Please take note that most of the information here does not relate to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Grey Gargoyle is a Marvel Comics supervillain created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Initially an enemy of Thor, he has also had numerous clashes with Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and Iron Man.
History[]
Dr. Paul Pierre Duvall was originally a promising young chemist at a biotech research company in Paris. One day, while working with unknown compounds, some of the volatile chemicals he was working with splashed onto his right hand, turning it into stone-like substance which nevertheless retained full articulation. When he touched the other hand, his entire body turned to stone for one hour, as did anything he touched. Deciding to use this newfound power for personal gain, Duval turned to crime, calling himself the Grey Gargoyle. The Grey Gargoyle becomes the most successful thief in Europe, but becomes bored by the lack of challenge. After learning of the existence of the Avengers, the Grey Gargoyle travels to New York to challenge Thor. Since childhood, he had been fascinated with the ancient Norse myths about the Aesir and the Golden Apples; since Thor's presence had proven those myths to be true, Duval sought to claim the Apples for himself. After being defeated by Thor twice, Duval seeks to gain an edge by breaking into Stark Industries to steal an experimental cobalt weapon. Iron Man arrives to stop the attempted theft, but only narrowly defeats the Grey Gargoyle... and is left near death as the battle leaves his armor's life support reserves nearly depleted. Tony had only managed to survive because his cousin Morgan had taken him to his car, where Tony plugged his armor into a cigarette adapter, allowing it to recharge.
The Grey Gargoyle attempted to steal a mysterious compound known as Element X from a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, but was foiled by Captain America and Falcon, who ended up shooting the villain into space. He spent some time as a space pirate, but eventually returned to Earth. He attempted to return to his old penthouse apartment, but was outraged to discover it had been sold to a new resident. A battle with the Avengers soon followed, where the Grey Gargoyle managed to petrify Iron Man's armor, but was restored to human form by Scarlet Witch and easily recaptured.
Grey Gargoyle subsequently reinvents himself as a Paul St. Pierre, an enigmatic sculptor acclaimed for his realistic sculptures of terrified women. James Rhodes and his girlfriend Marcy Pearson attend one of his showings, and Marcy is unnerved at one of the sculpture's resemblance to Cinda Kendrick, a missing friend of her's. Marcy goes on leave to investigate Cinda's disappearance, convincing Rhodes that something is fishy. When Marcy goes missing, Stark and Rhodes investigate, discovering that the Grey Gargoyle has decided to achieve immortality as an artist, petrifying victims then coating them in a polymer to ensure they don't revert to their original state. Iron Man manages to rescue Marcy, but the Grey Gargoyle escapes a rich man, having amassed a fortune from this endeavor.
After numerous other clashes with various members of the superhero community, the Grey Gargoyle earned a reputation as a "generic powerhouse" began to wonder if he had fallen into a rut. It is then that he sees a mysterious object fall to Earth. It turns out to be Mokk, Breaker of Faith - one of seven weapons of the Serpent - the Asgardian God of Fear. Deemed worthy to wield Mokk, the Grey Gargoyle picks in up, and turns into a demonic creature that can petrify people with a stare rather than a touch. He turns the citizens of Paris into stone and then starts crushing them, singlehandedly no-selling the combined strength of Iron Man, Rescue, and Detroit Steel. It is only when Iron Man is equipped with the Uru Armor that Iron Man is finally able to hurt him. After the Serpent is killed by Thor, the Grey Gargoyle is freed of Mokk's influence, and most people that Mokk had killed were restored to life. The Grey Gargoyle was subsequently placed in a S.H.I.E.L.D. holding facility, though he eventually managed to escape again.
Powers and Abilities[]
The Grey Gargoyle's right hand has been permanently transformed into a living stone-like substance. Any object he touches with this hand becomes petrified for approximately one hour. Duval can transform himself into a stone like form, retaining his sentience, mobility, and speed. His stone form possesses tremendous physical strength, capable of lifting up to 11 tons. It is also highly resistant to high caliber bullets, falls from great heights, extreme temperatures, and energy weapons (such as Iron Man's repulsors). During his time as Mokk, his strength level was tremendously amplified to the point where he could lift 60 tons.
Weaknesses[]
Duval is only able to assume his stone form for short periods of time. In human form he has only average strength and no extranormal abilities.