CBR DC Comics Presents: Metal Men

 

And we're back with the Metal Men once again!

Our metallic shape-shifting heroes didn't appear much in other DC Comics publication.

That is until the guys responsible for the 80s/early 90s Justice League (International) decided to give them a try.
The Metal Men didn't get another on-going series or mini but instead served as back-up stories in the latest iteration of the Doom Patrol. Penned by Kevin Maguire under the direction Keith Giffen (writer of said Doom Patrol comic) & J.M. DeMatteis, it was a return to comedy, a genre that is seriously lacking in today's comic books.

Was this new Metal Men story a disguised Super Buddies ploy?
Or did the BWA-HAHA suit Doctor William Magnus and his Metal Men?
Let's dig into...

Comic title: DC Comics Presents: The Metal Men 100-Page Spectacular
Art by Kevin Maguire & Tim Levins (fill-in artist)
Story by Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
Silver Age: Metal Men feature - Art by Kevin Maguire & Story by Bob Haney

Published by DC Comics
From 2011
Lineup Metal Men
Format: Collects the 7 part Metal Men back-up stories from the 2010-11 Doom Patrol issues 1-7 as well as the One Shot SILVER AGE: The Brave And The Bold #1.

As said above, this "Metal Men 100-Page Spectacular" is actually a reprint of back-up stories featured in the new Doom Patrol issues.

The story kinds of picks up where the Metal Men mini and their later appearance in Superman/Batman ended up.
Thanks to some independent contacts, William Magnus was able to restore back Gold and build him a body again. The Metal Men are now composed of Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Tin, Platinum (but she prefers Tina) and newest member Copper.

Doc is living in the suburbs now, where the government decided to relocate him (after his adventures on Oolong Island).
But the neighbors are trying to have them expulsed, because he's living with friggin' dangerous robots next door!!

Meanwhile, the Metal Men are sent on various missions across the globe, thanks to a pretty regular income of little jobs sent there way now.

Since Gold had to be rebuilt from scratch he kinda lost his head (that's a fact actually!) and he's now overwhelmed by his primary personality.
Well to be precise the whole crew his sort of acting to the extreme of the personality each represent.
Tina is acting like a crazy desperate housewife, Mercury only cares about himself and his favorite TV Show "Douglas, Robot Hunter!!", Tin is as shy and incapable as ever, nobody cares about Copper. Oh, and Lead and Iron are starting to feel like they're the middle brothers of the Daltons.

Then Magnus and Tin are captured by The Clique, evil mannequin robots built by a rival scientist, the real Douglas Robot Hunter finds out about them and attempts to save the world from the robot invasion and the neighbors are still trying to get rid of the Doc and his Metal Men.

And Gold is more obnoxious than he's ever been.

Ancient gods, humor, comedy, slapstick, this book got it all!

This comic was beautifully drawn by Kevin Maguire who really gets to shine here more than ever.
Reading old JLI stories penciled ny Maguire was already a joy, but giving him these stretchy cartoony characters really allowed him to play with expressions and faces like only he can!
Gold specially gets a full range of dickish expressions during this book.
Doc is slowly losing it, Merc' only has eyes for the Robot Hunter, Copper is sadly ignored...
Tina even gets a new hair style per chapter!

It really looks like he was having fun being back with these writers and on these characters.

Meanwhile Giffen and DeMatteis co-writing is on-par with their early 90s Justice League stories. The story flows well, the characters click together.. It's only sad it lasted for so few pages!
They even joke about Dan Didio's DC Comics and their current situation in each issue's credits!

It is truly a work of love!
The characters seem all crazy and to be jumping off the pages!
The art is great, I didn't even had a problem with Tim Levins acting as a guest artist for an issue (Maguire couldn't answer the call due to some personal problems).

It isn't as serious as past "in-continuity" (as nerds say it) appearances of the Metal Men. But it is all for the best, trust me!

Overall, a must read!
DC fans or Marvel-fanboys/DC haters! Metal Men newcomers, don't even worry about knowing these fun looking colored characters or not!

It's quite new readers friendly, self-contained and you only wish it could have lasted longer.

Fans of the ol' JLI/Superbuddies will adore it! It's as fun as that other super heroic gang was, minus no "event tie-in".

There's also a little bonus in the form of a reprint of SILVER AGE: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #1.
Which is great!
"The All-New Silver Age" was a thematic event from DC, rather than an in-story event (like Blackest Night).
Kinda like the recent DC Retrospective or the Julius Schwartz-centric DC Comics Presents .
In the early 90s, DC decide to tell tales taking place in the early days of their various heroes' career, while working around a Silver-Age-vibe from the covers to the content of their books.
In this tale from "Brave & The Bold", the team first meets Batman, Green Arrow and Black Canary, actually super-villains impersonating them through magic...and vice-versa!
Due to a strange occurence...they end up as real human beings!!
I had this as a separate issue, but it was nice to have it collected here on good quality paper.
The art's also by Kevin Maguire but from another writer.
Nice story, if a bit short and rushed near the end.


I give it:

  3 / 3 Plastic-trophies!

Drawings - DC-doodles #01

My new TWITTER-suggested selection of DC Characters!
People who follow me there (or not) there gave me these following characters to doodles this time around.

I wanted to cover more than just Batman characters this time.
See if you can recognize what you recommended me to draw.

Here's some of my favorite picks:

SarangaComics Saranga

by Eyzmaster

@

@Eyzmaster mia speedy!

redthabeest Danielle Lison

by Eyzmaster

@Eyzmaster Red Star and/or Pantha

Pyrotwilight Andreas Gee

by Eyzmaster

@Eyzmaster How about obscure DC characters? Like JLA members people don't know about like Tomorrow Woman, Triumph, or Moon Maiden.

....and many more!

Of course I couldn't get all of your suggestions in there, so keep an eye for next time ;)

Eyz on Twitter 

CBR Superman/Batman: Metal Men

 

Here's yet another comic featuring the Metal Men, in their updated incarnation!

This series makes actually their first modern appearance in the modern DCU, specially it is the first time they were actually show again since Will Magnus' role in DC's big crossover epic 52.


In this little 3-issues story arc from the on-going Superman/Batman team-up series, we got to see how the Metal Men currently looked like. And it was here that the newest Metal (wo)men, Copper, appeared first.
Though the plot clearly takes place some time after The Metal Men mini story-wise.
(Some details are left sketch, which Grant Morrison wanted to explore post-52 had he wrote the Metal Men mini himself)

Comic title: Superman/Batman #34-36: Metal Men aka "We, Robots!", "B.I." & "Computer Crash"
Art by Pat Lee & Craig Yeung
Story by Mark Verheiden & Marc Guggenheim

Published by DC Comics
From 2007
Lineup Superman/Batman, Metal Men
Format: Three issues story arc from the Superman/Batman on-going series.

This is actually a filler arc written by Mark Verheiden & Marc Guggenheim, in-between larger stories running in the pages of the Superman/Batman monthly title.
Since its launch by Jeph Loeb, the Superman/Batman has been a great place for various artists and writers, rotating their turn on this series, to explore the relation between Batman and Superman and their place in the larger DCU.

This filler arc sees Batman and Superman colliding against the return of a formidable foe, the return of the OMACs, from an earlier event, and Will Magnus bringing the Metal Men back to the foreground of the scene.

Metallo's back!!

The story opens with Doc. William Magnus, genius scientist, trying to survive in today's economy and make a living.
The problem is that Magnus and his Metal Men are now ruined. Expelled from the limitless resources of sovereign nation Oolong Island.
Now, Will, Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Tin, Copper and Platinum live all under the same roof. With no ways to pay the bills, it's only a matter of time before they cut their electricity.
Will's lab assistant sees only Helen Garin way out, getting rid of the robots.
Magnus wants to recast them as modern heroes, find enough money to rebuild the unfinished Gold who was left bodyless after recent troubles.

After an attack on Waynetech's Research Center by Metallo, Magnus is left with one last idea that might just do it....

The Metal Men attack Waynetech as well!!
But really, they prove themselves to Bruce Wayne being formidable enough to be the answer Wayne and Lucius Fox were searching for.
The Metal Men are hired....as body guards and enforcers for Wayne Enterprise!

But was this a good idea, to hire in the "Meta-human" circles to protect a normal building from extra-ordinary situations?

Soon enough, Brainiac enters the scene, the Metal Men get corrupted and a plot to gain complete control of the rogue Human-Robot-hybrid technology of the O.M.A.C. projects throws Batman and Superman in the middle of robotic threats!

 I...Am... BRAINIAC!!

In "A.I.", Superman and Batman are (re)introduced to Will Magnus and the Metal Men (post-Crisis).
The story is fun enough. It's a pretty straightforward story to be honest.

The art by Pat Lee is extremely stylized.
What some might call "fusion" rather than you usual classic comic book superheroes art style.

It works great on the Metal Men shape-shifting abilities. Though Bruce Wayne or Kal-El do look a bit...off(?).

The Metal Men are hired as security guards, which is a great set-up for a longer series if you'd ask me.
They go on a rampage and steal a prototype OMAC unit....

Overall, I enjoyed this arc, but it was clearly a filler.
As a fact, it has never been collected in a trade paperback collection as of now.

Nice enough if you want more of the current Metal Men. But could have been better.

I give it:

  1.5 / 3 Plastic-trophies!

ComicPanelsOfTheWeek: One Man's Delusion...

(Click for bigger pic)

The Metal Men © DC Comics

Metal Men Review

New review up @ New readers...start here!

This time it's The Metal Men


Which can be seen as a sort of companion-review to my blog's own CBR of The Metal Men.

(Click for bigger pic)

Metal Men © DC Comics

CBR Metal Men

 

Today, the Metal Men!
In case this name is already lost on you, the Metal Men are a relatively obscure team of robots from DC Comics.
They're easily my favorite original team of characters. Sure, the Justice League International, the Shadowpact or the Mighty Avengers (at Marvel) are nice enough. But those are mostly teams composed of existing characters re-purposed under a team book to keep them in print.

The Metal Men were and still are a bunch of original character solely created for the role of this team. (kinda like the Fantastic Four or Challengers of the Unknown)
And the concept behind them's so simple and fun!

This book was created as an attempt to bring them back into the DCUniverse and clarify their origin and status as well.
Doc Magnus, their creator, was re-established during DC's big crossover epic 52, and the group appeared as a whole again in a story-arc in Superman/Batman before landing the featured role in this book.

Comic title: Metal Men
Art & Story by Duncan Rouleau

Published by DC Comics
From 2008
Lineup Metal Men
Format: Collects the eight issues of the 2007-08 Metal Men mini-series.

After a brief (yet important) appearance in 52, the brilliant scientist Doc Magnus regained his taste for science and technology as he faced memories from his past and a confrontation against his old mentor T.O. Morrow.

Now, determined to rebuild his old robots, the Metal Men, the doctor was truly back!

Metal Men is a mini-series (and proposed on-going series concept) developed by Duncan Rouleau. It is a story built upon various threads and levels of narration that retells the origin of the robotic team several years in the past, the main aspect of the plot taking place in the present directly following 52 and some trouble coming from the future slowly coming to confront the Doc.

The story opens up in the present.
Doctor Magnus is back to science! The Metal Men are back on duty to thwart evil robotic menaces.
After many appearances of the team all around the world, problems start getting in their way...

At various point, more of the mysterious past of the robotic crew is reavealed.
Will Magnus used to be a simpler man, who dreamed of mechanics and technological prowess.
With the help of Helen Garin, his former love and another brilliant scientist, Will was making huge progress in the domain of robotics.
Thanks to a discovered ancient artifact, Magnus was able to build devices he would name "responsometers". And with the help of these articial hearts, build real live robots. These robots were gifted with the ability to move, talk and process thoughts like real human beings, their personalities developing from their matter, mirroring the very same metal that composed them.
Thus were born... Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Tin and Platinum I mean Tina.

As the story jumps back and forth around past and present, as we see various generation of Metal Men improving over the previous models Magnus' brother attempts to prevent the creation of the team to avoid a cataclysmic event in the future...

With references to other parts of the larger DCU, including my favorite L-Ron from the JLI era!!

As the team is faced on all sides by various menaces and attempts to be taken off the care of Doctor Magnus, Magnus' brother stoles technology from T.O. Morror to turn the Metal Men into radioactive elements...

Will Doc. Magnus be able to revert the transformation and get rid of these so-called Death Metal Men?
Will the team survive and all-out attack by the Robot Renegades or Chemo?
Why are all these old foes coming back to haunt them at the same time, including Doctor Yes, BOLTS, The Balloonatic and his Orphan Army!
And is it possible to save the day yet avoid tomorrow?
Is this terrible future gonna come anyhow?!

The team gets a much deserved additional female member! "Get Rid Of Her!!" - Platinum

Metal Men is one strange book.
On the paper, explained like this, it seems like a pretty straightforward reimagining of these characters.
Simultaneously getting rid of the more abstract and odd elements introduced in a non-canon retcon of the characters from the early 90s (the robots used actually transfered minds and personalities from Magnus' brother, fiancee and friends...making them like a sub-par Fantastic Four-like bunch of characters) and interprets instead their original Silver Age origin.

But it is also a very stylized comic book. Which might not be in everybody's taste.

Artist Duncan Rouleau (creator of the cartoon series and franchise Ben 10 on Cartoon Network) has a very unique and distinct style.
And since he also wrote the story, the breakdowns and layouts were specially designed to both reflect the story and the scenes.
It gives the Metal Men a very stylized look, futuristic and "hi-tech". Let's just say it looks like nothing else.

I personally really liked it, it was fitting the book and the tone of these characters, but I know some found it pretty difficult to follow or simply get "into".

Overall, it's a great follow-up to William Magnus' plot from 52.
It presents the Metal Men of old (and would therefore keep most of the old Silver Age adventures canon - nerdmike), clarify their origin and evolve them in a new direction. (even promising a new villain, would their adventures continue someday).
The Metal Men are updated, a new member Copper joins them, Gold gets mostly destroyed (only his head would survive, since he's quite expensive keeping him incomplete) which chronologically ties directly into their story arc in Superman/Batman (that reintroduced them and was released first).
Oh, but Magnus never changes, the guy still sports silly vintage costumes and a pipe.

Anyway, try it if you are interested in either the artist or the characters.
Not for everyone though.

I give it:

  2 / 3 Plastic-trophies!