Superman Robots

[Soubhagya]

What do the fans think about Superman's robots? I read Adventures of Superman #439 recently. So, Superman after Post Crisis had a robot for a very short while. Before that it was more prominent. Why was it removed? And was it a good idea? I like the idea. It can show Superman to be pretty smart. Just by their presence they can show that aspect of Superman. They could be useful for his secret ID too. When Superman and Clark Kent are in presence of each other it removes any questions by a huge extent. And they could be useful tools to the story. I remember All Star Superman. Do fans want this idea to return? Or is it better that they are gone?

And if they stay whether you want something like this? Looking like Superman.



Or like this.



And also are there some good stories with them? And if so where to read them?

[Superlad93]

Love, love, love, LOVE them.

On a purely basic level: they're in universe life-size action figures of the, and that is objectively awesome and unique.

On a visual level: there's something both creepy/alien and fun about seeing Superman have and unfinished robot version of himself sitting in the back with one eye missing. There's also the visual of all of these Superman robots walking around doing busy work in the Fort. Like some sort of macro human ant farm. In regards to how they look: I think a mix of both is best for both the story and the visuals.

On a storytelling level: I've honestly got a bunch that I keep to myself, but there are just so many gems already there to pick from. Can't remember the names of the stories off the top of the dome, but there are a few where they become sentient, and those are pretty fun from what I remember.

I'd trade Kelx in for them in less than a heart beat.

[Kuwagaton]

What do the fans think about Superman's robots? I read Adventures of Superman #439 recently. So, Superman after Post Crisis had a robot for a very short while. Before that it was more prominent. Why was it removed? And was it a good idea? I like the idea. It can show Superman to be pretty smart. Just by their presence they can show that aspect of Superman. They could be useful for his secret ID too. When Superman and Clark Kent are in presence of each other it removes any questions by a huge extent. And they could be useful tools to the story. I remember All Star Superman. Do fans want this idea to return? Or is it better that they are gone?

When I think of cybernetics, I think of 3 divisions: a functional fleet seen in All Star and other stories, administrator bots like Kelex (for a time, Natasha Irons gave him an update so that he he naturally informal human dialogue), and adaptable technology like the warsuit with its auto pilot features.



Also, much later, the post crisis version did have a fleet, though it was kind of abandoned for the purpose of superheroics and eventually they faded into the background. Then the For Tomorrow/OMAC eras touched on them again. As with Kelex and the Hamilton bot, there's always one standout unit.

The best Superman robot story I can recommend is Man of Steel #90. Superman volume two #217-225 also has some cool stuff with robots, among other things. And although it's not quite the same, Action Comics #571 has a good story on Superman and robotics.

[Osiris-Rex]

The all time classic Superman vs robot. (Adventures of Superman season 1 episode 17)

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[Soubhagya]

Love, love, love, LOVE them.

On a purely basic level: they're in universe life-size action figures of the, and that is objectively awesome and unique.

On a visual level: there's something both creepy/alien and fun about seeing Superman have and unfinished robot version of himself sitting in the back with one eye missing. There's also the visual of all of these Superman robots walking around doing busy work in the Fort. Like some sort of macro human ant farm. In regards to how they look: I think a mix of both is best for both the story and the visuals.

On a storytelling level: I've honestly got a bunch that I keep to myself, but there are just so many gems already there to pick from. Can't remember the names of the stories off the top of the dome, but there are a few where they become sentient, and those are pretty fun from what I remember.

I'd trade Kelx in for them in less than a heart beat.

Some sort of macro human ant farm. I will keep that in mind as it appears to be quite accurate. I also find them really cool and somewhat weird. I like them. What do you mean by a mix? How do they look like when there is a mix? I can't think of it.

[Soubhagya]

The all time classic Superman vs robot. (Adventures of Superman season 1 episode 17)

vlcsnap-00027.jpg

Thanks for sharing this. I am getting Adventures of Superman soon. I watched the one episode which is freely available on Youtube. I think its named 'Stamp Day for Superman'. I liked it. I will watch it then.

[Soubhagya]

When I think of cybernetics, I think of 3 divisions: a functional fleet seen in All Star and other stories, administrator bots like Kelex (for a time, Natasha Irons gave him an update so that he he naturally informal human dialogue), and adaptable technology like the warsuit with its auto pilot features.



Also, much later, the post crisis version did have a fleet, though it was kind of abandoned for the purpose of superheroics and eventually they faded into the background. Then the For Tomorrow/OMAC eras touched on them again. As with Kelex and the Hamilton bot, there's always one standout unit.

The best Superman robot story I can recommend is Man of Steel #90. Superman volume two #217-225 also has some cool stuff with robots, among other things. And although it's not quite the same, Action Comics #571 has a good story on Superman and robotics.

I did not know that Post Crisis history had more stories with the robots. Did Superman make them? I think Action Comics #571 is not collected anywhere. Or is it?

A recent issue of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (#23) referenced Superman. It found it both funny and cool.

[Kuwagaton]

I thought I checked comixology for it, but I didn't find it. To my knowledge, it hasn't been collected anywhere. Ah well, to be honest the best imagery is the cover itself anyway.

Superman's sentries came about when he was haunted by endless precognitive nightmares of catastrophic events. He sends them out to handle spots where he can't be.



It might be a coincidence what that last panel in the Squirrel Girl page says, but in that story Superman starts policing the whole world and people don't take it very well.

[PyroTwilight]

I've actually always enjoyed them.

My favorite was the old story in

Superman #163
Superman_Vol_1_163.jpg

Where Superman's enemies actually steal Ajax who's a Superman robot and considered by Supes to be the most perfect of his robots.

They actually end up giving him life (a little vague as to whether he's still a machine then) and he becomes the heroic Wonder-Man with the villains wanting him to usurp Superman's role as a hero and then they'd inevitably swoop in to take Superman out. Ajax himself was heroic and actually helped turn the tables on the villains.

I loved it as it in a way gave Superman a brother of sorts much like they did with Mon-El. Alas Ajax was always "built" when made alive to only survive for a certain time and then died for good.

[marhawkman]

As maintenance robots they're a fun idea as a way of explaining how Kal keeps to Fortress in top shape. They're also great as a way for Superman to be seen without Kal actually being dressed as Superman, IE protect your secret identity by standing next to yourself.

I'm not really a fan of making them all that powerful though. Strong enough that only someone who's at least a mid tier villain could beat them one-on-one? sure. strong enough to beat Superman? nah.

[Superlad93]

What do you mean by a mix? How do they look like when there is a mix?

By mix I mean that some robots are designated decoy/stand-in robots, so Superman goes through the trouble of giving them synthetic skin, eyes, nails, hair, and everything else they'd need to pass as either Clark or Superman. The rest of the robots should look like tinker toy robots with capes and the S shield. It makes it so that they're still very visually inviting even though they're strange. The whole thing likely looks like Santa's workshop but with the toys replacing the elves.

I have to believe that some perspective Superman writer working at DC right now must have something similar to a Fantasia/The Sorcerer's Apprentice inspired Superman Fortress story where you replace the Sorcerer Yen Sid with Superman, the tower with the Fortress, the Apprentice Mickey Mouse with Jon, and the living brooms with the Superman robots. In this current set-up I'm pretty shocked something to this effect hasn't yet happened. It'd be a fun way to reintroduce the Fortress to readers via Jon's shenanigans with the malfunctioning robots doing his chores. Superman puts a stop to Jon's mistake, and it ends on a comedic "oooo someone's in trouble" sort of note.

Robots are back in pay, you get to finally poke around in the fortress for a bit (been a looooong time since we got that), and fun little misadventure for our troubles. Lol, sorry, I've run off on a tangent.

[Lightning Rider]

I'm a fan of the robots. They're charming and show Superman's (and Krypton's) capacity for technological innovation. But I've only ever really seen them in All-Star and TAS so this thread has given me some good reading recommendations.

[Adekis]

I've never liked the robots that look like Superman and stand in for Clark Kent in everyday life or whatever, but I love more administrative robots, Kelex especially, who's a real favorite. Especially with urban speech, all calling Kal "Big Blue" and all that? Thank you Natasha!

I also like the robots from All-Star, which are kind of a nice in-between. They can fly around and help, but they don't fall into the uncanny valley the way that I imagine the "stand-in" robots would.

Though I love Wonder "Ajax" Man, I can imagine him being one of the All-Star types of robots, given a human appearance as well as life by the alien interlopers. I like that better than him being a would-be stand-in for Superman with a blonde dye-job.

Thanks for sharing this. I am getting Adventures of Superman soon. I watched the one episode which is freely available on Youtube. I think its named 'Stamp Day for Superman'. I liked it. I will watch it then.

Oh man, I hope you like it! Adventures of Superman is a really fun show, especially that first season with Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane! Er, although you might want to skip episode 13 of season 1, "The Stolen Costume". Superman indirectly but very deliberately murders some criminals. It made me very uncomfortable, but is never referenced again, and the show has basically negative continuity so it can't really be said to have happened in any lasting sense, but, er, I still don't like it. Still, basically every other episode I've seen ranges from really fun to completely awesome!

And I still think the pilot movie "Superman and the Mole Men" miiiight be the best Superman movie. It comes with the season one DVD set.

[marhawkman]

I forget which comic it was but I seem to remember one where Lois spots one of the 'bots pretending to be Clark and tells it to go get groceries. I forget the wording, but it was something like "Well if you're here instead of the real thing go do something useful."

It was funny.

[Jim Kelly]

The robots were got rid of when Julie Schwartz took over as editor of some of the Superman titles in 1971. The first story to establish their retirement was in WORLD'S FINEST COMICS No. 202--in which the robots have become unreliable due to environmental pollution. This worked for the time, because it was the Relevant Period, so sending a message about pollution was important. At the same time, Schwartz wanted to get away from the big concept mythology and have a more grounded Superman. Which again suited the mood of the Relevant Period.

I liked the robots. To me, an intelligent Superman would avoid all the problems he had by coming up with solutions that would resolve these issues once and for all. The Superman robots solved two problems for Superman: 1) It was clear that Clark Kent was not Superman, because they were often in the same place (no one knew that one of them--Clark or Superman--was a robot stand-in) 2) Having robots to patrol the Earth gave Superman/Clark more free time to have fun and relax or just take care of the most important problems.

I guess I'd make a terrible Superman writer, because I have no truck with all his problems, yet those are the source of the drama in a lot of stories. However, most of my fun with Superman is the wish fulfillment. So if you can do almost anything, what would you do and how would you do it? The answers to those questions, with Superman, could probably fill a hundred issues. It's kind of what the original "Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue" was all about. Except, in that story, it was Superman split in two--rather than robot duplicates--and with two of him Superman could resolve a lot more personal problems and world problems.

The big mistake that Superman made during the Weisinger Era was revealing too much information about himself. Maybe he was trying to impress Lois Lane--and having all the information about him gave the Superman Museum a lot of material to work with. But Superman should have kept mum about most of his background and his methods of operation. Then no one would know he had robots. No one would even think he had a secret identity. His origins on Krypton would be unknown. And no one would know that there was such a thing as Kryptonite.