A mostly-silent member of the Agents of Atlas, The Human Robot is a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, then clad in nigh-unbreakable alloy. But how did he come to be? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Menace #11 awaits!

MENACE #11

Writer: Uncredited
Penciler: John Romita
Inker: John Romita
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Joe Letterese
Editor: Stan Lee
Publisher: Atlas Comics (Marvel Comics)
Cover Price: 10 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $600.00
Release Date: January 28, 1954

Previously in Menace: If I had a nickel for every time the fair-to-middling Marvel horror title Menace, which ran for less than a year in the early 1950s, ended up spawning a character who was later revived as an unlikely part of the Marvel Universe, I’d have two nickels, one for this issue and another for the debut of Zombie Simon Garth. That’s not a lot of nickels, but it is weird that it happened twice, right?

Our story begins with Doctor Cyrus Virro (who didn’t actually get a name for FIFTY-FOUR YEARS) and his business manager working with his latest creation: A remote-controlled semi-humanoid robot!

The use of second-person narration is another thing that our robotic protagonist has in common with The Zombie, making me wonder if the unknown writer of this tale might be Stan Lee, who wrote that previous story. No records seem to exist to confirm that guess, though. As for The Robot, his electronic progress is impressive, but not quite perfect.

Once given a command on his secret frequency, the robot will comply. What it won’t do is record the task as completed, instead lifting a second chair, and a third, theoretically continuing on in its loop forever, or at least as long as its batteries allow. Cyrus sets off to design a regulator that will allow the Human Robot to stop once its task is complete, something that he knows is necessary. Unfortunately, his greedy business manager, who wants the five million dollars (the equivalent of $60.2 million in 2025) he has arranged for the sale of the automaton, isn’t as patient.

By morning, the cyberneticist returns with his finished regulator… but it’s too late. The robot receives its remote command.

The Human Robot follows his order without hesitation. But as so many Rod Serling protagonists would learn later in the decade, the man who set the whole terrible plan in motion is not immune to its denouement.

The art here is by a young John Romita, and it is certainly the reason why Roy Thomas and Donald F. Glut revived the robot (and gave him his Human Robot nom de guerre) twenty-five years later in the pages of What If? The rest of Menace #11 is much less visually pleasant, with Seymour Moskowitz, graphic novel pioneer Jack Katz, and Golden Age workhorse Bob Powell delivering their own take on EC Comics house, style, but it’s the Human Robot that makes the issue really sing, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall.

Fans of Agents of Atlas will remember that ol’ H.R. earned another name during that book’s run, M-11, a designation that comes from “Menace 11,” a little Paul Harvey’ The Rest Of The Story moment of comics history that you can bust out at parties, as long as they’re nerdy enough.

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MENACE #11

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The Origin Of The Human Robot

Though later stories imply that Cyrus Virro had more tricks up his sleeve than this issue lets on, this basic framework is still mostly canon for the most deadly of the Agents of Atlas, with art by a 22-year-old John Romita Sr.

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• Art

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• Coloring

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