Robotman (DC)(01 - Robert Crane)
Real Name: Robert Crane
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Bio: For years Dr. Robert Crane and his assistant, Charles "Chuck" Grayson, worked to perfect a mechanical body in which a human brain could continue to survive after its original body had died. In late 1941 criminals broke into their lab to steal their invention, not knowing what it was. One of them, Mason, fatally shot Crane, but the criminals left, without realizing the purpose of the robot body they saw there. To save Crane’s life, Grayson transplanted Crane’s brain into the robot body. On reviving, Crane was horrified at what he had become. Disguising himself as a normal human being, Crane adopted the new identity of Paul Dennis. Grayson was accused of murdering Crane, but Crane, as Robotman, captured Mason, and Grayson was cleared.
Robotman became a renowned crimefighter and joined the wartime All-Star Squadron. Much of the public was disturbed by this robot’s existence, and lawyer Sam Slattery had Robotman put on trial to be declared the property of Crane’s heirs, and to have him destroyed as a public menace. During the trial Grayson revealed that Robotman was Crane. When the courtroom ceiling began to collapse, Robotman helped save the endangered people and took Slattery, who suffered a heart attack, to the hospital. As a result of his heroism, Robotman was declared a human being by the judge and was set free.
Robotman continued to fight crime, and sometimes his brain had to be transplanted into a new robot body after his previous one was damaged. Finally, he went into suspended animation on being trapped in a cave-in by gangster Alvin Lashky. Shortly afterward, Grayson died, leaving instructions that his body by cryogenically preserved so that Crane’s brain could be transplanted into it. Decades later, Robotman revived and cpatured Lashky. Crane’s brain was then transplanted into Grayson’s body so that today Robotman is again fully human.
His solid 5-year run in Detective Comics makes him one of the longest-running so-called "back page heroes".
This entry uses material derived either in whole or in part from dcindexes.com
Notes:
First Appearance: Star Spangled Comics (1941) #7 Favorite Characters:
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Issue Appearances: Adventure Comics (1938)
All-Star Squadron (1981)
Annual #2 - 'The Ultra War!' #1 - 'The World on Fire!' #2 - 'The Tyrant Out of Time!' #2 (Newsstand Edition) - 'The Tyrant Out of Time!' #3 - 'The Dooms Of Dark December!' #4 - 'Day of the Dragon King! Chapter One' #5 - 'Never Step On A Feathered Serpent!' #6 - 'Mayhem in the Mile-High City!' #7 - 'Carnage For Christmas!' #8 - 'Afternoon of the Assassins!' #8 (Newsstand Edition) - 'Afternoon of the Assassins!' #9 - 'Should Old Acquaintance Be Destroyed...' #10 - 'If an Eye Offend Thee...!' #10 (Direct Market Edition) - 'If an Eye Offend Thee...!' #11 - 'Star-Smasher's Secret!' #12 - 'Doomsday Begins at Dawn!' #13 - 'One Day, During the War...' #14 - 'The "Mystery Men" of October!' #15 - 'Master of Worlds and Time!' #16 - 'The Magnetic Marauder!' #17 - 'To Slay The Body Electric' #18 - 'Vengeance from Valhalla!' #19 - 'Death, Considered as a State of Mind!' #20 - '...For the Dark Things Cannot Stand the Light...!' #21 - 'A Tale of Three Citadels!' #22 - 'The Powerstone Corrupts -- Absolutely!' #23 - 'When Fate Thy Measure Takes...!' #24 - 'The Man Who'll Know Too Much!' #25 - 'The Infinity Syndrome!' #26 - 'Talons Across Time!' #31 - 'Uncle Sam Wants You!' #32 - 'Crisis on Earth-X! The Prequel' #33 - 'The Battle Of Santa Barbara - - Times Two!' #38 - 'Detroit is Dynamite!' #39 - 'Nobody Gets Out Of Paradise Valley Alive!' #40 - 'The Rise And Fall Of The Phantom Empire!' #41 - '--Catch A Falling Starman!' #42 - 'Oh, Say, Can't You See...?' #43 - 'Ultimate Victory!' #44 - 'Night And Fog!' #45 - 'Give Me Liberty - - Give Me Death!' #45 (Direct Edition) - 'Give Me Liberty - - Give Me Death!' #46 - 'Philadelphia-- It Tolls For Thee!' #46 (Direct Edition) - 'Philadelphia-- It Tolls For Thee!' #47 - 'The Secret Origin Of Dr. Fate' #48 - 'Camelot 1942!' #49 - 'Death-Sword At Sunrise!' #50 - 'Crisis Point!' #53 - 'Worlds In Turmoil' #54 - 'The Crisis Comes To 1942! (And Vice Versa)' #57 - 'Kaleidoscope' #58 - 'I Sing The Body Robotic!' #59 - 'Out Of The Ashes...Mekanique!' #60 - 'The End Of The Beginning!' #63 - 'The Origin of the Golden Age Robotman' #64 - 'See You In The Funny Papers!' #65 - 'The Origin Of Johnny Quick' #66 - 'The Origin Of Tarantula' America vs. the Justice Society (1985)
#2 - 'Trial By Congress!' Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985)
Crisis on Multiple Earths (2002)
DC Comics Colección Novelas Gráficas (2016)
#19 - 'Batman: El Largo Halloween - Parte I' DC Comics Graphic Novel Collection [GER] (2015)
#59 - 'Batman: Under the Hood' #102 - 'JLA: Schreckgespenster' DC Comics Presents (1978)
#31 - 'The Deadliest Show On Earth!' DC Sampler (1983)
DCU: Legacies (2010)
Detective Comics (1937)
#138 - 'The Invisible Crimes' #139 - 'Crimes in Jade' #140 - 'The Riddler' #141 - 'The Gallery Of Public Heroes' #142 - 'Crime's Puzzle Contest' #143 - 'The Pied Piper Of Peril' #144 - 'Kay Kyser's Mystery Broadcast' #145 - 'Robin, the Boy Failure!' #146 - 'Three's a Crime' #147 - 'Tiger Shark!' #148 - 'The Experiment of Professor Zero' #149 - 'The Sound Effect Crimes' #150 - 'The Ghost of Gotham City!' #151 - 'I.O.U. My Life!' #152 - 'The Goblin of Gotham City' #153 - 'The Flying Batman' #154 - 'Underground Railroad of Crime' #156 - 'The Batmobile of 1950' #157 - 'The Race of the Century' #158 - 'The Sinister Dr. Doom' #159 - 'The Underworld Learns Batman's Secret Identity' #160 - 'The Globe-Trotter of Crime' #161 - 'The Men Who Died on Time!' #162 - 'The Law of the Iron Road' #163 - 'Beware of Batman! He's a Walking Bomb!' #164 - 'Untold Tales of the Bat-Signal!' #165 - 'The Strange Costumes of Batman!' #166 - 'The Man With a Million Faces!' #167 - 'Bodyguards for Cleopatra!' #168 - 'The Man Behind the Red Hood' #169 - 'Boss of the Big House' #170 - 'The Flying Dutchman II' #171 - 'The Menace of the Giant Birds' #172 - 'The Outlaw Who Had Nine Lives' #173 - 'The Batman's Double' #174 - 'The Park Avenue Kid' #175 - 'The Underworld Bank' #176 - 'The Underworld Crime Committee' #177 - 'The Robberies in the Bat-Cave' #178 - 'The Defeat of Batman' #179 - 'Bruce Wayne, Mayor of Gotham City!' #180 - 'The Joker's Millions' #181 - 'The Crimes of the Human Magnet' #182 - 'The Human Puppets' #183 - 'Famous Names Crimes!' #184 - 'The Human Firefly' #185 - 'The Secret of Batman's Utility Belt' #186 - 'The Flying Bat-Cave!' #187 - 'The Double Crimes of Two-Face' #188 - 'Doom in the Bat-Cave!' #189 - 'The Undersea Hideout' #190 - 'How to Be the Batman' #191 - 'The Man With a License to Kill' #192 - 'The Phantom Eye of Gotham City' #193 - 'The Joker's Journal' #194 - 'The Stolen Bank' #195 - 'The Original Batman' #196 - 'The City Without Guns!' #197 - 'The League Against Batman' #198 - 'The Lord of Batmanor' #200 - 'Radio Station C-R-I-M-E!' #201 - 'The Human Target' #202 - 'Millionaire Island' Flashpoint: Frankenstein & The Creatures of the Unknown (2011)
#1 - 'Part 1: Weird War Tales!' #2 - 'Our Army at Gore!' #3 - 'Our Frightening Forces' Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring Green Lantern (2012)
TPB - 'Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring Green Lantern' Golden Age Secret Files (2001)
#1 - 'Golden Age Secret Files & Origins' History of the DC Universe (1986)
Infinity, Inc. (1984)
#6 - 'Generations Part 6: Divide -- And Be Conquered!' #39 - 'The Saga of Solomon Grundy' JLA: The Nail (1998)
JLA: Year One (1998)
JSA: Classified (2005)
#8 - 'The Spear and the Dragon, Part 1' Justice League of America (1960)
#144 - 'The Origin Of The Justice League - - Minus One!' #193 - 'Secret of Genesis' #207 - 'Book One: Crisis Times Three!' #208 - 'Book Three: The Bomb-Blast Heard 'Round the World!' #209 - 'Let Old Acquaintances Be Forgot...' Justice League Unlimited (2004)
Justice Society of America: A Celebration of 75 Years (2015)
Secret Origins (1986)
#7 - 'Starring Green Lantern & The Sandman' #7 (No UPC) - 'Starring Green Lantern & The Sandman' Star Spangled Comics (1941)
Starman (1994)
#77 - '1951, Part One: --Who?' Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. (1999)
#8 - 'Crisis in Blue Valley' #11 - 'Knight Time' Superman (1939)
Superman: Mon-El (2010)
The Golden Age (1993)
#1 - 'The World Was at Peace.' #2 - 'We Had the Bomb.' #3 - 'We Had Prosperity.' #4 - 'We Had it All' The Outsiders (1985)
#6 - '...Nothing Can Stop - - The Duke Of Oil!' Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe (1985)
Who's Who: Update '87 (1987)
#1 - 'All-Star Squadron to Catalyst' Young All-Stars (1987)
Annual 01 - 'The Mechanique Paradox' #1 - 'The Coming of the Young All-Stars' #3 - 'A Call To Arms' #6 - 'The War Within!' #7 - 'Somewhere In This Favored Land...' #12 - 'M" Is For "Monster"!' #13 - 'Deadlier Than the Male...?' #14 - 'Hell Hath No Fury...!' #20 - 'Secrets' #25 - 'Armageddon '42' #27 - 'Meanwhile...' #30 - 'When Titans Make War...' #31 - 'Men...and Super-Men' Group Affiliation(s): None. Famous Quotes: - Add a Famous Quote None.
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