While it was an interesting story, Final Crisis got weird at times. And not always in a good way. It took a lot of unexpected twists and turns along its winding story. That included the brutal death of Martian Manhunter as well as the apparent death of Batman. Naturally, Batman actually survived and eventually returned.
One of the oddest parts of the Final Crisis was how the war came to an end thanks to a being called the Thought Robot, aka Cosmic Armor Superman. A 4-D version of Superman, Cosmic Armor Superman was designed to save the entire multiverse from the ultimate threat. It was divisive to say the least.
10 OVERRATED: Unnecessary
As Final Crisis continued, Mandrakk was revealed as the evil force behind all evil forces in DC. The first son of the Limitless Monitor, he was theorized to have been sent to map the multiverse. But prolonged exposure to the Bleed corrupted him, revealing the true nature of him and other Monitors as life-force vampires.
If this seems confusing, it kind of was. There were also multiple forms of the Mandrakk. Dax Novu, before becoming a Mandrakk, created the Thought Robot to defeat Mandrakk later on. It was a long con that seemed like an odd choice keeping in mind it didn't finish the job, anyway.
9 OVERLOOKED: Concept Made Real
The idea of the Cosmic Armor Superman was actually quite interesting. He was, for all intents and purposes, a literal plot device designed to destroy Mandrakk. The Thought Robot was powered by story, memories, and similar concepts.
Being a story concept made real is about as cool as it comes. Planetary explored a similar idea when an operation run by The Four brought back a fictional character from a fictional reality. That one ended up killing a lot of people, though, before vanishing.
8 OVERRATED: Not The Best McGuffin
Cosmic Armor Superman is a straight up McGuffin, sometimes spelled MacGuffin. It's someone or something that exists in a story purely to push the plot forward. The Thought Robot only existed to play a part in defeating Mandrakk, making it a huge McGuffin.
But the reality is that the McGuffin concept has been done better in comics for years. Objects like the Ultimate Nullifier popped up only to defeat a singular foe. At least the Nullifier appeared again, playing a somewhat larger role in the Marvel Universe.
7 OVERLOOKED: To Be Continued
Possibly the most interesting part of the Thought Robot was his death. After existing for pretty much all of existence, the Though Robot sacrificed himself to fulfill his role in the universe and help defeat Mandrakk.
As he died, the Thought Robot actually carved the epitaph on his own tombstone. It simply said, "To Be Continued." While the larger implications of such an inscription cannot be denied, it was also just an impressive set of final words to leave behind.
6 OVERRATED: Deus Ex Machina
If there were ever three words to describe Cosmic Armor Superman, they would be deus ex machina. This translates to "god from the machine," a plot device that only exists to make a story work. It was exactly what the Thought Robot was designed to be by the Monitors responsible for his creation.
But in the larger sense of the overall Final Crisis story, he was an extremely obvious plot device that was only there to complete his task and then vanish, for better or worse. There was a level of convenience to the Thought Robot that was problematic.
5 OVERLOOKED: Ultimate Powerhouse
DC is overflowing with incredibly powerful beings who can destroy existence with a snap of their fingers. And Mandrakk certainly had access to that kind of power, which was more than DC's heroes could handle on their own.
The sheer power levels exhibited by Cosmic Armor Superman were impressive to say the least. He would have been an incredible force for good had he stayed around for more than one story.
4 OVERRATED: One Use And Gone
Keeping in mind the Thought Robot's incredible levels of power, it was a genuine shame that it was only around for that one story. There have been numerous villains and situations he could have been incredibly helpful in since the end of Final Crisis.
It's hard to look at something so powerful as key to the DC Universe on any level when it's a convenient plot device created for one story. Hopefully, a greater legacy is built for the Cosmic Armor Superman in the coming years.
3 OVERLOOKED: An Interesting Story
Audiences overlooking the Thought Robot is actually indicative of how many fans felt about Final Crisis in general. Some liked it while others regularly voiced their complaints, even though it set up some interesting concepts that played out in subsequent stories.
The Thought Robot was an important part of what was overall a solid narrative. Plus, he was an interesting character that was a literal embodiment of plot and story. That doesn't happen very often.
2 OVERRATED: Extremely Overpowered
Extremely powerful characters can be interesting. Look at Darkseid. The Lord of Apokalips generally overwhelms his opponents, requiring entire armies to take him on. Superman is one of the few people who have given him any trouble in a one on one confrontation.
But the Cosmic Armor Superman might have been a little too powerful for his own good. As nice as it would have been to see the Thought Robot appear in more stories, it's hard to imagine which villains would have stood a chance. He likely would have crushed Darkseid under his boots.
1 OVERLOOKED: A Greater Purpose
Cosmic Armor Superman existed for one reason and one reason alone. When he fulfilled his stated purpose, he was gone from the universe. While that might have made him a textbook example of a deus ex machina, that doesn't make him any less important to the story.
Without the Thought Robot in place, Final Crisis would have played out a lot differently. Even if he never appears again, he served his purpose in the overall narrative of DC and kept the universe moving forward.