There has been a question that has plagued humanity since it first gained the ability to comprehend: What makes a human...human? One Marvel character is hardly unfamiliar with this struggle: Aaron Stack, the Machine Man.
First appearing in 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (July 1977)...yes, there was a comic series based on the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film adaptation of the 1968 Arthur C. Clarke novel. The ongoing series branched off from a Treasury-sized comic adaptation of the film. Jack Kirby would write and draw the adaptation and the spin-off series. The spin-off series would last for 10 issues.
In his introduction, Aaron Stack was known as "Mister Machine". He was created as part of a series of robots created by Dr. Abel Stack that malfunctioned and went insane when they evolved into sentience. However, Machine Man aka X-51 (because he was the 51st robot made), was able to overcome the malfunction thanks to developing a loving bond with his "father" Abel and encountering one of the Monoliths. Machine Man would be the focus of the series for its final two issues as he ended up on the run from the Army. This would help perk up interest in the series, but not enough to keep the title going.
The comic we're looking at here is the first issue of his own ongoing series. This series would last for nearly twenty issues, with Jack Kirby writing and drawing the first nine. Machine Man would never get an on-going series again after this one, but he would continue making appearances in the Marvel Universe, counting membership in the Avengers (both original and West Coast flavors). He would gain new popularity as part of the Nextwave series, and was most recently adventured with Iron Man during the Iron Man 2020 event. So with that, let's look at Machine Man #1!
The cover is a Jack Kirby piece, and it's pretty awesome. You got our mechanical man front and center, surrounded by soldiers. It sells the idea that he's a being on the run.
"Machine Man"
Writer: Jack Kirby
Artist: Jack Kirby
Inker: Mike Royer
Colorist: Petra Goldberg
Letterer: Mike Royer
Editors: Jack Kirby, Archie Goodwin
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
The story begins with our robotic man finding himself in a not-unusual situation for stars of their own comics in the Marvel Universe: playing hero.
Using his extended arm, he tries to reach out to Freddy the Frightened Young Adventurer. However, Freddy is too paralyzed by fear to grab the arm. He ends up losing his footing and falling off the cliff to his seeming death. Machine Man flies down and grabs him in mid-air. The rescue leaves Freddy's friends in awe of our mechanical hero. He accepts their thanks and takes his leave...by walking down the cliff. Now he's just showing off.
We next shift scenes to an unknown location, home of a top-secret research project. A bureaucrat is visiting one of the scientists, a Dr. Broadhurst, there for a report. It's here we get a basic recap of Machine Man's origins. He was part of a series of robots known as the "X-Models". However, each of these robots eventually evolved into sentience and they went insane, resulting in then getting destroyed. Our mechanical hero was one of those robots, model X-51.
One of the scientists at this project was a psychologist named Abel Stack. Stack took X-51 home and basically raised the robot like a son, even giving him the name Aaron. This seemed to have a positive effect, as X-51's evolution into sentience ended up not resulting in madness. The bureaucrat points out that the roots were all supposed to be destroyed. Since Aaron is still roaming free, he has to be captured.
Meanwhile, our machine man is leaving a forest when he sees a man trying to get a tree off the road. Luckily, our man is armed with superhuman strength, so he clears the road with ease.
The man is amazed by our robotic hero's strength, and introduces himself as Peter Spaulding. He's a psychologist and he was on vacation. He offers to drive the living robot into town, and the two engage in some small talk. Basically, all Aaron Stack wants to do is just live a regular life. He sees himself as just as human as anyone else. The two drive towards Central City, and encounter some congested traffic. But our Mr. Stack has a very useful device to solve that problem.
Instant motorized skateboard. His weaving through the cars annoys the drivers for some reason, and he gets spotted by some highway patrolmen. These Smokeys found a Bandit to chase! Stack evades them by leaping high into the air. Unknown to the Machine Man, a group of military men are ready to move out. Their mission: Destroy the Machine Man!
This man is Colonel Joe Kragg, birth name Joseph Kragowski. He has a bit of a personal grudge against the Machine Man. You see, he lost many good men stopping the rampage of Aaron's fellow X-Model robots. It's also the reason he's got the eyepatch there. Broadhurst pleads with Kragg to not destroy Aaron. After all, he's the only one of the X-Models to not go insane. He must be studied. But Kragg, much like a certain sea captain with a certain whale, only cares about seeing Stack be reduced to scrap metal. And Kragg will track him down, thanks to a homing device implanted in Aaron's head.
Manwhile, Aaron himself in the outskirts of a town, presumably a suburb of Central City. He gets ambushed by a chopper carrying sonic weaponry.
Aaron seems to be especially vulnerable to sonics, as he is easily crippled by them. Despite the damage, Aaron can still fight back. He uses a built-in flamethrower to evade the soldiers, and uses tank treads in his arms to escape. He finds a sign revealing that Central City was a couple miles away. Aaron recalls that Peter Spaulding was headed there. The story ends with him deciding that maybe getting Spaulding's help would be a good idea after all.
This comic was rather enjoyable in my opinion. I did notice that the comic did not mention the Monoliths from 2001. I can understand why, as they were likely something they couldn't refer to again due to copyrights. The issue does a good job establishing Aaron's new status quo, and establishing his supporting cast. They're not much character-wise, but nothing that future issues can't build on. It does its job.
Jack Kirby is known for his artwork, and it's pretty enjoyable here. It's rather dynamic, although I do admit, I find his faces rather funny. They seem a bit samey to me. But despite that, it is enjoyable to look at. But then again, it is Jack Kirby. He is the King of Comics, after all.
If you want to read this for yourself, I highly suggest hunting down the 2016 trade paperback Machine Man by Kirby and Ditko, the Complete Collection. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! Join me next time, when I look at the beginnings of another piece of lesser-known Marvel history...
No comments:
Post a Comment