Mechanon

Mechanon is a fictional villain in the Hero Universe, setting of the Champions game. He was one of the first "master villains" created for the game and is still used in its publications today.

Fictional origin

In earlier editions of the game, Mechanon was a robot created to defend the headquarters of an unidentified superhero team, but a flaw in his computerized mind caused him to instead make it his mission to destroy all organic life. In the sourcebook Champions Universe (Fourth Edition version) it is specified that Mechanon was built by Defender of The Champions.

Mechanon and Defender are featured on the cover of the book Kingdom of Champions.

In the Fifth Edition of the game Mechanon's origin is unknown (although many theories exist). He simply appeared in the mid-1980s and made the first of many grandiose attempts to destroy the human race. Book of the Machine, a sourcebook dedicated to Mechanon, reveals its new (5th/6th edition) origins: it was made by scientists in the year 6000 AD, designed to be sent back in time to 5198 AD in order to prevent much of the damage from a series of natural disaster which had made the Earth of the 59th century all but uninhabitable, but an error in the time machine (as well as an undetected 'chronal storm') caused the 'Salvation Unit' to travel back to 1985, and inverted its core programming so that instead of working to preserve all organic life it would work to destroy (or replace) all organic life.

Powers and Resources

Mechanon is, offensively, one of the strongest supervillains in the Hero Universe. He possesses a wide variety of high-tech weapon systems powerful enough to enable him to battle entire teams of superheroes at once. Perhaps Mechanon's most dangerous quality, however, is his ability to learn from any defeats he suffers. If defeated or destroyed, automated factories Mechanon has set up in advance will reconstruct his body with new powers and defenses to prevent him from being defeated in a similar fashion again.

Mechanon 3000

In the Galactic Champions setting, set in the early 31st century, Mechanon has returned after a millennium-long absence, now in the form of a head the size of a moon (approximately 1,000 kilometers in diameter). He has weapons more powerful than those of any known starship, along with an indeterminate number of fighter craft and robots nearly as powerful as his original robot body. He's described as "a powerful, almost elemental, force of destruction," implacably enslaving if not destroying any organic life he encounters.

Alternate versions

In the supplement "Champions in 3D", an alternate heroic version of Mechanon is introduced. He comes from a mirror-world called "Backworld" where the counterparts of heroes are villainous and the counterparts of villains are heroic.

Appearances outside the game

Mechanon was featured in a two-part story in the comic book based on the Champions game. Previous defeats at the hands of the heroes of the comic were mentioned; in their first battle (which led to the formation of the team) Mechanon had been smashed to pieces by a car, in the second he was frozen solid by Icestar's powers, in the third the Rose used her psychic abilities to simply switch off his computer mind. Though Mechanon crafted an elaborate ruse to trap and then exterminate the Champions, he was ultimately defeated again.

After breaking from the makers of the game, the comic briefly mentioned Mechanon again, his name changed to Mekano. The in-universe explanation for the name change was subtle changes to history caused by a spree of adventures throughout time. The character has yet to appear again, however.

References

• 1. Champions Fourth Edition. 1991 Iron Crown Enterprises
• 2. Cook, Monte et al. Champions Universe. 1992 Iron Crown Enterprises
• 3. Allston, Aaron. Champions. 2002 DOJ
• 4. Champions v.2 #6-7 Heroic Publishing