We sometimes use the term “stone-hearted person” to describe someone who has a hard heart. But in this case, we have a character who has a stone for a heart. Metallo, a cyborg with a kryptonite-powered heart and incredible strength, is introduced.
This supervillain was developed by Al Plastino and Robert Bernstein and first appeared in Action Comics. He has a long history of acting as a mercenary. Over the course of numerous comic arcs, he has battled various superheroes, most notably Superman. Let us take a look at his beginnings and initial appearance.
Metallo’s First Comic Book Appearance
The Action Comics marks the introductory experience of Metallo and explores his origin story. Formerly working as a reporter, John Corben drives around in his car while listening to a crime radio show. As he drives ahead, Corben ends up meeting an unfortunate car accident and ends up critically injured. He is rescued by Professor Vale and his assistant, who decide to treat him in their car. As the assistant drives to the hospital, Vale decides that the best course of action would be to just take him to his lab.
He is certain that Corben would not survive with the procedures offered at a hospital, and that he can perform experimental surgery that will ensure that he lives on. Professor Vale operates on him in his lab, testing out his own research for such bodily altercations. Post-surgery, Corben wakes up to discover that he has become a sort of a ‘mechanical robot’. He realizes that he now has a mechanical heart made of uranium, with a ‘fuse-box’ that has two elements that can keep him running.
He further discovers that he needs to replace the uranium capsule in his new heart every day, or else he will die. Vale had also replaced all his limbs with a metallic armor plate, covered with a plastic skin. Just then, a disruption outside the laboratory causes Vale to suffer from a stroke and he falls unconscious. As Corben tries to call for help, he accidentally breaks the door open and discovers the extent of his strength. Leaving Vale behind, he decides to come back later to find out about the second element needed for his survival and escapes the place.
He applies for a job at ‘Daily Planet’, where he finds himself in the company of Lois Lane and Clark Kent himself. Kent finds Corben’s strength suspicious, and as the day passes, he keeps an eye on Corben, Meanwhile, Corben finds himself weakening due to the uranium running out. While Superman goes on a mission, this other ‘Man of Steel’ sneaks into an atomic research laboratory to get more uranium supplies to restore his energy.
He continues to sneak into more labs and wrecks havoc, in order to ensure a large store of uranium supplies for his future use. The next day, while Superman is off to save a woman, Lois ends up getting attacked by a gang of criminals. Corben dodges the bullet meant for her with his metallic suit, and Lois falls for him; sure of the fact that he is Superman.
In the meantime, the local news declares that all uranium stocks will be heavily guarded due to the menace of Metallo. Metallo sneaks into these labs easily disguised as Superman and steals a year’s worth of uranium but ends up getting caught by Superman. To his good luck, Superman is required at a different scene of a crime and Metallo escapes getting caught.
However, he loses his uranium tanks and decides to meet up with Professor Vale to find an alternate source of energy. Vale tells him that Green Kryptonite could power his mechanical heart just as well as Uranium and it was also the better choice since it need not be replaced. Metallo robs a Kryptonite rock from a local museum and returns to Vale, who installs the new Kryptonite heart through an implant surgery in his chest.
He also tries to provoke Metallo into attacking Superman and tells him that he can destroy the superhero with Kryptonite. Realizing that Superman will most probably arrest him for his recent stealing anyway, Metallo decides to use his Kryptonite’s power to attack him right away. He sets up an ambush, but Superman overpowers him and begins chasing Metallo.
Metallo finds himself weakening, and he tries to escape Superman by going to Lois Lane’s apartment. It appears that the kryptonite he stole was just a regular rock that had been painted green to look real. Consequently, Metallo finds himself losing his energy and dies of a heart attack. After his death, Superman and the police run fingerprints on the stolen uranium tanks; and Metallo’s real identity as ‘John Corben’ is also revealed.
Metallo Origin In DCAU
Originally, John Corben’s Metallo was a mercenary who also pulled off robberies and small crimes, all while working under the guise of a reporter. On one such robbery, he is commissioned by Lex Luthor himself to lead a group of mercenaries to steal a high-powered suit from LexCorp. However, Lois Lane finds him escaping in a ship and Corben ends up attacking her; almost killing her. Superman intervenes, and Corben wears the stolen suit himself to fight against Superman. However, the superhero emerges victorious and the Lexo-Skel Suit ends up getting destroyed.
Corben appears in numerous series and adaptations across the DCAU and is a huge part of the Superman: Animated Series where he appears in various episodes, namely The Last Son of Krypton, The Way of All Flesh, Heavy Metal, Superman’s Pal, etc. He even appears in an episode of the ‘Justice League’ series and has cameos in the ‘Justice League Unlimited’ animated series.
Though Metallo has quite a lot of variations in his origin stories, at some point they all revolve around his experimental surgery by Emmet Vale; who hardwires Metallo into thinking that the ‘Superman’ is his nemesis. Over the years, Metallo evolves into a vicious machine, capable of doing great evils and wreaking havoc.
What Makes Metallo So Deadly?
Metallo’s bodily enhancement is the major source of his power; without which he can be easily defeated. His artificial heart and his metallic robot body help him stay in a deadly form forever when powered by the Kryptonite. As the years pass by, Metallo keeps modifying his body to the original biological form and is an ever-changing supervillain.
Metallo also has superhuman strength due to his experimental transformations and can use the radiation from the kryptonite to emit fire and energy from his body at will. He is quite indestructible and has superhuman durability that will sustain him for ages.
While in combat, Metallo can also perform complex calculations in his brain to determine tactics against various opponents, making him very hard to defeat. Additionally, he also has enhanced sensory reception that is beyond the human scope. He also keeps a log of his personal experiences in an internal data bank and can extract information or calculate probabilities of certain situations as fast as an advanced computer. His nature of work has made him a pro while dealing with mechanics and technology.
Though Metallo has deadly powers, he relies on kryptonite to keep himself alive. Without kryptonite, or uranium to power his heart; Metallo will lose his functioning and can be easily defeated.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Hints At The Birth Of Metallo In The DCEU
Jack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was already quite jam-packed with actors and storylines; complete with the holy trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Though the movie mainly focused on their fight against Lex Luthor and his monstrous creation, Doomsday; it also foreshadows Metallo’s birth. In a film packed with details, one of the smaller easter eggs that may easily slide under the radar is Professor Emmet Vale’s participation in creating Doomsday.
Vale assists Lex Luthor in testing the newly found Kryptonite on General Zod’s corpse. They experiment with his body to learn more about the effects of Kryptonite and this initial interest in kryptonite fuels his future obsessions with it. This scene also foreshadows his experimental surgery on Corben, which lead to the creation of Metallo, his best invention to date.
Metallo, in fact, played a considerably larger part in early versions of this film. Rather than creating a new character, Metallo’s initial identity was supposed to be Wallace Keefe, a guy who lost his limbs in the Battle of Metropolis and resented Superman for ruining his life. Some unclaimed DCEU concept art even depicts what Keefe would look like as this supervillain.
Simply put, Keefe’s background history made him an ideal candidate to be a villain; as he blamed Superman for losing his legs, which led to him furthermore losing his job and family too. Keefe was also once talked into persuading Bruce Wayne into attacking Superman by Lex Luthor. Though Metallo has not yet received his big moment on the screen, it is entirely plausible that we might get to see more of him at some point in the DCEU.
Terrifying Versions Of Metallo In Various Forms Of Media – Explored
Various forms of Metallo appear in different forms of media across the DC universe, and he is seen in live actions, animated series, video games, and even on radio.
The Roger Corben version of Metallo appears in the animated tv show ‘Superboy’, where Metallo is a bank robber with a heart condition. The original ‘John Corben’ Metallo appears in ‘Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman’ wherein Corben is introduced as Lois Lane’s boyfriend. John’s Metallo also appears in the TV series ‘Smallville’ where is portrayed by Brian Austin Green.
Metallo appears in five different versions in the ‘Arrowverse’, and his presence is constant across seasons of the series ‘‘Supergirl’ and the ‘Crisis on Earth-X crossover episodes. Metallo plays the role of a mercenary, a guard at a laboratory, and a robot used by a Nazi regime on Earth-X among others.
Metallo also appears in the animated Batman series where he plays the role of a mercenary hired to kill Superman; and also has a cameo in the ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold’ series. As discussed earlier, he is also seen in the animated Superman series as well as the Justice League series. Additionally, a version of Corben appears in the animated Justice League Action where Matello fights against a female version of Superman. He also makes a cameo in an episode of the Harley Quinn series where Metallo is introduced in the ‘Legion of Doom’.
Matello’s appearances across the DCAU are widespread, and he even makes appearances in the animated film ‘Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, where he plays the role of Lex Luthor’s bodyguard. He even appears in the animated ‘Justice League: Doom and also makes a cameo in the animated films All-Star Superman’ and ‘The Death of Superman’.
Metallo was also supposed to be included in Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel, which was later replaced by Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. He was written into the earlier draft of the movie, but it was never finalized.
Metallo has also been included in various avatars across many DC video games, some of them being ‘Superman: Shadow of Apokolips’, ‘Superman: The New Adventures’, ‘Superman: The Man of Steel’, ‘DC Universe Online’ and ‘Injustice: Gods Among Us’s Stryker’s Island stage’.
Metallo is also included as a character in the Lego DC Super-Villain video games, as well as the Lego Batman 3. Finally, Metallo also makes an appearance in Dirk Maggs’ 1990 BBC Radio adaptation of ‘The Man of Steel’, where he is portrayed by Simon Treves.
Conclusion
In summation, this kryptonite-powered cyborg is one heck of a seasoned villain. Metallo has seen many battles and he is a challenging opponent. Escaping or defeating Metallo is no easy feat, and it is advisable to stay out of his radar, since it will be very hard to escape it for sure!