In 1962, a year before the more famous Doom Patrol team made its debut, a unique group of superheroes made their first appearance in the pages of Showcase #37. Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru, the Metal Men is a team of robots created by brilliant scientist Dr. William “Will” Magnus. Each Metal Man was named after a different metal and possessed abilities that mirrored the unique properties of their namesake.
Despite their somewhat obscure status among today’s DC Comics characters, they were, once upon a time, quite popular among readers. Their run during the Silver Age is still considered one of the best DC has produced during this era.
So, let’s turn the spotlight on the Metal Men, the coolest team of neurotics robot superheroes out there!
The Creation of Metal Men, a Brief History
The World of Comics was shifting in 1961-1962, following the groundbreaking debut of The Fantastic Four, Marvel’s First Family. However, new characters weren’t bursting through the pages of DC Comics, as the publisher relied more on its older characters at the time. But it wouldn’t be long before they would add a dysfunctional team to their roster, with the Metal Men’s creation just around the corner. During the Silver Age of comics, Showcase magazine was used as a platform to introduce and test new characters, allowing them to potentially launch their own ongoing series if successful. Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, and Ray Palmer, among others, made their debut in Showcase.
In 1977, Robert Kanigher recounted to Lynn Woodley, author of several books on comics, what led to the creation of the robotic team in the comic book Showcase.
“It wasn’t my turn to do another SHOWCASE,” Kanigher explained. “But the other editors hadn’t come up with an idea. Irwin Donnenfeld asked me if I have any. I immediately said: “Metal Men with human characteristics.” Irwin said: “Go ahead.” That was Friday. Saturday morning I took my daughter Jan to her ballet class at Juilliard Music School. I sat in my convertible on Riverside Drive, gave myself a crash course in a subject of which I knew nothing, Chemistry, and started writing. Monday morning I came in with the finished script.” (Alter Ego #54)
Ross Andru and Mike Esposito were chosen to illustrate and ink the Metal Men. But instead of having Andru fully pencil the pages, Kanigher opted for a different approach. Andru created a basic layout for each page, and Kanigher provided feedback for any necessary changes to make. The pages then went to the letterer, then to Esposito for inking, and finally back to Kanigher. According to the writer, the entire process took ten days.
After three issues, the trial run of The Metal Men in Showcase came to an end. Their popularity led to another issue of Showcase, then their own title where they could fight other robots!
Who are The Metal Men? The Origin Story
When the government found itself facing a monstrous prehistoric winged creation recently released from its glacial resting place, they turned to Will “Doc” Magnus, ‘the man who makes science-fiction ideas practical‘.
Magnus, a young and brilliant inventor specializing in robotics, had already created a robot made entirely of platinum, nicknamed Tina. Powered by a responsometer, a miniature nuclear-powered activator, she was the first of Magnus’ creations.
So, what would a man like Magnus would do to help the government in their time of crisis? Magnus developed a team of responsometer-powered robots, the Metal Men. Each robot was forged from a different metal, each with unique abilities: The original team of robots consists, with Platinum, of:
- Gold, the team leader, could stretch into a thin wire miles long or flatten into a sheet a millionth of an inch thick.
- Lead could be used as a shield against harmful rays — including radiation!
- Iron, the team’s muscle, can shapeshift into an infinite variety of objects.
- Mercury, the only metal in liquid form at room temperature, was full of steam!
- Tin is softer than zinc but harder than lead. The smallest of the team, he can turn to powder at 200 degrees.
The Metal Men’s personalities mirrored their metal namesakes, but the source of these traits has been revisited several times. Initially, it was attributed to auroral activity affecting their original bodies. Later, the responsometers were considered the spark that ignited their inner personalities.
A variant explanation, introduced in the 1993 “Metal Men” limited series and later retconned, suggested the robots’ personalities originated from human psyches accidentally transferred into their responsometers.
In the 2019 “Metal Men” series, Doc Magnus revealed the Metal Men were imitating aspects of his behavior. However, their innate personalities were eventually awakened by the Nth Metal Man.
Metal Men Comics, a Simple Reading Order
Want to learn more about metals? You’ll find a lot of explanations and fun facts in the Metal Men Comics! The first series of the Metal Men consisted of a total of 56 issues. Some readers will tell you that the best issues have been collected by DC Comics, and that the rest of the series didn’t meet the same high standards as the beginning. Around issue #32, some changes were made. Andru and Esposito left the comic, and in 1968, Jack Miller replaced Robert Kanigher as the editor of Metal Men, though Kanigher remained the main writer.
The cover of Metal Men #33 (1968) even announced the “New Metal Men,” where the team became fugitive robots. Worse, our Metal Men were reshaped to look like humans (and losing one of their biggest visual strengths in the process) in Metal Men #37. Associated with a shift in tone, the Metal Men were not what they were once. As a result of dropping sales, the title was canceled for the first time in 1969.
- Showcase Presents: Metal Men Vol. 1
Collects Showcase #37-40, The Brave and the Bold #55, Metal Men #1-16 - Showcase Presents: Metal Men Vol. 2
Collects Metal Men #16-36 and The Brave and the Bold #66.
Most of those issues have also been collected in the DC Archives Editions line:
- Metal Men Archives Vol. 1
Collects Showcase #37-40 and Metal Men #1-5 (1962-1964) - Metal Men Archives Vol. 2
Collects Metal Men #6-20
A little bit after the cancellation, The Metal Men appeared in The Brave and the Bold # 103 (Sep.-Oct., 1972) in a story explaining why the Metal Men returned to their original appearances. Then the title was revived for a time in the 1970s, reestablishing the Metal Men for what they were at the beginning. Of course, like many other characters, a famous Crisis created more tumultuous times for the team…
In a Post-Crisis World, the Metal Men first mostly popped up in Superman titles, such as the storyline “Better Dying Through Chemistry” in Action Comics #590, War of the Gods, or Panic in the Sky! before headlining their own limited series. Created by Mike Carlin, Dan Jurgens, and five more people, the new Metal Men title is a four-issue miniseries retconning the origins of our robotic team without much success.
- Metal Men Vol. 2 #1-4
Uncollected
While the Metal Men’s return in the 1990s was a failure, their comeback in the 2000s offered more entertaining reading, with writer Duncan Rouleau in charge of the team in the aftermath of Infinite Crisis and 52.
- Infinite Crisis
Collects Infinite Crisis #1–7. You know it, it’s the Metal Men vs. the O.M.A.C. - 52 Volume 1
Collects 52 #1-26 - 52 Volume 2
collects 52 #27-52 - Superman/Batman #34-36
Collected in Superman / Batman Omnibus Vol. 1. First appearance of Copper. - Metal Men
Collects Metal Men (Vol. 3) #1-8 - Wednesday Comics
Anthology series featuring a Metal Men story written by Dan DiDio with art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Kevin Nowlan - DC Comics Presents: The Metal Men 100-Page Spectacular #1
Collects all the Metal Mean’s backup stories published in Doom Patrol - Justice League: Generation Lost #10–11
Collected in Justice League: Generation Lost. By Keith Giffen and Judd Winnick
Then came The New 52 era, a new reboot of the DC Universe and a new retcon of the Metal Men’s origins. They also featured in the Legends of Tomorrow anthology, and Doomsday Clock.
- Justice League (Vol. 2) #28
Collected in Justice League: Forever Heroes. - Metal Men: Full Metal Jacket
Collects the Metal Men stories from Legends of Tomorrow #1-6 - Doomsday Clock
Collects Doomsday Clock #1-12.
The Metal Men are back for a new mini-series from Dan Didio and Shane Davis and with a new member!
The Metal Men alternate Versions! There are other versions of the Metal Men out there, and if you are interested in reading about other iterations of the team, you could pick up Kingdom Come (1996) which introduced Alloy, the combined form of the Metal Men. Final Crisis features The Metal Men of Earth-44, while the team also appeared in the alternate timeline of Justice League: The Nail.