What to do with Metallo?

[daBronzeBomma]

Seriously, has there ever been a bigger disconnect between how cool something should be in theory and how lame that same thing always turns out?

Metallo is a killer cyborg with a heart of kryptonite. This sounds ridiculously cool and badass.

But I can't think of one instance where Metallo actually was cool or badass in any of the comics he appeared in.

The closest in the comics had to have been SUPERMAN #1 (volume 2) in 1987 during the beginning of the Post- Crisis Era with John Byrne. And that lasted for exactly one issue.

The S:TAS version on TV was probably the coolest Metallo ever was, but that had to do more with who was voicing him than anything else.

Metallo is nothing but a hench.

He's too dumb to be a legit threat but too rotten to be sympathetic.

He's a mook. But he should be too cool to be a mook.

There has to be some way to improve the character so that he is a better, worthier antagonist to Supes.

Or, if there is not, trade him to another DC franchise in need of someone like him. He could be the Sabretooth to Cyborg (Victor Stone)'s Wolverine, perhaps.

Something has to change.

[Vordan]

Of the Super Rogues, he’s the one I want to write the most. He has so many aspects to him that scream of potential, and yet they have never come together in a way that satisfies me, not under Johns, or Morrison, or anyone. I’m going to list those aspects that have potential in my eyes:
1. He’s a rival for Lois’ affections
2. He’s a military man, the super-patriot rival who embodies the darker sides of American patriotism to contrast with Superman
3. He’s the son Sam Lane wanted
4. His powers rob him of his humanity in contrast with Clark’s powers enhancing his humanity
5. He’s the Anti-Superman, a human weapon made to kill Clark
6. He’s The Man, a government stooge, the perfect way to explore how often Clark himself has played that role in stories like The Dark Knight Returns
7. He’s got that classic toxic alpha male personality where he seeks to “prove” his manhood by beating the **** out of anyone he thinks is his rival to contrast with Clark’s much more zen outlook on life
8. Despite often beginning with the goal of supposedly “protecting” people, Corbyn really only cares about himself and those he seeks the approval of, he doesn’t give a damn about civilian casualties
9. He’s a xenophobe
10. He’s iconic, one of Superman’s most long lasting villains

Look at all that, there’s plenty here to explore, but the aspects never come together into a definitive take which frustrates the hell out of me. I like Corbyn, I think he brings something to the table, but he’s been used as you point out, mostly as a dumbass thug who just does errands for other people and that is not a characterization that’s going to let him reach his potential. Here’s how I would handle him:

1. Ditch the Kryptonite heart. Yes I know it’s iconic, but it’s boring. Every damn fight between Metallo and Superman goes like this: Metallo shows up, shoots Kryptonite at Superman, Superman falls over and cries in pain, Metallo stands there gloating instead of finishing Clark off, Clark somehow knocks Metallo out or gets rid of his Kryptonite, and then Clark moves on none the worse for wear. Metallo needs to leave Clark some goddamn scars every time they tussle. He should be the ultimate Anti-Superman weapon, custom built with counters for every one of Clark’s powers. In Superman Unchained, Bruce built a suit that was invisible to Clark’s vision powers, use that for Metallo for God’s sake! Metallo is invisible to Clark’s vision, can muffle his movements so Clark can’t hear him, comes custom built with weapons besides just fists that can hurt him and pierce his skin. Heat vision? Arctic breath? Metallo has internal temperature regulators that can let him survive on the surface of the sun or the cold of space. Physical strength? Metallo has a self-repair protocol, as long as a single scrap of him survives he can come back. And keep the DCAU feature where he’s lost all physical feeling, so Clark can whale on him all he wants, but Metallo doesn’t feel pain anymore. I don’t think Metallo should be pure robot, he should be like these guys:

The Crysis video games feature “post human warriors” that are man-machine hybrids, human soldiers who are merged with nanosuits, who are created to do war with aliens. Sound familiar? That’s modern Metallo to a goddamn T, they totally should be drawing influence from these guys. Also he should be able to form his suit into all kinds of weapons like Iron Man and Blue Beetle do, and he’s had that ability in the past:


2. Give Metallo a better motivation than “I WANNA KILL SUPERMAN RAAAGGGGHHHHH” because guess what? That’s 90% of his Rogues, that’s what freaking Doomsday wants, Metallo needs something else to drive him. I think the solution to that problem is found in Johns brilliant idea to tie Metallo to the United States military. Metallo is a soldier, he sees himself as a classic hero, the guy who sacrificed himself for his country and humanity, in order to protect them from an alien invader, Superman. He wants respect, he wants to be treated as the hero he believes he is, and everything he does should be written with that in mind. He should start off continuing to do the government’s bidding, the DKR “Man of Steel” to the traditional Superman take who often finds himself on the opposite side of the law. Metallo starts off all about “Law and Order”, “protecting our freedoms”, etc, etc. Metallo is what the government would like Superman to be, a weapon they can deploy at will, and for a while he’s thrilled to do what they want. But ultimately I think Metallo should realize he’s being used, and turn against his handlers, and now the government has a walking WMD who can go toe to toe with Superman and is very pissed off at them for using him. I’d have his turning point be when he realizes they’re never going to retire his ability to feel, and he’s never going to be seen as a hero. That’s his breaking point.

3. He should remain obsessed with Lois. Unlike Clark, Corbyn doesn’t give a toss about Lois as a person. He wants her as a prize. The hot “uppity” chick he domesticated to show his manhood. He should also want to “punish” her for rejecting him, and for writing about the atrocities he performed as a tool for Sam Lane and the government. You could definitely do some comparisons about how Clark himself planned on “wearing down” Lois’ refusal to give him the time of day at first, and Lois and Sam could have interesting exploration of their dynamic, and how Sam wanted Corbyn as a son initially.

I’ve got more but I think what I’ve written is a good basis for building on. Better than his typical thug characterization.

[LordMikel]

I was going to come and say, "Get rid of the Kyptonite heart," but vordan beat me to it, and said a lot more.

Metallo was also cool after he made that deal with Neron and could combine with other mechanical things. I believe he took over a battle cruiser in that issue.

[Vakanai]

While I disagree with ditching the kryptonite heart like Vordon suggests, I do agree that Metallo shouldn't rely on that alone. He should shoot red sunlight UV lasers from his eyes, he should have all the weaponry and ability of other tech-based characters like Cyborg and Blue Beetle. Guy should be his own personal army and arsenal all in one. He should self repair and like the Terminator he should just keep coming at you.

[Sacred Knight]

Give him a face turn like the New 52 was doing before the plug was pulled. Unlike Lex, this is workable as he's not Superman's arch nemesis, but at the same time he's a very recognizable one. He'll never be good, he's just hurt too many, but he can be contrite and dedicate himself to making things better, even if he can't outright make up for his past crimes. Maybe becomes someone deployed by Cadmus when appropriate, not unlike a one-man Suicide Squad situation.

[Vordan]

While I disagree with ditching the kryptonite heart like Vordon suggests, I do agree that Metallo shouldn't rely on that alone. He should shoot red sunlight UV lasers from his eyes, he should have all the weaponry and ability of other tech-based characters like Cyborg and Blue Beetle. Guy should be his own personal army and arsenal all in one. He should self repair and like the Terminator he should just keep coming at you.

The thing is, if we’re using Kryptonite Man, and I like the New 52 K-Man Clay Ramses who is a wifebeater, Metallo and K-Man relying on Kryptonite feels redundant.

Give him a face turn like the New 52 was doing before the plug was pulled. Unlike Lex, this is workable as he's not Superman's arch nemesis, but at the same time he's a very recognizable one. He'll never be good, he's just hurt too many, but he can be contrite and dedicate himself to making things better, even if he can't outright make up for his past crimes. Maybe becomes someone deployed by Cadmus when appropriate, not unlike a one-man Suicide Squad situation.

Wasn’t really a fan of that. What’s the point? He’s never going to be an iconic hero, and we’ve already got plenty of cyborg heroes. He works better as a villain. Supes barely has any worthwhile villains to his name, don’t really want to toss away one of his longest lasting ones.

[Jon Clark]

I'm pretty much on the opposite side from Voran's approach.

I'm not fond of any of Johns' "additions" to Metallo. The whole US Soldier origin tied in with General Lane leaves me bored. If Sam Lane is DC's Thunderbolt Ross then this just makes Metallo it's Glenn Talbot.

I might keep the military background and that he had worked under General Lane. maybe even dated Lois at one point. But Sam Lane would have no connection to Metallo's creation. And John Corben's connection to Lois would be more of a platonic friendship rather than anything sexual/obsessive.

The kryptonite heart is his claim to fame so I'd say any attempt to have Metallo without that might as well be a new character. I'd downplay it's use as a direct weapon though. Metallo would be a unique opponent for Superman in that even as a cyborg he's not on the same power level as Superman (though he is still pretty powerful). Metallo even with his heart fully shielded would be emitting enough radiation to reduce Superman's powers. So the longer the battle goes on the more equal they become with Metallo at some point actually being stronger. It's like a battle with the Parasite except that Metallo isn't actually gaining strength as Superman loses it.

A battle with Metallo is a challenge for Superman from a number of fronts. Metallo has all the mechanical power of someone like Brainiac, but he is still a human brain so simply "pulling the plug" will kill him. If Superman removes the kryptonite heart Metallo will survive on back-up power, but only if Superman hasn't damaged those systems. Superman can pound on Brainiac or a Lex-bot without killing anyone, but some of those same attacks could kill Metallo. So Superman is facing a threat that requires precision attacks to defeat while his powers are slowly diminishing. And even if Superman is not directly concerned with Corben dying *which seems un-Superman to me) you also have the risk that the damage can expose Superman to more direct kryptonite.

Then I'd bring Lois into the picture. Corben was a decent guy at one point. He still might be, maybe his crimes are driven by the fact he needs kryptonite to survive. So while lois would always choose Clark over Metallo, she also is fighting for Corben to be treated "humanely". Keeping him in a vegetative state while incarcerated is inhumane. In her role as a reporter she often keeps an eye on his treatment balancing attempts to restore some of his humanity with attempt to have him become a test subject for "mad" scientists looking to work on this "machine".

[K7P5V]

Man, I never thought Metallo would ever get his own thread. Glad that it finally happened.

I enjoyed his appearance in WF3, and Grummett's version was most memorable:

[Sacred Knight]

Wasn’t really a fan of that. What’s the point? He’s never going to be an iconic hero, and we’ve already got plenty of cyborg heroes. He works better as a villain. Supes barely has any worthwhile villains to his name, don’t really want to toss away one of his longest lasting ones.

It was something different, it was point enough for me at least. He probably works better as a villain but since he's not had anything really worthwhile to do in so long, its honestly hard to even tell anymore. And I think Superman has tons of worthwhile villains. His problem isn't a lack of villains, its just a lack of exposure of those villains. Case in point, this guy. Lots of others lost in the woodwork like him. But honestly I think the best argument against this idea is that, when used, Livewire fits this role. But, when used is key here. But the only reason I didn't like trying this with Lex was just that he's the arch-nemesis so too much is lost in the cross over. But the spirit of the idea was intriguing.

[Vordan]

I’m seeing the defense of Metallo keeping the Kryptonite heart because it’s “iconic” and I gotta ask: so what? It’s boring, I specifically outlined why Metallo having the Kryptonite heart doesn’t work. There needs to be a better reason than “well that’s the way it’s always been!” to keep something around. Why does he “need” it? What benefit does it give him from a storytelling standpoint? Despite lugging that thing around it hasn’t given him a decent story in a long time, and he’s never even left so much as a scratch on Superman. It makes the fights boring because they always play out the exact same way.

It was something different, it was point enough for me at least. He probably works better as a villain but since he's not had anything really worthwhile to do in so long, its honestly hard to even tell anymore. And I think Superman has tons of worthwhile villains. His problem isn't a lack of villains, its just a lack of exposure of those villains. Case in point, this guy. Lots of others lost in the woodwork like him. But honestly I think the best argument against this idea is that, when used, Livewire fits this role. But, when used is key here. But the only reason I didn't like trying this with Lex was just that he's the arch-nemesis so too much is lost in the cross over. But the spirit of the idea was intriguing.

In practice though it didn’t amount to anything. He didn’t become a deeper or more interesting character, he didn’t get fleshed out any better, hell I can’t recall him doing anything besides tagging along with Lois for a bit.

[Sacred Knight]

It wasn't much about what did occur rather I was interested in what could have been. Again this occurred in Savage Dawn which was literally the last New 52 Superman story outside of his death storyline. There was no chance for him to really flesh out as any type of new normal because the mythos as it stood was slated for erasure at that point in essence. I would have been interested to see what might have been done after that in a different set of circumstances.

[Vordan]

It wasn't much about what did occur rather I was interested in what could have been. Again this occurred in Savage Dawn which was literally the last New 52 Superman story outside of his death storyline. There was no chance for him to really flesh out as any type of new normal because the mythos as it stood was slated for erasure at that point in essence. I would have been interested to see what might have been done after that in a different set of circumstances.

I actually don’t think your one man Suicide Squad idea is a bad one, I suggested something similar myself in my original post, I would just take it in a totally different direction than you. For me it would lead to a series of international confrontations between Metallo and Supes that would end with Metallo realizing Supes is right about how the government is using him... and having a mental breakdown that would cause him to go rogue. The fate of Atomic Skull has shown that writers really don’t have much interest in redeemed villains.

[Vakanai]

The thing is, if we’re using Kryptonite Man, and I like the New 52 K-Man Clay Ramses who is a wifebeater, Metallo and K-Man relying on Kryptonite feels redundant.

Then ditch K-Man? If two characters having the same thing is redundant, then the more obscure character should be the one to change somehow. Metallo is just the better known villain. And I don't think it's that redundant either.

[Vakanai]

I’m seeing the defense of Metallo keeping the Kryptonite heart because it’s “iconic” and I gotta ask: so what? It’s boring, I specifically outlined why Metallo having the Kryptonite heart doesn’t work. There needs to be a better reason than “well that’s the way it’s always been!” to keep something around. Why does he “need” it? What benefit does it give him from a storytelling standpoint? Despite lugging that thing around it hasn’t given him a decent story in a long time, and he’s never even left so much as a scratch on Superman. It makes the fights boring because they always play out the exact same way.

In practice though it didn’t amount to anything. He didn’t become a deeper or more interesting character, he didn’t get fleshed out any better, hell I can’t recall him doing anything besides tagging along with Lois for a bit.

It isn't boring - you think it is, and maybe some writers suck at using it well. Doesn't make it some fact everyone agrees on though. I like the visual appeal of it, and I like someone besides Lex and Batman being the only ones just about to utilize Superman's most prolific weakness.

[Kuwagaton]

Let him be. Just because he has a well known name and a super easy gimmick doesn't mean you have to include him. When I see interviews with a lot of modern writers they're like ,"oh man, after this story this is gonna be your favorite villain." But they can't all be, you know? Batman has some extremely niche villains (outright identical to other villains who fill the same niche for other heroes) in Mad Hatter and Scarecrow. When someone has a story to tell about them we see them, but it never seems important to try telling a different, "more important" story about them.

Metallo has been like a dozen similar characters. Surprise surprise, I like the late 80s to mid 90s version, the STAS take, and the Pasko/Conway ones best, with extra credit given to Metalo. New 52 Kryptonite Man was like another Metallo more than an actual K Man.

Having said that, sure, there's an opportunity to change. But I don't believe he can be a Sabertooth even if you take him from Superman and put him in a smaller pond. people are already ripping on the upcoming Bendis villain, who I think sounds more appealing than a forced Metallo. Metallo will passively outlast him anyway.

Kudos to Vordan for all the ideas though.