GAMMUS
Real Name: Gammus
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial cyborg
(race unknown); post-WWII
era
Occupation: Spy, scout
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: His superiors
Enemies: Mankind in general
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Human Robot (in story title only)
Base of Operations: Mobile throughout the United States; originally from an unidentified planet in a distant galaxy
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#5/1 (September, 1959)
Powers/Abilities: In his natural state, Gammus was a vaguely humanoid alien with scaly orange skin and two tentacles rather than arms. It is unknown if Gammus (or others of his race) had any additional abilities.
Utilizing an "encephalo transposer" device, Gammus was able to transplant his brain into a robotic body.
The robot was roughly human-sized, made of a metal unknown to Earth scientists, and it operated on an unknown energy source. It possessed great strength, was bulletproof, utilized a "robotic electrosensor" to warn it of danger, and could project a protective force field. As the robot was not equipped with a speaking apparatus, Gammus was unable to speak in robotic form.
History: (Tales of Suspense I#5) - Receiving his orders from his superiors in the High Council briefing room, Gammus departed his home world for Earth, where he would go to the United States to spy and bring back information on military defenses and weapons systems so his people could use that information when they planned to invade Earth and turn it into a slave colony. For his mission, Gammus would use Plan X322K - the "robot" plan.
In his ship travelling to Earth, Gammus went into a chamber that contained a robot body and an "encephalo transposer" machine. Gammus lay down next to the robot, while the "encephalo transposer" put his brain into the metallic body -- when his mission was completed, Gammus would transpose his brain back to his own body.
Arriving on Earth, Gammus (in robotic form) landed his ship in a remote area and walked to a nearby city -- Gammus planned to spy on Earthlings as they were examining his mechanical body. As the robot walked through the city streets, people at first thought it to be an advertising gimmick. But suddenly, Gammus pushed his way through the crowd and saved a child from a runaway truck with his force field. Impressing the crowd, Gammus next walked a few more blocks, where he thwarted a pair of bank robbers.
Officials from Washington arrived and planned to take the robot for further examination -- just as Gammus had planned! The robot was flown to Washington, D.C. and placed in a top secret lab in the Pentagon. While scientists studied the robot by day, Gammus would spend his nights gathering data on missile systems and atomic weapons from the secret files.
On the day that Gammus planned to gather the last of the information that he needed to complete his mission and return home, the scientists (who felt it was a futile effort to run any more tests, as they couldn't understand how the robot functioned anyway) grew frustrated and gave up trying to learn anything more about the robot. They pressed a stud on Gammus's robotic frame, deactivating the body, taking all movement away from Gammus. The robot was placed on display in a museum, and Gammus was now trapped in the prison of the robot's immovable body -- there would be no invasion because Gammus's mission had failed.
Comments: Created by an unknown writer and Joe Sinnott.
Nothing more was ever seen of Gammus. I suppose his spaceship (along with his brainless body) could be in some secret Air Force hanger in Area 51.
I guess an alternative title for this story -- "I Became a Human Robot!" -- could be "Plan X322K from Outer Space" (a reference to Ed Wood's cinematic "masterpiece").
And a big THANK YOU to Dennis Giansante for scanning this story for me!
Profile by John Kaminski
CLARIFICATIONS:
Gammus aka. the Human Robot has no known connections to:
None identified, they sent Gammus on his spy mission to the United States because they felt it was the most technologically advanced country of the planet they planned to conquer.
--Tales of Suspense I#5/1
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Tales of Suspense I#5, p1, pan1 (main image)
Last updated: 08/04/06
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