Ultivac
Ultivac is a comic robot supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Ultivac was a giant robot created on Earth by noted criminals Felix Hesse and Floyd Barker. Hesse had been a prominent scientist who during World War II had worked for Adolf Hitler's Third Reich and had a high position in the Ministry of Science. After Nazi Germany's defeat, Felix fled only to be captured by American forces and imprisoned in the United States. Whilst in prison, he met a bank robber named Floyd Barker who was his cell mate were the two began to work together. Upon leaving prison, the pair began work on a new type of calculating machine where the use of radioactive materials in its construction had somehow caused it to become alive. (Showcase v1 #7)
Afterwards, Felix Hesse approached the Challengers of the Unknown who asked them to protect him from his rogue creation Ultivac. Unable to stop Ultivac from capturing Hesse, the Challengers sought the help of a top secret laboratory and its director general June Robbins. Meanwhile, Ultivac constructed an army of robots modelled after Hesse to collect resources it needed for continued existence. The Challengers find and manage to incapacitate it with Hesse and Barker repossessing the robot and try to make money displaying it as a sideshow attraction. However, Ultivac, having developed a liking to Robbins, broke free and kidnapped her. The Challengers talked Ultivac into peaceful relations with humanity when suddenly Hesse arrived and destroyed it with a ray gun. (Showcase v1 #7)
Years later, a rebuilt Ultivac came to fall under the control of Mr. Poseidon. The Enchantress formed a band of super-villains from times past called the Forgotten Villains. They went in search of a third wizard to form their triad with this turning out to be the sorcerer Kraklow. Superman came to team up with the Forgotten Heroes that opposed them. (DC Comics Presents v1 #77)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Ultivac was a robot that came to be enslaved by the Atom-Master and made to join Vandal Savage's Forgotten Villains. The team of villains were dispatched to protect a piece of a gem that had been responsible for imparting immortality to both Savage and his age old foe the Immortal Man. The Forgotten Villains were set to battle the Forgotten Heroes where Ultivac was sent to battle Congorilla. The fight though was simply a distraction for Dane Dorrance to ambush Atom-Master from behind with a neural stunner. With the villain neutralised, Ultivac was no longer a threat and thus defeated. (Resurrection Man v1 #25)
Some time later, Ultivac fought the Forgotten Heroes again, now being controlled by Atom-Master. (Resurrection Man v1 #25)
Ultivac was one of a number of villains that were in Zandia that came to battle Young Justice under the direction of Lady Zand. (Young Justice v1 #50)
It was shown that Ultivac had later joined the ranks of the Society that engaged in a large scale assault against the superhero community. (Infinite Crisis v1 #2)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Ultivac (Batman/Superman: World's Finest v1 #15)
Overview
Personality and attributes
It was said that the world came to fear him and he deemed that humans only wished to destroy him. Ultivac though was said to fear mankind and thought that there could only be war between him and them. (Showcase v1 #7)
He came to sense that June Robbins was not afraid of him and developed a sense of kinship with her. In fact, he had said that she was the only person he trusted. (Showcase v1 #7)
Powers and abilities
Ultivac was a giant robot that was regarded a new form of life where it was believed that radioactive materials were responsible for giving him life. It was deemed that the machine possessed an intelligence superior to human beings and was regarded as being a scientific marvel. He was said to be based on a new type of calculating machine. (Showcase v1 #7)
In form, the machine took the form of a mammoth robot that was the size of a building. He was noted to be capable of the power of flight. (Showcase v1 #7)
The giant robot was said to possess telepathic powers and was capable of directing these invisible thought waves to another mind. (Showcase v1 #7)
It was shown that he had the intelligence to create robots in the form of mankind and replicas of living beings so long as sufficient building material was present for him. In one case, he was able to create an exact replica of himself and send it out into the world in his stead. (Showcase v1 #7)
Notes
- Ultivac was created by Dave Wood and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Showcase v1 #7 (April, 1957).
- In Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe v1 #8 (1985), Ultivac received an entry within the character guide.
Alternate Versions
Appearances
- Showcase v1: (1957)
- DC Comics Presents v1:
- Suicide Squad v1:
- Young Justice v1:
- Resurrection Man v1:
- Infinite Crisis v1:
- Batman/Superman: World's Finest v1: (2023)
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
