MangaDCU: Superman Foes- Robopacalypse

A return to some of the mechanical foes of the Man of Steel!

left to right:
A.M.A.Z.O., B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C., Metallo (battle mode, Kryptonite heart exposed, close up of his heart, Jonasu Koide- battle damaged, full human form), Assimilator

Robopocalypse:

A.M.A.Z.O.
Adaptamorphic Android; Ability/energy absorbing skills, Absorbed skills of entire Justice League: Alpha

The Advanced Mimicry Android Zeolitic Organism was developed by LexCorp Labs scientist Professor Anthony Ivo. Using the naturally occurring mineral, zeolite as a base to synthesize a new bio-organic material, where the solar/thermal ability was enhanced to allow the absorption of a vast range of energies (including chi). These energies would then activate the adaptomorphic tech to allow the android to change its shape to match the source of where the energies were drawn from. Ivo planned to use the android to absorb his consciousness and basically become an immortal powerhouse, however he died before he could activate it. Lex Luthor found the inert android while clearing out his lab, and upon reading his notes completed the work on it and activated it. The android followed Lex's orders, as he told it he would reveal what his creator's true purpose for it was, and completed a series of acquisitions for him. He told him that he was created to replace the Justice League. Luthor was confronted by Batman, and when he went to punch him, the android stepped in his path and absorbed the blow. This activated his mimic abilities and he turned into a copy of Batman(albeit, differently colored). they fought until the rest of the league arrived, but when he made contact with each one, he added their powers to his own. he also would take on some of their appearance. They realized that the more of them that confronted him, the more power sets he would have to draw from. They tried to contact Superman to keep him from joining the fray, but were unable to communicate the entire situation to him before he raced to the scene, thinking he could take out their assailant with a well placed blow to the head. With Superman's powers added to theirs, they saw the gravity of their situation and began to think they were doomed. They would discover the only way to defeat him was to exploit their own weaknesses, which he had absorbed as well.

- I originally had Superman as the initial contact for A.M.A.Z.O., but then decided it would've been a problem from the jump if they started out fighting someone with Superman's powers who got stronger and stronger. I revised the origin by taking a cue from the Justice League animated series and made Superman the last absorbed ability.
- After A.M.A.Z.O. is rebuilt, he'll have access to a percentage of the JLA's powers as his default setting, as well as being able to absorb others that he comes into contact with. The twist will be one of the original power sets will become dormant while using any new power set.
- I decided to mimic Marvel's Super Adaptoid character(who is very similar to A.M.A.Z.O) and have his appearance be a combination of the people who's abilities he has absorbed as well. As such, he has:
- Flash's helmet, combined with Wonder Woman's tiara.
-Aquaman, Superman, and Batman's hair(in red to replace the original's skullcap)
-Batman's Cowl
-Superman's Gi (with an A instead of an S), Flash's Hypersuit breastplate
-Wonder Woman's armbands and bracelets
-Green Lantern's lenses on hands and knees
-Aquaman's hip and leg armor
-Batman's pants and leg wraps(which i colored with green lanterns power to resemble the original's costume somewhat.
- I also decided to give him a weapon crafted of Green lantern's hard light powers, that was a combination of The Sword of Atlantis, Poseidon's Trident, and Wonder Woman's Scepter. He can use it to control water, turn into other weapons, or "summon" green constructs of sea monsters or aquatic animals.


B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C.-

Kryptonian battle training construct; unlimited energy supply, allowing him to have endless stamina and not tire out in a fight.

The Battle Ready Artificial Intelligent Nemesis Inter Active Construct was created by Jora-Ku, Kura-Ku's father, to continue the combat training that begun with the holo program created by he and his wife, Alara. The holo program taught him the techniques, but B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C. would give him the skills he would need that could only come with actual combat. his programming parameters were set, so that whenever Kura-Ku would gain the skills needed to beat the construct, he would raise his skill level even higher. This training went on for years until B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C. could no longer raise his power level over that of Kura-Ku. This inability to continue its programming caused the construct to malfunction making it obsessed with regaining its superiority over its former pupil, by employing lethal force. the defeat of the construct opened the final phase of Kento's training. Now that he had mastered combat, Jora-ku's hologram could tell him about the Kryptonian enslavement and give him the complete knowledge of the science class to make him the ultimate Kryptonian and hopefully turn the tide against their oppressor Darkseid, if they had failed to win their freedom with their planned uprising. the knowledge was contained in a device he called The Book of Rao. B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C. stole it and fled the Fortress of Solitude. One year later, B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C. would return to face Kento in the Man of Steel Tournament, and would taunt Kento with the knowledge that he had the last component of his training and heritage in the Book of Rao. The fight was furious, for the construct used a glowing green material he called Kryptonite which was able to actually break Superman's skin (unlike the Kryptonium core from the S.I.S that Luthor used as Metallo's powersource which just weakened him and drained his energy)and when the fight came to its destructive conclusion, B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C. would revel in the fact that not only did Kento destroy his own past by destroying him, but that his long range scans discovered that Krypton no longer existed. He called him the Last Son of Krypton, and the construct also had sent out a beacon to alert the masters of the Kryptonian Raiders of their location on Earth to come and sanction this planet before going offline. The remains of the construct were collected by Lex Luthor's retrieval team and taken back to LexCorp Labs, as well as the blood that was spilt by Superman at the second Man of Steel Tournament, which was collected in a tattered piece of his cape. For months, they labored on making a functioning clone of the Man of Steel and utilized the data from the damaged construct to preprogram its memory with fighting skills. They introduced an accelerating agent to make the clone age quicker, as Lex wanted his own Superman to destroy his hated foe. When the clone was physically age seven, something occurred with the B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C. tech and it started destroying the lab. The clone escaped and so did what was left of the construct. The disassembled construct made its way to the Fortress of Solitude that used to be its home while he trained Kento. Fortuitous for it, Superman had just finished recovering from his injuries battling Zod and the other Kryptonian raiders. He flew off world to go and trot help his comrades who had went in search of a way to revive the fallen hero, Steel. It would take some time for B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C. to reconstitute himself, but when he ran a self diagnostic scan, realizes he is no longer in possession of The Book Of Rao. He returns to the place where he awoke, LexCorp Labs, hoping that he can reclaim it from the humans, only to discover the lab in shambles and a fully functioning Phantom Zone projector. He recalibrates it and uses it to enter the zone, where he discovers the City of Kandor. Once in Kandor, he reveals himself as the creation of Jora-Ku, who some now hold in a much higher regard than just "Our Jailer" as he had facilitated for the release from the collars. They accepted him and granted him access to their technology, which allowed him to craft a device to reduce the size of the entire city, so that he could free them from the Zone (as well as make some upgrades on himself as well). When B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C finally resurfaces and is looking for the Book of Rao, he becomes aware that it's now housed within Superboy's mind. He tries to retrieve it from the clone, and ends up in a battle with Kento and Zod working together. He evens the odds by offering to reunite Zod with the Kandorians as their Savior and relocate them on a new homeworld, allowing Zod to retain all of his powers.

- I finally decided on a color palate for B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C. decided to use the animated version as a foundation and keep close ties to my version of B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C.- 5 from the Legion of Super Soldiers.
- I used DBZ's Cell as the basic basis of my design. Added some "Kirbyesque" elements with his belt.
- His tunic has Kryptonian symbols that I imagined would constantly be on a continuous loop like a news ticker. It basically spells out his designation in Kryptonian.
- Like the DBZ androids, B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C.'s power signature cannot be detected in the way Kento normally does, as it is not comprised of chi life force.


Metallo: Jonasu Koide
Cyborg; Liquid metal morphic housing, kryptonite powersource.

LexForce was a privatized civilian security force developed by Lex Luthor. At the time of its formation, Luthor established this security force to protect his interests from competitors, corporate raiders, and the authorities. He hired ex-soldier, Jonasu Koide to run the team, who also did side black ops missions for him as well. On one such mission, Superman thwarted the mission and Koide became gravely wounded trying to take out this new hero. Luthor repaid Koide's loyalty by outfitting him with a new cybernetic body, powered on the only thing that he had ever seen bring the alien to his knees; the Kryptonium core salvaged from the wreckage his father discovered years ago. He was thrilled with his newfound strength, but the sensory deprivation of his new existence drove him mad, and Koide attempted to seek vengeance against his assailant in the Man of Steel Tournament under the new name, Metallo. After a savage beating (made possible by the draining properties of the Kryptonium), Superman fought back and was able to block the effects of the kryptonium and then dismantle him. After watching the other semi final match between Jean Henri Irons and the alien Steel Lord, Luthor collected samples of the alien's liquid metal form, in an attempt to recreate it. After many unsuccessful trials, they finally synthesized a stable version that would be the new housing for the cyborg. He made his debut in his new body at the following year's annual Man of Steel Tournament. This time Metallo faced the Jean Henri Irons, reborn as Steel in the finals, while Superman faced B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C.. Steel defeated Metallo by using his hammer to destroy his Kryptonium core powersource, rendering him inert. After the tournament, his powersource would be replaced with a "heart" crafted of the radioactive remains of Superman's homeworld that B.R.A.I.N.I.A.C. returned to earth with, Kryptonite.

- Metallo has a synthetic skin that covers his liquid metal shell, so that he can impersonate a normal person. It has to be regrown and replaced when he loses it due to battle damage.
- He eventually learns to reroute energy reserves to fire a blast from his "heart" when Superman believes all he has to do is keep his distance.
- His initial form from Kento's first Man of Steel tournament wasn't as streamlined as this current one. I'll eventually get around to designing that one.



Assimilator: Hank Henshaw (design combines Saiyan armor Goku and mecha Frieza with Cyborg Superman)

Ancient Kryptonian relic merged with Kura-Ku's DNA to create living weapon; super-strength and durability, flight; can convert any technology into tech that can be integrated into its operating system

Hank Henshaw was a crew member on board the NASA space shuttle, Excalibur. Hank and the other three members of the Excalibur crew, including his wife Terri, were part of a LexCorp-designed NASA shuttle that was docking at the International Space Station, but without the limited protection of the Earth's magnetosphere, the shuttle crew were especially vulnerable to the cosmic anomaly resembling a comet that was about to bombard the ship with its strange radiation as it hurtled past. Without thinking of his own safety, Captain Adam Blake ran to operations so that he could facilitate the shuttle crew docking and making it to the protected area, as well as burn the thrusters enough that the station just missed the comet hurtling past it. He was able to save the crew, but as the comet passed, it irradiated his body with cosmic energy, unlocking his latent metagene, and allowing him to absorb the strange energies the comet was comprised of. Just then, the Stardust probe crashed into the station, creating a hole where the NASA crew were, still in their space suits. As they were sucked out into the vacuum of space, Blake ran to the area hit, activating powers that the comet had given him. without realizing he was breathing in a vacuum with no protection, he used his new abilities to round up the crew and bring them back to the station. After making their way back into the station via another air lock, Blake passed out. He awoke in the medical research area, quarantined away from the rest of the crew. Blake and the Crew of the Excalibur were sent back to earth along with the probe to further research what had happened to them. As a result of their radiation exposure, the human bodies of two crew members were destroyed. However, their minds survived and they were able to construct new bodies out of cosmic radiation and bits of earth and wreckage from the shuttle, respectively. Not knowing the extent of the damage to their bodies (as they were not in possession of a metagene like Blake, allowing for a natural absorption of the cosmic radiation, the Excalibur crew were placed in stasis to retard the effets of their radiation poisoning. after years of studying them in this state, they were no closer to an explanation or a cure. An incident occurred where the stasis field was disabled, allowing the four to awaken. Initially, Henshaw and his wife seemed to suffer no ill effects from the radiation (though Hank's hair turned white), and the cellular deterioration of the other two had seemingly ceased, they had discovered that in their absence for the world, their savior (and fellow astronaut exposed to the radiation) had become Captain Comet). They realized that the Henshaws also had acquired powers from the exposure to the cosmic radiation of the comet. They decided to become heroes like Captain Comet and revealed themselves to the world. During their first act as heroes, they become aware of the unstable nature of their abilities. the crew travels to Kyoshigai (Metropolis) in the hopes of using LexCorp facilities to cure their mutated crew mates. After Lex refuses to assist them, they take the lab by force, prompting a police response and ultimately the assistance of Superman, when they prove unable of dealing with the quartet. During a brief battle with Superman, the crew member now composed of radiation became unhinged and flew into the sun, thereby destroying himself. By this time, Henshaw's body has started to rapidly decay while his wife was beginning to phase into an alternate dimension. With Superman's help, Henshaw is able to use the LexCorp facilities to save Terri. The remaining member of the shuttle crew commits suicide using an MRI booth to tear apart the metallic components of his body. Though Henshaw's physical body expired, he was able to transfer his consciousness into the LexCorp mainframe. Now able to control technology, Henshaw appeared to his wife in a robotic body. The shock of this bizarre rebirth was too much for Terri and in a fit of insanity, she jumped to her death from the nearest window. By this point, Henshaw's electronic consciousness had begun to disrupt Earth's communications networks. Using NASA communications equipment, Henshaw beams his mind into the disabled Kryptonian Assimilator artifact that was so damaged, it couldn't even properly create a birthing matrix cycle like the other artifacts; Interceptor and Eradicator. With Henshaw's consciousness inside the Assimilator, it jumpstarts the program to reactivate, but cannot construct a complete Kryptonian body, and winds up utilizing some of the wreckage to complete its new humanoid form. It makes its way out into the stars and eventually to ...Warworld.

- Decided to use Henshaw as the third kryptonian artifact. His ability to assimilate alien tech into himself fit perfectly into my story about the Kryptonian planetary defense system.
- Decided to link him to Captain Comet's origin, since a solar flare was so similar, and i already had a crew exposed to radiation. It was Blake's dormant metagene that kept him from deteriorating like the Excalibur crew.
-The Excalibur crew was originally based on the Fantastic Four's origin.
- Henshaw will assimilate some alien tech on Warworld into himself.
- He will also return to Earth for vengeance on Superman only to discover Doomsday has beat him to it. He will decided to enact his revenge by destroying his reputation.
- Henshaw is in control of the Assimilator form, due to his ability to project his consciousness into technology, an ability he retains. His body goes inert when he projects into another object until he returns to it. This makes him fundamentally different from the Interceptor and the Eradicator who have gained sentience.