- "We are a patient people, Mister Brent. We can repeat this little lesson as often as you want, because we are determined to know what the apes want: war, or peace."
- ―Ongaro
Ongaro (d. 3978) was one of the mutants that lived beneath the ruins of St. Patrick's Cathedral in the latter half of the 40th century. He was one of the elders of the community.
A self-proclaimed pacifist, Ongaro did not believe in direct physical violence. Rather, he preferred to use his mental prowess to manipulate his foes into killing each other. Like all leaders of the mutants, Ongaro possessed the ability to project his thoughts directly into the minds of others. He could also exert control over select individuals, forcing them to commit acts of violence. Ongaro could pull abstract mental impressions from a target's mind and visually project them for others to see. His projections were always filtered through a haze of yellow light, oftentimes overlapping psychic impressions created by his fellow mutants. Of all the known mutant leaders, Ongaro appeared to harbor a great enmity towards both apes and non-mutant humans.[2]
Ongaro was one of several mutants present at the interrogation of John Brent and the mute human, Nova. The mutants forced Brent to attack Nova, nearly choking her to death, in the hopes of getting him to reveal critical information concerning a nearby community of militant apes.
Ongaro pursued a forbidden personal relationship with Albina in the lead-up to the ape invasion of their city.
Notes
Ongaro during Brent's interrogation
- In the final shooting script of Beneath the Planet of the Apes, as well as in the film's closing credits, Don Pedro Colley's character is credited only as "Negro". The name 'Ongoro' was invented by The Mutant News fake newspaper issued at the time of the movie's release,[3] while Colley's official website uses the spelling 'Ongaro'.[4][5] 'Negro' is a term used repeatedly by scriptwriter Paul Dehn. The term had almost passed out of acceptable usage, but was not intended offensively, as he used it to specify powerful or sympathetic characters, including the 'Negro Lawyer', the 'Negro Tycoons', and both MacDonalds were requested to be 'negro' for the purposes of the plot.
- All of the elders of the mutant community wore liturgical vestments, which were color-coordinated with the visual effects of their thought projection abilities. Ongaro wore a yellow stole over his tunic to match the color of his psychic impressions.
- Each Inquisitor pursued an individual line of questioning with Brent; the Negro asked no questions at all, but was there merely to induce pain.[6]
Merchandise
In 2004, Sideshow Collectibles produced a twelve-inch limited edition Ongaro action figure. Labeled as "Mutant Jailor", only 500 models of this Planet of the Apes collectible were put into production. The figure features over thirty points of articulation, as well as a removable face-piece revealing Ongaro's radiation-scarred visage. The "Mutant Jailor" figure was packaged with several accessories including an Alpha-Omega bomb launch command crystal, a Doomsday prayer book, An Alpha-Omega pendant and a figure display stand bearing the Beneath the Planet of the Apes movie logo. The figure was sculpted by artist Mat Falls.[7]
Appearances
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (comic)
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (novel)
- Planet of the Apes Magazine: Beneath the Planet of the Apes
- Adventures on the Planet of the Apes: Beneath the Planet of the Apes
- Neil Foster & Michael Whitty's Within The Planet Of The Apes (fan fiction)
- Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes
- Death of the Planet of the Apes
References
- ↑ 3955 versus 3978
- ↑ In the final shooting script for Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Ongaro's aggressiveness is more evident than what was shown in the final cut of the film.
- ↑ 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' promotional material
- ↑ The Official Don Pedro Colley Website
- ↑ Lexicon of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Encyclopedia, by Rich Handley
- ↑ Beneath the Planet of the Apes - Final Screenplay at Hunter's Planet of the Apes Scripts Archive
- ↑ Mutant Jailor figure at Sideshow Collectibles
