Richard Rory

Richard Rory
Richard Rory working at WNRV, Citrusville art by Jim Mooney from Man-Thing #17
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Man-Thing Volume 1, #2
Created by	Steve Gerber (writer) Val Mayerik (artist)
In-story information
Full name	Richard Rory
Species	human
Team affiliations	Defenders (former)
Partnerships	Man-Thing Omega the Unknown (former) She-Hulk (former)
Abilities	none, though seems to be affected by extremes of luck.

Richard Rory is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. He initially was a sort of author surrogate or alter ego for writer Steve Gerber, though Gerber is also shown to exist in the Marvel Universe. He was introduced in Man-Thing Volume 1, #2, a bit of a loner who rather easily befriended the nearly mindless monster. When in rural areas, he was frequently belittled for having a college education and a rather left-wing perspective. Later, under the pen of David Anthony Kraft, he became friends with She-Hulk, with slight romantic overtones that went nowhere. The character is named after Richard Cory, a nearly opposite character whose song was playing on the radio when Gerber created the character.

Richard Rory, an eternal pessimist who claims that he was dropped by the doctor at his birth, had been a disc jockey for an Ohio radio station when he is introduced at age 23. When he made fun of the Foolkiller on the air, the Foolkiller pursued him all the way to the Florida Everglades. There, he punched Steve Gerber in the face, mistaking him for the Foolkiller because they drove the same model car. Rory survived and the Foolkiller did not, after Rory pounced on him while he was shooting. He befriended Ruth Hart, a nurse from St. Louis who was old lady to a biker named Snake. After some time together, in which Rory suggested marriage, she went to New York City to pursue her nursing career, deciding the gentle but opinionated Rory was not her type. When he met her he mentioned that he could not get any further down, having caused his fiancée's mother to have a heart attack by wearing a Halloween mask on a date.