Kelex
Encyclopedia
Kelex is a fictional robot created by John Byrne as caretaker of Superman
's Fortress of Solitude
in Superman comic books published by DC Comics
. He has a rounded body, no legs, a tapered head with a 'goggle' face and two controlling arms.
#1, in which he was one of Jor-El
's robotic servants on the planet Krypton
. Presumed destroyed along with Jor-El and the rest of Krypton, Kelex has nonetheless returned to Superman comics as Superman's primary robotic servant within the Fortress of Solitude.
When Kelex first appeared in 'The Man of Steel', he was only in one page of the first issue- he greeted his master, Jor-El, upon his return. Jor-El then orders him to bring the baby Kal-El (who would become Superman) in his birthing matrix. It is revealed in conversation with another of Jor-El's servant robots that Kelex had served Jor-El for all of his life, much longer than the other robot had, and had never seen him like this. The robot didn't appear for the rest of the issue, nor for the rest of the miniseries. He was presumably destroyed along with the planet Krypton.
Later, when a Kryptonian device known as 'the Eradicator
' was obtained by Superman, it tries to recreate Krypton on Earth, beginning with the South Pole in the Antarctic. Superman stops it, but the attempt had created the Fortress of Solitude
. Along with the fortress had been created a group of robotic servants, one of which was a recreation of Kelex. Kelex is largely indistinguishable from the other Kryptonian robots who maintained the fortress.
He attends the false, Eradicator version of Superman who had taken up residence in the Fortress.
Kelex is used as a framing device for a tour of a redesigned Fortress of Solitude.
The Fortress of Solitude is dramatically redesigned when Dominus
took mental control of Superman. It is then destroyed Lex Luthor
, severely damaging Kelex. When Superman returns to the fortress, he repairs the robot enough to enable him to speak. They were both sent to a ghostly replica of the Fortress, complete in every detail. Superman is able to keep a link to the ghostly fortress through Kelex, now reduced to a head. The robot then assists Superman in a crisis; an android double, programmed to protect Lois Lane
, had become defective. Kelex is vital in making the double stand down and thus rescuing Lois. Later, when realizing Brainiac
13 is vulnerable to Kryptonian technology, Superman completely rebuilds Kelex, using him to coordinate an attack on Brainiac 13 by having Kelex convey instructions to Lex Luthor and later reactivate the Red Tornado
.
Kelex operates in disguise as the hero 'Steel' for a while. Kelex is featured in an issue of 'Superboy'; he transcribes his impressions of Krypto
, who is helping people endangered by an alien invasion.
The fortress was later restored within a Tesseract (an infinite space within a finite containment), and Kelex is once again its caretaker. Natasha Irons
reprograms Kelex so that he would speak more in slang, such as calling Superman 'Big Blue'. During the "Superman: Godfall" storyline, he even uses 'yo mama!' as a comeback.
That incarnation of the Fortress is destroyed during the "For Tomorrow" storyline, and it was unknown whether Kelex survives its destruction. After Superman relocates his new portable fortress to South America, Kelex was seen again in the limited graphic novel series Superman and Batman versus Aliens and Predator
, though the canonical status of this series is unclear.
The final issue of Justice League of America (vol. 2) briefly relates a story revealing that Kelex eventually returned and attempted to conquer the Earth by taking control of all of the robots on the planet and forcing them to attack the human population. He was destroyed by Supergirl
and Jesse Quick, ending the threat.
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
's Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...
in Superman comic books published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. He has a rounded body, no legs, a tapered head with a 'goggle' face and two controlling arms.
Fictional character biography
He first appeared in The Man of SteelThe Man of Steel (comic book)
The Man of Steel is a six-issue comic book limited series released in 1986 by DC Comics, several months after the twelve-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths completed. The Man of Steel was written and penciled by John Byrne and inked by Dick Giordano.-Overview:The mini-series was...
#1, in which he was one of Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
's robotic servants on the planet Krypton
Krypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
. Presumed destroyed along with Jor-El and the rest of Krypton, Kelex has nonetheless returned to Superman comics as Superman's primary robotic servant within the Fortress of Solitude.
When Kelex first appeared in 'The Man of Steel', he was only in one page of the first issue- he greeted his master, Jor-El, upon his return. Jor-El then orders him to bring the baby Kal-El (who would become Superman) in his birthing matrix. It is revealed in conversation with another of Jor-El's servant robots that Kelex had served Jor-El for all of his life, much longer than the other robot had, and had never seen him like this. The robot didn't appear for the rest of the issue, nor for the rest of the miniseries. He was presumably destroyed along with the planet Krypton.
Later, when a Kryptonian device known as 'the Eradicator
Eradicator (comics)
The Eradicator is a fictional comic book superhero character having a recurring role in Superman stories published by DC Comics. Originally created as a weapon by an ancient alien race, he is over 200,000 years old and is considered an artifact of Krypton...
' was obtained by Superman, it tries to recreate Krypton on Earth, beginning with the South Pole in the Antarctic. Superman stops it, but the attempt had created the Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...
. Along with the fortress had been created a group of robotic servants, one of which was a recreation of Kelex. Kelex is largely indistinguishable from the other Kryptonian robots who maintained the fortress.
He attends the false, Eradicator version of Superman who had taken up residence in the Fortress.
Kelex is used as a framing device for a tour of a redesigned Fortress of Solitude.
The Fortress of Solitude is dramatically redesigned when Dominus
Dominus (DC Comics)
Dominus is a fictional character and a DC Comics supervillain who first appeared in Action Comics #747. He appears primarily as an opponent of Superman.-Fictional character biography:...
took mental control of Superman. It is then destroyed Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
, severely damaging Kelex. When Superman returns to the fortress, he repairs the robot enough to enable him to speak. They were both sent to a ghostly replica of the Fortress, complete in every detail. Superman is able to keep a link to the ghostly fortress through Kelex, now reduced to a head. The robot then assists Superman in a crisis; an android double, programmed to protect Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
, had become defective. Kelex is vital in making the double stand down and thus rescuing Lois. Later, when realizing Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
13 is vulnerable to Kryptonian technology, Superman completely rebuilds Kelex, using him to coordinate an attack on Brainiac 13 by having Kelex convey instructions to Lex Luthor and later reactivate the Red Tornado
Red Tornado
Red Tornado is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Justice League of America #64 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Dick Dillin.-Publication history:...
.
Kelex operates in disguise as the hero 'Steel' for a while. Kelex is featured in an issue of 'Superboy'; he transcribes his impressions of Krypto
Krypto
Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics. Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 in March 1955...
, who is helping people endangered by an alien invasion.
The fortress was later restored within a Tesseract (an infinite space within a finite containment), and Kelex is once again its caretaker. Natasha Irons
Natasha Irons
Natasha Irons is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe and the niece of John Henry Irons . Natasha first appears in Steel #1 . She becomes the fourth superhero to use the name Steel when her uncle is injured. In the 2006 limited series 52, Natasha gains superpowers and uses the...
reprograms Kelex so that he would speak more in slang, such as calling Superman 'Big Blue'. During the "Superman: Godfall" storyline, he even uses 'yo mama!' as a comeback.
That incarnation of the Fortress is destroyed during the "For Tomorrow" storyline, and it was unknown whether Kelex survives its destruction. After Superman relocates his new portable fortress to South America, Kelex was seen again in the limited graphic novel series Superman and Batman versus Aliens and Predator
Superman and Batman versus Aliens and Predator
Superman and Batman vs. Aliens and Predator is a comic book co-published by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics. It was written by Mark Schultz, with art by Ariel Olivetti...
, though the canonical status of this series is unclear.
The final issue of Justice League of America (vol. 2) briefly relates a story revealing that Kelex eventually returned and attempted to conquer the Earth by taking control of all of the robots on the planet and forcing them to attack the human population. He was destroyed by Supergirl
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...
and Jesse Quick, ending the threat.