash and recorded it in a mural for all gorillas to see as a warning of the danger of mankind. (The Flash v2 #194)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different series of events. According to one account, the origins of Gorilla City were traced to the reign of Atlantis when it ruled the surface. In that era, the Atlanteans established a distant colony called Katangala. It became the site for a series of experiments involving a kelp that grew on the shores of Atlantis that boosted cerebral capability in animals. Such a capability led to the Atlanteans feeding it to aquatic creatures but at Katangala they would use it on the native gorilla's that populated the area. The minds of these apes thus arose and the became more capable leading to them being relegated into a servant class among the Atlanteans. In time, the apes came to believe that they were more than equals than their masters and rebel. Despite the kelp being kept from them, the gorilla's had achieved the highest state of intelligence among their kind that became permanent. The Atlanteans would drive the apes into the forest and would later pursue them but were brought down by their former servants with one ape making a meal of a general from Atlantis. By this point, the apes were still a developing society who had no place within the forests not did they have a concept of organized battle. However, the gorilla that consumed the brain of the Atlantean general absorbed his knowledge leading to them developing strategies after which they took Katangala as well as its secrets. Among the Atlanteans, many were killed by the apes but a few managed to escape through their portal and the gorilla's were unable to make use of the gateway. These apes would later form their own settlement that would become known as Gorilla City. (Aquaman v7 #38) Another account held that these gorilla's forefathers were struck by lightning from the Speed Force that sped their minds which in turn gifted them great intellect and power. They revered the Speed Force which they called the 'Light' and sought its return by creating Gorilla City as a lightning rod for its power but it never manifested. Across each generation, their connection with that power began to diminish and it was noted that each newborn grew more savage. (Flash v4 #9) They came to learn the existence of four Forces that made up existence with these including the Speed Force, Sage Force, Strength Force and Still Force who chose an avatar for their power to keep the Multiverse moving towards its destiny. The Gorillas were blessed with the mental powers of the Sage Force thus giving them their abilities with their first avatar being Solovar I. However, since that time, none of their kind had been able to reach the potential to become an avatar of the Sage Force. (The Flash v5 #59)
Long ago, their civilization formed the Gorilla Kingdom that established trade routes at its zenith with them possessing seafaring cousins who operated as a pirates that plundered Africa's waters for treasures and offered them to their pagan gods. (Hawkman v5 #1)
Suren Da'arga of the Lu'un Darga in an effort to restore his family's power took his followers to Gorilla City in order to recover an artifact of power. (Robin: Son of Batman v1 #10)
During his Force Quest, Barry Allen along with Iris West came to Gorilla City in order to learn more about the other mysterious Forces. He arrived to find the city in ruin with many of the inhabitants killed whilst others had fled. Whilst investigating the ruins, they found a trio of Gorilla scientists who had escaped the carnage and played a recording from the deceased Solovar about the nature of the Forces. (The Flash v5 #59)
Overview
The hidden city was hidden behind lofty mountains situated in deepest Africa. (The Flash v1 #106) It was situated in the Virunga Mountains in East Africa. (Flash v4 #9)
Locations in the City included:
- Abruuk Asylum : a prison for the mentally disturbed with doctors treating the prisoners. (Martian Manhunter Annual v2 #2)
- Temple of Penitence : holding the Helm of Solovar. (Robin: Son of Batman v1 #11)
Beneath Gorilla City were a number of caverns that contained murals which showcased the history of the gorillas. (Flash v4 #9)
After being rebuilt, the city was made to be a self-sufficient environment whose people could survive without venturing out for decades. (The Flash v2 #194)
The gorillas high muscle density and low body fat meant that they lacked buoyancy thus making them poor swimmers. (Outsiders v3 #3)
The colour of blood was said to be forbidden within Gorilla City. (The Flash v2 #194)
One group within the city were the elders who were noted for their peaceful nature, white fur and deep reverence for the Speed Force. (Flash v4 #9) The Gorilla City guard were responsible for apprehending citizens that were criminals and even pursued them to other parts of the world to recover them to be tried under their city's law. (The Flash v5 #44) An extremist faction among the Gorilla’s was the Simian Scarlet Cultural Purity Movement who opposed co-existence with mankind. (JLA Annual v1 #3)
Their people believed in the coming of the Nzame that was a holy one born once every thousand years and marked by their white fur. Such events were marked as a time for celebration among the people of Gorilla City. (Justice League of America v2 #9)
To the gorillas, they referred to death as the Silence. (The Flash v5 40)
Some of their settlements were protected by guardian golems. (Hawkman v5 #1)
Inhabitants
- Gorilla Grodd :
- Solovar :
- Nmandi : son of Solovar who was the keeper of the peace and the history of Gorilla City where he came to rule over it after the death of his father. (The Flash v2 #194)
- Ulgo : nephew of Solovar and thus Prince Regent heir who came to power after the death of his uncle. (JLA Annual v1 #3)
- Zolog : a male General who was secretly a member of the Simian Scarlet Cultural Purity Movement. (JLA Annual v1 #3)
- Trafalgo : a male Admiral who was secretly a member of the Simian Scarlet Cultural Purity Movement. (JLA Annual v1 #3)
- Abu-Gita : a female sorceress who was secretly a member of the Simian Scarlet Cultural Purity Movement. (JLA Annual v1 #3)
- Gorbzil Mammit : son of Grodd and Boka, he became an enemy of Bart Allen after he masqueraded as a human student and intended to engineer a race of super-gorillas by breeding a mate for himself. (Legends of the DC Universe v1 #19)
- Darok : male clone son of Grodd who bred an offspring from his DNA and that of Iris Allen but Darok rebelled against his father who allied with the Flash to stop the child. (DC Retroactive: The Flash – The '70s v1 #1)
- Gorilla Grimm : male former resident of Gorilla City who relocated to Gotham where he ran a smuggling operating that sold high-tech weapons to masked villains but was regularly defeated by Batman leading to him moving to Bludhaven to start a new lfe. (Nightwing v4 #10)
- Silverback : a male General in Gorilla City. (Flash v4 #9)
- Malavar :
- Biyo :
- Mampoa :
- Tokolo :
- Koris : a male who was a convicted criminal guilty of murder but was sentenced to conversion by King Solivar so that he could become a productive member of society with Koris grateful for the judgement. (Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #1)
Notes
- Gorilla City was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino where it made its first appearance in The Flash v1 #106 (April, 1959).
In other media
Television
- In the DC Animated Universe, Gorilla City made a number of appearances in the shared animated setting.
- In The Flash, Gorilla City appeared in the 2014 live-action television series set in the Arrowverse where it was first mentioned in the episode "Attack on Gorilla City". It was said as a city located in the heart of Africa on Earth-2 that was home to a civilization of super-intelligent gorillas.
Video games
- In Injustice 2, Gorilla City appeared in the setting of the fighting video game where it had fallen under the control of Gorilla Grodd who sought to make its populace rise up against mankind. It also served as the headquarters of his Society with Batman dispatching heroes to stop Grodd.
Appearances
- The Flash v1:
- Justice League of America v2:
- The Flash v2:
- Outsiders v3:
- Flash v4:
- Aquaman v7:
- Hawkman v5:
- The Flash v5:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
