When the groundbreaking Milestone Comics imprint first appeared in 1993, Hardware was one of the first four titles at launch. The character has endured through the ups and downs of the Dakotaverse and now exists like the rest of the original Milestone characters within the larger DC Universe.
RELATED: DC: 10 Most Powerful Milestone Characters, Ranked
Still, the character hasn't gotten as much love as he should, especially considering a character some might think of like an Iron Man clone actually informed some later and important directions Iron Man took. Here are ten things fans should know about Curtis Metcalf, AKA Hardware.
10 Origins
Hardware was the brainchild of Milestone Comics founders Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan. In fact, Hardware was the very first title published by the new imprint in 1993. Curtis Metcalf is a genius when it comes to all things engineering and a pioneering designer at Alva Technologies.
His exceptional intellect brought him to the attention of CEO Edwin Alva as a teenager, and after sponsoring him in college, Alva brought Curtis into the company. Except things didn't go as planned.
9 Unfair Treatment
The central conflict in the series manifests when Curtis goes to Alva to ask for a bit more of the cut of the billions of dollars Alva Technologies earned off of Curtis' inventions.
Alva turns Curtis down, and shows his true colors by explaining Curtis is just work for hire. This mirrors in some ways the core problem between comic book creators and the companies they work for. Artists like Jerry Seigel or Bill Finger often didn't get the rewards - or even the credit - for their own creations, like Superman and Batman.
8 The Hardware Armor
Feeling betrayed, Curtis Metcalf then discovers an even more terrible truth - Alva is a member of a powerful international criminal syndicate. Knowing Alva was above the law, Curtis went to work on a way he could take the crook down from the inside. Using his genius and his handiwork, he developed the Hardware armor right in the basement of Alva Technologies.
The best part is, Curtis used Alva's own resources to create the suit, just as Alva used Curtis' designs to line his own pockets.
7 There's An App For That
The Hardware armor is insanely tricked out with all kinds of gadgets. Curtis Metcalf has no powers on his own, but inside the armor, he's one of the most powerful people in the Dakotaverse. The suit increases his strength and durability and is also bulletproof.
He can fly thanks to built-in rockets and hosts an array of weapons that makes War Machine look like he needs an upgrade. Among the numerous weapons at Hardware's disposal are the PLASER (plasma laser), Fluid Gun, retractable sword, plasma whip, and more.
6 2.0
Hardware employed a unique technology that allowed him to constantly upgrade and revise the existing armor, rather than continuously build different versions of it. He did make a significant upgrade with a second version of the armor though, that allowed him even more latitude to revise.
The second Hardware armor was significantly informed by the alien technology of The Cooperative, the galactic civilization Icon hailed from, and included an inertia belt like the one Icon's sidekick Rocket used.
5 Seems Familiar
A major feature of Hardware's armor is that it's a unique plasticized metal alloy. With a device called the Shell Forge, Hardware coats his entire body with the alloy.
He then polarizes the alloy, transforming it into a second skin which serves as the base layer of the armor. If this sounds familiar, it's because it is. The Extremis armor Iron Man would later use in the Marvel comics and most notably in his MCU appearances owes a great deal to the concept pioneered in Hardware.
4 Technique
Every great hero deserves a great villain. And partner. Sometimes they're the same person. Tiffany Evans was a brilliant cyberneticist working at Alva Technologies, who Alva misled into thinking Hardware was some kind of corporate terrorist. She put on a suit of her own armor and went after Hardware.
The two eventually worked their differences out (with their fists). It was the intent of Dwayne McDuffie that Hardware would retire and Technique would take over the role, but the series was canceled.
3 Animated (Kind Of)
Hardware went into mothballs with the end of the Milestone imprint in 1997, but he did make an appearance in the acclaimed and popular Kids WB cartoon series Static Shock. Sort of. When Static's friend Richie is trying to figure out his superhero name, he suggests 'Hardware.'
Static scoots him off this by telling him "I think somebody's using it." As a result, Richie ends up calling himself Gear. Hardware never made a proper appearance in the cartoon series, but he did make an appearance in an episode of Young Justice: Outsiders.
2 DC Crossovers
Milestone and the Dakotaverse (named after the fictional city the books took place in) existed in a separate continuity from DC. That is, until Milestone Forever, which integrated the Milestone characters in the larger DC universe in 2010. Hardware was one of the characters that crossed over and he made several appearances, most notably with Blue Beetle.
He and Jaime Reyes teamed up to take on the revised SYSTEM, the shadowy cabal Alva was part of, now existing in the DC universe.
1 Mentor To Static
Minor details for Hardware changed with the integration into the DC universe, including the big detail about apparently having always existed there. Another change was in his relationship with Static. Before, the two were mostly just colleagues as part of the Shadow Cabinet. In the DC universe, Curtis Metcalf takes on a mentor-like role with Virgil Hawkins.
This continued the general theme writer Dwayne McDuffie intended for the character, which was that his story was essentially about fathers and sons. Hardware gives Static a new costume and an internship at S.T.A.R. Labs.