G.I. Robot

G.I. Robot are robots that feature in DC Comics.

History

Origin

The G.I. Robot were a series of bipedal robots that were constructed by the U.S. military. (Star-Spangled War Stories v1 #101)

One of the earlier prototypes was named Joe who after programming in a laboratory was sent for testing. This saw Professor Zurin overseeing as the robot was placed under the command of a soldier named Mac. The two were deployed on an easy mission to investigate an enemy depot on an isolated island. This landmass was actually Dinosaur Island where the pair had the contend with the giant reptiles inhabiting its surface. During the mission, the G.I. Robot performed admirably and even saved its human charge from quicksand whereupon the two returned to base after a successful test. (Star-Spangled War Stories v1 #101)

LexCorp came to be awarded a military contract for the creation of G.I. Robots for the U.S. military with Lex Luthor designing their command-and-control complex at Area One. (Batman Confidential v1 #4)

A G.I. Robot came to be attached to Checkmate where it was designated as a Rook Delta and assigned to a field team. (Checkmate v2 #24)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

However, despite finishing the robot for the Japanese, when Crane was finally rescued by the Bride of Frankenstein, he revealed that he really programmed the robot to work for the Allies. The robot became partners with the S.H.A.D.E. agent Frankenstein. Becoming the G.I. Robot, J.A.K.E. continued to work alongside Frankenstein for the rest of World War II and even during the Korean War. (Men of War v2 #8)

G.I. Robots were known to be employed by the secret S.H.A.D.E. organization. (Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. v1 #4)

Overview

In appearance, the G.I. Robot took on a humanoid form that roughly resembled that of a human being. (Star-Spangled War Stories v1 #101) all fully autonomous mechanical soldiers, capable of making decisions and adapting to changes in their environment. Joe responds to spoken commands as well as the sound of weapons fire and machines, and in situations where voice commands are impractical, to light signals flashed on its control panel. Mac responds similarly, but appears to be smarter, and has no control panel. No built-in weapons are apparent, but both are capable of using firearms like an ordinary soldier and can withstand direct fire from small arms.

They were said to had been programmed in a laboratory for every kind of response on the battlefield. A G.I. Robot was initially made to respond to spoken commands, the sounds of weapons or other machines. In one case, it was shown that the robot acted on its own to save human life. (Star-Spangled War Stories v1 #101)

These models possessed armor-plating and had their left arms outfitted with fully functional machine gun that could fire bullets, mini-torpedoes, and small anti-aircraft missiles. In addition, they cold also fly for short distances, thanks to small rockets in their boots.

Members

• Joe :
• Mac :
• J.A.K.E. I :
• J.A.K.E. II :
• J.A.K.E. #6.1 :
• Lord Job :

Notes

• G.I. Robot was created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru where they made their first appearing in Star-Spangled War Stories v1 #101 (March, 1961).

Alternate Versions

• In Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown v1 #1 (2011), an alternate version of G.I. Robots appeared in the altered reality of the Flashpoint. the G.I. Robot replaces Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos after they were deemed obsolete by Robert Crane's government services. In the modern era, Robert Crane revives the G.I. Robot to eliminate Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown after they escape from the lab facility. During attacks from the Creatures of the Unknown in a Gotham City forest, the G.I. Robot sprang at Frankenstein to subdue him, but a Creatures of the Unknown member severed the G.I. Robot's head.

In other media

Television

• In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, G.I. Robot appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "The Plague of the Prototypes!" where he was voiced by actor James Arnold Taylor. He and Sgt. Rock team up with Batman to stop Nazi soldiers before sacrificing himself to save Sgt. Rock from a landmine.

Appearances

• Star-Spangled War Stories v1: (1961)
• Batman Confidential v1:
• Checkmate v2:
• Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. v1:
• Men of War v2:

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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