Before superheroes were flying across the four-color pages on newsstands, robots were already making regular appearances. When our costumed heroes did start showing up with Superman's debut in Action Comics #1 and all the masked men who quickly followed, it wasn't long before some of these adventurers found themselves duking it out with maniacal machines of malice.
Of all the evil robots in comics, none is better known than Ultron. The villain of the billion-dollar Avengers: Age of Ultron pushed Hank Pym's biggest mistake into the spotlight and made him the type of star that H.E.R.B.I.E. and Nimrod can only dream of. We know that Ultron can take out pretty much any robot in the Marvel Universe, but how would he do in the DC Universe? Here are five DC robots that are stronger than Ultron, and five that are weaker.
10 Stronger: Android Hourman
While Ultron is plenty powerful to handle just about any hero or villain of the current day, the adamantium covered robot of death wouldn't be too big of a problem for an android from the 853rd century. This Hourman, who considers himself to be more of an "intelligent machine colony" than a robot, may not have the power of the Worlogog — a device that gave him complete control over time — anymore, but he is still able to use his "Hour of Power" where he can travel through time, see the future and, most importantly, age things.
With a quick look and a wink, the Android Hourman could rewind Ultron to the point that he is little more than a sketch on Hank Pym's drafting table. Or he could move Ultron forward in time, aging the robot millions of years until it's circuits rot and Ultron's power cell dies out.
9 Weaker: L-Ron
Once an evil robot himself, L-Ron was the companion of Manga Khan before he joined the Justice League and became their permanent assistant. And while there was a time that L-Ron had its consciousness uploaded into the body of Despero, there is little doubt that if it came down to it, this rather peaceful bot wouldn't stand a chance against Ultron.
L-Ron's greatest power, it's only power really, is the ability to kiss up to its boss and be snarky at the same time. One could never be sure if L-Ron was being overly complimentary or very sarcastic from moment to moment, which made it a great addition to the League when the membership included the likes of Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Guy Gardner. But all that sass won't keep Ultron from taking the little guy out with a single energy blast.
8 Stronger: Red Tornado
Where Ultron was built by the hero Ant-Man, Red Tornado was created by the villain T. O. Morrow. Morrow built Red Tornado to battle the Justice Society of America, but before he could use his creation, it was possessed by Ulthoon, a tornado entity from the planet Rann who had battled Adam Strange and the Justice League in the past but had decided to become a hero. Red Tornado's android body isn't all that powerful, and Ultron could likely handle that aspect with little trouble, but the power of Ulthoon, which gives Red Tornado the ability to control air, could rip Ultron apart with little effort as the Marvel villains energy blasts just go through the wind entity.
7 Weaker: Robotman
While he may be the star of a TV series that has been better reviewed than Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Doom Patrol's Robotman, aka Cliff Steele, isn't much of a challenge for Ultron when it comes to a real fight. As a one-time race-car driver turned cumbersome robot, Cliff can handle himself pretty well, but aside from being strong and filled with regrets, Robotman can't do very much. Even if it was just an arm-wrestling match, Ultron would be stronger than the leather jacket wearing hero. To Ultron, Robotman is little more than a toy.
6 Stronger: Amazo
The first android in the DC Universe, Amazo was built by the evil Professor Ivo to destroy the Justice League, and to be frank, Ivo did a heck of a job. Amazo has the ability to mimic any superpower it sees, meaning that the moment Flash uses superspeed within eyesight of Amazo, the android gains superspeed. More to it, Amazo becomes immune to any power it sees or is hit with. Superman brings out the heat vision, and Amazo not only gains the power, but it can't even hurt him anymore. Ultron is tough and smart, but Amazo is pretty much an unstoppable robot who would wipe the floor with Ultron's adamantium butt.
5 Weaker: G.I. Robot
Originally built by the US government to fight the Axis powers during World War II, there have been six versions of G.I. Robot, with the last version, J.A.K.E. 6.1 being a member of the Checkmate. Each version of G.I. Robot has enhanced strength and speed, as well as armor plating, flight capabilities, and visual scanners, but what makes G.I. Robot so special is that it can feel honest empathy for living things, something most robots can't do. Ultron, for example, has no empathy whatsoever, which is why he would blast G.I. Robot into next Tuesday.
4 Stronger: Brainiac 8
Created at an unknown point in the future by Brainiac 6, Brainiac 8 was sent to the present-day DC universe to help Brainiac 1 defeat the superheroes of the 21st Century by killing Donna Troy. Initially going by the name Indigo, Brainiac 8 was a sleeper agent who had no idea what her true mission was. She was accepted by the superhero community and joined the Outsiders. When her programming was activated, it took the combined might of the Outsiders and the Titans to take Brainiac 8 down. What makes Brainiac 8 a danger to Ultron is her mechanokinesis ability. Brainiac 8 is able to interact with and take over any robot she wants to. Basically, she would look at Ultron and in the blink of an eye, he would be under her control.
3 Weaker: Ace Android
A hulking robot of brute strength, Ace Android is part of the Royal Flush Gang, a team of playing card-based criminals who are more interested in robbing banks and museums than taking over the world. Along with the King of Clubs, Queen of Clubs, Jack of Clubs, and Ten of Clubs, Ace Android has duked it out with the Justice League on a number of occasions, but the team of thieves has never really been a danger to DC's most famous heroes. Ultron would cut through Ace Android like a hot knife through butter.
2 Stronger: Eradicator
While Eradicator is best known for being one of the villains in the Death and Return of Superman, the more recent version is a different take. This new Eradicator is an android created by General Zod back during his time as the protector of Krypton. Eradicator was one of an army of robots who would search for and arrest Kryptonian lawbreakers.
This particular Eradicator was on a deep space mission when Krypton was destroyed and tracked Superman to Earth. Upon arriving on Earth, Eradicator learned of Jonathan Kent aka Superboy, the half-Kryptonian half-human son of Superman and Lois Lane and tried to kill him for being an imperfect Kryptonian. While taking out Ultron wouldn't be an easy mission for Eradicator, the Kryptonian robot with the powers of Superman would come out as the victor of that fight.
1 Weaker: Metallo
One of the tougher Superman villains, Metallo is a radioactive robot with the mind of conman John Corben. Powered by Kryptonite, Metallo is able to weaken Superman if the Man of Steel gets too close. And if Superman tries to play keep away, Metallo's Kryptonite blasts can still cause the hero a whole lot of trouble. Of course, Kryptonite is useless against pretty much anyone else. Ultron would brush off a Kryptonite blast as if it was an ant crawling up his leg. Poor old Metallo would get his metal kiester dented real quick.