Line #71 Main/RobotSuperhero


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9	[[quoteright:350: [[ComicBook/MetalMen https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a17tz4w0ldl.jpg]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:350: Avenger assembly required.]]
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12	-> '''Lúcio:''' You should come to Rio, Orisa. I could use your help with those Vishkar goons. \
13	'''Orisa:''' I do not know about this Vishkar, but I am programmed to assist where I can.
14	-->-- ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}''
15
16	Superheroes come in all different kinds of flavors. One such flavor is robots. Simply put, a [[TitleDrop robot superhero]] is a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin robot who performs superheroics]]. How and why a robot acts as a superhero varies. Sometimes, the robot is specifically built, designed, and programmed to protect and save humanity. Other times, the robot was made to do evil acts but instead [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters turns on their creator]] upon realizing said creator's true intentions. Androids and robots are commonly thought of as cold, emotionless, and not caring much for humans beyond following orders. As such, a bot that actively fights crime and saves (human) lives can come as a bit of a shock to those with the aforementioned mindset.
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18	Compare BenevolentAI, CheerfulAI, RobotBuddy, SuperpoweredRobotMeterMaids, SuperRobotGenre, and VirtualSidekick, all of which can easily overlap with this. Particularly large ones may cross into HumongousMecha territory.
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20	----
21	!!Examples:
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23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
26	* ''Manga/AstroBoy'': Dr. Tenma initially built Astro Boy to be a replacement for his dead son, but the robot soon went on to fight evil and save lives on a regular basis.
27	[[/folder]]
28
29	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
30	* ''Animation/CubixRobotsForEveryone'': The eponymous Cubix and the other [[RobotBuddy robot friends]] of the Botties' Pit crew battle the [[MadScientist evil Dr. K]] who seeks to TakeOverTheWorld with an army of robots of his own creation.
31	* In ''Animation/HappyHeroes'', the Supermen are all {{ridiculously human\|Robots}} {{Robot Kid}}s who each have unique superpowers and fight against the various monsters Big M. summons to try to take over Planet Xing.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Comic Books]]
35	* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'':
36	** Beautie is a [[FlyingBrick super-strong flying robot]] that resembles an adult-sized Beautie fashion doll.
37	** Rivets, the Robot Kid, is an android programmed to be a heroic teen superhero.
38	* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'': The title character alternates his time between science and saving the world. He started out as Nikola Tesla’s bulletproof, super-strong lab assistant, but his adventurous personality led him to start fighting evil as well, and by the present he heads a team of Action Scientists dedicated to combating strange and unusual threats across the globe.
39	* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'':
40	** ComicBook/TheVision was originally created by the evil bot Ultron to infiltrate and kill the Avengers. However, Vision later had a change of heart (so to speak) and became an Avenger himself.
41	** There was an entire team of robot superheroes in ''ComicBook/AvengersAI''.
42	** Aaron Stack a.k.a. the ComicBook/MachineMan is a superheroic android with several robot abilities, such as telescopic limbs and various weaponry, built into his body.
43	** Jocasta is a gynoid created by the villainous Ultron to be his mate, but she instead defected and joined the Avengers.
44	* ''ComicBook/TheBigGuyAndRustyTheBoyRobot'': Rusty was built to protect/save Japan from nasty {{Kaiju}}. Rusty is long on heart but short on firepower.
45	* ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'': Robotman is a former race car driver named Cliff Steele whose body was destroyed after a terrible accident, and his surviving brain was [[FullConversionCyborg implanted into a robotic body]] by Niles Caulder.
46	* ''ComicBook/ExMachina'': Automaton appears shortly after Mitchell Hundred becomes mayor of New York, fighting low-level crime with a jetpack and claiming to be a robot Mitchell built, which he fervently denies; ultimately subverted when Automaton gets into a fight with Kremlin and Bradbury and is damaged before escaping. Kremlin notes that [[spoiler:robots don't bleed]].
47	* ''ComicBook/TheFilth'': One of the members of the heroic Status Q organization is Machine Girl, a RobotGirl with a human brain.
48	* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'': Stel is a robot from the planet Grenda and the Green Lantern of Sector 3009.
49	* ''ComicBook/TheInvadersMarvelComics'': Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch, is an [[ArtificialHuman android]] created by Professor Phineas T. Horton. Rejecting his creator's proposal to use his powers for money and fame, Hammond instead became one of the first superheroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
50	* ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'': Robot initially appears to be an example; however, it later turns out that he's [[spoiler:not an AI but rather a mutant MadScientist using a RemoteBody]].
51	* ''ComicBook/IronMan'': During a period in which Tony Stark was rendered brain dead, a duplicate of himself (achieved via BrainUploading) took over the Iron Man identity, able to control the suits in a similar manner to J.A.R.V.I.S., F.R.I.D.A.Y., and P.E.P.P.E.R. before him.
52	* ''ComicBook/MetalMen'': The titular Metal Men are all heroic robots led by Dr. Magnus, with various powers and abilities based on the type of metal they were named after.
53	* ''ComicBook/RedTornado'': Similar to Vision above, the eponymous Red Tornado is an android with [[BlowYouAway wind powers]] who was created by MadScientist T.O. Morrow to infiltrate the Justice League and destroy it from within, pretending to be the original Red Tornado suffering from amnesia. Tornado eventually learns the truth, turns on his creator, saves the League, and becomes a hero in his own right.
54	* ''ComicBook/TopTen'': One of the first cops in Neopolis was Steelgauntlet, who claimed to be horrifically burned scientist Frank Chambers, forced to encase his mortally wounded body inside a bulky suit of PoweredArmor. In reality, Chambers died years ago, and [[RoboticReveal Steelgauntlet was a robot he created before his death]], though this fact was never disclosed during his time due to Neopolis' anti-robot policies. In the modern day, Girl One found more acceptance, but only because she looked and acted mostly human; her successor, Girl Two, quit after being expected to replace One despite not having her years of experience, and another robotic officer, Joe Pi, faces constant harassment because he can't pass for human by any standards.
55	* ''ComicBook/TheTwelve'': Electro is a clanking battle robot created and telepathically controlled by Professor Philo Zog. Electro is equipped with armor thicker than a tank, the ability to run at speeds of up to 100 mph, and SuperStrength.
56	* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Danger is an artificial consciousness that was built into Cerebro, but Danger later mutated and gained full sapience and a robotic body, which it used to fight crime.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
60	* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'': Baymax was a healthcare robot who Hiro upgraded to be a superhero on the grounds that catching his brother's killer would be good for his mental health.
61	* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'': [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. The Giant is not a traditional superhero in that he was originally built as an alien war machine and arrived on Earth for reasons unknown and with his memory erased. However, throughout the film, he undergoes CharacterDevelopment inspired by Hogarth and embraces Superman as a role model to live up to. [[spoiler:In the film's finale, he performs a HeroicSacrifice to save the townspeople from incoming doom in a scene so memorable and iconic that some critics have dubbed this film "the best Superman movie in history".]]
62	-->'''The Giant:''' ''Superman...''
63	* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/NextAvengersHeroesOfTomorrow''. Iron Man, prior to his retirement, built robotic versions of the Avengers (dubbed the Iron Avengers) as potential replacements for when the Avengers died or retired. However, after Ultron took over the world, they were unsafe to be used and stored away. Years later, they are reactivated and (though they try to fight Ultron) ultimately corrupted and taken over by Ultron. The wayward android turned them into his foot soldiers, but they still retained their Avengers-theming and abilities.
64	[[/folder]]
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66	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
67	* ''Franchise/UltramanZero'': The allies, known collectively as Ultimate Force Zero, have two heroic members, Jean-Bot and his brother Jean-Nine, who are sentient TransformingMecha who can [[VoluntaryShapeshifting voluntarily shift]] between spaceship and giant robot forms.
68	** ''Film/UltramanZeroTheRevengeOfBelial'': Jean-Bot debuts as a dormant spaceship serving as a hibernating protector of the Royalty on Planet Esmeralda, where he's awakened by Nao, transforming into his giant robot form to help the heroes Ultraman Zero, Glenfire and, Mirror Knight battle the evil Ultraman Belial.
69	** ''Film/UltramanZeroGaidenKillerTheBeatstar'': Jean-Nine, the second robotic ally of Ultraman Zero, was originally created by the eponymous rogue AI Beatstar as a weapon of destruction. Regaining a conscience on his own, Jean-Nine eventually embraces the existing robotic ally Jean-Bot as a brother figure and becomes another member of the Ultimate Force Zero.
70	[[/folder]]
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72	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
73	* The eponymous ''Series/{{Kikaider}}'' is an android superhero, being the earliest example in the tokusatsu genre.
74	* ''Series/MetalHeroes'': Like Kikaider, some of the eponymous Metal Heroes were in fact robots who fought off evil.
75	* ''Franchise/PowerRangers''[=/=]''Franchise/SuperSentai''
76	** ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo''/''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'': The Blue Senturion/Signalman is the first example in the franchise. Both versions are robotic {{Space Cop}}s sent to protect Earth.
77	** ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'': [[spoiler:The Red Ranger Mack is revealed to be an android created by his father Andrew Hartford. Despite being shaken by this logic, Mack continues the fight against evil.]]
78	** ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce''[=/=]''Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger'': Gosei Knight is a [[MechanicalLifeforms sentient mecha]] who made a pact with the planet to assume a human-like form in order to protect the planet from the Yuumajuu. His ''Power Rangers'' counterpart is a robot created centuries ago by [[BigGood Gosei]] to serve as Earth's protector and awakens in the 21st Century to fight the War Insectoid army when they invade Earth.
79	** ''Series/KikaiSentaiZenkaiger'': While Kaito and Zox are organic creatures, the rest of the team are MechanicalLifeforms called Kikanoids from a parallel world known as Kikaitopia, named as a friendly ShoutOut to the aforementioned Android Kikaider above.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Toys]]
83	* The Autobots of the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' franchise, and [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars their successors the Maximals]], fight to protect each other, and other civilizations, from the Decepticons and Predacons respectively.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Video Games]]
87	* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
88	** ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'': Rock was initially a helper robot and surrogate child to master robot designer, Dr. Thomas Light, just like his sister Roll[[note]]In particular, Roll was made for housekeeping while Rock was made to be a lab assistant, able to adapt to and use any tool through watching how they are used.[[/note]] until Light's former lab partner, Dr. Albert Wily stole the Robot Masters[[note]]Advanced industrial humanoid robots designed for everyday tasks[[/note]] they had built together, and [[VideoGame/MegaMan1 reprogrammed them with the intention of conquering the Earth]]. Glossed over by Dr. Wily (due to his lack of special abilities) and having a strong sense of justice, Rock begs Dr. Light to upgrade him into a fighting robot so he can become strong enough to save his brothers and stop the evil doctor's plans. Although reluctant due to his pacifistic worldview, Dr. Light accepts and turns Rock into the [[BlueIsHeroic blue robot hero]] known as Mega Man.
89	** ''VideoGame/MegaManX'':
90	*** The Maverick Hunters are Reploids[[note]]Super-advanced androids based on X's design, covered further below.[[/note]] with the task of detaining and exterminating Mavericks -- Reploids infected by the Sigma Virus that have turned violent and evil -- that threaten the earth. Among the Maverick Hunters is the very first Reploid, [[LetXBeTheUnknown X]] -- built by Dr. Light 100 years ago as the very first robot with a human-level capacity to think, feel and make decisions in life, but was sealed away and put into ethical testing over that time due to Dr. Light's very advanced age at that point and having no successors to continue his work -- who eventually [[SealedGoodInACan takes up the mantle as the Earth's protector when found and released]] by Dr. Cain.
91	*** Zero was initially a robot built by Dr. Wily in an effort to one-up Dr. Light. However, Zero proved to be [[AIIsACrapshoot too unstable and dangerous]], forcing Dr. Wily to seal him away. 100 years later, Zero has a fight with the Maverick Hunter leader, Sigma; which ultimately causes their moralities to swap. As such, [[HeelFaceTurn Zero becomes a top level Maverick Hunter]] while [[BigBad Sigma becomes the leader of the Mavericks]].
92	* ''VideoGame/{{METAGAL}}'': The eponymous character is a RobotGirl out to save her fellow robotic sisters from the clutches of the [[BigBad evil General Creeper]].
93	* ''VideoGame/MightyNo9'': The titular "Mighty Number" robots were originally built to be peacekeeping combat androids, but they go rogue after an unknown computer virus turns them against mankind. Beck, the ninth and final member of the Mighty Numbers, sets out to defeat his older siblings with the help of his partner Call and creator Dr. White.
94	* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'':
95	** Orisa is a repurposed [=OR15=] defense omnic that was bought, rebuilt, and upgraded by a ChildProdigy to be the guardian of the city of Numbani, where humans and robots freely co-exist.
96	** Echo was designed by Overwatch scientist Dr. Liao to prove that omnics were not inherently threatening to humanity. In addition to being able to fly and use various weaponry on her own, she is a literal DoAnythingRobot designed to be able to learn any task and replicate it by [[DittoFighter perfect mimicry]]. When Overwatch disbanded, she was put back "on ice" until freed by Cole Cassidy to rejoin the new, outlaw version of Overwatch seeking to save the world.
97	* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank'': Clank was initially built as part of a villainous sentrybot army. However, due to his size, he was deemed a defect and set to be scrapped, prompted Clank to escape where he would eventually meet Ratchet, and the two would become a heroic duo.
98	* ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'': All of the Skylanders are viewed as the heroes and protectors of the Skylands due to their powers and courage, and some Skylanders of the tech element are robots.
99	** Drill Sergeant, the Arkeyan machine from [[VideoGame/SkylandersSpyrosAdventure the first game]], was made to serve his master whom he marks as Terrafin. When Terrafin tells him not to serve him, he obliges and uses his powers to help the Skylands freely.
100	** Bouncer from ''VideoGame/SkylandersGiants'' is established as being one of the original Skylanders. Originally built as a Roboto-ball player, when the Arkeyans destroyed his home, he started using his abilities to protect the Skylands.
101	** Magna Charge is a magnetic robot Skylander who uses his powers to aid others. As he is a part of the Swap Force, he can even swap half of his body with another Swap Force member.
102	** Both Trap Masters of the tech element are robots.
103	*** Gearshift is was originally built to serve as the princess of Metallana, but she was too adventurous and became a hero instead. She uses a gear made out of traptanium to fight and capture villains who threaten Skylands.
104	*** When Jawbreaker was built, he had a peaceful time until trolls attempted to steal a train for nefarious purposes, prompting Jawbreaker to take action. Noticing this, Eon made Jawbreaker a Skylander and a part of the Trap Team due to his fists being made of traptanium.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Web Animation]]
108	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Penny Polendina is a robotic girl possessing a human soul. After [[spoiler:her first death and subsequent rebuilding]], she becomes a local superhero in her hometown of Mantle, with the public deeming her "The Protector of Mantle".
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Western Animation]]
112	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': The episode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE62HisSiliconSoul His Silicon Soul]]" has a robot duplicate of Batman that was built to oppose the hero [[CopiedTheMoralsToo but was built so exact]] that it started to believe it ''was'' Batman and began fighting crime and even believed in Batman's [[ThouShaltNotKill code against killing]].
113	* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'': As in the original film, Baymax continues to act as a robotic superhero.
114	* A canine variant is ''WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder''. He's quite inept and slaphappy, traits which get subverted in the 2020 movie ''WesternAnimation/{{Scoob}}''.
115	* ''WesternAnimation/FrankensteinJr'': The eponymous character was a robot developed by child genius Buzz Conroy, and the two battled various villains in every episode.
116	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Bender became the superheroic Superking in the episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS4E4LessThanHero Less Than Hero]]."
117	* ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'': As in the original comics, Robot initially appears to be an example, however it later turns out he's [[spoiler:not an AI but rather a mutant MadScientist using a RemoteBody]].
118	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'': Main character XJ-9/Jenny Wakeman was specifically built and programmed by her creator/mother Nora Wakeman to protect the Earth.
119	* ''WesternAnimation/MightyOrbots'' was about a team of these, who could also [[CombiningMecha combine into one great big robot]] with all of the smaller ones' powers.
120	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Robotboy}}'': The title character regularly goes up against villains who want to TakeOverTheWorld.
121	* ''WesternAnimation/TheRobonicStooges'', originally a segment of Hanna-Barbera's ''Skatebirds'' show (from 1977), is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Film/TheThreeStooges as robot superheroes who bumble their way through their missions with mixed results. (An earlier attempt, ''Superstooges'', never got past the concept stage. Also has nothing to do with the 1974 Italian release ''Superstooges vs. the Wonder Women''.)
122	* ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'': The titular robot monkeys are actually cyborgs, but Chiro's fully robotic girlfriend Jinmay joins the team in later seasons and definitely qualifies as a heroic robot.
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124	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / RobotSuperhero