Two heroes have gone by the moniker
Robotman. The first was
created by
Jerry Siegel and
Joe Dobrotka and first appeared
in
Star-Spangled Comics #7 in 1942. The second was created
by
Bob Haney and
Arnold Drake and first appeared in
Doom
Patrol #1 in 1963.
The first Robotman was Dr. Robert Crane. He and his partner
Charles Greyson constructed a robot body capable of housing
human organs and a human brain. The two were overheard
discussing their breakthrough by a pair of theives. Believing
that since the two had a robot body that they must also have
cash and easily pawnable merchandise, the two theives broke
into the pair's lab. When it was discovered that they did not,
the theives knocked Greyson out and shot Crane, leaving him for
dead.
When Greyson recovered, he discovered his dying partner and did
what any normal doctor with a double major of mechanical engineering
and transplant surgery would do, placed Crane's brain in the
robot body. After successfully performing this landmark
surgery, Greyson collapsed, succumbing to his injuries. The
police arrived to discover Greyson passed out on the floor
beside the mangled remains of his partner Crane. Greyson was
charged with his partner's murder
Soon afterward, Crane awoke in his new robot body, which must have
been like waking a hotel room and not knowing where you are for
a second only more so. Discovering that his partner had been
charged with his murder, Crane went after his killers to clear
his friend's name. Crane tracked the theives and brought them
to justice, but realized that if they were to be charged with
Rober Crane's murder then he would have to stay dead. Adopting
the name Paul Dennis, Robotman continued to adventure and
became one of the founding members of the All-Star Squadron.
The second hero to go by the name Robotman was race car driver
Cliff Steele. When Steele's car crashed during a race, his
body was nearly completely destroyed. In an attempt to save
him, Niles Caulder transplanted his brain into a robot body.
Caulder then enlisted Steele into his group of super-powered
heroes known as the Doom Patrol. Steele has been the single
common thread in all the Doom Patrol's incarnations, surviving the explosion
that was believed to have killed the majority of the first team.
He continues to adventure today in the newest version of the Doom
Patrol.
The important issue that is deduced from the Robotman origins is
that within the confines of the comic book universe, there is no
requirement of doctors to have
consent forms before performing
lifechanging experimental
surgery on a patient.