Former: Cyborg Physiology
30-454: Metallo ( / m ə ˈ t æ l oʊ / ) is the name of different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics , commonly as an adversary of Superman . The George Grant version of Metallo was a man in a powered suit of armor made from "the most powerful metal on Earth" as well as a "strength serum". The John Corben version of Metallo is usually depicted as
60-503: A cyborg with a Kryptonite power source in his heart which he uses as a weapon against Superman. The Roger Corben version of Metallo was the brother of John Corben who was turned into a cyborg by the organization SKULL at the time when John was apparently killed. In 2009, Metallo was ranked as IGN 's 52nd-greatest comic book villain of all time. There was an earlier "Metalo" who appeared in World's Finest #6 (Summer 1942). This version
90-497: A cyborg). Superman eventually escaped from the kryptonite trap and arrived just after Metallo (John Corben) had died. After John Byrne rewrote Superman's origins in the 1986 miniseries The Man of Steel , Metallo was also given an altered backstory. In this version, Corben is inspired to battle Superman because Vale believes him to be an invader. Despite ignoring Vale's commands, Metallo came into conflict with Superman on various occasions, largely due to his continued activities as
120-733: A great many anti-Kryptonian armaments developed by Luthor through it. Six different incarnations of Metallo appear in media set in the Arrowverse : The John Corben incarnation of Metallo appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), primarily voiced by Malcolm McDowell . The John Corben incarnation of Metallo received a "Collect and Connect" figure in Wave 5 of the DC Universe Classics line. Supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal
150-400: A high-calculus cyber-mind with which to run the numbers of possible and probable outcomes as well as success ratios through. In the previous continuity, the pre- Flashpoint Lex Luthor modified Corben to holster and utilize different forms of kryptonite; boasting mutagenic red-k, inverted blue-k and lastly, artificial depowering gold-k on top of the green he already possessed. He could even power
180-587: A petty thug. Metallo later lost his kryptonite heart to Lex Luthor , though back-up life support systems allowed him to reactivate himself and escape. He remained a thorn in Superman's side and was powerful enough to cripple the Doom Patrol . Still, the Indian-born hero who called herself Celsius did blow him apart with her thermal powers. Metallo later received a major upgrade via an unholy bargain with
210-529: A skill set that allows them to draft complex schemes or commit crimes in a way normal humans cannot. Other traits may include megalomania and possession of considerable resources to further their aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators , gangsters , mad scientists , trophy hunters , corrupt businesspeople , serial killers , and terrorists , often having an aspiration of world domination . The Joker , Lex Luthor , Doctor Doom , Magneto , Brainiac , Deathstroke ,
240-641: Is a superhero in the DC Comics series Doom Patrol . She first appeared in Showcase #94 (September 1977), and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Joe Staton . She is among the very few superheroes of Indian heritage, and may be the first ever such hero created by DC Comics. Celsius appeared in her first live adaptation on the first season of the Doom Patrol television series for DC Universe played by Jasmine Kaur and Madhur Jaffrey . Celsius
270-484: Is a criminal and journalist who is involved in a fatal car accident while fleeing the scene of a murder he committed. Professor Vale encounters Corben and transfers his brain into a robotic body covered by a flesh-like artificial skin and powered by kryptonite. After obtaining a job with the Daily Planet , Corben briefly tried to romance Lois Lane , while deciding that he would use his powers to eliminate Superman,
300-411: Is a variant of the villainous stock character . It is sometimes found in comic books and may possess superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero . Supervillains are often used as foils to present a daunting challenge to a superhero. In instances where the supervillain does not have superhuman, mystical, or alien powers, the supervillain may possess a genius intellect or
330-481: Is rescued by Niles Caulder , who she later marries. After Caulder abandons her in the Himalayas, Arani trains with Buddhist monks and gains the ability to manipulate temperature. Following the death of the original Doom Patrol, Celsius forms a team to search for Caulder and discovers that Robotman and Negative Man survived. However, Negative Man is kidnapped by Ashok, who has become a demonic metahuman , before
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#1732790135179360-511: Is resurrected and joins the Superman Revenge Squad . Roger Corben is John Corben's brother, who works with the secret organization SKULL to avenge his death. Metallo's metallic body offers him a high degree of protection from physical and energy attacks. He has enhanced abilities and no longer needs to eat, sleep, or breathe. His brain is hermetically sealed inside a shielded alloy skull that has its own power supply. When he
390-531: The Inspector Gadget animated series, Dr. Evil and Mr. Bigglesworth from the Austin Powers film series , or Dr. Blowhole from the animated TV series The Penguins of Madagascar . The overarching villain of Star Wars , Emperor Palpatine , leads the tyrannical Galactic Empire , and was inspired by real-world tyrannical leaders. Celsius (comics) Celsius ( Arani Desai )
420-582: The Green Goblin , Loki , the Reverse-Flash , Black Manta , Ultron , Thanos , and Darkseid are some notable male comic book supervillains that have been adapted in film and television. Some notable female supervillains are Catwoman , Harley Quinn , Poison Ivy , Mystique , Hela , Viper , and the Cheetah . Just like superheroes, supervillains are sometimes members of groups, such as
450-827: The Injustice League , the Sinister Six , the Legion of Doom , the Brotherhood of Mutants , the Suicide Squad , and the Masters of Evil . In the documentary A Study in Sherlock , writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss said they regarded Professor James Moriarty as a supervillain because he possesses genius-level intelligence and powers of observation and deduction, setting him above ordinary people to
480-647: The 2009–10 miniseries Superman: Secret Origin , which retells the origins of Superman and his supporting cast, Corben is an Army sergeant who works for General Sam Lane . He is enlisted to battle Superman and is transformed into a cyborg to save his life after his suit is damaged and malfunctions. In The New 52 continuity reboot, Corben is possessed by Brainiac . However, Superman reasons with him and he helps fight Brainiac before being rendered comatose. Corben later recovers and becomes an ally of Superman before sacrificing himself so Superman can use his kryptonite heart to regain his powers. In DC Rebirth , Metallo
510-695: The Doom Patrol defeat him. In Invasion! , Celsius is killed while stopping a Gil'Dishpan ship from escaping the Arctic Circle . In Blackest Night , Celsius is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern . In The New 52 continuity reboot, she is permanently resurrected and becomes the leader of the Doomed, India's sanctioned superhero team. Celsius is a superior martial artist due to her monastery training. She has minor levels of ancient mysticism taught to her due to her monastery training in
540-532: The abilities to mentally control and absorb any mechanical or metal object he focuses on and transforming any technology (himself included) into an extension of his exoskeleton (an ability similar to Cyborg Superman ). In experimenting with his newfound abilities, Metallo found he could alternate differing energy frequencies for harnessing and redistributing it from various power sources. Brainiac 13 upgraded Metallo to tap into various light spectra to better utilize his kryptonite-charged abilities. His mechanical body
570-426: The demon Neron . As a result, Metallo could morph his body into any mechanical shape he could imagine (such as turning his hands into guns or "growing" a jet pack from his back) and project his consciousness into any technological or metallic device. He could also grow to monstrous size. During one battle, his gigantic fists were separated and later turned into housing by other superheroes. In another incident, Metallo
600-463: The obscure supervillain organization Cerberus, which modified him with a vastly superior body, one with lead-lined skull-plating and an anatomic layer that even Superman could not demolish. This gave him greatly enhanced strength and durability, coupled with moderate mechanical regeneration to repair internal damage. He was later outfitted with a larger LexCorp tech body, which gave him laser vision and further augmented his physical abilities. Soon after it
630-412: The one person who might expose his criminal deeds. After setting a kryptonite death-trap for Superman, Corben stole what he thought was another sample of kryptonite from a museum as a new power supply, not knowing it was a fake prop; this mistake caused him to die just as he was about to kill Lois Lane for discovering that he was not Superman (as he had pretended to be, being super-strong and invulnerable as
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#1732790135179660-834: The point where only he can pose a credible threat to Sherlock Holmes . Fu Manchu is an archetypal evil criminal genius and mad scientist created by English author Sax Rohmer in 1913. The Fu Manchu moustache became integral to stereotypical cinematic and television depictions of Chinese villains. Between 1965 and 1969 Christopher Lee played Fu Manchu five times in film, and in 1973 the character first appeared in Marvel Comics . The James Bond arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (whose scenes often show him sitting on an armchair stroking his cat, his face unseen) has influenced supervillain tropes in popular cinema, including parodies like Dr. Claw and M.A.D. Cat from
690-632: Was a man named George Grant who discovered the most powerful metal on Earth and invented a strength serum. John Corben and Metallo first appeared in the Superman comic strip storyline "The Menace of Metallo", which ran from 15 December 1958 to 4 April 1959. The character debuted in comic books in Action Comics #252 (May 1959), in a story by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino . The Roger Corben version of Metallo debuted in Superman #310 and
720-593: Was also upgraded to be able to grow towards monolithic proportions. He is also occasionally portrayed as having a liquid metal -based endoskeleton, possessing the ability to morph parts of his body, specifically his limbs, into different weapons or tools, such as chainsaws, shovels, hammers, etc. While not a genius like Lex Luthor or Brainiac, Corben's time spent with machines has given him a gifted understanding of how they work, enabling him to tinker with their mechanical functions even before gaining his technomorphing capabilities. Salvation Run reveals that Metallo possesses
750-498: Was created by Curt Swan and Martin Pasko . Metalo (alternate spelling) is the identity of an inventor/scientist named George Grant who had built a powered suit of armor made from "the most powerful metal on Earth" as well as a "strength serum" that made him a near-match for Superman . To draw him out, Metalo captured Lois Lane. At the end of their battle, Metalo fell into a crevice to what Superman assumed would be his death. Metalo
780-593: Was created for the new, rebooted Doom Patrol which debuted in Showcase #94-96. Inspired by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum 's "New X-Men ", writer Paul Kupperberg wanted to have some heroes of different nationalities in the group. Artist Joe Staton used photos from National Geographic articles about India as the model for Celsius. Arani Desai was born in India into a life of wealth and privilege. After her mother dies in childbirth and her father Ashok goes insane, Arani
810-552: Was destroyed, Corben had received a new body from a fellow Kryptonite-powered supervillain Conduit ; which gave Metallo radioactive blasts from his hands and could utilize geomagnetism to make him physically immovable, even by the Man of Steel, so long as he stood on solid ground or flooring within a building complex. Metallo would eventually sell his soul (or what was left of it) to the demon Neron in return for increased power, gaining
840-592: Was first created, he was powered by a kryptonite heart; losing that, he subsisted on plutonium instead. Additionally, because of his cyborg body, Metallo possesses superhuman strength and speed, enough to pose a challenge and even a threat to opponents such as Superman (in that case, he also takes advantage of the weakening power of kryptonite besides his own strength). Over the course of his criminal career, Metallo's body would be decimated constantly by various circumstances. As such he would receive numerous upgrades or whole new chassis' to replace his damaged parts, such as by
870-540: Was rendered more insane by the Joker and used his height to destroy an elevated train of commuters. As Superman and others learned on various occasions, the most effective way to neutralize Metallo was to remove his (largely invulnerable) head and isolate it from other metallic items. In Superman/Batman #2 (November 2003), Lex Luthor fabricated evidence implicating John Corben as the criminal who shot and killed Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne instead of Joe Chill . In
900-569: Was revealed to the reader to have "narrowly escaped destruction" and vowed to take revenge. Nearly 40 years would pass before the character reappeared in print to challenge Superman again. Metalo had improved his armor and serum and also exposed Superman to a ray that reduced his power significantly, giving Metalo superior strength in their first battle. Superman engaged in a lengthy regimen of exercise and training to restore his powers and returned to easily defeat Metalo. A different Metallo appeared as Jor-El 's robot to battle Superboy . John Corben
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