Marvels of MarvelHow well do you know your favorite characters from Marvel Comics? Here's everything you need to know about the heroes and villains from the pages of every group from the Avengers to the X-Men.
As Tony Stark's closest friend and semi-sidekick, it's not surprising (but still a little disappointing) that there aren't any dedicated Happy Hogan comics in the Marvel archives. In the MCU, Hogan has the distinction of being played by Jon Favreau, the very man who gave the cinematic universe life behind the camera while making Iron Man. In a significant change to the Happy Hogan from Marvel comics, Favreau's version of the character lives on in the post-Endgame MCU while his friend and employer met his end saving all of existence.
There's a lot that the movies have left out about Happy Hogan from the Marvel comics. Fans rooting for Hogan and May Parker's bizarrely cute relationship might be surprised to know that, in the comics, Happy had a grand love affair with another beloved MCU character in addition to multiple stints controlled by a supervillain alter ego. At the very least, there's lots of untapped potential in case the MCU wants to keep Favreau around as a sidekick figure to other up-and-coming heroes in future phases.
Before he made it into Tony Stark's orbit, Happy Hogan started out as a professional boxer who was more well-known for his losing record. This wasn't due to any fault of his own since he would hold his own in plenty of fights against supervillains later in life. His issue in the ring was that he was too darn nice.
As he tells Tony upon their first meeting, when it comes to boxing, he's just too good at losing. According to Happy, "After I got a guy against the ropes, I never had the heart to finish im' off!" While that sort of attitude made Hogan a terrible boxer, it set him up to be a pretty good hero (or at least a hero's friend).
While MCU fans may think of Happy as the warm replacement mentor from Spider-Man: Far From Home, the depiction of Hogan in his first appearances was a little closer to his comic book persona. He was more of a stoic, self-serious assistant in the first two Iron Man movies, which fits since the name "Happy" was given to Harold Hogan ironically in his comic book origin.
From his very first appearance in 1963 in Tales of Suspense #45, one thing was immediately clear about Happy Hogan, as he says himself, "beneath this rough exterior beats a heart full of love at first sight." As Hogan tells Stark upon their first meeting, his name is "Happy" because "no one's ever caught [him] smiling."
He Started Working For Stark After Saving The Billionaire's Life
If you save a billionaire philanthropist's life, the least they can do is offer you a job.
As a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, Tony Stark always lived a high-octane life in and out of the Iron Man suit. While competing in a stock car race, Stark found himself pinned in behind the steering wheel after a wreck. Luckily for him, "Happy" Hogan was in the crowd watching. Happy had a big heart that couldn't stand by and watch someone get hurt without helping, and he also had big muscles made it so he could actually do something about it.
Tony was so grateful for Happy that he decided to hire him as a "combination chauffeur/bodyguard."
Happy Figured Out Stark's Secret Identity On His Own
Happy proved time and time again throughout the years that he wasn't as dumb as he looked. Not the type that should be underestimated, his unique combination of brawn, brains, and heart served Stark Industries and Iron Man well over the years.
Insurance providers should consider friendship with a superhero to be a pre-existing condition. It's just about the most dangerous job in the world; either you're going to find yourself becoming a hero, a villain, or dead.
In the case of Happy Hogan, an experimental device in Iron Man's lab ended up turning him into the "Freak." As a mindless, super-strong brute, the Freak version of Hogan wrought havoc until Iron Man was able to subdue him. While Hogan was returned to normal, The Freak would remain dormant in his body and re-emerge several times over the years until he was fully cured of the affliction.
As the old saying goes, "you can't be in two places at once." That is, unless your bodyguard is pretending to be you by wearing the suit of armor you created.
Throughout the years, Happy regularly stepped inside the armor any time Stark needed to appear in the same place as Iron Man. If you're gonna dress like a super hero in the Marvel Universe, you're going to have to occasionally fight like one. Happy's outings in the armor weren't always confined to press conferences, and occasionally he would have to be the one squaring off against villains like the Mandarin.
