The Construct symbolizes our desire to know the ultimate reason for existence. Essentially, the construct is the personification of these abstract questions. Who created me and for what purpose? What does it mean to be human? How can I become fully human? Through the construct, we also explore free will versus determinism. Must I serve my creator and his intended purpose? Or am I an independent agent in the cosmos?

The earliest constructs are created to satisfy a specific need. Hephaestus, Greek god of the forge, furnished King Minos a giant bronze automaton (~1200 BC: Talos) to defend the island of Crete. The sculptor Pygmalion carves an ivory statue (~250 BC: Galatea) so life-like that it ensnares his heart; Aphrodite transforms the figure into flesh so that Pygmalion may have his ideal wife. According to Talmudic writings, rabbis fashioned silent men of clay (~200: Golem) to act as servants and protectors. An obsessed scientist uses alchemy to create a synthetic man (1818: Frankenstein’s Monster) to conquer death.

Constructs (primarily robots) are simple adversaries in the Pulp Era and the Golden Age. They represent science gone bad, the evil weapons of misguided mad scientists. In the Silver Age, the construct acquires additional dimensions in line with its literary roots. As sentient beings independent of their creators, constructs adapt their primary programming to new stimuli, evolve distinct personalities and take control of their own destinies. An imperfect doppelganger (1958: Bizarro) of Superman cannot adjust to life on Earth, eventually relocating to the fun-house mirror planet of Htrae. An advanced android (1960: Amazo) can duplicate any super powers he encounters, but struggles to understand the human emotions that he has absorbed. Initially designed as an assistant for Dr. Henry Pym, an armored robot (1968: Ultron) turns against its creator after self-programming a malevolent intellect. Ironically, Ultron’s own creation (1968: Vision) rebels and joins the Avengers.

Not content with their creator’s original vision, the constructs of the Bronze Age and Modern Age reinterpret their core directives to establish their own answer to the meaning of life and death. Created by the Guardians of the Galaxy to police the cosmos, an army of androids (1975: Manhunters) decides that punishment supersedes justice and swears revenge against their makers. In a revision of a classic Silver Age villain, a machine intelligence (1983: Braniac) concludes that Superman is the “Master Programmer” (i.e. God) and the principal obstacle to dominating the universe. The ultimate Kryptonian killing machine (1992: Doomsday), bred by accelerated artificial selection, also desires to destroy the Man of Steel to fulfill his purpose. A sentient surveillance satellite and its cyborg warriors (2005: Brother Eye and OMACs) launch an attack to eradicate what is perceived as the greatest threat to the Earth – all beings with super powers.