If you are a villain planning to go up against a Kryptonian, you should know they’re pretty darn close to invulnerable. In fact, if you’re going to have any hope of doing any damage to one at all, you’d better be packing a certain green glowing fragment of their home planet. That is why one villain in particular stands above the others when it comes to going toe-to-toe in a slugfest with Superman or Supergirl – the man/machine known as Metallo is actually powered by a kryptonite heart.
Metallo made his first appearance in the comics in Action Comics #252 in 1959. “The Menace of Metallo” introduced John Corben, an unscrupulous reporter who was nearly killed in a car accident. A scientist replaced most of Corben’s body with robotic parts and powered his new metallic physique with kryptonite. Calling himself Metallo, Corben used his new lease on life to go on a crime spree and woo Lois Lane. (Surprisingly, Metallo’s debut is not the most notable feature of Action Comics #252… this issue was also the first appearance of Supergirl!)
For Metallo’s first adaptation into live action, we need to jump ahead to the second season of “Superboy” in 1989. In the episode “Metallo,” Michael Callan played Corben, a bank robber who crashed his car after having a heart attack and was rebuilt into a kryptonite-fueled cyborg by a crazed scientist. Callan returned to the role of Metallo several times throughout the series, in the episodes “Super Menace,” “People vs. Metallo,” “Threesome” parts 1 and 2, and “Obituary for a Super Hero.”
The next time the character was adapted for TV was in the second season of “Lois & Clark” in 1995, in an episode also called “Metallo.” In the episode, Lois Lane’s sister Lucy was dating Johnny Corben, unaware that he was a criminal. Johnny was shot in a robbery gone wrong, then rebuilt and given a kryptonite heart by LexCorp scientists Rollie and Emmett Vale. Superman was able to defeat Metallo by melting most of his body with heat vision. Scott Valentine played Corben in this episode, which was his one and only appearance on “L&C.”
In 1996, “Superman: The Animated Series” debuted on the WB Network. The three-part pilot, “The Last Son of Krypton,” concluded with Superman fighting a stolen LexCorp battlesuit piloted by terrorist John Corben. Corben returned a few episodes later in “The Way of All Flesh,” where he was found to be dying in prison of a rare disease. Lex Luthor offered him a new lease on life as Metallo if he agreed to kill Superman. (This marks the first time that Corben would appear in human form only in one episode and then become Metallo in a separate episode later on.) Metallo returned for several episodes of not only “Superman: The Animated Series” but the spin-offs “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited” as well. He was voiced in every appearance except one by veteran actor Malcolm McDowell, well-known for his roles in movies such as “A Clockwork Orange” and “Caligula.” (In the “Justice League” episode “Hereafter,” Metallo made only a brief appearance, and he was voiced by Corey Burton.)
When the animated “The Batman” reached its fifth season in 2007, the Dark Knight joined forces with the Man of Steel in the two-part crossover episode “The Batman/Superman Story.” One of the villains the heroes faced in this epic team-up was Metallo. He was voiced in this version by voice actor Lex Lang (with a name like that, how could he NOT have a Superman connection??).
In 2009, the direct-to-DVD movie “Superman/Batman: Public Enemies” was released. This film was an adaptation of the inaugural storyline of Jeph Loeb’s “Superman/Batman” comic book series. In the film, Superman was framed for killing Metallo in an effort to turn the public against him. Metallo was voiced here by actor John C. McGinley (“Office Space,” “Scrubs”).
When “Smallville” began its ninth season in 2009, they went back to the early comic book roots of the John Corben character by making him a reporter and giving him a romantic interest in Lois Lane. Brian Austin Green of “Beverly Hills: 90210” fame played John Corben, a war reporter recently back from Afghanistan who had a vendetta against The Blur (a.k.a. a pre-Superman Clark Kent), who he blamed for the death of his sister. Much like “Superman: The Animated Series,” Corben was introduced in human form only in one episode, “Savior,” before being transformed into a cyborg in a separate episode, titled “Metallo.” This makes “Smallville” the third series to have an episode with this villain’s name as the title, although ironically he was not actually called Metallo in any of the season nine episodes. Corben was not portrayed on “Smallville” as a true villain but as more of a sympathetic character. He was experimented on by Zod’s army of Kandorians, and later used as a mind-controlled pawn by Tess Mercer. He even saved Clark’s life in the episode “Upgrade,” and was given a red kryptonite heart by Lois to replace his green one at the end of that episode. However, in the tenth season episode “Prophecy,” Corben had a cameo as a member of Toyman’s Marionette Ventures. He was once again sporting a green heart and was now calling himself Metallo. (He was not played by Brian Austin Green in that episode, and was only partially seen on-screen in this very brief appearance.)
In a 2011 episode of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” Metallo made an appearance battling Superman on a rooftop in the episode “Battle of the Superheroes!” He was defeated when Batman removed the kryptonite from his chest, allowing Superman to overpower him. Metallo was voiced by John DiMaggio, who is well-known for his work on everything from “Adventure Time” and “Futurama” to “Batman: Under the Red Hood” and “Gears of War.”
Metallo had a non-speaking cameo in the 2011 direct-to-DVD animated film “All Star Superman.” He was seen in a prison cell lifting weights when Clark Kent went to interview Lex Luthor.
The animated film “Justice League: Doom” in 2012 was a loose adaptation of the “Tower of Babel” storyline from the comics, which saw the members of the Justice League incapacitated due to plans stolen from Batman’s files. In the film, Metallo was the one to take down Superman, shooting him with a kryptonite bullet. Metallo’s voice may have sounded familiar to fans of DC Comics television shows… he was voiced here by Paul Blackthorne, who plays Quentin Lance on “Arrow.”
On October 10th, 2016, “Supergirl” launched its second season in a big way. The show moved from CBS to the CW, Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) made his first full-fledged appearance, and Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) was introduced as a new character to the series. With all the exciting debuts, fans may not have initially realized the significance of the name of the assassin who was hired to kill Lena. Frederick Schmidt played John Corben, who used deadly drones and bombed buildings to try to murder Lex’s sister. Corben was critically injured at the end of the episode, and fell into the hands of the enigmatic Project Cadmus. With the second episode of the season, “The Last Children of Krypton,” fans will get to see the latest incarnation of the kryptonite-fueled cyborg on screen when Schmidt’s Corben is reborn as Metallo.
In the long history of villains who have risen to challenge Superman and Supergirl, there is a relatively short list of those who pose them a serious physical threat. Perhaps that is what makes Metallo such an intriguing villain, and one who has appeared time and time again each time the Superman legacy is reinvented for a new generation of viewers on the television screen. The one thing that can truly do the super-cousins bodily harm, kryptonite, is the very thing that gives life to this metallic miscreant. It’s safe to say that this villain will continue to be rebuilt and reborn to challenge both Superman and Supergirl for many years to come.
Read more of Russ Dimino’s “Many Faces” columns here!