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Harold "Harry" Hogan, commonly known as Happy Hogan, is a fictional character, a supporting character of Iron Man in the Marvel Comics universe.
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Fictional character biography
A former boxer with a history of losing his fights, Hogan is hired by Tony Stark as his chauffeur and personal assistant after Happy saves Tony's life in Tales of Suspense #45 (September 1963). Happy learned that Tony was Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #70 (October 1965). In Tales of Suspense #74 (February 1966), Happy was mutated into a giant, savage, nearly mindless, superhumanly strong humanoid known as Freak by exposure to cobalt radiation and Stark's "enervator" device. He was restored to his normal self in Tales of Suspense #76 (April 1966), though he was afflicted with temporary amnesia that lasted until Tales of Suspense #83 (November 1966). He marries Pepper Potts in Tales of Suspense #91 (July 1967) but they later divorce. Happy has worked for almost all of Stark's companies including Stark Industries, Stark Enterprises and Stark Solutions. However, when Tony/Iron Man disappears during Onslaught saga, Hogan refuses to be employed by Stark-Fujikawa but is reemployed when Stark returns. He also remarries Pepper Potts. With the Civil War causing Tony Stark considerable moral, political and emotional problems, Happy Hogan continues to give Tony much needed advice. In an important moment of crisis, he says to Tony: "You, my friend, are the only cape in the bunch [of superheroes] that's both one of us [that is, human] and one of them. Who else can see both sides the way you do?" On the night of his anniversary with Pepper, Hogan is attacked by the Spymaster (who was seeking to use Hogan as bait to draw Iron Man). Spymaster threatens to kill Hogan first, then Pepper. Angered, Hogan grabs him by the neck and they fall several stories (Invincible Iron Man vol. 4 #13), leaving Hogan in a vegetative coma. While he is in the coma, Pepper speaks to Tony during dinner. She tells him of Cobra McCoyle, a former boxing friend who simply took too many hits to the head. Cobra is unable to even feed himself and must be taken care of. Pepper tells Tony that Hogan has declared he never wants to end up like McCoyle. At the end of Invincible Iron Man vol. 4 #14, Hogan apparently dies; the issue leaves it ambiguous whether Hogan died naturally or whether it was because Tony Stark digitally interfaced with and shut down Hogan's life support.
Other versions
Heroes Reborn
In the Heroes Reborn series, Happy Hogan is Stark's public relations chief. He has a brief romantic relationship with Pepper. He is also apparently slain by the villain Rebel but is seen later in a hospital bed.
Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Hogan appears alongside Iron Man in the Ultimates series. He is seen multiple times, some with Pepper Potts, in the control center that assists Stark while he is using the armor. In the spin-off novel Tomorrow Men by Michael Jan Friedman, it was revealed that, although Hogan has worked with Stark for a long time, he never officially achieved his MIT degree, being expelled from college a couple of courses before he could officially earn the degree. He lied to Stark on his application as nobody wanted someone who almost got his degree.
Bibliography
- Avengers vol. 1 #9, 16
- Avengers vol. 3 #28
- Black Panther vol. 3 #42
- Force Works #8, 10
- Iron Man vol. 1 #3–4, 21, 26, 59, 61, 63–66, 69–71, 73, 82–83, 86–88, 112, 199–201, 210, 259, 284, 300, 313, 315, 318–319, 327–329
- Iron Man vol. 3 #2–9, 11–18, 20, 23–25, 28–29, 37–39, 41–42, 45–47, 49–51, 59–63, 65–69, 79, 86–89
- Iron Man vol. 4 #13–14
- Iron Man/Captain America '98
- Iron Man: Age of Innocence #1
- Iron Man: Bad Blood #1, 3–4
- Iron Man: The Inevitable #1, 3
- Marvel: Heroes & Legends #2
- Shadow & Light #1
- Spider-Man Team Up #4
- Tales of Suspense vol. 1 #45–48, 60–61, 63–71, 73, 76, 82–87, 89, 91
- Untold Tales of Spider-Man '97
- Warlock vol. 3 #2
As Iron Man
- Iron Man vol. 1 #82–83, 300
- Tales of Suspense vol. 1 #84–86
As Freak
- Iron Man vol. 1 #3–4, 84–85
- Tales of Suspense vol. 1 #74–75
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| Creators | Don Heck · Stan Lee · Larry Lieber · Jack Kirby |
| Supporting characters | Bethany Cabe · Rumiko Fujikawa · Happy Hogan · Edwin Jarvis · Pepper Potts · War Machine |
| Villains | Advanced Idea Mechanics · Blizzard · Blacklash · Boomerang · Controller · Count Nefaria · Crimson Dynamo · Dreadknight · Ghost · Hypnotia · Iron Man 2020 · Iron Monger · Justin Hammer · Living Laser · Madame Masque · Mandarin · M.O.D.O.K. · Radioactive Man · Roxxon Oil · Spymaster · Temugin · Titanium Man · Unicorn · Ultimo |
| Storylines | Armor Wars · Ultimate Iron Man |
| In other Media | The Marvel Superheroes (1966) · Iron Man (television, 1994) · Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal (1996) · The Invincible Iron Man (animated film, 2007) · Iron Man (film, 2008) · Iron Man (video game, 2008) |
| Miscellania | Alternate versions of Iron Man · Iron Man's armor · Avengers Mansion · Stark Tower |
