Stanley Kubrick’s landmark Avengers. The film was indirectly responsible for the creation of Machine Man, who has been a member of both Avengers and Nextwave.
Working with acclaimed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, by the legendary Jack Kirby. The book’s first seven issues retold the film’s story, complete with Kirby’s trademark flourishes. In issue eight, cover-dated July 1977, Kirby began a new story, one that would not only introduce a new Avenger but link the world of 2001 to the Marvel Universe.
The story, titled “The Capture of X-51” introduces readers to Doctor Broadhurst, a robotics expert whose dreams to create human-like androids has come crashing down, as the robots are lashing out against their human masters. Broadhurst and his associates built 51 such robots, and they are set to be destroyed; unbeknownst to Broadhurst, Abel Stack, one of his team , had come to love the 51st as a son, giving him the name “Aaron.” Abel was killed in a bomb blast and Aaron is captured by the military to be dismantled. Out of nowhere, one of the Monoliths appears to Aaron, freeing him from his captors.
The 2001 comic book was designed to exist outside of the larger Marvel continuity, but Machine Man was too good of a character to go to waste, and he found his way to the Marvel Universe, first encountering the Hulk and the Fantastic Four. Machine Man would also cross paths with Iron Man, at a particularly low point in the latter’s career. He would meet the Avengers for the first time in Avengers #288 and would work with the team on several occasions. Machine Man would also have a notable stint with the team Nextwave in the 2000s.
2001: A Space Odyssey may seem like an odd place to debut a new Marvel character, but that is created by the Celestials.
Machine Man has been an Avenger and a member of Nextwave, but this unlikely hero had the most unlikely of origins: Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
