Machine Man

Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (July 1977), a comic written and drawn by Kirby featuring concepts based on the eponymous 1968 Stanley Kubrick feature film and Arthur C. Clarke's 1968 novel. Shortly thereafter, Machine Man spun off into his own Kirby-created series. He is a robot, the only survivor of a series, raised as a human son of scientist Abel Stack, who was killed removing his auto-destruct mechanism, and further evolved to sentience by a Monolith.

Machine Man originally appeared in the pages of 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (July 1977), which was written and drawn by Jack Kirby, where he was called Mister Machine. He went on to appear in his own self-titled series in 1978.

This title featured Machine Man entering the mainstream Marvel Universe. Jack Kirby wrote and drew the first nine issues, which dealt with the title character's status as a fugitive from the military after the death of his creator, and his first interactions with mankind. The book was canceled at the end of 1978 with X-51 finally standing up to the military. Machine Man appeared next in a three issue story arc within the pages of The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #235–237, battling the Hulk within the suburban setting of his human friend Peter Spaulding. By the end of the storyline, he incurred a complete system shutdown, leading to the events portrayed in his relaunched monthly series. The title was relaunched in issue #10 after a nine-month hiatus. Status quo in the book changed with Machine Man now living amongst humanity, and dealing with his own new-found emotions. Marv Wolfman came aboard as the new writer, partnered with artist Steve Ditko, which helped set a different tone from Kirby's previous stories. Issue #15 saw a new writer, Tom DeFalco, taking over the writing chores. The title lasted until issue #19, ending in Feb. 1980.

In Oct. 1984–Jan. 1985, the Machine Man title was resurrected, in a four-issue miniseries written by Tom DeFalco with art by Herb Trimpe (breakdowns only, issues #1–3) and Barry Windsor-Smith (finishes only, issues #1–3 and full art for issue #4), with Windsor-Smith also coloring the entire miniseries and co-plotting issue #4 with DeFalco. This series turned out to be one of the most popular of all the Machine Man titles, tying with previous continuity, but with the action set in the distant cyberpunk future of 2020, starting with Machine Man's reassembly. The miniseries was first reprinted as a 96-page trade paperback in 1988 (ISBN 978-0-07-135458-5), with brand new cover art by Barry Windsor-Smith. The miniseries was republished again in 1994 as two double-size books, with the name Machine Man 2020. Characters from this alternate future have made appearances in other Marvel books, namely Arno Stark, the mercenary Iron Man 2020. In 2013, many of Arno Stark’s adventures were collected in the Iron Man 2020 TPB, which included all 4 issues of Machine Man volume 2.

In 1999, Marvel brought the character back in the series X-51, The Machine Man in which Machine Man experiences a programming malfunction: he would uncontrollably attack any mutant he encountered. He was given a drastically more robotic look and his powers were vastly changed. The reason for both was that he had been reconstructed by Sentinel-based nanotechnology. The series lasted twelve issues; in the final one, he was 'recovered' by a Celestial, as the Celestials—revealed to be the power behind the Monoliths—had become interested in Machine Man.

Machine Man, whose real name is Z2P45-9-X-51, is the last of a series of sentient robots created at the Broadhurst Center for the Advancement of Mechanized Research in Central City, California, by robotics expert Abel Stack for the US Army. The previous 50 experimental robots went mad as they achieved sentience and became psychotic due to a lack of identity. X-51 was the only survivor, as he was treated as a son by Stack and given a human face mask as well as being exposed to a monolith. After Stack died trying to protect him, X-51 assumed the human name Aaron Stack and escaped confinement, only to be relentlessly pursued by the army. While on the run, the newly christened Machine Man initiated contact with humanity in order to better understand it.

Machine Man helped the X-Men again against Bastion and his Sentinels. As a consequence, he was infected by Sentinel programming, assuming a more robotic look and losing self-control whenever he was faced with a mutant. During this series, he was on the run from Sebastian Shaw, who wants his technology for himself. Because of his new programming, while seeking aid from the Avengers, he attacks Justice and Firestar. Because of his actions against Justice and Firestar, X-51's membership in the Avengers is revoked. At the end of X-51, X-51 encountered one of the monoliths and disappeared, brought into the presence of the monolith's creators, the cosmic beings known as the Celestials.

Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen's Nextwave series sees Machine Man join a team formed by the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, or H.A.T.E. (a subsidiary of the Beyond Corporation) to fight Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction.^{[volume & issue needed]} Now preferring simply to be called Aaron, Machine Man is partnered with Monica Rambeau, Tabitha Smith, Elsa Bloodstone, and The Captain, and the team soon discovers that H.A.T.E. are funded by the Beyond Corporation©, leading them to go rogue and carry out their mission on their own prerogative.^{[volume & issue needed]} It is revealed that, after being brought to space by the Celestials at the conclusion of his previous series, he was dumped back on Earth because the space-gods considered him to be a "complete and utter ☠☠☠☠".