Doctor Will Magnus is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A brilliant scientist who occasionally suffers from debilitating mental illness, he is responsible for creating the Metal Men and serves as a general robotics expert among the superhero community. Magnus first appeared in Showcase #37 (April 1962), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru. Magnus has been adapted into various media outside comics, including television series and films. He has been voiced by Corey Burton, C. Thomas Howell, Townsend Coleman, and Phil LaMarr. He will make his debut in the DC Universe in the animated series Creature Commandos, voiced by Alan Tudyk.

Fictional character biography

Will Magnus is an esteemed scientist and the creator of the Metal Men, who possess a form of artificial intelligence derived from "responsometers". In an attempt to boost sales of the comic book, Magnus was temporarily reimagined as a fugitive bent on world conquest after a mad dictator brainwashes him. The 1993 Metal Men miniseries reveals that the responsometers were not responsible for the Metal Men's sentience and that the Metal Men were imprinted with the intellects and personalities of real people during a lab accident. At the climax of the miniseries, Gold is killed and Magnus mortally wounded. He transfers his consciousness into the green robot Veridium and becomes the leader of the Metal Men.

52

Following Infinite Crisis, which retconned several aspects of DC's history, the "blank robots with responsometers" origin is stated to be the Metal Men's definitive origin while the "human personalities" origin and the 1993 miniseries are described as the byproduct of a mental breakdown suffered by Magnus. Additionally, Magnus created Plutonium Man, a titanic superweapon based on the Metal Men. Egg Fu kidnaps Magnus and forces him to make a new Plutonium Man, but he refuses to do so and instead recreates the Metal Men. However, his insanity affects the Metal Men and alters their personalities.

The New 52

In The New 52 continuity reboot, Magnus creates the Metal Men to execute search and rescue missions that humans cannot tackle. The government forces the Metal Men to become assassins before Magnus recovers them.

Powers and abilities

Normally, Will Magnus had no special abilities aside from his great intellect. His vast intelligence was responsible for the creation of the Metal Men, along with various other robots. As Veridium, Magnus can manipulate heat and energy.

Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Will Magnus, with elements of Bolivar Trask, appears in the Amalgam Comics one-shot Magneto & the Magnetic Men.

In other media

Television

Film

Video games

Miscellaneous