Replicus



Replicus is a forgotten villainous alien robot who first appeared in The Mighty Thor #141 (June 1967) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Story
The original Replicus was created by Chuda, a humanoid alien scientist. (Chuda was depicted as a rather typical middle-aged, Caucasian male). It had superhuman strength, able to lift at least 75 tons, and was durability. It had speed and durability allowing it to dodge Mjolnir when the latter was thrown against it at high speeds. Its fingers produced great heat. Cobalt cables extended from its hands, allowing it to ensnare enemies. Its forehead contained a weapon able to fire powerful blasts. Its one major weakness was its dependence on external power sources. If his supply was cut off, Replicus would collapse to an inert state.

Replicus was introduced as a prototype for an intended army. Chuda intended to create others and spread chaos in the United States. Eventually thousands of Replicus models would conquer Earth for his (unnamed) superiors. But first a test-run was needed. Chuda sold the original Replicus to "Slugger" Sykes, a gang leader. It managed to single-handedly perform a bank robbery. Sykes then had it throw out his previous henchmen, deciding their services were no longer needed.

Replicus performed a crime spree around New York, evading police efforts to stop it. Thor eventually appeared to fight the robot. But it managed to hold its own in the battle. However by this point Sykes learned of Chuda's real plans. The two villains fought each other and crushed into the devices feeding Replicus with energy. They were instantly killed and Replicus was left inert.

In The Mighty Tho vol. 2 issue #9 (March, 1999), a nephew of Sykes managed to use another model of Replicus in a new crime-spree. While it was again invulnerable to police attacks, Thor proved much more effective against it. He demolished the robot with his fists. Then he tracked down and arrested the younger Sykes. Thor commented on no longer holding back in battle even in the presence of mortals. But the second Replicus appeared as a mere shadow of its predecessor.