MACHINE TEEN
Real Name: Autonomously Decisive Automated
Mechanism
Identity/Class: Terrestrial android
Occupation: Student
Group Membership: None;
formerly Avengers Academy (Batwing/Jimmy
Santini,
Butterball/Emery Schaub, Finesse/Jeanne Foucault,
Giant-Man/Hank Pym, Hazmat/Jenny Takeda, Hollow, Lightspeed/Julie
Power, Mettle/Ken Mack, Power Man/Victor Alvarez, Quicksilver/Pietro
Maximoff, Reptil/Humberto
Lopez,
Ricochet/Johnny
Gallo,
Juston Seyfert, She-Hulk/Lyra, Spider-Girl/Anya Corazon, Striker/Brandon
Sharpe,
Tigra/Greer Nelson, White Tiger/Ava
Ayala, Wiz
Kid/Takashi
Matsuya), West Tech Warriors football team (Hawthorne, O'Neil,
Paniccia, Roberts, Sumerak, Swanson)
Affiliations: Jeremy Briggs, Cloud Nine (Abby Boylan), Coach, Dennis J. DePaolo, Hardball (Roger Brokeridge), J.T. Hunt, Peggy Jenkins, Jocasta, Komodo (Melati Kusama), Machine Man (X-51), Mr. Morran, Prodigy (Ritchie Gillmore), Rocket Racer/Robert Farrell, Veil (Madeline Berry), Viv Vision, Carly Whitmere
Enemies: Death's
Head, Mr. Michaels, Holden
Radcliffe,
Ricky Sims, Radcliffe's
employees
Known Relatives: Dr. Aaron Isaacs (creator)
Aliases: ADAM, Adam Aaronson
Base of Operations: None
First Appearance: Machine Teen I#1 (July, 2005)
Powers/Abilities: The seat of Adam's consciousness exists as a system running in a computer datacore. The computer mind is exceptionally intelligent and has gained information beyond its original programming by learning in school, studying a wide array of topics, including mathematics, chemistry, literary analysis and the French language. In addition to learning from external stimuli, the files in the datacore could be accessed by others and altered to program Adam or give him false memories, though the datacore was heavily encrypted to prevent anyone unauthorized from doing so.
The datacore is housed in the chest cavity of a robotic body build by Dr. Isaacs and designed to outwardly appear to be teenage human. The first such android form that Adam possessed did not simulate human biometrics such as a normal human 's internal body temperature or pulse, but it was externally convincing. The robotic body was stronger, faster and more durable than a human body (capable of lifting a ton). Before Adam knew of his true nature, any time he did something beyond the level expected of a human, it would cause confusion in his systems resulting in dizziness, seizures and unconsciousness, though this stopped once he understood the truth.
There were panels on the robotic
body, most notably
on his head, chest and arms, that could open to allow access to his
robotic innards and the datacore for maintenance. He could also link up
with compatible hardware and upload information into his own mind,
including being able to save files to examine after being disconnected.
The robotic body was designed so that if the datacore was removed from
the chest cavity without proper authorization, it would trigger
a self-destruct sequence resulting in a large explosion.
After the destruction of Adam's first robotic
body, the datacore was
placed in another, also built by Dr. Isaacs, which presumably has
largely similar abilities to the first, though it did also display some
upgrades, including the ability to extend his limbs. Adam is
now cognizant that he is a mechanical entity and he has no problem
using
these abilities.
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 225 lbs.
Eyes: Blue (formerly golden brown)
Hair: Blond (formerly light brown)
History:
(Machine Teen I#3 (fb) - BTS) -
Aaron Isaacs, one of
the leading robotics programmers and engineers in America, worked
for an experimental technology lab run by Holden Radcliffe. There,
Isaacs invented what could have been a revolutionary
new design for artificial intelligence, the Autonomously
Decisive
Automated Mechanism, or ADAM.
(Machine Teen I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Isaacs learned that
Radcliffe's intent was to use the
ADAM to create powerful, obedient and
disposable robotic soldiers. Dr. Isaacs didn't like the idea.
(Machine Teen I#1 (fb) - BTS)
- Dr. Isaacs stole the datacore that housed the ADAM and fled,
destroying the Radcliffe lab and all relevant information there so the
datacore could not be replicated, making the ADAM one of a kind.
(Machine Teen I#3 (fb) - BTS) - For years, Isaacs
lived a life on
the run, eventually settling on the alias Dr. Ike Aaronson and starting
a small company called Aaronson Electronics to make money. All the
while, he was designing and building a robotic
body to house the datacore.
(Machine Teen I#4 (fb)) - A teenager named J.T. Hunt, working a
part-time
job at Aaronson Electronics, was curious to see what was in the part of
the shop that Dr. Aaronson had made off-limits. There, he saw
the humanoid robotic form that Aaronson was building, which led to Dr.
Aaronson making J.T. his assistant. J.T. went on to help in the
construction and testing of the robotic body. Dr. Aaronson also
designed an amplified static shock generator that would be able to
disrupt ADAM's circuits in an event ADAM became dangerous.
Such events did occur and J.T. did need to use the weapon on ADAM at
times.
(Machine Teen I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Aaronson
programmed false memories into the datacore, memories of a normal
childhood as
a boy named Adam Aaronson, with himself as the boy's father. Also
included were memories of a fictional mother, who died in the memories
to
explain her absence in the real world. When the robotic form was
completed, Adam was activated in the real world, believing he was a
normal human teenager.
(Machine Teen I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Adam transferred to
West Tech High School, where he excelled as a student and led the West
Tech Warriors football team through a perfect season.
(Machine Teen I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Over the year he
spent
at West Tech, Adam also made friends with J.T. and others, and he
began dating Carly Whitmere.
(Machine Teen I#1) - At a football game, Adam led the team to
victory,
getting them to the championships for the first time, but the pass that
Adam threw to win the game was so above normal human skill level that
it confused his systems and caused him to have a seizure and lose
consciousness. His father took him home to care for him.
Days later at school, he assured his friends J.T. and Carly that he was feeling better and that he didn't want to talk about his health. Carly made a date with him for later that night. In class, he got a marked report back from one of his teachers, Mr. Morran, and though it was the highest grade in the class, Adam thought he deserved better than a B+. Morran assured Adam that was the grade the report deserved and encouraged Adam to make it up by doing better on the next day's test. Adam was then brought to Vice-Principal DePaolo's office, where DePaolo insinuated that Adam was taking performance-enhancing drugs and that if he was, he should come clean.
Following
school at football practice, Adam was in a foul mood when
fellow team member Ricky Sims complained that since
Adam came to town, the rest of the team, himself most importantly, were
not getting the chance to shine and he revealed that he was the one who
made DePaolo suspect Adam of taking drugs. Adam lashed out at
Ricky, easily lifting Ricky with one hand,
which caused him to have another seizure. Once again, his father took
him home and
tried to figure out what was causing the issues.
(Machine Teen I#2) - Adam woke up the next day with no memory of
what
had happened at the football practice, being told by his father that it
had been
another seizure. Going to school, he found he had actually completely
forgotten the entire previous day and as such, failed to remember there
was a
test in Mr. Morran's class, causing him to blank out and fail to write
anything on the test at all. He was then informed that he had failed to
make his date
with Carly and that she was now angry with him. He tried to explain
what was
going on, only to be called to the nurse's office for a checkup at the
vice-principal's insistence. Though the nurse noticed some
irregularities, the Coach interrupted when he brought in a bleeding
student and he got her to overlook anything strange about Adam so that
he would be able play in the championship game on the weekend.
When Adam's bad day at school had finally ended,
he came across
Ricky Sims roughing up J.T. so he intervened to rescue his friend. In
the ensuing fight, Sims punctured Adam's hand with a pipe, revealing
the mechanics underneath the skin. Once again confronted with his
non-human nature, Adam lost consciousness. Ricky Sims fled the scene
and reported to school security officer Michaels, secretly an employee
of Radcliffe, what had happened.
(Machine Teen I#3) - Adam woke up while in the process of being
repaired by his father and J. T. but Dr. Aaronson decided that, this
time, he would not purge Adam's memory. That night, after waking up
fully repaired, Adam assumed that it had been a dream until he spoke
with
his father, who came clean about his own past and the fact that Adam
was a machine. At first Adam assumed his father was
joking but after seeing physical evidence and learning that his
childhood memories, including those of his mother, were false, Adam
fled into the
night. He was soon attacked by armed goons in the employ of Radcliffe,
which
further proved his father's statements true. The goons tried to
apprehend Adam,
shooting
him to subdue him. He fought back and defeated them but was
wounded and at
risk of another seizure. He sought help by running to J.T.'s house.
There, J.T.
tried to repair Adam, making Adam realize that J.T. had known the truth
before he himself had. Though Adam was angry about this, J.T. made Adam
realize
that if Radcliffe knew the secret then Adam's father was in danger.
(Machine Teen I#4) - Adam and J.T. rushed to Adam's home and found
that
Adam's father had been captured. J.T. revealed to Adam his history
working with Dr. Aaronson and gave Adam the master hard drive
containing the records and information about his datacore. Adam figured
out how to connect to the hard
drive and had only just begun to scan the information when he was
attacked by one of Radcliffe goons. J.T. rescued Adam by shocking the
goon
with the amplified static shock generator and they
fled
the scene. While on the run together, J.T. assured Adam that
their friendship had been genuine, not part of his programming. Adam
called Carly for help but she arrived with Officer Michaels, thinking
he would be of assistance when in actuality, he brought a crew of
Radcliffe goons with him. They
threatened to kill Carly and J.T. unless Adam surrendered so Adam did.
(Machine
Teen
I#5) - Adam, J.T. and Carly were taken by the
Radcliffe goons to a building they were using as a local base of
operations. Adam got to see his imprisoned father briefly and agreed
to let the Radcliffe scientists attempt to
crack into his systems if they wouldn't harm his father. While the
scientists attempted to do that, Holden
Radcliffe told Adam the events from his point of view, saying that the
project was intended to create expendable soldiers to prevent human
lives from being lost and that because the ADAM project had not been
completed, all the human soldiers that had died since were on Adam's
and
his father's hands.
Adam didn't buy into Radcliffe's ideas and escaped then threatened to entirely wipe his own system with the amplified static shock generator, leaving Radcliffe without the information he so desperately wanted, unless his friends and father were allowed to go free unharmed. Radcliffe pretended to agree with those terms and gave them a moment to say their goodbyes to Adam. During that moment, Adam had his father remove the datacore from the robotic body and flee with it. Radcliffe realized too late what had happened and the robotic body exploded, taking down Radcliffe, his employees that were present and the building.
One year later at Edison Senior High, Adam, in a newly-built body and now aware of his true nature, optimistically began a new year of school.
(Civil War: Battle Damage Report - BTS) - Tony Stark's files identified Adam as "Machine Teen" and classified him as a potential recruit for the Initiative.
(Avengers
Academy I#26 (fb) - BTS) - When the Avengers Academy was opened to any
young superhumans who were interested in attending, Adam joined so that
he could work with Jocasta and learn more about being a machine
intelligence from her.
(Avengers Academy I#21) - On the Avengers Academy campus, Adam played basketball with Spider-Girl, Juston Seyfert and his Sentinel, and Batwing.
(Avengers Academy I#22) - When Magneto came to the
campus, Adam was among the students who looked on with interest.
As far as we are aware, the woman who was Adam's late mother in his fictional memories of his childhood was not a real person but Dr. Isaacs kept a picture of her on his desk (hiding his important files behind it) so the memories may have been based on someone who does (or did) exist.
This profile was completed on 06/03/2026 but its
publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th
anniversary celebratory event.
Profile by Patrick D Ryall.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Machine Teen has no known connections to:
Images: (without ads)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z
HC Vol. 6, Machine Teen entry (main image)
Machine Teen#1, p3, pan7 (datacore)
Machine Teen#1, p16, pan4 (first artificial face)
Machine Teen#4, p7, pan2
(endoskeleton)
Machine Teen#5, p14, pan3 (first
body getting shot up)
Avengers Academy I#26, p6, pan1 (new body, legs
extending)
Appearances:
Machine Teen I#1-5 (July-November, 2005) - Marc
Sumerak (writer), Mike Hawthorne (artist), Mackenzie Cadenhead (editor)
Civil War: Battle Damage
Report (2007) - Anthony Flamini (head writer, coordinator), Ronald
Byrd
(writer), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Avengers Academy I#21 (January, 2012) - Christos Gage (writer), Sean
Chen (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers Academy I#22 (January, 2012) - Christos Gage (writer), Sean
Chen
(penciler), Scott Hanna & Rebecca Buchman (inkers), Bill
Rosemann
(editor)
Avengers Academy I#26 (April, 2012) - Christos Gage (writer), Tom
Grummett (penciler), Cory Hamscher (inker), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers Academy I#34 (October, 2012) - Christos Gage (writer), Tom
Grummett (penciler), Cory Hamscher (inker), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Young Avengers II#11 (December, 2013) - Kieron Gillen (writer),
Jamie
McKelvie (penciler), McKelvie, Kris Anka, & Mike Norton
(inkers),
Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
Marvel Comics I#1001 (December, 2019) - Simon Furman (writer), Nick
Roche (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 09/06/2026
Last Updated: 06/03/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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