Calculator (comics)
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The Calculator is a DC Comics supervillain, initially created by Bob Rozakis in the 1970s. As is commonplace in comics, the character was based on a topical event or trend; in this case, Noah Kuttler took his powers and costume design from the recently-popular pocket calculator. His costume had a large numerical keypad on the front and a flashlight-like device on the headpiece. When he typed upon the keypad, he could make "hard light" constructs appear from the headpiece, fashioning tools and weapons in the style of Green Lantern's power ring.
He was featured in a series of one-shot adventures in Detective Comics, fighting many of the Justice League members. As he was defeated by hero after hero, he would press a special button on his keypad that would (as it was revealed to the reader in a thought balloon) "turn defeat into victory". After months of appearances, the Calculator's scheme was revealed. The button somehow analyzed the powers or tactics of the hero defeating him, and effectively inoculated him from ever being defeated by that hero ever again. This immunity would manifest itself as a force field, rendering a hero unable to touch or otherwise affect The Calculator. This of course meant he could only be defeated by a new hero; luckily, there are an almost endless supply of new heroes in the DC Universe, so he was always able to be defeated.
The Calculator made intermittent appearances in DC titles over the years, such as Blue Beetle. In the 2004 miniseries Identity Crisis, he was revamped as a villainous analogue to Oracle; a source of information for supervillains planning heists, offering suggestions of weaponry, assisting with logistics, etc, for $1,000 per question. He has become a major player in the current Infinite Crisis cross-over Villains United as a core member of Lex Luthor's Secret Society.
Noah suffers from severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, unbeknownst to his peers (even though this was hinted at when he was in charge of monitoring Supergirl), and initially controlled this with medication. However, in recent issues of Birds of Prey, he has become obsessed with finding out the identity of Oracle, and this has led him toward mental breakdown. He stopped taking his medication and now suffers from nightmares about the green mask that Oracle uses as a symbol.
In the post Infinite Crisis DC Universe, the Calculator now functions as the head of the Secret Society, a role formerly held by Alexander Luthor (the Son of the Earth Three version of Lex Luthor). The Society has become something of a villains' union, requiring all major villain jobs be done through the society. Those rogues wishing to go behind the new Society's back find they do so with disastrous results. Little else has been seen from the Post Crisis Calculator.
[edit] See also
- The Cover to Detective Comics #463 — Calculator's 1st Appearance
