Rudolph "Rudy" Conners, is a major character in Invincible. He is better known as the superhero Robot.
He initially led the Teen Team before joining the latest iteration of the Guardians of the Globe following the demise of the original group at the hands of Omni-Man. At first, Robot seemed to be a highly intelligent AI housed in a combat-capable robot body, though it was later revealed this was actually just a drone controlled by a human with severe deformities and health issues. Thanks to the Mauler Twins, Rudy's mind was duplicated into a cloned body made from a sample of Rex Splode's blood, after he developed romantic feelings for Amanda/Monster Girl. The clone would begin a new life while the original accepted his fate and died. Through his girlfriend Amanda, Rudy starts to discover how to lead a typical life, simultaneously helping to safeguard the Earth and its residents.
Quick Answers
What role does Rudolph 'Rudy' Conners, also known as Robot, play in Invincible?
Who was the previous leader of the Teen Team in Invincible?
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How is the character Robot portrayed in the Invincible comics?
Appearance[]
Originally, Robot was a severely deformed human, barely bigger than a child and crumpled inside a liquid-filled pod with mechanical legs. His skin was pale and covered in sores and blisters, his nose hidden (or replaced) by a mechanical clamp and his only working eye being the yellow-green right eye.
Robot's clone possesses the appearance of a young man of fairly athletic build, tanned skin, shoulder-length auburn hair and dark green eyes.
His namesake robotic drone, and later suit, is a tall, orange colored machine with segmented limbs and a robust chest cavity and a slender pelvic region. The robot's limbs are connected by and fastened together with the rest of its body by a series of round interlocks. The robot's most noticeable feature is its human skull-shaped head with green eyes and a cylinder on the upper-back of its head.
Personality[]
In an effort to maintain his real identity and looks hidden, Rudolph ensured that he behaved as closely as possible to a genuine AI, showing no emotions and adhering to a decision-making approach grounded entirely in logic. Another characteristic Rudolph had that added to his artificial Robot persona was his employment of sophisticated and refined language, unlike many of his teammates, especially Rex Splode, who frequently used informal language and offensive terms. Even when Rudolph/Robot concurred with Rex, he conveyed it by merely saying, "Indeed." Through this, Rudolph convincingly led his teammates and peers to think he was a real Robot, an impression that sometimes prompted rude remarks from them, as exemplified when Black Samson remarked that the newly-established Guardians of the Globe required "a leader they could look in the eye, not just a series of ones and zeros." Likewise, after trying to empathize with Monster Girl after she described her curse, she interrupted him, asking how he could relate since he was a robot.
Nonetheless, Robot/Rudolph's exceptional intelligence would occasionally earn praise and admiration from his fellow teammates. Throughout the Flaxans' assaults on Earth, it is evident that Robot adopts a proactive stance in combat scenarios, as he repeatedly scans the Flaxans' forces and equipment, collecting valuable data, which he subsequently shares with his teammates both prior to and during battles, sometimes turning the tide in his team’s favor. Robot/Rudolph similarly possessed the foresight to explore, examine, and assess the consequences of conflicts, just as he did post the initial Flaxan invasion, during which he unveiled that their withdrawal stemmed from their accelerated temporal rate, resulting in the Flaxan soldiers aging and dying. It was probably these tactics, the effectiveness with which Rudolph/Robot utilized them, together with his leadership abilities, that impressed Cecil and led him to praise Robot and ask him to gather the new members of the Guardians of the Globe, an opportunity Robot was proud to accept.
Although Rudolph/Robot is a hero and a positive influence, he is not hesitant to engage in questionable and sometimes wrongful actions to fulfill his own purposes. This is shown when he helps the Mauler Twins break free from their confinement, later striking a deal with them to create a new human body for him. Rudolph skillfully coerces the Twins into complying with his wishes, anticipating their potential interference with his new body, while only disclosing the actual essence of their agreement at the conclusion. After finalizing their agreement, Rudolph provides the Twins with what they desire, but soon after, he launches an assault on them in a bid to detain them and take them back to prison, highlighting his treacherous character.
Although Rudolph is often cold and calculating, he harbors deep feelings for Monster Girl, which he subtly conveys in his different interactions with her. Nonetheless, when Battle Beast severely harmed Monster Girl, Robot promptly responded by launching an energy beam at him, clearly infuriated by his actions. Once the battle concluded, Robot was observed holding Monster Girl tightly, clearly indicating Rudolph's emotional turmoil regarding her state. Rudolph/Robot made it his responsibility to guarantee Monster Girl's survival, insisting on assisting the doctors in saving her life, and even dispatching a drone to retrieve a rare flower that would enhance Monster Girl's odds of survival. Rudolph's emotions for Monster Girl led him to transfer his mind into a body created from an adaptation of Rex Splode's DNA, since he observed that Monster Girl considered Rex "interesting," as he expresses. As the Twins released him from the pod containing his deformed body, he told them that the pod was never intended to be opened or drained, adding that the reason for doing so now was that he had "met someone."
In the end, Rudolph's entirely rational way of thinking created a difficult scenario with his teammates. When he ultimately discloses his real human identity to the Guardians of the Globe members, it is received with disbelief by many and anger from Rex Splode, since Rudolph’s human appearance resembles a younger version of Rex. The sole team member who seemed to somewhat grasp Rudolph was Monster Girl; however, she and the rest of the group struggled to come to terms with the situation because of Rudolph's actions to meet his goals—an outcome he never anticipated would create turmoil among his peers, given his perspective. Ultimately, they apparently embraced Rudolph, and the group united to assist in the wake of the conflict between Invincible and Omni-Man, during which Rudolph utilized his drones to search for human survivors trapped under the remains of structures and wreckage.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Robokinesis: The original Rudy controlled robotic drones from a secure distance. Rudy's clone was equipped with a neurolink device, created by the original Rudy, to provide him with the same capability.
- Robots: Rudy possessed a diverse collection of robotic drones that offered various functions and applications. He integrated a significant variety of weapons and tools within his robot drones. Additional remarkable inventions consist of a vehicle capable of turning into a massive robot, a capsule that preserved his original form, and, following the creation of his clone, an outfit that appeared identical to and seemingly had all the powers of his original drones.
Abilities[]
- Genius-level intelligence: Rudolph Conners is depicted as one of the most intellectually sharp and flexible characters on Earth. The cloned Rudy appears to maintain that same degree of intelligence. He is skilled in engineering, weapon development, computer science, tactical defense, and various other areas, such as translating extraterrestrial languages.
- Engineering and Robotics Expertise: Rudolph is highly skilled in robotics, having created various kinds of robots and machines.
- Tactical expertise: Rudy has led both the Teen Team and the Guardians of the Globe. He skillfully manages a team of super-powered heroes.
- Linguistics: Rudy is intelligent enough to reverse engineer a language foreign to him. He was able to translate the Flaxans' language.
Weaknesses[]
- Lack of social awareness: Although Rudy possesses great intelligence, he appears to struggle with social signals, like when he nonchalantly disclosed to the Guardians the unethical way he obtained his cloned body or his failure to grasp Amanda's perspective in their relationship.
- Fear Response: After the emergence of his clone, Robot started performing hero duties in the field instead of the safe distance his original self had previously kept. This placed him in a tough spot since he had rarely had to concern himself with risking his own life previously, and his experience as a hero at that moment felt similar to a video game. Hence, Robot was unfamiliar with the sensation of fear and was unsure how to manage it adequately. This interfered with his ability to think clearly and make decisions in risky scenarios.
Sightings[]
| Season 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1. "It's About Time": | Absent | 5. "That Actually Hurt": | Appears | |||||||||
| 2. "Here Goes Nothing": | Appears | 6. "You Look Kinda Dead": | Appears | |||||||||
| 3. "Who You Calling Ugly?": | Appears | 7. "We Need To Talk": | Appears | |||||||||
| 4. "Neil Armstrong, Eat Your Heart Out": | Appears | 8. "Where I Really Come From": | Appears | |||||||||
| Invincible: Atom Eve: | Absent | |||||||||||
| Season 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1. "A Lesson For Your Next Life": | Appears | 5. "This Must Come as a Shock": | Appears | |||||||||
| 2. "In About Six Hours, I Lose My Virginity to a Fish": | Appears | 6. "It's Not That Simple": | Appears | |||||||||
| 3. "This Missive, This Machination!": | Appears | 7. "I'm Not Going Anywhere": | Appears | |||||||||
| 4. "It's Been a While": | Absent | 8. "I Thought You Were Stronger": | Appears | |||||||||
| Invincible: Atom Eve & Rex Splode: | Absent | |||||||||||
| Season 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1. "You're Not Laughing Now": | Appears | 5. "This Was Supposed To Be Easy": | Appears | |||||||||
| 2. "A Deal With The Devil": | Appears | 6. "All I Can Say Is I'm Sorry": | Appears | |||||||||
| 3. "You Want A Real Costume, Right?": | Appears | 7. "What Have I Done?": | Appears | |||||||||
| 4. "You Were My Hero": | Appears | 8. "I Thought You'd Never Shut Up": | Appears | |||||||||
Trivia[]
- Robot is based off of Robotman of the Doom Patrol from DC Comics while also sharing some similarities with Iron Man from Marvel Comics.
- Rudy's new robot suit opens up similarly to the Iron Man armors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The visual interface inside the robotic helmet also resembles the computer screens inside the MCU Iron Man armors.
- Robot is also based off of C3PO from the Star Wars franchise
- Following the first episode of season 2, Robot's voice filter from Season 1 is gone and now the dialogue for the character itself sounds normal, the causes for this change is unknown.