| Machine Man | |
|---|---|
 The two identities of X-51: Aaron Stack (foreground) and Machine Man (background). Art byBrandon Peterson. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (July 1977) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby (writer/artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Aaron Stack |
| Team affiliations | S.H.I.E.L.D. Secret Avengers (Civil War) Nextwave The Avengers West Coast Avengers Heavy Metal A.R.M.O.R. Operation: Lightning Storm Ancient Order of the Shield[1] Mercs for Money A.I. Army |
| Notable aliases | X-51, Mister Machine |
| Abilities |
|
Machine Man (also known asAaron Stack,Mister Machine and serial numberZ2P45-9-X-51 orX-51 for short) is an androidsuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character was created byJack Kirby for2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (July 1977), a comic written and drawn by Kirby featuring concepts based on the eponymous 1968Stanley Kubrickfeature film andArthur C. Clarke's1968 novel.[2] Shortly thereafter, Machine Man spun off into his own Kirby-created series. He is a robot, the only survivor of a series, raised as a human son of scientist Abel Stack, who was killed removing his auto-destruct mechanism, and further evolved tosentience by aMonolith.
Machine Man originally appeared in the pages of2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (July 1977), which was written and drawn byJack Kirby, where he was calledMister Machine.[3] He went on to appear in his own self-titled series in 1978.[4]
This title featured Machine Man entering the mainstream Marvel Universe. Jack Kirby wrote and drew the first nine issues, which dealt with the title character's status as a fugitive from the military after the death of his creator, and his first interactions with mankind. The book was canceled at the end of 1978 with X-51 finally standing up to the military. Machine Man appeared next in a three issue story arc within the pages ofThe Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #235–237, battling theHulk within the suburban setting of his human friend Peter Spaulding. By the end of the storyline, he incurred a complete system shutdown, leading to the events portrayed in his relaunched monthly series. The title was relaunched in issue #10 after a nine-month hiatus. Status quo in the book changed with Machine Man now living amongst humanity, and dealing with his own new-found emotions.Marv Wolfman came aboard as the new writer, partnered with artistSteve Ditko, which helped set a different tone from Kirby's previous stories. Issue #15 saw a new writer,Tom DeFalco, taking over the writing chores. The title lasted until issue #19, ending in Feb. 1980.
In Oct. 1984–Jan. 1985, theMachine Man title was resurrected, in a four-issueminiseries written byTom DeFalco with art byHerb Trimpe (breakdowns only, issues #1–3) andBarry Windsor-Smith (finishes only, issues #1–3 and full art for issue #4), with Windsor-Smith also coloring the entire miniseries and co-plotting issue #4 with DeFalco.[3] This series turned out to be one of the most popular of all the Machine Man titles, tying with previous continuity, but with the action set in the distantcyberpunk future of 2020, starting with Machine Man's reassembly. The miniseries was first reprinted as a 96-pagetrade paperback in 1988 (ISBN 978-0-07-135458-5), with brand new cover art by Barry Windsor-Smith. The miniseries was republished again in 1994 as two double-size books, with the nameMachine Man 2020. Characters from this alternate future have made appearances in other Marvel books, namely Arno Stark, the mercenaryIron Man 2020. In 2013, many of Arno Stark’s adventures were collected in theIron Man 2020 TPB, which included all 4 issues ofMachine Man volume 2.
In 1999, Marvel brought the character back in the seriesX-51, The Machine Man in which Machine Man experiences a programming malfunction: he would uncontrollably attack anymutant he encountered. He was given a drastically more robotic look and his powers were vastly changed. The reason for both was that he had been reconstructed bySentinel-based nanotechnology. The series lasted twelve issues; in the final one, he was 'recovered' by aCelestial, as the Celestials—revealed to be the power behind the Monoliths—had become interested in Machine Man.
Machine Man, whose real name is Z2P45-9-X-51, is the last of a series of sentient robots created at the Broadhurst Center for the Advancement of Mechanized Research in Central City, California, by robotics expert Abel Stack for the US Army. The previous 50 experimental robots went mad as they achievedsentience and became psychotic due to a lack of identity. X-51 was the only survivor, as he was treated as a son by Stack and given a human face mask as well as being exposed to amonolith. After Stack died trying to protect him, X-51 assumed the human name Aaron Stack and escaped confinement, only to be relentlessly pursued by the army. While on the run, the newly christened Machine Man initiated contact with humanity in order to better understand it.[5]
Machine Man helped the X-Men again againstBastion and hisSentinels.[6][7] As a consequence, he was infected by Sentinel programming, assuming a more robotic look and losing self-control whenever he was faced with a mutant. During this series, he was on the run fromSebastian Shaw, who wants his technology for himself. Because of his new programming, while seeking aid from the Avengers, he attacksJustice andFirestar. Because of his actions against Justice and Firestar, X-51's membership in the Avengers is revoked. At the end ofX-51, X-51 encountered one of the monoliths and disappeared, brought into the presence of the monolith's creators, the cosmic beings known as the Celestials.[8]
Warren Ellis andStuart Immonen'sNextwave series sees Machine Man join a team formed by theHighest Anti-Terrorism Effort, or H.A.T.E. (a subsidiary of theBeyond Corporation) to fight Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction.[volume & issue needed] Now preferring simply to be called Aaron, Machine Man is partnered withMonica Rambeau,Tabitha Smith,Elsa Bloodstone, andThe Captain,[9] and the team soon discovers that H.A.T.E. are funded by the Beyond Corporation©, leading them to go rogue and carry out their mission on their own prerogative.[volume & issue needed] It is revealed that, after being brought to space by the Celestials at the conclusion of his previous series, he was dumped back on Earth because the space-gods considered him to be a "complete and utter ☠☠☠☠".[10][a]
Machine Man appears in a flashback toIron Man #168 (March 1983) inIron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War. In trying to convinceCaptain America of the rightness of his position, Iron Man tells of the time Machine Man came to visit him. Machine Man was seeking to compare notes with Iron Man, thought to be a robot by Machine Man. Drunk, irate, and under stress from the machinations ofObadiah Stane, Iron Man attacks Machine Man and almost kills two of his own employees. At the last possible second, Machine Man pushes them out of the way. Iron Man uses this incident as the need for accountability in the superhero population.[11] Machine Man reveals thatMaria Hill offered him financial compensation to join the Initiative, enragingMs. Marvel, who had supported it from the beginning, for free. In addition to financial compensation,S.H.I.E.L.D. provided Machine Man with aLife Model Decoy ofMonica Rambeau.[12]
Under orders fromSteve Rogers, Machine Man teams up withRed Hulk, who is tracking downQatari rebel Dagan Shah. Machine Man and Red Hulk arrive in Sharzhad, where they find Shah in the disguise ofArabian Knight. Once the two are inside the palace, Shah sheds his disguise, reveals his true identity as the Sultan Magus, and imprisons them. After the real Arabian Knight is freed from his imprisonment, Red Hulk and Machine Man continue their fight with Magus untilReginald Fortean arrives and ends the fight. Fortean states to Red Hulk and Machine Man that Sharzhad has been recognized as a nation by the Arab League and states that they are trespassing.[13]
InMarvel NOW!, Machine Man appeared as an employee of Umbral Dynamics. Machine Man later appears as a member ofDomino's incarnation of theMercs for Money.[14]
During the "Iron Man 2020" event, Machine Man appears as a member of theA.I. Army.[15]
During the "One World Under Doom" storyline, Machine Man is among those who are captured byDoctor Doom to work for him as histhink tank. He alongside Thunderbolt Ross (who ran out of gamma energy taking out theDoombot guards),Simon Ryker, andDeathlok escape from the prison. They are soon confronted by a swarm ofDoombots as Doom demands their surrender. Ryker is attacked, but Ross, Deathlok, and an out of energy Machine Man escape. Taking refuge in a house, Machine Man is rebuilt and recharged by Deathlok. Both of them evacuate the house when Machine Man sets off a weapon satellite to target the nearby nuclear power plant so that Ross can recharge his energy.[16] As Red Hulk fights the Doombots, Machine Man receives aid from Deathlok in contacting the U.S. Army. Machine Man lets them know that he is contacting them on Ross' behalf and that they are prisoners ofLatveria. Machine Man is to inform Ross to have his group head to the border. After arriving at the border, Red Hulk, Machine Man, and Deathlok meet with the U.S. Army, only to be arrested for treason.[17]
Machine Man was constructed by unnamed computer engineering specialists under Oliver Broadhurst at the Broadhurst Center for the Advancement of Mechanized Research; Abel Stack was his chief programmer. Machine Man's robotic materials, design, and construction (titanium alloy) provide him with a number of abilities, as does hisadamantium composition. He possesses superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, and reflexes. He is an expert on his own construction and repair. Machine Man has superhuman visual acuity. He possesses an above normal intellect, with a capacity for unlimited self-motivated activity, creative intelligence, and human-like emotions. He has superhuman cybernetic analytical capabilities, including the ability to process information and make calculations with superhuman speed and accuracy.
Machine Man is powered bysolar energy. He can also draw power from several different external-energy sources, if needed. Machine Man has the ability to telescope his arms and legs to a length of 100 feet (30 m). Machine Man's hands are equipped with variable-payload fingers, some routinely carried in his fingers, others stored in hidden recesses in his belt. His fingers contain a different variety of devices, including:gas chromatograph, laserinterferometer, micro-pulse radar, audiometer,seismometer, gravity-wave detector, pulse-code modulator, standard-computer input/outputs, radio beacon, all-wavetransceiver, laser-cutting torch/weapon, and projection of heat, cold, or electricity; one of his fingers has been shown to contain a bullet-firing mechanism that uses.357 Magnum ammunition. He has the ability of flight under his own power through the means ofanti-gravity disks.
During theX-51 series, Machine Man had a few extra features thanks to nanotechnology within him at the time. This mainly included parts of himself being rebuilt if damaged, also causing many changes in his look from issue to issue. He also had a beam cannon on his chest.[volume & issue needed] InNextwave, he has become a livingSwiss Army knife of sorts, containing various tools and weapons for a multitude of situations, both useful and esoteric. When asked if he could impregnate a human woman from several feet away, Aaron simply states "I am full of very useful devices".[18] In thePoint One event, as many other heroes, Machine Man was slightly revamped, gaining new powers and abilities. Now being a cross between the nano-technological being in theX-51 miniseries and the living Swiss Army knife ofNextwave, Machine Man is now suffused with nanites able to effortlessly change his appearance from his earliest, jump-suited look to the more-humanoid looks of Nextwave. Also, his nanotechnology allows him to transform and rebuild every piece of machinery he comes in contact with, such as building an anti-gravity vehicle out of a motorcycle.[volume & issue needed]
| Title | Material Collected | Published Date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine Man by Kirby & Ditko: The Complete Collection | Machine Man (vol. 1) #1-19 andIncredible Hulk #235-237 | August 9, 2016 | 978-0785195771 |
| Iron Man 2020: Robot Revolution - Force Works | 2020 Machine Man #1-2 and2020 Force Works #1-3,2020 Iron Age #1 | November 3, 2020 | 978-1302925536 |
An alternate universe variant of Machine Man from Earth-9997 appears in "Earth X". This version was forced to become the new Watcher byUatu, who was blinded byBlack Bolt.[19]
An alternate universe variant of Machine Man from Earth-2149 appears in "Marvel Zombies", where he is destroyed by the zombifiedPower Pack.[20]
WhenMorgan le Fay restructured reality inAvengers (vol. 3), nearly all Avengers were transformed into members of the Queen's Vengeance, a sort of medieval-themed Avengers, with Machine Man becomingSir MacHinery.[21]
TheUltimate Marvel version of Machine Man isDanny Ketch who sacrificed his life duringGalactus' assault on Earth viaMODOK. Ketch's consciousness is later revealed to have survived inside a robotic body and is dubbed "Machine Man" byPhil Coulson. As Machine Man, Ketch joins theFuture Foundation under Coulson.[22]
Machine Man appears inSpider-Man Unlimited, voiced byDale Wilson. This version was intended to serve as an enforcer to theHigh Evolutionary alongside the other Machine Men, but was rejected due to being obsolete and set to be disassembled beforeSpider-Man saves him. Subsequently, he joins the resistance against the High Evolutionary.[citation needed]
