Machine Teen is a 2005 Marvel Comics five issue limited series and created by Marc Sumerak and Mike Hawthorne.
The main character, Adam Aaronson is an Ordinary High-School Student and has a good life: he is captain of the all-star football team, a straight 'A' student and is liked by everyone. However, he discovers that he is really a robot created by the man he thought was his father, Isaac Aaronson. The story is about him learning he is a robot, and escaping Corrupt Corporate Executive, Holden Radcliffe.
Machine Teen also appeared as a supporting character in House of M: Incredible Hulk and in Avengers Academy in issue #21 (Jan 2012) and issue #26 (April 2012).
Machine Teen contains such tropes as:
- Alliterative Name: Adam Aaronson.
- Artificial Human: Its in the title.
- Big Bad: Holden Radcliffe.
- The Dragon: Officer Michaels.
- Body Horror: In the second issue, Adam has a steel pipe rammed through his hands. Instead of blood and guts, the gore involves wires and circuits in the gaping wound.
- The second issue features Adam waking up on an operating table with his robotic insides exposed.
- The final issue ramps up the "gore" even more. After being shot by a machine gun, his body is nearly destroyed with his robotic "organs" falling out of him.
- Convulsive Seizures: Adam suffers from these. Actually a feedback loop caused when Adam performs an action no normal human could, and his internal logic recognizes it as such. Since he's programmed with fake memories, this causes the "seizure".
- Death Is Cheap: In the final issue, Adam blows up. But because his data core is still intact, his father is able to rebuild him a year later.
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Whether that involves throwing a football very far or effortlessly punching a tree in half.
- Fake Memories: Dr. Isaacs programmed Adam to believe he is an ordinary student.
- Flawed Prototype: Adam suffers from numerous seizures through out the mini. Actually caused by an internal logic feedback loop.
- Fun with Acronyms: A.D.A.M. = Autonomously Decisive Automated Mechanism
- Heroic BSoD.: After nearly being reprogrammed by Radcliffe and his scientists, Adam briefly suffers this after he breaks free.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Adam lets himself explode to let his friends escape and kill Radcliffe. Thankfully, We Can Rebuild Him is in full effect.
- Immune to Bullets: At least low fire power bullets but not a machine gun.
- Informed Ability: Despite being described as very popular with everyone, Adam only seems to hang out with his best friend J.T. and girlfriend Carly. May be justified since the comic series is only 5 issues long.
- Internal Reveal: In issue 3, Dr. Aaronson reveals to Adam he (Adam) is an robot. The audience already knew based on the synopsis of the comic alone but this is a revelation for Adam.
- Jerk Jock: Ricky Sims, Adam's football rival.
- Lovable Jock: Adam seems to be this, since he's the captain of the football team and a very popular, nice guy.
- Nice Guy: Adam. Just don't mess with his friends.
- Ordinary High-School Student: Adam believes himself to be.
- Spoiler Title: Even though the second to last page of the first issue has a dramatic Robotic Reveal, the audience is already well aware of the title character's nature.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: With Fake Memories as well.
- Robotic Reveal: not so much for the audience, but for Adam himself.
- Super-Strength: At least able to easily overpower some Mooks and punch a in half tree.
- Spoiler Cover: The first issue cover spoils that Adam is a robot, as if the audience didn't already know based on the synopsis for the comic, and the title of the comic itself. Though there is a dramatic reveal near the end of the first issue with Adam lying on an operating table.
- Took a Level in Badass: In the House of M: Incredible Hulk tie in, Adam has new abilities such as literally being able to pull himself back together after being taken apart piece by piece and having guns concealed in his arms.
- We Can Rebuild Him: After sacrificing himself, Dr. Isaacs rebuilds Adam one year later.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Discussed somewhat. Its implied J.T. had to disable Adam in the past, using an electric taser, to possibly prevent him from finding the truth about himself. Its never firmly stated and dropped and never brought up again.
- Adam has a moment where he wonders if all of his choices were programmed by his father. J.T. refutes this, telling Adam no one programmed him to be his (J.T.'s) friend.
