‘Invincible’: Is Robot a Good or a Bad Guy? Here’s What We Know from the Comics
There are a lot of different complex characters in ‘Invincible,’ which is unlike any other superhero comic book storyline. That’s because the characters’ personalities in this comic-turned-TV series are more human than the usual comic book characters we see. One such character is Robot, who we know is one of the most mysterious and eerie characters out of all of the superheroes remaining on Earth in ‘Invincible.’ So, is Robot a good or a bad guy?
Robot has done shady things in the TV series
The ‘Invincible’ TV series has hooked a lot of different fans due to how brutal and unforgiving this storyline is. But while that may be true, we have seen our fair share of different characters who have complex personalities and storylines. One such character is Robot, who was introduced as a literal robot with different technological abilities and a very advanced mind.
Robot was eventually named the new leader of the Guardians of the Globe and was able to help the younger members improve their abilities so that they would become good enough to counter any threat to the world. But the problem was that Robot wasn’t shy about doing a few shady things during the events of the series.
We saw Robot freeing the Mauler Twins, who were introduced early on as powerful supervillains. After that, he started working on a secret project that was related to none other than Monster Girl, who he realized was suffering from the effects of her powers. He cared a lot for Monster Girl and was even there when she was suffering from fatal injuries after the encounter with Battle Beast. While Monster Girl was out, Robot studied her physiology so that he could find a way to stop her de-aging process.
Robot did everything he could possibly do to try to save Monster Girl, as he helped the doctors extract chemicals capable of saving her from the effects of her powers. And when Samson questioned him for having feelings, Robot simply told him that he was programmed to care for everyone on his team, including Monster Girl.
The problem was that while he did try his best to save Monster Girl, he also did something mysterious and downright shady. He allowed the Mauler Twins to work on a genetic project in a secret lair. This was actually a body meant for him because the truth was that Robot was not a robot.
Instead, Robot was a deformed human who was suffering from an illness but was incredibly smart. The Robot character was just a drone that the real Robot, Rudolph Connors, decided to create. There were several more of these drones that Rudolph controlled remotely.
Robot freed the Mauler Twins because they were the only ones smart enough to create a human body that Rudolph could inhabit. This body was cloned from Rexplode, who Robot thought was attractive enough for Monster Girl. The reason why he wanted to inhabit this new body was to get closer to Monster Girl as he developed feelings for her.
So, as you can see from his actions in the first season of ‘Invincible,’ Robot was willing enough to do anything to achieve his goals, even if it meant freeing supervillains who were dangerous enough to the general public. It was not beyond him to do shady things to get what he wanted, and this included doing immoral things to get a body so that he could experience love using a real body.
Robot tries to take over the planet in the comics
Of course, we already saw what Robot was willing to do to achieve what he wanted for himself. There was no doubt, however, that he was a true hero because he was more than willing to do whatever was necessary to keep the world safe. He showed genuine care for his teammates and was a true protector of the planet. But in the comics, he takes things to another level.
Robot and Invincible went to a different dimension to defeat the powerful Angstrom Levy. But while they were able to defeat the villain, Robot left Mark in that dimension because he felt that he would be a threat to what he was planning next. It turned out that Rudolph wanted to take total control over the entire planet.
Rudolph returned to Earth and started slaughtering all the superheroes using his drones. The drones overwhelmed the planet and even destroyed all of the defenses of the world. Then again, the Viltrumites arrived to complicate things for Robot and his decision to take over the planet.
Omni-Man had become the new emperor of the Viltrumites, allowing Robot to find common ground with him because they were familiar with one another. He told the Viltrumites that they could work together and that the Viltrumites could use Earth as a new breeding ground for their people. In that regard, a truce had been settled between Rudolph and the Viltrumites.
As for Invincible, he was forced to surrender to the combined might of Robot and the Viltrumites. He had no chance against them but was spared by Robot even though he was the final threat to his takeover of the planet. Rudolph told Mark that what he was doing was for the betterment of the entire world because ruling the planet was the best way for him to protect it from any threat.
Nevertheless, this world created by Robot was rebooted because Invincible traveled back in time and could change the future as far as his perspective was concerned. But in the original timeline, Robot became the ruler of the planet and was able to take over it as the sole defender of the world.
So, while Robot may have been doing things for the planet’s sake, it was still clear that he was willing to kill and destroy to achieve his goals. In a way, he was clearly a “the ends justify the means” kind of person because he thought that peace and order were things that were important enough reasons for him to kill. He may not be a hero in the strict sense of the word, but he was not a true villain as well. Instead, he was a despot who believed that absolute power could help protect the things and the people that he cared about.
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