Introducing Machine Man: Difference between revisions
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|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]] |
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]] |
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|published in=[[The Transformers issue 1|''The Transformers'' issue 1]] |
|published in=[[The Transformers issue 1|''The Transformers'' issue 1]] |
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|date=20th September, 1984 |
|date=[[20 September|20th September]], 1984 |
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|writer=[[Marv Wolfman]] (uncredited) |
|writer=[[Marv Wolfman]] (uncredited) |
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|artist=[[Steve Ditko]] (uncredited) |
|artist=[[Steve Ditko]] (uncredited) |
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*[[Machine Man|X-51/Aaron Stack/Machine Man]] |
*[[Machine Man|X-51/Aaron Stack/Machine Man]] |
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|h2=Antagonists |
|h2=Antagonists |
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*[[X-35]] |
*[[X-35]] |
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*[[William Haines]] (unnamed) |
*[[William Haines]] (unnamed) |
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===Original printing=== |
===Original printing=== |
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*''Machine Man'' (vol 1) issue 10, May 1979 |
*''Machine Man'' (vol 1) issue 10, May 1979 |
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This story repurposes a sequence from the ''Machine Man'' story "Renewal!" (see box at right). In that issue, the two pages of exposition are a flashback from the perspective of Dr Broadhurst as he performs surgery on Machine Man, who is injured and set to detonate after nearly draining all of his power in an altercation with the [[Hulk]].<ref>{{Marvel|Incredible_Hulk_Vol_1_237|''Incredible Hulk'' vol 1 issue 237}}</ref> The first page of "Introducing Machine Man" is repurposed from a schematic of Machine Man's fixed body, as presented by Broadhurst, whose hand is visible in this UK printing even though all of his dialogue is removed. Said dialogue concerns the alterations made to Machine Man to remove several "extraneous testing devices" – i.e., some of his superpowers – in what is presumably a way for the new creative team of [[Marv Wolfman]] and [[Steve Ditko]] to limit the amount of abilities Machine Man displayed under the pen of his creator, {{Marvel|Jack_Kirby|Jack Kirby.}} |
This story repurposes a sequence from the ''Machine Man'' story "Renewal!" (see box at right). In that issue, the two pages of exposition are a flashback from the perspective of Dr Broadhurst as he performs surgery on Machine Man, who is injured and set to detonate after nearly draining all of his power in an altercation with the [[Hulk]].<ref>{{Marvel|Incredible_Hulk_Vol_1_237|''Incredible Hulk'' vol 1 issue 237}}</ref> The first page of "Introducing Machine Man" is repurposed from a schematic of Machine Man's fixed body, as presented by Broadhurst, whose hand is visible in this UK printing even though all of his dialogue is removed. Said dialogue concerns the alterations made to Machine Man to remove several "extraneous testing devices" – i.e., some of his superpowers – in what is presumably a way for the new creative team of [[Marv Wolfman]] and [[Steve Ditko]] to limit the amount of abilities Machine Man had displayed under the pen of his creator, {{Marvel|Jack_Kirby|Jack Kirby.}} |
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The flashback scenes of "Renewal!" were in fact something of a retelling of Machine Man's origin story as seen in {{Marvel|2001,_A_Space_Odyssey_Vol_2_8|''2001, A Space Odyssey'' |
The flashback scenes of "Renewal!" were in fact something of a retelling of Machine Man's origin story as seen in {{Marvel|2001,_A_Space_Odyssey_Vol_2_8|''2001, A Space Odyssey'' issue 8.}} However, in condensing the story to two pages, some of the subtleties are eliminated: |
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*X-35's rampage is more violent and unstoppable than the two panels here would suggest. |
*X-35's rampage is more violent and unstoppable than the two panels here would suggest. |
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*The "elderly scientist" that detonates the explosives is depicted to be Broadhurst, which "Renewal!" leaves implicit. In the original, he and Haines come just short of expositing the main theme that it is the lack of familial upbringing that drives the X series mad, hence why Aaron is not affected. |
*The "elderly scientist" that detonates the explosives is depicted to be Broadhurst, which "Renewal!" leaves implicit. In the original, he and Haines come just short of expositing the main theme that it is the lack of familial upbringing that drives the X series mad, hence why Aaron is not affected. |
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Latest revision as of 18:53, 6 May 2024
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 Go go Gadget existential depression! | ||||||||||||||||
| Introducing Machine Man | ||||||||||||||||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | |||||||||||||||
| Published in | The Transformers issue 1 | |||||||||||||||
| First published | 20th September, 1984 | |||||||||||||||
| Writer | Marv Wolfman (uncredited) | |||||||||||||||
| Artist | Steve Ditko (uncredited) | |||||||||||||||
| Colorist | Ben Sean (uncredited) | |||||||||||||||
| Letterer | Tom Orzechowski (uncredited) | |||||||||||||||
| Editor | Marv Wolfman (uncredited) | |||||||||||||||
| Consulting editor | Jim Shooter (uncredited) | |||||||||||||||
Is he friend, foe, or the greatest hero of them all?
Synopsis
MACHINE MAN – a thinking computer in the form of a man, possessed of super strength, telescopic limbs, and the ability to interface with machinery!
Machine Man is X-51, the last in a line of experimental robots created in a secret underground complex in America. One such robot, X-35, turned violent after experiencing an existential crisis. To stop his rampage, an elderly scientist destroyed X-35 by detonating the explosive failsafe built into every X series robot.
Becoming aware of the detonation order, Doctor Abel Stack removes the explosive planted in X-51 who, as an experiment, he has taken into his home and raised like a son. X-51, a.k.a. Aaron, is confused by his "father's" unusual behaviour. Abel insists that he has taught Aaron everything he can, and it is now Aaron's time to go out and explore the world. Abel gives Aaron a humanised mask to help him blend in to the world of men, and as a final request, has Aaron scan a photograph of him to conserve forever in his memory bank.
As his son flies the nest, Abel grimly regards the failsafe circuit before he is engulfed by the explosion.
Featured characters
| Regular cast | Antagonists | Incidentals |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Quotes
"He smiled ever so briefly... and prayed for his son's good fortune."
- —The narration as Abel Stack takes the bomb meant for Aaron.
Notes
 |
Original printing
- Machine Man (vol 1) issue 10, May 1979
This story repurposes a sequence from the Machine Man story "Renewal!" (see box at right). In that issue, the two pages of exposition are a flashback from the perspective of Dr Broadhurst as he performs surgery on Machine Man, who is injured and set to detonate after nearly draining all of his power in an altercation with the Hulk.[1] The first page of "Introducing Machine Man" is repurposed from a schematic of Machine Man's fixed body, as presented by Broadhurst, whose hand is visible in this UK printing even though all of his dialogue is removed. Said dialogue concerns the alterations made to Machine Man to remove several "extraneous testing devices" – i.e., some of his superpowers – in what is presumably a way for the new creative team of Marv Wolfman and Steve Ditko to limit the amount of abilities Machine Man had displayed under the pen of his creator, Jack Kirby. 
The flashback scenes of "Renewal!" were in fact something of a retelling of Machine Man's origin story as seen in 2001, A Space Odyssey issue 8. However, in condensing the story to two pages, some of the subtleties are eliminated:
- X-35's rampage is more violent and unstoppable than the two panels here would suggest.
- The "elderly scientist" that detonates the explosives is depicted to be Broadhurst, which "Renewal!" leaves implicit. In the original, he and Haines come just short of expositing the main theme that it is the lack of familial upbringing that drives the X series mad, hence why Aaron is not affected.
- The 2001 version places the conversation between Broadhurst and Haines about X-51 after the former has already notified Stack.
- The uncostumed Aaron is flesh-coloured in 2001, but his body is lilac in "Renewal!"
- The original version makes it more clear that Abel has run out of time to outrun the bomb's blast radius, and that Aaron is far out of earshot when it detonates.
Edits
Aside from the shuffling of pages...
- The newly added (and plain text) narration on the second page suggests that X-35 and X-51 were the only robots remaining, which isn't correct – X-35's psychotic break was the impetus to retire the project, and thus the detonation order was given afterwards.
- The phrase "pastoral splendor and silence" is altered to "pastoral splendour and silence", with the "and" re-lettered and condensed to fit in the smaller gap between words.
- Two instances of the spelling "humanized" are corrected to "humanised".
- More plain text narration after Stack dies: "NOW READ ON, FOR THE FIRST OF MACHINE MAN'S AMAZING ADVENTURES..."
Artwork and technical errors
Continuity errors
- Changing the page order from its original printing makes Abel Stack's remark about Aaron's enlarged eyes stand out – Dr Broadhurst's modification to Machine Man's body reduced the size of his eyes, allowing him to appear almost human when wearing dark glasses.
