THE MAD THINKER'S INTELLECTUAL ROBOTS
Membership: Samuel Clemens, Confucius, Leonardo da Vinci, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Abraham Lincoln, Nicola Machiavelli, Friedrich Nietzche, Plato, William Shakespeare, Socrates, Virginia Woolf
Purpose: To provide intellectual stimulation for the Mad Thinker
Affiliations: Alpha, Mad Thinker, Terrax robot, Vision
Enemies: Captain America, Marauder, New Warriors (Debrii, Microbe, Namorita, Night Thrasher, Nova, Speedball), Bob Rubens, Team America
Base of Operations: Nüponder, Minnesota First Appearance: Captain America I#269 (May, 1982)
Powers/Abilities: Each of the robots was programmed with all the available knowledge of the human thinker it had been based upon. They were also capable of combat, but were not especially skilled.
History: (Captain America I#269 (fb, BTS)) - Anxious to provide himself with friends and intellectual stimulation, the Mad Thinker constructed robots based upon his favorite thinkers. He used them to populate his own town, "Ponder," but found them somewhat lacking as they could only replicate what knowledge he granted them, and could not grow as individuals. Wanting to grant them independent thought, he captured a number of Nobel Prize winners so that he could transfer their minds into robot bodies.
(Captain America I#269) - The Mad Thinker had one of his android servants bring Captain America to Ponder so that he could transfer him into a robot body as well, but the motorcyclists of Team America were accidentally brought along. The Mad Thinker had his android defeat Team America and imprison them while he prepared to transfer Captain America's consciousness, but Team America were set free by the mysterious Marauder, who attacked the robots. Soon, Captain America was joined by Team America, and all of the Mad Thinker's robots were destroyed. Ponder was cleaned up by S.H.I.E.L.D., who took the Mad Thinker into custody.
(Marvel Team-Up I#129 (fb)) - The robot of Samuel Clemens survived Captain America and Team America's attack, and managed to repair its brethren with the abandoned laboratory of the Mad Thinker. The robots then determined that they wished to intermingle with humanity, and summoned the Vision to them.
(Marvel Team-Up I#129) - After the Vision was initially attacked by their defender Alpha, the robots explained their origins to him, and asked him to help teach them how to co-exist with humanity; the Vision accepted. Meanwhile, the robot of Fyodor Dostoyevsky had been arrested for murder in Rain, New Hampshire, only to break out of prison and return to its fellow robots. The Clemens robot repaired damages done to the Dostoyevsky robot, but they were soon beset by a mob from Rain, as well as Spider-Man. Alpha defended them from Spider-Man, while the true murderer turned out to be local policeman Bob Rubens. The robots were impressed by Spider-Man's courage against Alpha, despite his eventual defeat, but discouraged by the actions of Rubens. They ultimately withdrew their request to the Vision and chose to live in seclusion, needing time to ponder whether they belonged with humans.
(New Warriors III#5 (fb)) - The Intellectual Robots were driven out by the Mad Thinker. The robots of Einstein, Freud, Woolf and da Vinci eventually moved to Nüponder, Minnesota, where they established the Nücar Motor Company and began to study humans. Deciding to enslave humanity, they looked for a way to bring super-heroes to Nüponder. They determined that threatening cats would bring the New Warriors, and so created a robot of Terrax to go out and capture local cats.
(New Warriors III#4) - The New Warriors responded as expected and fought the Terrax robot, but saw through the charade, and tracked it to the Nücar Motor Company, where the Intellectual Robots revealed themselves.
(New Warriors III#5) - The Intellectual Robots explained their plot to the New Warriors, and infuriated the young heroes when they declared that their next targets would be a "real" team-- the Great Lakes Avengers. The New Warriors managed to destroy da Vinci, Einstein and Freud, and Woolf destroyed herself with her comrades' destruction. The New Warriors believed that the robots had all been defeated, but were unaware that more robots were still active in Nüponder.
Comments: Created by J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck and John Beatty.
The identity of the Marauder in Captain America I#269 is unknown; it appears to be set prior to Georgianna Castleberry joining the team, and she was most often the one to be granted the Marauder identity.
by
formerly, Ponder, New Hampshire
CLARIFICATIONS: Alpha was the robot protector of the Intellectual robots, built by the Samuel Clemens robot after they had been separated from the Mad Thinker. Alpha was programmed to obey its fellow robots, and had a powerful mace-like right fist for smashing. It held its own in combat against the Vision, and defeated Spider-Man in battle.
--Marvel Team-Up I#129 The Mad Thinker's Samuel Clemens robot was based upon the American novelist (1835-1910) also known as Mark Twain, and best known for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Although damaged by Captain America and Team America, the Clemens robot survived the destruction of its brethren and was later able to rebuild them. Although it at first welcomed the Vision to help teach them how to exist alongside humans, it ultimately decided they would be better off alone.
--Captain America I#269 (Marvel Team-Up I#129 The Mad Thinker's Confucius robot (top image, right) was based upon the Chinese philosopher (551-479 B.C.) whose writings on life and spirituality are still revered to this day. The Confucius robot was damaged by Captain America and Team America, but later rebuilt by the Samuel Clemens robot.
--Captain America I#269 (Marvel Team-Up I#129
The Mad Thinker's Leonardo da Vinci robot was based upon the Italian inventor and artist (1452-1519). He joined with Einstein, Freud and Woolf in founding Nüponder. He fought Night Thrasher of the New Warriors, competing against him as a fellow inventor, but at a critical moment he drew out a paintbrush instead of a weapon, and Debrii smashed him into pieces.
--New Warriors III#4 [Captain America I#269, Marvel Team-Up I#129], New Warriors III#5 (fb), 4, 5 The Mad Thinker's Fyodor Dostoyevsky robot was based upon the Russian novelist (1821-1881), best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot. It wandered off after the defeat of its master and was mistaken for a local murderer by the townsfolk of Rain, New Hampshire after being found at the scene of a murder with a bloody knife in its hand. It eventually made its way back to the other robots, and joined them in their seclusion.
--[Captain America I#269] (Marvel Team-Up I#129 The Mad Thinker's Albert Einstein robot was based upon the German physicist (1879-1955), most famed for the theory of relativity. The Albert Einstein robot was damaged by Captain America and Team America, but was later rebuilt by the Samuel Clemens robot. Einstein helped found the Nüponder town with da Vinci, Freud and Woolf, and fought Speedball of the New Warriors, creating a device which would block his body's ability to perceive time, rendering him powerless, but he was smashed to pieces by Debrii.
--Captain America I#269 (Marvel Team-Up I#129, New Warriors III#5 (fb), 4, 5
Professor Reinstein, the man who granted Captain America his powers back in Captain America Comics#1 was named after Einstein (but is now called Abraham Erskine for the sake of believeability). The Mad Thinker's Sigmund Freud robot was based upon the Austrian psychologist (1856-1939), responsible for psychoanalysis. He joined with da Vinci, Einstein and Woolf in founding Nüponder, and fought Nova of the New Warriors, attempting to overcome Nova with his feelings of inadequecy, but Speedball saved Nova and Debrii smashed the robot.
--New Warriors III#4 [Captain America I#269, Marvel Team-Up I#129], New Warriors III#5 (fb), 4, 5 The Mad Thinker's Abraham Lincoln robot (top image, left) was based upon the American president (1809-1865) who led the country during the Civil War. The Abraham Lincoln robot was damaged by Wolf of Team America, but was later rebuilt by the Samuel Clemens robot.
--Captain America I#269 (Marvel Team-Up I#129
The real Abraham Lincoln appearances include Battlefront#30 and Marvel Comics Presents#161.
The Mad Thinker's Nicola Machiavelli robot (top image, far right) was based upon the Italian political philosopher (1469-1527), most famous for his book The Prince, which exmained the corruption of government. The Machiavelli robot was damaged by Captain America, but was later rebuilt by the Samuel Clemens robot.
--Captain America I#269 (Marvel Team-Up I#129
The Mad Thinker's Friedrich Nietzsche robot (top image, center right) was based upon the German philosopher (1844-1900) most famous for his text Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The Nietzsche robot was damaged by Captain America, but was later rebuilt by the Samuel Clemens robot.
--Captain America I#269 (Marvel Team-Up I#129
Nietzsche's name is misspelt "Nietzche" in Captain America I#269.
The Mad Thinker's Plato robot (top image left, back) was based upon the Greek philospher (427-347 B.C.) who was a student of Socrates, most famous for his book Republic. The Plato robot was damaged by R.U. Reddy of Team America, but was later rebuilt by the Samuel Clemens robot.
--Captain America I#269 (Marvel Team-Up I#129
The Mad Thinker's William Shakespeare robot (top image, far left) was based upon the English playwright (1564-1616), most famous for plays such as Macbeth, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet. The William Shakespeare robot was damaged by Captain America, but was later rebuilt by the Samuel Clemens robot, although it still lacked its face.
--Captain America I#269 (Marvel Team-Up I#129
The Mad Thinker's Socrates robot (top image, center left) was based upon the Greek philosopher (469-399 B.C.), known of only through the writings of Plato, his pupil, and famous for knowing that he knew nothing. The Socrates robot was damaged by Captain America, but was later rebuilt by the Samuel Clemens robot.
--Captain America I#269 (Marvel Team-Up I#129
The Mad Thinker's Virginia Woolf robot was based upon the English feminist writer (1882-1941). She joined the robots of Einstein, da Vinci and Freud in founding Nüponder, and fought Namorita of the New Warriors, but when she sensed that her allies had been bested by the other New Warriors, she walked into molten metal, melting herself to scrap (committing suicide in emulation of the actual Woolf).
--New Warriors III#4 [Captain America I#269, Marvel Team-Up I#129], New Warriors III#5 (fb) 4, 5 Images taken from: Last updated: 12/17/05
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
The Mad Thinker's intellectual robots should not be confused with:
Captain America I#268, page 14, panel 1
Marvel Team-Up I#129, page 19, panel 1
Captain America I#268, page 12, panel 2
Marvel Team-Up I#129, page 6, panel 1
Captain America I#268, page 12, panel 6
Freud/da Vinci/Woolf- New Warriors III#4, page 21
Appearances:
Captain America I#268-269 (April-May, 1982) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Mike Zeck (pencils), John Beatty (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Marvel Team-Up I#129 (May, 1983) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Kerry Gammill (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Tom DeFalco (editor)
New Warriors III#4-5 (November, 2005-January, 2006) - Zeb Wells (writer), Skottie Young (artist), MacKenzie Cadenhead, Mark Paniccia (editors)
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