io9: abc warriors

Countdown Science Fiction's 10 Most Murderous Robots

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:00:00 PDT

It's one thing to talk about Killer Robots, but which ones have actually managed to really rack up the senseless slaughter? Here are our choices for the ten deadliest robots for you to avoid.

Now, we know that this list is going to upset more than a few of you (Especially if you disliked the three Star Wars prequels), but we're not ranking these killer robots in order of awesome - Because then you would have seen IG-88 and KARR, amongst others - nor even in order of evil, but literally in terms of estimated kill-rate. Which robot has killed the most living things? That's all we're interested in.

So, get started with the countdown, and feel free to dispute our choices in the comments. Just don't send a robot after us, to change our minds.

Could'a Been Contenders...

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:35 PDT

Wondering where Daleks, Cybermen and the Borg are? They're over in the "Do cyborgs really count as robots?" corner, although it's arguably worth pointing out that Daleks aren't really robots at all, just aliens inside weirdly-shaped suits of armor... that may as well be robots for all we actually care. I'm sure there will be arguments about this, nonetheless. Also missing from the list: The Decepticons, who must've killed many people during their various toy, cartoon, comic and movie reigns of terror, but none that I can remember in "real" continuity (Which is to say, All Hail Megatron doesn't count, because it's intentionally an "alternate reality" story). Also also missing is Brainiac, who has just been retconned again into being as organic as robotic, sadly.

Who else have we missed? Tell all here.

#1: The Manhunters

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:30 PDT

How deadly are they? They destroyed all life within Space Sector 666 because of a "programming glitch." How big is a Space Sector? Unknown, although the entire universe is split into at least 3601 of them, and Final Crisis claims that there are "thousands of worlds" within Earth's sector. So let's just say that's a lot of life extinguished.
Who's responsible? The Guardians of the Universe, the immortal blue dwarves who'd learn from the mistake of creating unstoppable killing machines and try and fix it by creating weapons of almost limitless potential and giving them to living beings... before embarrassing them by calling them Green Lanterns. As you can tell, that one worked out much better, at least commercially.
Last seen... hooking up with the fear-filled Sinestro Corps in 2006's The Sinestro Corps War, although you can probably expect to see them in this summer's Blackest Night crossover series from DC Comics at some point.

Next: See who didn't make the list.

#2: Unicron

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:27 PDT

How deadly is he? He eats planets for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. And if they're populated, all the better; it adds texture, apparently.
Who's responsible? It very much depends who you ask; Unicron has been given multiple histories throughout the years, including being a fallen god who somehow became a robot, a murderous robot exiled from his home planet or the much more common "his origins are lost to the mists of time." Given that all of the Transformers' origins are a little nebulous (Someone had to have built the first Transformer, right? But who?), it's possibly best not to dwell on this point for too long.
Last seen... Being destroyed by Galvatron (of all robots) and his body folding itself into a black hole called The Unicron Singularity in Transformers: Cybertron.

Next: Science Fiction's Most Killhappy Robots!

#3: The Cylons

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:25 PDT

How deadly are they? They destroyed the twelve colonies of humanity, committing genocide on a scale unimaginable to everyone except Glen A. Larson and Ron Moore.
Who's responsible? It depends on which version you're asking about. The original series had the robots built by a dying alien race also called cylons, whereas the recent reboot gave them a backstory not unlike The Matrix's robot overlords (Built by humans as worker drones before rebelling and starting war).
Last seen... restarting the human race by populating Earth, millions of years ago, in this year's Battlestar Galactica season finale.

Next: Planet-Eating Robots!

#4: Separatist Battle Droids

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:23 PDT

How deadly are they? Apparently, an unstoppable killing machine that continually causes trouble for the Republic and their Jedi forces during the many years of Star Wars' Clone Wars. Despite their apparent ineffectualness, the war continued for many years, therefore the estimated high kill-rate and higher ranking on this list. Sorry, prequel haters.
Who's responsible? The dully-named Trade Federation Army and Confederacy of Independent Systems, who seceded from the Galactic Republic and then tried to convince others to do so with the help of trigger-happy idiot drones who like to kill things. But let's face it, it's all really Senator Palpatine's doing, considering he was the one pulling all the strings behind the scenes in the first place.
Last seen... standing down after Darth Vader killed the Federation's leaders in 2005's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith.

Next: Genocidal Robots With A Plan!

#5: Skynet/The Terminators

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:21 PDT

How deadly are they? They took over the Earth and are pretty much trying to destroy all human life, starting with a successful nuclear annihilation of three million people. You've seen The Terminator movies, right?
Who's responsible? The military. Sure, you could blame original creators Cyberdyne Systems, but I'm blaming the bulk of the problems on the US military, who took over the Skynet project when Cyberdyne was destroyed. They wanted to create the ultimate defense system, after all; why didn't they foresee that it would decide that they were the threats that it needed defending from?
Last seen... making life difficult for John Connor and friends in Terminator: Salvation.

Next: Ineffectual-But-Deadly Droids!

#6: Sentinels (The Matrix)

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:19 PDT

How deadly are they? They took over the Earth and keep humans around only as batteries. Which, you know, is potentially an environmentally solution to the whole need for energy (Although they did start out with solar power.
Who's responsible? Humanity en masse. The robots that ended up taking over the world started out as domestic help and cheap labor to handle the jobs that we didn't; it was only after it was decided that robots had no legal rights that they decided to get nasty.
Last seen... coming to peaceful terms with what was left of humanity on a pretty-much destroyed Earth in The Matrix Revolutions.

Next: Time-Traveling Murder Machines!

#7: Sentinels (Marvel Comics)

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:17 PDT

How deadly are they? They almost eradicated the mutant race, killing millions in one afternoon's work by destroying the island of Genosha. There's also a much-visited future where the Sentinels have taken over the world and killed the X-Men and many other superheroes.
Who's responsible? Humanity's intolerance and fear. Oh, and Dr. Bolivar Trask, a man who saw mutants as a threat to humanity and decided to build a collection of giant robots dedicated to genocide just in case. Subsequent models have come from the US government, the Norse God Loki and the Sentinels themselves, amongst many others who wanted to get involved in the killing game.
Last seen... as nano-Sentinels escaping after a killing spree during 2007's "Messiah Complex" storyline in the X-Men comics.

Next: Eco-Friendly Killbots!

#8: Ultron

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:15 PDT

How deadly is he? He singlehandedly slaughtered the inhabitants of the fictional European nation of Slorernia, before enslaving the alien robot race the Phalanx and taking over countless planets as a result, for his own nefarious ends.
Who's responsible? Hank Pym (the superhero known as Ant Man, Giant Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket and, currently, the Wasp) built the original Ultron as a lab experiment in AI, but it was a little too successful; rebelling against Pym, Ultron has been responsible for all of his subsequent rebuilds and remodels.
Last seen... apparently being destroyed by Quasar and Adam Warlock at the end of 2008's Annihilation: Conquest crossover. But that never lasts.

Next: Mutant-Hunting Robots!

#9: ABC Warriors

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:12 PDT

How deadly are they? As deadly as you want them to be; in the future's Volgan war (When the west goes to war with the fictional Russian-analog "Volgan Republic"), human soldiers are slowly replaced by robots created to fight wars. Slowly enough, in fact, that the ABC Warriors get more than a few kills in before the war ends, at which point they get to kill some more people while - at various times - rebelling against their makers, terraforming Mars, assassinating people for chaos magic rituals and getting involved in other unlikely scrapes.
Who's responsible? The military brains of the western alliance and the Volgans. Both sides came up with their own robot soldiers, giving them artificial intelligence, advanced weaponry and no immediately-obvious off switch.
Last seen... in a robotic mental asylum on Mars, reminiscing about their wartime struggles in 2000AD's current "The Volgan War" storyline.

Next: The Self-repairing Murderbot!

#10: Mechagodzilla

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:30:10 PDT

How deadly is he? He rampages continually against Japan and fights Godzilla on a regular basis, with his laser eyes and flamethrower breath. I'm guessing there's got to be some level of collateral damage going on there. Also, he kills giant monsters, which can come in handy.
Who's responsible? Originally alien monkeys the Simians (who built him as a tool to help them achieve world domination), but humanity keeps finding itself rebuilding Mecha over and over again, apparently forgetful of the fact that he keeps on destroying parts of cities.
Last seen... disappearing to the bottom of the ocean to ensure Godzilla's death in 2003's Tokyo SOS.

Next: Robot Warriors!