Or – “Is The Man Half-Machine, Or Is The Machine Half-Man?”
There have been literally thousands of heroes created since Jerry and Joe had their brainstorm in the late 30′s, from the ridiculous to the sublime, any and all of which have at least something awesome that makes them unique. Heck, even Shaft from Youngblood is SOMEBODY’S favorite character. (That somebody’s name is Robert Liefeld.) But when you think about the genesis of today’s entrant, there’s a real sense of amazement at his pedigree. Originally written by SF titan Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey was turned into a film by visionary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. When Jack Kirby returned to Marvel in the mid-70′s, he was given writer-editor priveleges on a comic book adaptation of the film, and an ongoing series involving concepts from the movie. Pretty fertile ground for a soopahero in any case, but Kirby added additional wrinkles by creating a character who was (in the Mighty Marvel fashion) left adrift in a world he never made. In the years since, he’s been all around the Marvel Universe, he’s been an Avenger, he’s fought the most powerful creatures alive, and travelled the length and breadth of the universe. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of the android entity designate X-51, whom his adoptive father named Aaron Stack… Machine Man!
