Superman robots

The Superman Robots are fictional robots from the DC Comics Universe. The robots resembled Superman in appearance and abilities.

History

Silver Age versions

Superman robots played a particularly dominant role in late 1950s and 1960s era Superman comics, when readers were first introduced to Superman possessing various robot duplicates. These robots each possessed a fraction of Superman's powers, and were sometimes used to substitute for him on missions or protect his secret identity. One notable Superman robot was named Ajax, also known as Wonder Man. Other Superman robots had other names, including Robot Z, Robot X-3, and MacDuff.

The idea of Superman robots extended into Superboy and Supergirl stories of the period as well, with the two also possessing robotic duplicates.

In the early 1970s, the Superman comics largely abandoned the Superman robots as part of a change in tone and writing style. In-universe, the robots are rendered unusable by Earth's pollution levels and artificial radiation.

Modern Age versions

The notion of Superman robots was reintroduced for post-Crisis comic continuity in a late 1990s storyline. While under Dominus' control, Superman builds a series of robots to oversee the Earth. Unlike the original Superman robots, they possess a more mechanical appearance.

In Superman (vol. 2) #170, Krypto nearly kills Mongul and is confined to the Fortress of Solitude as punishment. A Superman robot nicknamed "Ned" is employed as Krypto's caretaker.

In a later storyline, Brainiac 8 revived and increased the power to a forgotten Superman robot. The robot attacked the Teen Titans, killing Troia and Omen before it was defeated.

Other versions

  • Insectoid robots inspired by the Superman robots appear in Tangent: Superman's Reign.
  • An alternate universe version of the Superman robots appear in Superman: Red Son #2. These versions are Soviet citizens who were lobotomized and fitted with cybernetic implants as punishment for speaking or acting against the Soviet regime.
  • An alternate universe version of the Superman robots appear in All-Star Superman. These versions are caretakers of the Fortress of Solitude before being killed in a battle with Solaris.

In other media

Television

Film

Video games

References

Uses material from the Wikipedia article Superman robots, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.