Who's Garguax?

Who's This? A lunar tyrant.

The facts: This alien would-be conqueror was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani in Doom Patrol #91 (November 1964) and became a regular foe of the original team, mostly thanks to his membership in the original Brotherhood of Evil. From his base on the dark side of the Moon, he continued to plot against the Doom Patrol in the 1980s series (even attempting to take part in Invasion!). He was finally killed when the U.S. military shot a missile at his ship and destroyed it at the Chief's behest in Doom Patrol vol.2 #18 (February 1989).
How you could have heard of him: Post-Rebirth, he's alive and well again and has recently appeared in Shazam! #3-5 (2023). He's also made a live action appearance on the Doom Patrol TV show, played by Stephen Murphy.
Example story: Doom Patrol #12 (September 1988) "Invasion" by Paul Kupperberg, Erik Larsen and Pablo Marcos

"Invasion" has no relation to the event "Invasion!" that would hit DC half a year later, but is instead the climax of the first Garguax vs. New Doom Patrol story. At this point, Garguax has a lot of Earth's nuclear arsenal under his control and his slave warriors have ripped Robotman's head off his body. It's not looking great and Reagan has 12 hours to surrender.

Is that Niles Caulder without a beard? My actual question about these kinds of sequences - which really annoy me (see also the French saying "FINALLY" when the Americans step up in Independence Day) - is just how many surrenders a would-be world conqueror would have to accept - how many NATIONS' - for them to be happy and not go through with their ultimatum? Is there a United Nations vote? Are different power blocs (NATO, Soviet) answering separately? Does anyone consult the Third World? I understand these are American comics, so the U.S. is presented as the global decision maker (just as the British Prime Minister is in Doctor Who), but as a non-American, it always stings. In this case, they're at least going to let the Doom Patrol have a go (I guess Superman, Captain Atom, et al. weren't answering their phones). They better hurry too, because the missiles (and stray plastic androids) are heading to Earth.

Garguax is having a great time, yucking it up and gloating to Cliff Steele's noggin. His ship easily captures the DP's space shuttle, too. But the heroes meant for that to happen and they've soon infiltrated the ship and are fighting the various robots and aliens aboard. Garguax kind of loses his joie de vivre at that point.

Celsius punches him with an ice ball, but it's Hot Hands who eventually reaches the big guy. And I do mean big:

Larsen draws Garguax as grotesquely obese, an indolent tyrant who lets other people (real and artificial) fight his battles. Will his forces drop their weapons? It's a stand-off as they point a gun at Cliff's brain. And we'll never know if anyone would have called anyone else's bluff, because one of Garguax's other ships rams into this one and Hot Hands loses his grip on the Lunar Tyrant. His forces run, unwilling to commit suicide by staying. Except the one who is trapped under his bulk.

The Doom Patrol takes care of the missiles and the armada, but by the time they return to Garguax's throne room, he's gone. His next attempt at destroying the DP would be his last...

The problem with the original Brotherhood of Evil was that all the members were kind of the same - conquerors who you couldn't imagine sharing the world if they ever got what they wanted. But individually, they're pretty interesting. Was Garguax the least of these? Maybe, and I think Erik Larsen's exaggerated portrayal perhaps helps him on the score. He LOOKS weirder, and the Doom Patrol is all about weird. Note that "Emperor Garguax" as he's known in recent comics also have him be this shape, so it stuck.
 
Who's Next? An Atlantean sorcerer.