Introducing Machine Man
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| 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) | |||||||||||||||
| Editorial consultant | Jim Shooter (uncredited) | |||||||||||||||
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, Professor Abel Stack removes the explosive planted in X-51 who, as an experiment, he has taken into his home and raised him 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
- Machine Man/X-51/Aaron Stack
- X-35
- Military personnel
- Oliver Broadhurst (unnamed)
- William Haines (unnamed)
- Abel Stack
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
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Original printing
This story repurposes a sequence from the Machine Man story "Renewal!" (see box at right).
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.
- 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..."
