Amazo

Amazo is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #30 (June 1960) and was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has appeared in comic books and other DC Comics-related products, including animated television series, trading cards and video games.

Publication history

Amazo first appeared in a one-off story in The Brave and the Bold #30 (June 1960) and returned as a regular opponent of the Justice League of America in Justice League of America #27 (May 1964) and #112 (Aug. 1974). Other significant issues included an encounter with a depowered Superman in Action Comics #480-483 (Feb. – May 1978), and in Justice League of America #191 (June 1981) and #241-243 (Aug. – Oct. 1985).

A different Amazo model featured in Justice League Quarterly #12 (Fall 1993) and battled the hero Aztek in Aztek: The Ultimate Man #10 (May 1997) before being destroyed in Resurrection Man #2 (June 1997). An advanced version debuted in a one-off story in JLA #27 (March 1999), while another appeared in the limited series Hourman, specifically issues #1, #5-7, #17, and #19-21 (April 1999 – Dec. 2000).

Amazo's origin is revealed in Secret Origins of Super-Villains 80-Page Giant #1 (Dec. 1999). Another version is discovered to be part of a weapons shipment in Batman #636-637 (March – April 2005) and during the Villains United storyline in Firestorm vol. 2, #14-16 (Aug. – Oct. 2005), Villains United #5-6 (Nov. – Dec. 2005), and the Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special (June 2006).

Amazo's consciousness returned in Justice League of America #1-5 (Oct. 2006 – March 2007), planted in the body of fellow android the Red Tornado. Ivo also created Amazo's "offspring" in JLA Classified #37-41 (June – Oct. 2007). A story continuing the first Red Tornado storyline featured in Justice League of America vol. 2, #21-23 (July – Sept. 2008).

Writer Mike Conroy noted, "Amazo was a persistent thorn in the JLA's side... although his programming and own sentience have displayed no ambition towards world conquest... His very existence is a hazard to all of humanity."^[1]

Fictional character biography

The android Amazo was created by scientist Professor Ivo, who became obsessed with immortality. The original Justice League of America (Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Martian Manhunter) discover their powers have been drained and appear to be used in the theft of certain long-lived creatures. Attempting to guard the remainder of the creatures and discover the perpetrator, the League is defeated by Amazo. Ivo reveals he has created a means of extending his life span courtesy of the data obtained from studying the creatures, and almost succeeds in removing the League's memories of their having ever been heroes before being stopped by Green Lantern. The League defeat the android, and store it in their trophy room. ^[2]

The android is re-activated twice to assist the League in regaining lost abilities^[3][4] and later by accident when red sun radiation reaches Earth, although after an extensive battle involving time-travel Superman defeats the android, preventing his attempted murder of Ivo and the League.^[5] Villain the Key re-activates the android in a failed bid to restore his own shrunken stature, although, after the League defeat the android, member Zatanna restores the Key to his former state.^[6]

Ivo reactivates Amazo for use against a weaker version of the League, with the android defeating all the new members until finally stopped by the Martian Manhunter and Aquaman.^[7] A different Amazo model is activated and battles the superhero team the Conglomerate,^[8] and while searching for Ivo encounters the hero Aztek, who reasons with the android.^[9] This version briefly battles the Resurrection Man before finally being destroyed.^[10]

One version of Amazo is pulled from the timestream by a curious Hourman, who wishes to meet his "ancestor". Amazo responds by attacking Hourman and copying the "Worlogog", an artifact embedded in the android. Amazo then becomes "Timazo" and wreaks havoc with his new-found ability to manipulate time, until hurled back into the timestream as his former self by Hourman.^[11] A current version of Amazo has several more encounters with Hourman.^[12]

Another version, with the ability to absorb the abilities of the League on a conceptual level, overpowers over two dozen heroes, until Atom advises Superman to announce the team is disbanded. The premise that the League no longer exists deprives the android of purpose and it shuts down.^[13] Batman and Nightwing discover a partial Amazo (lacking several abilities) in a weapons shipment, and manage to destroy the android by neutralizing its individual abilities before finally destroying it.^[14]

Another Amazo participates in a massive attack by a group of villains on the city of Metropolis, but is deactivated when sometime hero Black Adam decapitates the android.^[15]

Ivo combines parts of the current Amazo with human ova and DNA to create the android's "son". Awakened prematurely by an earthquake, the junior version of Amazo believes itself to be a philosophy student called Frank Halloran and dates a girl called Sara. Amazo reveals the truth to his progeny, who attempts to resist his programming by becoming a hero called "Kid Amazo". Slowly becoming insane, Kid Amazo confronts Ivo and discovers Sara is Ivo's daughter and was placed to monitor the android. Batman deduces Kid Amazo has both the powers and the personalities of the JLA, and, during a battle with the League, creates dissension in the team that the android mimics, causing an internal logic error that destroys it.^[16]

Ivo secretly downloads Amazo's programming into the body of the Red Tornado, the creation of sometime ally Professor T.O. Morrow. Several members of the JLA battle an army of Red Tornado androids, until discovering that Red Tornado's body is intended for the mind of Solomon Grundy. Although the process is prevented, the Amazo programming asserts itself and attacks the superhero team, with member Vixen eventually destroying it.^[17]

A new body is created for the Red Tornado, although the Amazo programming from the first body downloads into the shell. The android battles the JLA until teleported into the gravity well of the red star Antares.^[18]

The New 52

The first storyline takes place five years in the past and details the retconned origin of the original Justice League in The New 52, a reboot of the DC Comics universe. In an origin story it is revealed that hero Victor Stone was uploaded with Ivo's "A-maze" operating system among other features.^[19] The League later battle the android.^[20]

During the Forever Evil storyline, Amazo appears as a member of the Crime Syndicate of America's Secret Society of Super Villains.^[21]

During the Amazo Virus storyline, A nanotech virus infected humans with Amazo's DNA. In the end, the virus took complete control of a host turning him into the new Amazo.

Powers and abilities

The character in its various incarnations as an advanced android is capable of duplicating the powers of metahumans, including members of the Justice League (such as the strength of Superman or the speed of the Flash). The androids apparently retain the abilities of the original Justice League of America (Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and the Martian Manhunter) and were later written as being capable of simulating other characters' weapons, such as the power ring of Green Lantern and the Nth metal mace of Hawkgirl.

Other versions

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #14-15 featured the parallel Earth of "Earth-C-Minus", a world populated by funny animal superheroes that paralleled the mainstream DC Universe. On Earth-C-Minus a counterpart of the character Amazo existed called "Amazoo": a robotic composite of a dozen different animal body parts and abilities.

In other media

Television

The character has appeared in several animated television series:

• Justice League (2001–2004) in Season 2 episodes "Tabula Rasa, Part 1 and 2" voiced by Robert Picardo.
• Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006) in Season 1 episodes "The Return" and "Wake the Dead", voiced once again by Robert Picardo.
• Young Justice (2010–2013) Season 1 episode "Schooled" voiced by Peter MacNicol.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008–2011) in Season 3 episode "Triumvirate of Terror" voiced by Roger Rose.
• Arrow (TV series) (2013-) Dr. Ivo inhabited a ship called the Amazo where he tested experiments and tortured his captives.

Film

• Amazo appears in the 2010 Warner Bros. direct-to-DVD animation Batman: Under the Red Hood voiced by Fred Tatasciore (uncredited).

Video games

• The character appears in the video game Justice League: Chronicles (2003).

See also

• Kid Amazo

References