| Computo | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Adventure Comics #340 (January 1966) |
| Created by | Jerry Siegel Curt Swan |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Cyber-cerebral Overlapping Multiprocessor Transceiver-Operator (C.O.M.P.U.T.O.) |
| Notable aliases | Mr. Venge |
| Abilities | Artificial intelligence Mind possession |
Computo is asupervillain in theDC Comicsuniverse and a foe of theLegion of Super-Heroes. It first appeared inAdventure Comics #340 (January 1966), in a story written byJerry Siegel and illustrated byCurt Swan.[1]
Brainiac 5 created Computo to be a mechanical assistant, but it instead became homicidal, and attempted an uprising of machines. It creates an army of replicas and begins terrorizing the city. Calculating that a confrontation with the Legion is imminent, it redesigns itself into its ultimate form, Computo the Conqueror, and sends a distress signal to bring the Legionnaires to Earth.[2] When the Legion returns unaware, Computo uses its database to create a weapon which neutralizes and counters their powers, and turns the Legion's base into a walking automaton. Computo forces the Legion to leaveMetropolis and kills one ofLuornu Durgo's three bodies, resulting in her becoming Duo Damsel.[3][4] Brainiac 5 defeats Computo using anantimatter device discovered in the ruins of theBatcave.
Years later, Computo re-emerges by possessingDanielle Foccart after Brainiac 5 uses elements of its circuitry in an attempt to treat Danielle's neurological disorder. Computo is defeated when her brother Jacques uses deceased LegionnaireLyle Norg's invisibility formula to become the secondInvisible Kid.[5] Several months later, Brainiac 5 removes Computo from Danielle and places it in a matrix which tames the program, allowing it to become the Legion'smajordomo.[6]
Years later, an army of Computo replicas attempt to conquer Bismoll, but are defeated by SenatorTenzil Kem and theLegion of Substitute Heroes. This event drivesPolar Boy to disband the Substitute Heroes and apply for membership in the regular Legion.[7] Sometime later, after resigning from the Legion, Brainiac 5 constructs an organic body to house Computo and help the Legion cope with his absence.[8]
Following the events of the"Five Year Gap", theDominators secretly seize Computo and use it as a basis for their enforcer B.I.O.N.[9][10][11]
FollowingZero Hour: Crisis in Time!, which rebooted the Legion's continuity, Computo is reimagined asC.O.M.P.U.T.O. (Cybercerebral Overlapping Multi-Processor Universal Transceiver Operator), having been created by Brainiac 5 when he and other Legionnaires are trapped in the 20th century and attempt to find a way to return to the 30th century.[12] C.O.M.P.U.T.O is formed by the melding of three miniature supercomputers: a 30th-century Omnicom communications device, aMother Box, and the "responsometer" (personality module) ofVeridium of theMetal Men. C.O.M.P.U.T.O creates a portal to the 30th century, but turns against Brainiac 5 when he assures the other Metal Men that Veridium's responsometer will be restored once C.O.M.P.U.T.O has served his purpose. C.O.M.P.U.T.O is seemingly destroyed, but returns in the 31st century as presidential advisor "Mister Venge", seemingly servingRa's al Ghul. After al Ghul's defeat, he reveals himself as the leader of the computer nation of Robotica, which threatens Earth.[1]
DuringThe New 52,Brainiac (referred to only as 'The Colony of the Collector of Worlds') is first seen as a mysterious informant who suppliesLex Luthor information onSuperman.[13] The Colony tells Superman that its AI technology has gone by several names, beginning onColu as C.O.M.P.U.T.O.[14]
