Machine Man #2 (May 1978)

Back in January of last year, I took a look at the first issue of the debut of Aaron Stack, the Machine Man. I remember quite enjoying it. I struggled to figure out what comic to look at this week, so I looked through one of my shelves of trade paperbacks. I saw my copy of Machine Man by Kirby and Ditko and I found myself thinking "Hey, I looked at the first issue of that comic, why not take a look at the next one?" So here we are. This is Machine Man #2!

The cover is a Jack Kirby piece, and it's pretty awesome. It depicts our machine man Aaron Stack flying over a bunch of policemen while riding/being a wheeled vehicle. Aaron hasn't quite grasped how Transformers work.

"House of Nightmares"
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 man Aaron having a nightmare.

"Not my incredibly gorgeous face!"

Darkseid here rips off Aaron Stack's human face, as a bunch of machines mock him, screaming that he's nothing more than a mere robot, a tool, an automaton. Aaron roars that he's more than that. He is a man, regardless of being steel and wires instead of flesh and blood. Aaron wakes up, finding himself in the forest. He evidently decided to take a nap on his way to see Peter Spaulding. Because robots can nap, I guess. 

The fight with the army damaged his anti-gravity unit, so he can't fly. I'm presuming he can't use his motorized skateboard because of the forest terrain. He spots a patrol looking for it and decides it's a good time to leave.

After a brief look in on General Kragg, we go back to Aaron. The Machine Man makes his way to a gas station. Being in the Marvel Universe, the attendants aren't too bothered by a strange man in a purple outfit. He asks for some tires, but he needs to pay for them. Aaron picks up some rocks and crushes them into diamonds. He figures that their value should cover any tire expenses. 

"Shut up Bill, we're rich!"

He also asks if he can use their repair shop. Considering what they saw, they figure to just let the weird purple-wearing man do what he wants. 

In Central City, a nurse alerts Peter Spaulding that there's something wrong with a patient in "Room Zero". Spaulding heads in and finds the orderlies struggling with the patient. As the tranquilizers take effect, the patient rants about a spaceflight going wrong and falling into the sun. 

"Oh dear, he read Star Trek novels while on an LSD trip again..."

They note that the patient was a homeless man who didn't have a lot of schooling. Yet his words sound like he came from NASA. Maybe he hung out in the library and read a lot.

The Army make their way to the gas station and prepare to surround it. But Aaron Stack has finished his little project, and he's ready to get going.

"Machine Man, Roll Out!"

The soldiers try to get a bead on him, but his speed is too great. Having escaped for now, Aaron makes his way to Central City, meeting some bikers on the way. He asks them how far Central City is, but they answer by crashing. You know, nowadays he'd likely have a built-in GPS so he'd have no problem finding that answer.

Aaron arrives and meets up with Spaulding. Aaron needs somewhere to crash for a while, so he's hoping Peter can take him in. The psychologist agrees, as he considers Aaron a friend. Aaron's systems pick up strange transmissions from the building. He projects footage of a solar system on the ceiling of Spaulding's office, his internal computers able to translate the transmissions. 

Spaulding notices that a ship appears to be trapped in the gravitational pull of the solar system's star. Spaulding then realizes that the rambling of the man inside "Room Zero" isn't insanity, it's a call for help!

The story ends with our two heroes racing to Room Zero and the man ranting that he needs to get taken off his vessel, or he'll be fried like an egg on a pan. Mmmm...fried egg...

This issue was, like its predecessor, very enjoyable. I got a good chuckle out of Aaron's interactions with the two mechanics he encounters. The whole thing with the mentally ill man receiving transmissions was very Kirby. The man has a love of the cosmic, as his work has shown over the years. The nightmare Aaron suffers is part of the theme of this series, what makes a man? Aaron wants to be seen as a human being, just like any other, despite his being made of metal and wires instead of flesh and blood. Aaron's characterization here is interesting when you consider how he has been portrayed post-Nextwave. He seems like a completely different character here.

I got a good chuckle out of Aaron's interactions with the mechanics, and his escape was quite awesome. I do wonder how the homeless man was able to receive the alien transmissions, though. Is he an alien himself? Ah, well. Maybe the next issue will explain. Kirby's art is very dynamic, but that's no surprise. It's "The King".

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback Machine Man by Kirby and Ditko. 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, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Machine Man #1 (April 1978)

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...