MACHINE MAN (X-51, aka Aaron Stack, Unit Z2P45-9-X-51, Mister Machine)
Created By: Jack Kirby
First Appearance: 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (July 1977)
Role: Wants To Be Human Guy
Group Affiliations: The Avengers, Nextwave
Avengers Grade: D-Level
PL 9 (182)
STRENGTH 8
STAMINA --
AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8
DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4
AWARENESS 1
PRESENCE 0
Skills:
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Science) 6 (+10)
Expertise (Current Events) 2 (+7)
Intimidation 4 (+4)
Perception 4 (+5)
Technology 6 (+10)
Vehicles 2 (+4)
Advantages:
Close Attack, Equipment 2 (Robo-Gear), Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Ranged Attack 8
Powers:
"Robotic Body"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 10 (Extras: Impervious 9) [19]
Senses 6 (Low-Light & Extended Vision, Radar- Ranged Accurate Radio Sense 4) [6]
Quickness 6 (Flaws: Limited to Mental Tasks) [3]
"Computer Link" Communication 1 (Computers) [4]
"Nanotech Make-Up" Regeneration 6 [6]
"Telescoping Arms" Elongation 4 (120 feet) (Flaws: Limited to Arms) [2]
"Anti-Gravity Discs" Flight 5 (60 mph) [10]
"Finger Payloads"
"Blasters" Blast 8 (Feats: Variable Descriptor- Fire, Laser Cutter or Bullet) (17) -- [21]
- AE: "Cold" Snare 5 (15)
- AE: "Electrical Blast" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (16)
- AE: "Nanotech Boost" Healing 8 (Flaws: Limited to Machines, Limited to Others) (4)
- AE: "Useful Devices" Variable 1 (Mechanical Powers) (7)
Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Blasters +10 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Electrical Blast +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +7
Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +10 (+5 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will +6
Complications:
Power Loss (Solar-Powered)- If denied access to the sun, Machine Man will slowly power down.
Vulnerable (Magnetic & Electrical Attacks)- X-51 is made of metal, and is thus more-vulnerable to certain kinds of attacks.
Relationship (Jocasta)- Aaron has fallen for the daughter of Ultron a few times.
Reputation (Asshole)- Over the years, Aaron grew tired of saving humans in order to earn their love, and has since tried to mimic "the fleshies", now looking out for number one. He is now a huge prick, insulting everyone and offending swaths of the superhuman community.
Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 101 / Defenses: 10 (182)
X-51- Late Kirby Didn't Hit a Lotta Home Runs:
-Jack Kirby was doing one of his "what is the nature of humanity?" things with Machine Man, but it just never stuck. His later creations never quite had the impact of his Marvel Silver Age stuff, and the goofy purple X-51 was no exception. Hell, even STEVE DITKO got a run at him on art, and it still failed quickly and badly. Poor guy had a silly look, lame powers, and was your standard Star Trek morality tale, which was totally run into the ground by that point (Vision, for example, did it much better). In recent years with
Nextwave, he's basically been a riff on
Futurama's Bender, but a lot more annoying- he reads like that "griefing" player in a Role Playing Game who always wants to be the crazy asshole who says offensive things (writing Bender-type characters is harder than it looks). My only modern memories of him are in Marvel's HORRIBLE "Technical Guy" run of books under one label, all of which died horrible, horrible deaths. His link to the Avengers is tenuous at best, being a reserve member for a short time. Curiously enough, the guy was created for the
2001: A Space Oddysey books that Marvel was running.
-In case it's not clear, I despise this character, think he looks stupid, and find the Warren Ellis-written version to be my least-favorite thing by Warren Ellis.
X-51 Debuts:
-X-51 debuted in a
2001 book, being created from a series of sentient robots invented by Dr. Abel Stack for military purposes. However, all fifty of his predecessors went mad upon achieving sentience, due to a lack of identity- X-51 differed from them by being raised like a son by Stack, and by being given a human face. Oh, and being exposed to one of the monoliths from the
2001 movie (do they still mention that part?). Dr. Stack died protecting X-51, and so the robot took the name "Aaron Stack" and escaped confinement, only to be pursued by the army (you can definitely tell this is the Vietnam era when the U.S. armed forces are the bad guys). He took the name "Mister Machine" at first, but soon switched to "Machine Man", which he's kept ever since. He teamed up with the Hulk once or twice, then the Fantastic Four, and became part of the general Marvel Universe as he attempted to learn more about humanity. He fought a drunken Iron Man and fell in love with Jocasta of the Avengers, but saw her seemingly destroyed by Ultron.
-Machine Man later joined the reserve roster of the Avengers, got captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. (who wanted to use his technology to make another "Deathlok"), then helps the X-Men during
Operation: Zero Tolerance- all of these events took place across like twenty frickin' years, to give you an idea of how little-used Machine Man really was. He was on zero of the Marvel Cards I owned between Series I-IV. Then, inexplicably, he is given the book
X-51 as part of Marvel's Technology-themed line (that also saw the "Kid Sentinel" book released)- this was more or less an instant failure, as most of Marvel's "Let's release a whole line of weakly-linked books!" era was. In the end, he finds another monolith (ah, so that answers that) and meets their creators- the Celestials.
Nextwave- Agents of H.A.T.E.:
-And then... we get THIS arc. So Warren Ellis is given free reign in a book that was of questionable continuity, using only side characters, which is fine. He and I have similar senses of dark humor, so I should have been into it... but he kinda got out of hand here. Usually calling himself Aaron Stack now, he joins the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort until realizing that their group (with Monica Rambeau, Boom-Boom, Captain ____ and Elsa Bloodstone- all forgotten/side characters) was founded by the very group that they were fighting. This causes them to go rogue. Along the way, Ellis completely revamps Aaron's character, as he now turns into the most giant asshole ever (ironically, he was initially one of very few Marvel heroes who WASN'T kind of an asshole, and was now the douchiest of them all), calling humans "fleshy ones" and acting like a drunken goof. He gains a self-important attitude, a drinking habit ("my brain needs beer"), and constantly stares at Elsa B's chest, much to her chagrin.
-In short, it's a writer indulging his worst "I want to write a character who says everything I want to say" tendencies, from the looks of things. It's "Fishmalk" stuff at the worst, with zany stuff, abrasive quotes, and more. This version eventually becomes the in-continuity version for some reason. His appearances since then are relatively-few, mostly sticking around
Nextwave, Marvel Zombies (where he appeared as his own self, teleporting to that dimension) &
Red Hulk, most of which showing his new, douchebaggy personality.
-Like most robots and machines, Machine-Man costs one heck of a lot of points (180 points total- dropping 30 points for his Immunity), and has a ton of fancy stuff loaded into him. Rather than try to stat up every techno-thing he's ever produced from his fingers, he gets 20 points of Equipment on him. His offensive and defensive potential isn't great, as he's no major combatant, but he's strong enough to do some damage, especially with his extending limbs (adding dozens of feet to his punches). He's added some Regeneration in recent years, and he's almost a Swiss Army Knife in "Nextwave", so you can take or leave certain aspects of the character, and add more at-will.
