Metal Men
The Metal Men | |
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![]() The Metal Men & their creator Will Magnus (left to right): Gold, Lead, Platinum (front), Iron (back), Dr. William "Will" Magnus (front), Mercury, Tin. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Showcase #37 (March–April 1962) |
Created by | |
In-story information | |
Base(s) | Magnus Labs |
Member(s) |
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The Metal Men are a group of robot superheroes that appear in
Publication history
1960s and 1970s
Established as advanced artificially intelligent robots, the Metal Men were introduced in the comic book Showcase #37 (March–April 1962) as "last minute" filler.[2] Created by scientist Dr. William "Will" Magnus, the six robots were field leader Gold; strongman Iron; slow-witted and loyal Lead; hot-headed Mercury; self-doubting and insecure Tin; and Platinum (also called "Tina"), who believed that she was a real woman and was in love with her creator. The group's personalities mirrored their namesake metals, being dictated by devices called responsometers.[3] Each Metal Man also possessed abilities that reflected the traits of their namesake metal: Gold could stretch his form almost infinitely, Iron was super-strong, Lead could block harmful radiation by morphing into thick shields, Mercury could melt and pass through small spaces before reforming, while Platinum and Tin could stretch, flatten or spin into fine filaments.[4]
The characters reappeared in the following three issues of Showcase (#38–40, June–October 1962) and proved popular enough to warrant a reappearance in their own
With sales dropping, the series' tone darkened with issue #33 (September 1968), as the cover tagline changed to "The New Hunted Metal Men".[7] Shortly after, the team adopted human identities in issue #37 (May 1969).[7] The title was cancelled in mid-story with issue #41 (December 1969).
Issues #42, 43 and 44 (March, May, and July 1973) reprinted earlier Showcase appearances and the first issue, with the title then on hiatus until returning with original numbering in issue #45 (May 1976). The bi-monthly publishing schedule continued until issue #56 (March 1978), when the title and many others were cancelled during the DC Implosion.
Until #21, the Metal Men appeared to be the sole super-heroes in a separate fictional universe, with no other DC Comics characters appearing (though the Metal Men watch a Batman television series, and Dr. Yes is recognized by them as resembling an enemy of Wonder Woman—Magnus and the Metal Men even seem to know at times that they are comic book characters, referring to earlier issues and reader response). Then the Metal Men became part of the shared universe of the DC heroes, even though they continued to fight their own foes (such as Chemo).
The Metal Men co-starred with other DC heroes such as
1990s
The group returned in an eponymous four-issue limited series (Metal Men (vol. 2) #1–4 (October 1993 – January 1994)) that featured a
2000s
The Metal Men then reappeared during the
The entire group reappeared in
The Metal Men also featured in a stand-alone story in the weekly publication Wednesday Comics (#1–12, September–November 2009), and co-starred in the first seven issues of Doom Patrol (vol. 5, October 2009 – April 2010). This series was later reprinted in DC Comics Presents: Metal Men 100 Page Spectacular (2011).
The Metal Men appeared in Justice League: Generation Lost #10–11 (November–December 2010). Captured by villain Maxwell Lord, the Metal Men are reprogrammed and believe themselves to be humans living in a magical fantasy world. At Lord's behest, the brainwashed Metal Men attack the members of the new Justice League International (thinking them monsters), and merge into their alternate universe persona Alloy (from the limited series Kingdom Come (#1–4, May–August 1996)), but are eventually defeated.
2010s
In
In 2016, the Metal Men were featured in Legends of Tomorrow, a six-issue anthology series. They were in Nevada fighting off a robot enemy, and the government wanted to destroy the Metal Men and get rid of them as a threat to the people. During a run in with several other heroes, The Metal Men encountered three new Metal Men—Magnesium, Lithium and Silicon—who were created by the government in a plan to get the original Metal Men back in the military as assassins again. Despite their attempts' the three new robots are eventually destroyed in the conflict.[13]
In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, the Metal Men are among the superheroes that head to Mars to confront Doctor Manhattan.[14] Gold, Tin and Platinum are later seen as recruits of the League, to research a multi-verse ending threat.[15]
The Metal Men were seen again in a 12-issue mini-series in 2019, with a new metal member to the team that was found at a construction site called for Magnus. The Metal Men were destroyed by Magnus for trying to rebuild them from scratch again, and again the new one saw a version of themself destroyed. Dr. Will Magnus just had enough of making the Metal Men, and he fell in love with a girl leaving the Metal Men to themselves after having flashbacks of how he made them to now. After getting the new metal they found in Magnus' lab he helped it out as it called his name. He introduced them to his Metal Man had made, and it became part of the team. The new member enjoyed talking to Platinum and he fell in love with her.
Team roster
While there have been a number of different Metal Men members over the course of their history, the original and most common team line-up is Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Platinum, and Tin led by their creator/mentor, scientist Dr. Will Magnus. Occasionally, the roster includes Copper as well.
Enemies
Over the years the Metal Men have fought with a variety of villains such as Professor Bravo and his Plastic Perils, Vox The Bionic Bandit,
Other versions
- The Metal Men appear in Kingdom Come. This version of the group possess the ability to combine into Alloy.
- A possible future incarnation of Platinum appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #1,000,000 (November 1998).
- The Metal Men appear in JLA: The Nail. This version of the group were reprogrammed to behave like conventional robots.
- The Metal Men appear in JLA: Another Nail, in which their mainstream personalities were restored.
- The Metal Men appear in a self-titled Marcus Moore and consisting of Samuel Schwartz, Carl Walters, Rey Quinones, Francis Powell, and John Holliday.
- The Metal Men of Earth-44 appear in Final Crisis (#1–7, July 2008 – March 2009). This version of the group serve as their universe's Justice League and are led by a human called "Doc Tornado".
- A group based on the Metal Men called the Magnetic Men appear in two comic book series released by Amalgam Comics.
Collected editions
Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
The Metal Men Archives Volume 1 | Metal Men (vol. 1) #1–5, Showcase #37–40 | July 2006 | 978-1401207748 |
The Metal Men Archives Volume 2 | Metal Men (vol. 1) #6–20 | June 2013 | 978-1401238674 |
Showcase Presents: Metal Men Volume 1 | Metal Men (vol. 1) #1–15, Showcase #37–40, Brave and the Bold #55 | October 2007 | 978-1401215590 |
Showcase Presents: Metal Men Volume 2 | Metal Men (vol. 1) #16–36, Brave and the Bold #66 | September 2008 | 978-1401219765 |
Metal Men | Metal Men (vol. 3) #1–8 | September 2008 | 978-1401218454 |
Metal Men: Full Metal Jacket | Material from Legends of Tomorrow #1–6 | December 2016 | 978-1401265175 |
Metal Men: Elements of Change | Metal Men (vol. 4) #1–12 | April 2021 | 978-1779508089 |
In other media
Television
- Due to the success of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure from the 1960s, Filmation planned to produce pilots for multiple DC heroes, with one of the concept drawings featuring the Metal Men. Those plans were cancelled when CBS secured the animation rights to Batman in the wake of ABC's recent success with the Batman live-action television series at the time.
- The Metal Men and their combined Alloy form appear in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, with Gold voiced by Lex Lang, Lead by Bill Fagerbakke, Platinum by Hynden Walch, Mercury by Corey Burton, Iron by Brian Bloom, and Tin by Dee Bradley Baker.
- The Metal Men appear in a self-titled segment of DC Nation Shorts, with Gold and Lead voiced by Tom Kenny, Platinum and Tin by Hynden Walch, and Mercury and Iron by Corey Burton.
Film
- The Metal Men make a cameo appearance in Justice League: The New Frontier.
- Alternate universe versions of the Metal Men appear in Justice League: Gods and Monsters, with Platinum voiced by Grey DeLisle and Tin again by Dee Bradley Baker while the rest are silent. Platinum was created to disguise herself as Will Magnus' wife, Tina Magnus, Tin serves as Will's butler, and three unnamed Metal Men were designed to mimic the powers of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman with the goal of framing them for murder so that Magnus could gain access to their technology.
- The Metal Men appear in DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, with Lead voiced by Khary Payton, Iron by Greg Cipes, and Platinum again by Grey DeLisle.
- In 2012, Barry Sonnenfeld was in talks with Warner Bros. to make a live-action film about the Metal Men.[16][17] The film was listed as part of the DC Extended Universe in October 2021.[18]
- As of December 2021, a separate animated Metal Men film is currently in development, with Walt Disney Animation filmmakers John Musker and Ron Clements directing, producing, and writing the film, DreamWorks Animation's Bonnie Arnold co-producing, and Celeste Ballard co-writing, for Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, DC Studios and IMAX Entertainment.[19]
Video games
- Platinum appears in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
- The Metal Men appear in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
Miscellaneous
- The lyrics to an early collaboration between Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart have been traced to the Metal Men. Beefheart, improvising the lyrics to a jam session (later released as "Metal Man Has Won His Wings"), found an issue of the comic book hanging on a bulletin board in the studio, and used passages from the story and an advertisement for an upcoming release of Hawkman as lyrics.[20]
- The Metal Men appear in Injustice Gang's former satellite base to use as their own.
References
- ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
Writer/editor Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru put a then-modern-day spin on robots with the exploits of comics' first "heavy metal" group, the Metal Men.
- ^ ISBN 978-1605490458.
- ISBN 0-7566-0592-X.
- ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
- ^ Markstein, Don. "Metal Men". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ "De Re Metallica: The Metal Men". Rutgers University. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-1605490557.
- ISBN 978-1-893905-53-5.
- ^ Guy Gardner Warrior #38 (January 1996)
- ^ Doom Patrol (vol. 2) #60 (October 1, 1992)
- ^ Justice League (vol. 2) #28 (April 2014). DC Comics.
- ^ Swamp Thing (vol. 5) #36 (November 2014). DC Comics.
- ^ Legends of Tomorrow #4
- ^ Doomsday Clock #9 (March 2019). DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League (vol. 4) #26 (2019)
- ^ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (June 21, 2012). "Exclusive: Barry Sonnenfeld's Secret Comic-Book Movie Is". Vulture. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
- ^ Kit, Borys (July 17, 2013). "DC Entertainment Chief Reveals What's Next for Superman, Wonder Woman and 5 Superheroes Who Deserve Movies (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
- ^ Wilding, Josh (October 12, 2021). "THE ADDAMS FAMILY Director Barry Sonnenfeld Confirms DC's METAL MEN Is In Active Development (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ Kit, Borys (December 3, 2021). "'Little Mermaid', 'Aladdin' Filmmakers Tackling DC Comic 'Metal Men' for Warner Animation (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ "Metal Man Has Won His Wings: The Source". fzpomd.com.
External links
- Metal Men at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016.
- Metal Men sales figures for 1964–1968 at The Comics Chronicles
- Cosmic Teams: Metal Men