Metallo
Metallo is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis, Golden Age
George Grant
Pre-Crisis, Silver Age
John Corben was an unscrupulous reporter who worked in the Metropolis area. While driving his car, Corben was involved in a terrible accident and was nearly killed. His broken body was taken to the laboratory of Professor Vale who replaced Corben's failing limbs with a super-strong metallic alloy. He replaced his heart with a surrogate pump made of Uranium and covered the endoskeleton with a foam-latex sheathe resembling human skin. The operation proved successful, but soon after, Professor Vale suffered from a mild stroke. Dubbed Metallo, Corben began his new life – a life of crime. Metallo's Uranium heart would only last for one day before it needs to be replaced, so Metallo began breaking into various facilities to steal more Uranium. Whenever he felt his Uranium stores running low, Metallo became weak and dizzy. Corben got a job at the Daily Planet and began courting Lois Lane. Lois was enamoured with Corben due to his physical resemblance to Superman – a fact that invariably irritated Clark Kent. The recovering Professor Vale, meanwhile, discovered that Kryptonite could work just as effectively at powering Metallo as Uranium, but with the added benefit that it would no longer need to be recharged. Metallo had Vale implant a Kryptonite sample from Vale's house safe into his chest. Metallo learned that Kryptonite could also destroy Superman. Certain that Superman would likely try to arrest him for his recent crimes, Metallo decided to use the power of his Kryptonite heart to strike the first blow against the Man of Steel. Superman baited a trap for Metallo by running an article in the Daily Planet to announce the public display of a Kryptonite meteoroid in an exhibition hall. The lure worked too well, as Metallo incapacitated Superman with the Kryptonite heart given to him by Vale before exchanging it for the K-rock in the exhibit. Corben then returned to Lois Lane's apartment, where he planned to kill her for realizing that he was actually Metallo, but the power supply of his robotic body ran out, giving him a 'heart attack' and killing him instantly. Unbeknownst to Metallo, the Kryptonite in the exhibition hall was an ordinary rock coated in phosphorescent green paint to resemble Kryptonite, and this subterfuge ultimately spelled Metallo's doom. (Action Comics v1 #252)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. John Corben
A short time later, Metallo encountered Superman again and suffered a resounding defeat. His body was destroyed, and his head was placed under special quarantine at Stryker's Island Penitentiary. Metallo's imprisonment was short lived however. A man named Steelhawk gassed the special detention wing at Stryker's and liberated Metallo's head. In exchange for outfitting him with a larger, sturdier body, Metallo agreed to accept a contract hit on behalf of Steelhawk and his employers. He traveled to Nathan B. Forrest High School in Marietta, Georgia to sanction a teenage boy named Grant Emerson. He smashed through the wall of the classroom and quickly located Emerson, but the incident sparked Emerson's Meta-gene and the young boy increased in size and power. After fighting for several minutes, Grant Emerson's body erupted with power causing a massive explosion that destroyed Metallo's body as well as his entire school. (Damage v1 #1)
Conduit freed Metallo from S.T.A.R. Labs and had him attack Superman, part of an effort by Conduit to wear down Superman (and distract him as Conduit went after his family). Metallo's new body featured a device that made him unmovable so long as he had his feet planted. Superman fought him outside Metropolis, arriving at a shopping mall. Metallo made the mistake of climbing on top of a car. When Superman kicked the car out from under him, Metallo went airborne and Superman was able to grab him and knock his head clean off. Superman could not wait for him to get picked up, but some local teens promised to watch it. (Action Comics v1 #710)
When the demon Neron manifested his corporeal form on Earth, Metallo was one of dozens of super-villains who accepted an offer of power in exchange for his immortal soul. Neron granted Metallo greater flexibility and range with his powers, enabling him to morph his body into more complex mechanical constructs--Metallo could now draw on any metal nearby to create a new body for himself, fulfilling a dream to never be rendered "just a head" again. During the "Underworld Unleashed" event, Metallo teamed up with Gorilla Grodd in an effort to hijack a truck carrying nuclear warheads. Batman, Robin and the Huntress arrived in time to prevent the theft, and Metallo escaped. (Underworld Unleashed v1 #3)
Some time later, the alien conqueror known as Brainiac began systematically taking control of all of Lexcorp's facilities. The physical body housing his mental consciousness was dying, so he performed a comprehensive analysis on all of Lexcorp's advancements in cybernetics. Through this, he learned of Metallo and had his head brought to a laboratory where it was attached to a new robotic body. Metallo agreed to work with Brainiac, since he still held a grudge against Luthor. He sent a robot duplicate of himself to stage a robbery at the Lexcorp owned Metropolis Mercantile Bank, knowing that it would draw the attention of Superman. While Superman dealt with the decoy Metallo, the real Metallo led a robot army on a raid against the Lexcorp Tower. (Action Comics v1 #648) Immediately thereafter, Brainiac had Metallo adopt a human disguise and kidnap a scientist named Dr. Reginald Augustine. Augustine was once one of the founding fathers of the Cadmus Project. With Augustine in tow, Metallo raided Project Cadmus to steal their cloning technology for Brainiac. During the raid, Metallo ran afoul of Superman, as well as Cadmus' resident protector, Guardian. He succeeded in procuring the technology required to clone Brainiac a new humanoid body to replace his dying borrowed form. (Action Comics v1 #649)
During the ensuing chaos, Metallo arrived in Washington, D.C. where he encountered Steel. Steel was trying to diffuse a riot and had little patience for Metallo. He managed to knock his head off and send it into the Potomac, but Metallo recovered and came back for more. Steel had meanwhile responded to a bomb threat at a mosque. He took the bomb and started to fly out to sea, only to be spotted and pursued by Metallo. When he got close enough, Metallo pulled the bomb to himself, believing he could then be in total control of it. Unfortunately for him, while the casing was metal, the bomb itself was plastique. Metallo's huge frame absorbed most of the blast, although the shockwave still knocked Steel from the air. (Steel v2 #21)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
The New 52
John Corben was a male human born in the modern age where it was known that he had a younger sister named Tracy Corben. Their mother was said to had walked out on the family when the children were still young leaving them to be raised by their father. (Action Comics v1 #1055) However, their father was shown to had been an abusive man who regularly beat his children. One day, their father came to kill his Uncle Mark and made John dispose of the gun whilst warning him that if he told anyone of the incident that he would kill his son with his bare hands. (Action Comics v1 #1052) This came to be the first time he ever held a gun and upon reflection he deemed this to be the moment when his path to becoming a killer started after feeling the power of the weapon. (Action Comics v1 #1053) Instead of throwing away the gun, he decided to keep it hidden under his bed. In the years that followed, John's father continued his physical abuse of his children with him regularly beating them. To protect his sister, John bore the brunt of these beatings until one day his father decided to physically harm Tracy. It was then that John decided to go for the gun he had hidden and shot his father in order to protect his sister. The killing of his father led to John and Tracy being split up by the social care system. As a result, his sister Tracy went into foster care whilst John was sent to a military school for troubled youth which was where he learned to fight to protect himself from bullies. After graduation, John came to join the army where his love of weapons and the power came to be encouraged and valued leading to his life as a soldier. (Action Comics v1 #1055)
Rebirth
Metallo alongside Blanque were both recruited by the Eradicator to join a new incarnation of the Superman Revenge Squad that was being assembled by Hank Henshaw. (Action Comics v1 #978)
At some point, he came to be badly damaged and captured where he remained trapped in Stryer's Island prison. By this point, his body was badly damaged with only one functional arm and eye. On some occasions, he suffered from 'episodes' that resulted in the guards removing his voice box to stop the screaming. Trapped in this state, the only solace Corben got was when his sister Tracy came to visit him. Around this time, he came to be visited by Lex Luthor who had a need for Metallo and wanted to enlist his aid. However, John did not want to be roped into Luthor's schemes and would tell the man to leave him alone. By this point, Superman had left the Earth to free the denizens of Warworld and freed them where he brought the former prisoners to Earth. Luthor in the mean time stole some technology from Warworld with him offering to upgrade Metallo to be his weapon against the Man of Steel. (Action Comics v1 #1047) Though he refused to take part in it, John's body was upgraded and repaired with his ability to speak returning to him. It was then that Luthor visited him again to enlist his aid but John refused stating he was out of the game and out of patience with him not wanting to be involved in Luthor's scheme to take down Superman. Lex revealed though that the years of defeats had damaged John's brain resulting in him slowly dying and once again appealed to Metallo to join him. Corben refused which frustrated Lex but he did not plan on giving him in his endeavour at recruiting John. (Action Comics v1 #1048)
Overview
Personality and attributes
It was said that originally as a child that John had been a kind and sensitive boy who liked to read and draw. (Action Comics v1 #1055)
His sister claimed that nobody was as fast or brave as John. (Action Comics v1 #1047)
He attributed to his life as a killer starting back when he was a child when his father told him to dispose of a gun. Upon holding the weapon for the first time, he felt power in his hands for the first time after suffering years of abuse from his father. Upon reflection, John believed that holding the gun came to change him until there was nothing left but the weapon. (Action Comics v1 #1053)
After his transformation, he came to wander aimlessly until he thought back on his creator. However, instead of saving the world, Metallo believed that he could make himself the king of the world. (Superman v2 #1)
John Corben was noted to have had a younger sister named Tracy Corben with him being protective of her. (Action Comics v1 #1055) As children, they used to walk to the bus stop together where once John came to see both the sun and moon out in the sky and called it a 'double sun' to his sister. He had always been there for his sister and Tracy was ever grateful to her brother Johnny for protecting her. This led to her wanting to similarly take care of John with her stating that she would always be there for him. (Action Comics v1 #1047) The pair came to be separated from one another after the accidental death of their father with Tracy being sent to an orphanage whilst John was shipped to a military boarding school. Despite that, the siblings cared for one another and kept in touch. (Action Comics v1 #1055)
Powers and abilities
It was through a voice box that he was capable of speaking to other people. It was possible to remove the piece from his body thus preventing him from conversing with others. (Action Comics v1 #1047)
The radiation from the Kryptonite drove the solar radiation out from Kryptonian cells thus depriving them from the source of their powers under a yellow sun. (Superman v2 #1)
He gained the power to absorb machines and the ability to morph his body into any shape he wanted such as increasing his size. (Adventures of Superman v1 #546)
At one point, his body came to be upgraded with extraterrestrial technology from Warworld. (Action Comics v1 #1048)
Though he possessed an powerful mechanical body, he still had an organic-based brain that was capable of suffering injury. In fact, years of extreme damage to his body had led to adverse effects that left him slowly dying at one point due to the injuries sustained to it. (Action Comics v1 #1048)
Notes
- Metallo was created by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino where he made his first appearance in Action Comics v1 #252 (May, 1959).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In the DC Animated Universe, Metallo made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting:
- In Superman: The Animated Series, Metallo first appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Malcolm McDowell.
- In The Batman, Metallo appeared in the setting of the animated television series during the two-part episode "The Batman/Superman Story" where he was voiced by actor Lex Lang.
Films
- In Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the John Corben Metallo appeared in the setting of the animated film adaptation where he was voiced by actor John C. McGinley.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, the John Corben Metallo appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game where he was voiced by actor Ryan Wickerham.
- In Injustice: Gods Among s, Metallo appeared as an interactive character in the setting of the fighting video game where he was on the Stryker's Island stage.
Appearances
- Action Comics v1: (1959)
- Superman v1:
- Adventures of Superman v1:
- Action Comics v2:
- Action Comics v1:
External Links
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