Happy Hogan

Harold "Happy" Hogan, is a fictional character who appears in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a Supporting character in books featuring Iron Man.

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 learns that Tony is Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #70 (October 1965).

In Tales of Suspense #74 (February 1966), a desperately ill Happy is mutated into a giant, savage, nearly mindless, superhumanly strong humanoid known as Freak when doctors try to cure him using a cobalt ray machine powered by Stark's experimental "Enervator" device. Freak breaks loose and goes on a rampage, escaping before Iron Man can arrive to stop him.

Iron Man leads the Freak back to his laboratory but runs out of power and collapses. The Freak encounters Pepper Potts, who faints at the sight of him, and he carries her away. The police fire on him, causing him to drop Pepper. Iron Man saves Pepper, and leads the Freak to his lab again. He is restored to his normal self in Tales of Suspense #76 (April 1966) when Iron Man exposes him to the Enervator once again, though he is afflicted with temporary amnesia that lasts until Tales of Suspense #83 (November 1966).

Later, while helping Iron Man rebuild his armor, Happy is again exposed to cobalt rays and is again transformed into the Freak. The Freak smashes Iron Man through a wall, and takes Pepper with him. Iron Man is able to again return Happy to normal.

The Collector later kidnaps Happy and Pepper, hoping to add the Freak to his collection. This draws Iron Man's attention, who intervenes and rescues his friends.

Later, while Happy is injured while wearing the Iron Man armor, Stark uses the Enervator to save him, thinking that he has corrected the problems with his device. But again it transforms Happy into the Freak, who goes on another rampage. He exposes himself to cobalt materials, causing him to glow with energy that will eventually reach critical mass and explode. The two battle, until Stark is able to use the Enervator to again revert Happy to normal.

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 is seeking to use Hogan as bait to draw out Iron Man. Spymaster threatens to kill Hogan first, then Pepper. Angered, Hogan grabs him by the neck and they fall several stories, 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 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 Iron Man vol. 4 #14, Hogan apparently dies. The issue leaves it ambiguous whether Hogan dies naturally or whether it is because Tony Stark digitally interfaced with and shut down Hogan's life support.

Later, when Tony (slowly losing his mind to prevent Norman Osborn from getting the Superhero Registration Act information) and Pepper are in hiding, Pepper reminds him of all his friends and allies with Happy being one of them. Tony then replies, "Who's Happy?". Also, Happy is seen as a hallucination within Tony's mind.

Amalgam Comics
In the Amalgam Comics Universe, DC Comics's Green Lantern and Marvel's Iron Man are combined to create Iron Lantern. Iron Lantern is secretly Hal Stark, owner of Stark Aircraft, a developer of experimental aircraft. Stark's chief mechanic is Happy Kalmaku (an amalgamation of Marvel's Happy Hogan and DC's Thomas Kalmaku). Happy is in love with test pilot Pepper Ferris (an amalgamation of Pepper Potts and DC's Carol Ferris). Unfortunately for Happy, Pepper is not only in love with Stark, she is also secretly the supervillain Madame Sapphire (a combination of Marvel's Madame Masque and DC's Star Sapphire). Happy Kalmaku first appeared in Iron Lantern #1 (April 1997), published jointly by Marvel and DC. He was created by Kurt Busiek (script) and Paul Smith (art).

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 attacked by the villain Rebel and is seen later in a hospital bed.

Marvel Zombies Return
In the Marvel Zombies universe, Happy appears in Marvel Zombies Return. He is working for Stark International; at this point Tony Stark is a useless drunk and S.I. headquarters is literally falling apart. Happy goes off to investigate a disturbance in the basement and falls prey to the zombie Giant Man who had teleported in from another dimension. The former hero bites and turns Hogan into a zombie. Happy then leads a zombie outbreak among the staff. James Rhodes kills him by destroying his head.

Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Hogan appears alongside Iron Man in the Ultimates series, which is part of the Ultimate Marvel line of Ultimates comics. He is seen many times, some with Pepper Potts, in the Iron Man armor control room.

In the spin-off novel Tomorrow Men by Michael Jan Friedman, it is revealed that he has a supervisory position at the Triskelion; the Ultimates headquarters. Furthermore, although Hogan has worked with Stark for a long time, he never officially achieved his MIT degree.

In Ultimate Human, although he is never seen on page, Tony Stark is seen talking to him on a cell phone, and then continuing the conversation after he is in an Iron Man suit.

Television

 * Happy Hogan appears in the Iron Man segment of The Marvel Super Heroes (1966).
 * Happy Hogan appears in the animated series Iron Man: Armored Adventures, voiced by Alistair Abell. In this version, Happy is a tall and muscular, but overexcitable and dull-witted basketball jock.

Film

 * Happy Hogan appears in the live-action Iron Man film, played by Jon Favreau (who was also the director of the film and Iron Man 2). He is shown to be Tony Stark's bodyguard, friend and chauffeur.


 * Jon Favreau reprises his role of Happy Hogan in Iron Man 2. The character's role is expanded in the sequel mostly to act as comic relief. Happy joins Black Widow into infiltrating Justin Hammer's company to find Ivan Vanko.


 * Jon Favreau reprised his role in Iron Man 3 despite not returning to direct the third film. In the film, Happy is the head of security for Stark Industries. At the beginning of the film, he witnesses the side-effects of an Extremis enhanced individual and got into conflict with another and rendered in a coma when one of the Extremis individuals explodes. Tony Stark is motivated into going after the Mandarin, believing him to be responsible for the explosion that injured his friend. Happy awakens from his coma at the end of the film.