Harold Joseph "Happy" Hogan is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is usually depicted as a supporting character in stories featuring Iron Man / Tony Stark, for whom he works as a chauffeur, bodyguard, and personal assistant. Happy is close friends with his employer, and is among the first people in the Marvel Universe to discover his identity as the armored superhero. He is also the father of the Teen Abomination, and was married to Pepper Potts. Hogan earned the ironic nickname "Happy" during his boxing days from his reluctance to smile. Director Jon Favreau portrays Happy Hogan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Iron Man 3 (2013), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home (both 2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Favreau also voices alternate reality versions of the character in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021). Publication history Created by writers Stan Lee and Robert Bernstein and artist Don Heck, Happy Hogan first appeared in Tales of Suspense #45 (Sept. 1963). Fictional character biography A former boxer with a history of losing fights, Hogan is hired by Tony Stark as his chauffeur and personal assistant after Happy saves Tony's life. While hospitalized after being beaten up by a supervillain called the Unicorn, he had an allergic reaction to flowers. Happy learns that Tony is Iron Man. Then, a desperately ill Happy is mutated into a giant, savage, nearly mindless, superhumanly strong humanoid known as the Freak when doctors try to cure him using a cobalt ray machine powered by Stark's experimental "Enervator" device. The 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