QUINTRONIC MANQUINTRONIC MAN
Classification:
Unconventional weapon, super-powered suits of armor worn by human
operators
Creator: Tony Stark
User/Possessors:
Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.; Colin Thirty-Three,
others), Brand
Corporation, Reanimator,
Stark International (Burke (Head), "Deckelbaum" (Left Leg), McCord
(Right Arm), Stetson (Left
Arm), Van Dyke (Right Leg) ), unidentified
scientist
Occupation: Interstellar exploration
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None;
formerly Stark International, New York Police
Department
Enemies: Atlas, Hulk (Bruce Banner), Junta (Manuel Diego Armand Vicente), Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond), Nova (Rich Rider), Paladin, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Bruce Banner, Taylor, many others), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Superior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius) and his Arachnaught crews (Estrella Lopez and others, mechs), Wolverine (James Howlett/Logan)
Known Relatives: Inapplicable
Aliases: "Metal Man" (named by the Hulk)
Base of Operations: AIM Headquarters in the Hudson
Valley;
formerly Long Island, NY;
formerly Devil's
Mouth AIM base in the South Pacific;
formerly a Brand Corporation processing facility on
the Atlantic Ocean;
formerly New York (probably Long Island), NY, USA
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk II#213 (July, 1977)
Powers/Abilities: The Quintronic Man is a giant robot (9m. circa), with 5 pilots, one in the head, and one for each arm and leg. It has super-human strength (class 10-25?), high durability, protective shields, tele-scanner, gyroscopes, retro-jets for short flights, thrusting blasts, and soporific (anesthetic) gas.
History: (Incredible Hulk II#213 (fb) - BTS) - The Quintronic Man was created by Stark International for interstellar exploration at a cost of millions of dollars. One day, the police department asked Stark International for help against the Hulk.
(Incredible Hulk II#213) - The Quintronic Man was
transported to Manhattan to test it against the Hulk, who was trying to
avoid some "puny humans with guns". Initially, the Quintronic Man's
strength defeated the Hulk. McCord (the left arm) repeatedly hit Hulk,
acting without any order by the "head". But Hulk wasn't dead, and he
retaliated. The thrusting blasts of the robot didn't stop the Hulk, but
the soporific gas did it.
The pilots of the Quintronic Man watched while the
policemen loaded the jade giant on an armor-plated van and escorted the
van. Jim Wilson caused the van to crash into a wall, and the collision
woke up the Hulk. His blow broke the mechanism of the protective shields
of the Quintronic Man. The Quintronic Man tried to use the anesthetic gas again,
but Hulk obstructed the exit hole of the gas, which permeated the
pilot cabins, putting the pilots to sleep. The Quintronic Man, without
any operators, fell into an already damaged building and was buried by
the structure.
(Incredible Hulk II#214) - The Quintronic Man was under the debris, and the Jack of Hearts helped the policemen to free its pilots.
(Nova III#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Quintronic Man was rebuilt and repaired, possibly by the Reanimator, who obtained it under uncertain circumstances.
(Nova III#3) - The Reanimator sent the Quintronic Man, operated by a quintet of Nick Fury Life Model Decoys (LMDs), against Nova. After a short struggle, the Quintronic Man stomped Nova into the ground, but the hero overloaded and incapacitated the robot by flying up through its leg and exploding out of it.
(Wolverine II#149) - The Reanimator brought the Quintronic Man back to his base to begin repairs, but his operation was discovered by Wolverine, who was soon followed by Nova. Wolverine toppled the Quintronic Man in battle, damaging it once again.
(The Last Defenders#3-4) - The Quintronic
Man was obtained by the Brand Corporation and peopled by their staff
to protect their processing facility on the Atlantic Ocean. When the
Defenders invaded the operation, the Quintronic Man went into battle
against Atlas, Junta, Paladin and Nighthawk; it was ultimately smashed
apart by Atlas.
(Indestructible Hulk#3) - A.I.M. Advanced Idea Mechanics rebuilt the
Quintronic Man under Colin Thirty-Three's management.
Thirty-three needed Professor Burke, the former
Quintronic Man "Head," because he was the only original pilot alive
ever fully trained to pilot the exoskeleton with full mastery.
Eventually, Thirty-Three had to head-pilot the
Quintronic Man by himself, helped by the Electrochemical-based
technology that also connected the dead corpses of the other four
original pilots. Thirty-Three was confident that the Quintronic Man's
might would overpower even the Hulk. In the AIM base of Devil's Mouth
in the South Pacific, Thirty-Three drove the Quintronic Man to drown
the Hulk into the lava of the volcano. The robot could withstand the
heat and the pressure; however, the Hulk proved to be able to survive these extremes, as well. Hulk destroyed the
Quintronic Man and the new Head.
(Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man#2 (fb) - BTS) - The
Quintronic Man was rebuilt, possibly by a scientist and his
colleagues. But the group employed the robot when it was still not
ready because there was a flaw involving the overheating of the core.
Ulysses,
an Inhuman with foreseeing powers had a vision involving the
Quintronic Man and a gigantic explosion destroying half of Long
Island. The Inhuman warned Spider-Man about the danger, and the hero
intercepted the robot where Ulysses had predicted.
(Civil War II: Amazing
Spider-Man#2) - The
quintet tried to kill Spider-Man, using tracing bullets and gas, to no
avail. It was in that moment that Peter Parker's scientific knowledge
helped him. Spider-Man suggested to "Head" to check the temperature of
the core, as the Quintronic Man was going to explode. "Head"
set up he automatic pilot in order to drive the flawed robot into
the Hudson. Spider-Man managed to extract the pilots from their
shells, just in time. The Quintronic Man sunk, and the core cooled
down.
(Civil War II: Amazing
Spider-Man#2 (fb) - BTS) - The
five pilot-scientists were arrested.
(The Superior Spider-Man Returns#1) - The Quintronic Man
was used again by A.I.M. as a defensive resource of their Headquarters in
the Hudson Valley. When Superior Spider-Man (Octavius) and his Arachnaught
crews assaulted the base, the Quintronic Man fought against the giant
mechs and even Spider-Man. It still was piloted by five crewmen. Estrella
Lopez was among the Arachnaughts and was quite frightened of the Quintronic
Man and from the battle.
(The Superior Spider-Man Returns#1 (fb) - BTS) - The AIM forces lost the
battle, and the Quintronic Man was severely damaged. After pillaging what
Octavius needed, the Arachnaught crew alerted the local police forces, but
they left the giant robot on the field.
(Superior Spider-Man II#3) - Months later, Estrella Lopez, transformed in
Supernova, hid in the abandoned AIM Hudson Valley Headquarters. The
Quintronic Man carcass still lied before the main building.
(Superior Spider-Man II#6 - BTS) - The AIM base and its surroundings were
destroyed by the explosion of Spider-Man's overheated Quatritium
gauntlets. The Quintronic Man's debris were presumably melted and scattered
away.
Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo, John Buscema and Tom Palmer.
Clarifications:
The Quintronic Man has no known connections to:
The pilots
Each pilot controlled a limb, with the related weapons and tools. Head had coordinating and checking tasks. They could communicate with each other via radio (internal comm?).
Probably the operations of the robot was very complex, because it needed 5 pilots, and it didn't have a security system that could bar out one of the pilots and give the control to another one.
The efficiency of the giant robot
depended on the training of its pilots, their unique reflexes and
their honed skills. This connection was so important that AIM tried to
use it even after four of the five original members were died.
(Incredible Hulk#213 (fb) - [BTS]) - The original Head was Professor Burke. He was likely the leader of the group. Before the test on the field, Head warned Tony Stark that McCord was a risk for the group.
(Incredible Hulk#213) - Head gave orders, coordinated the units, and made the system checks. Initially he seemed very self confident, but after some minutes against the Hulk his authority wasn't so strong.
Head soon found a weak spot in the robot: if the crew didn't act accordingly, the whole robot acted badly.
(Incredible
Hulk#214) - Two cops were extracting Burke, unconscious, from the
Quintronic Man.
(Indestructible Hulk#3) - Years later, Burke was
the only surviving member of the original quintet of pilots. AIM
rebuilt the Quintronic Man under Colin Thirty-Three's orders.
Thirty-three wanted Burke to use his neural pattern to drive the giant
robot because Burke was the only one alive ever fully trained to pilot
it with full mastery.
Burke had changed his name in Mr. Smith to go undercover but AIM managed to find him. SHIELD agents intervened just in time to distract the AIM operatives. Burke was hidden and substituted by Bruce Banner, who was seized and transported to the AIM base of Devil's Mouth in the South Pacific. There, Banner became Hulk, and the Quintronic Man was piloted by Colin Thirty-Three, who became the new "Head". Hulk destroyed the Quintronic Man and the new Head.
Burke was taken under SHIELD's protection.
--Incredible Hulk#213 (Incredible Hulk#213, Incredible Hulk#214, Indestructible Hulk#3
Note: Burke's name was revealed in Indestructible Hulk#3
(Incredible Hulk#213 (fb) - [BTS]) - The Right Arm pilot was McCord. McCord wasn't considered the right man for that work by Head, but Quintronic Man was called into action before Tony Stark could substitute him.
(Incredible Hulk#213) - McCord was probably driven by his dominance behavior. He hit Hulk again and again with the clear wish to kill him and without any authorization by Head. He didn't stop at Head's orders and clearly declared himself happy that he couldn't be stopped.
(Indestructible Hulk#3) - Years later, McCord was dead
but his corpse was used by AIM, embedding it into the Quintronic Man.
AIM Electrochemical Technology allowed the Quintronic Man to
psionically access to its first pilots skills, reflexes. and muscle
memories.
--Incredible Hulk#213 (Incredible Hulk#213, Incredible Hulk#214-BTS, Indestructible Hulk#3
The Left Arm pilot was Stetson. He was nicknamed "Cowboy" by Left Leg, because of his attitude.
(Incredible Hulk#213) - Left Arm was swift to slap the Hulk at his second attack and suddenly understood that it was a hard job. He also fired the thrusting blasts which didn't stop the Hulk.
(Indestructible Hulk#3) - Years later, Stetson was dead but his corpse was used by AIM, embedding it into the Quintronic Man. AIM Electrochemical Technology allowed the Quintronic Man to psionically access to its first pilots skills, reflexes. and muscle memories.
--Incredible Hulk#213 (Incredible Hulk#213, Incredible Hulk#214-BTS, Indestructible Hulk#3
(Incredible Hulk#213) - The Right Leg pilot was Van Dyke. He was the first one to drive back the Hulk when he attacked the "Iron Man." Head called him "Right Leg" but he didn't like it and wanted to be called by his real name. He also used the retro-jets to fire at the Hulk and melt the asphalt around him.
(Indestructible Hulk#3) - Years later, Van Dyke was dead but his corpse was used by AIM, embedding it into the Quintronic Man. AIM Electrochemical Technology allowed the Quintronic Man to psionically access to its first pilots skills, reflexes. and muscle memories.
--Incredible Hulk#213 (Incredible Hulk#213, Incredible Hulk#214-BTS, Indestructible Hulk#3
(Incredible Hulk#213) - The pilot of the Left Leg was "Deckelbaum." He tried to extinguish Stetson's enthusiasm, telling him that they were doing a serious job. He also fired at the Hulk with the retro-jets, driving him back in the melted ground.
(Indestructible Hulk#3) - Years later, Deckelbaum was dead but his corpse was used by AIM, embedding it into the Quintronic Man. AIM Electrochemical Technology allowed the Quintronic Man to psionically access to its first pilots skills, reflexes. and muscle memories.
--Incredible Hulk#213 (Incredible Hulk#213, Incredible Hulk#214-BTS, Indestructible Hulk#3
Note:
"Deckelbaum" was a name I (Snood) added in quotations to this profile
as a filler pending any real naming. The pilot of the left leg from
Incredible Hulk II#213 is the only one as yet unidentified in the
comics.
Images:
Incredible Hulk#214, page 3, panel 3
(Quintronic Man)
Incredible
Hulk#214, page 10, panel 8 (Head/Burke)
Indestructible Hulk#3, page 6, panel 5
(Head/Thirty-Three meets Bruce Banner)
Incredible Hulk#214, page 10, panel
7 (McCord)
Incredible Hulk#214, page 6, panel 2 (Stetson)
Incredible Hulk#214, page 3, panel 3 (Van Dyke)
Incredible Hulk#214, page 3, panel 3 (Left Leg)
Civil War II:
Amazing Spider-Man#2, page 2, panel 2 (the Quintronic Man
attacking Spider-Man)
Appearances:
Incredible Hulk#213-214 (July-August, 1977) - Len Wein
(writer/editor), Sal Buscema (pencils), Tom Palmer (#213) & Ernie
Chan (#214) (inks)
Nova III#3 (July, 1999) - Erik Larsen (writer), Joe Bennett (pencils),
Armando Durruthy (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Wolverine II#149 (April, 2000) - Erik Larsen (writer), Graham Nolan
(pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Mark Powers (editor)
The Last Defenders#3-4 (July-August, 2008) - Joe Casey
(writer), Jim Muniz (penciler), Cam Smith (inker), Steve Wacker
(editor)
Indestructible Hulk#3 (March, 2013) - Mark Waid (writer), Leinil
Francis Yu (penciler), Gerry Alanguilan (inker), Sunny Gho
(colorist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Civil War II: Amazing
Spider-Man#2 (September, 2016) - Christos Gage (writer), Travel
Foreman (pencils and inks), Rain Beredo (colors), Nick
Lowe & Devin Lewis (editors)
The Superior Spider-Man Returns#1 (December, 2023) - Dan Slott (writer)
& Christos Gage (script), Mark Bagley & Ryan Stegman &
Humberto Ramos & Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencilers), John Dell & JP
Mayer & Victor Olazaba (inkers), Edgar Delgado (colors), Ellie Pyle
(editor)
Superior Spider-Man II#3 (March, 2024) - Dan Slott (writer), Mark Bagley
(penciler), John Dell (inker), Edgar Delgado (colors), Ellie Pyle &
MR Daniel (editors)
First Posted: 04/04/2005
Last updated: 11/20/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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