Gizmo (DC Comics)

Gizmo (also known as Mikron O’Jeneus) is a fictional character, a supervillain from DC Comics. He was created by George Pérez and Marv Wolfman, and he first appeared in The New Teen Titans #3 (January 1981) as a founding member of the Fearsome Five, a supervillain team that frequently fought the Teen Titans and the Outsiders.^[1]

Fictional character biography

Mikron O'Jeneus

A bald dwarf who flies around on a jet pack, Gizmo is a genius inventor who can turn seemingly innocuous objects like vacuum cleaners into dangerous weapons.^[1] Gizmo created a corporation which supplied technology to various people, including criminals. Hoping to increase his wealth, Gizmo joined the Fearsome Five through an ad placed in the Underworld Star, a criminal underground newsletter, by the psychopathic criminal Doctor Light.^[2]

After a number of unsuccessful conflicts with the Teen Titans, (and Superman in Adventures of Superman #430) Gizmo went straight for a while, and took a job at S.T.A.R. Labs,^[1] until his former Fearsome Five teammate Psimon, after having been seemingly killed by his teammates, resurfaced looking for revenge, and shrank Gizmo to microscopic size. Years later, Gizmo found a way to revert to his normal size, and took up a life of crime once again, partnering with his former teammate, Mammoth.

In a storyline in Outsiders #12–15 (July–October 2004), frequent Captain Marvel archenemy Doctor Sivana gathered Gizmo and the others, and put the team to work for him in a scheme to short sell LexCorp stock by having them steal its accounts from its corporate building in Metropolis, and then driving down the stock by killing all the people in the building, and destroying two other Lexcorp properties. At the latter of the two, a microchip processor factory of Lexcorp's subsidiary, Kellacor, the Five were confronted by the Outsiders. After escaping, the criminally unsophisticated Five urged Sivana to take Lexcorp's nuclear missile facility near Joshua Tree, California. When Sivana refused, Psimon asserted that they would take it anyway, and in response, Sivana killed Gizmo with a laser blast to the head,^[1] and severed relations with the remaining four, warning them that he would kill them if they ever crossed his path again. Sivana used the money he made from the scheme to purchase a tropical island off the coast of Thailand to use as his lair, and the remaining members of the Five were defeated in their plan to take the facility and fire a nuclear missile at Canada.

Whether the remaining members will take on a new member, find a way to revive Gizmo (as had been done with his teammate Shimmer), or change their name to the Fearsome Four (as Sivana sarcastically suggested after killing Gizmo) remains to be seen.

Gizmo appeared in undead form, summoned by Brother Blood to prevent the Teen Titans from freeing Kid Eternity, in Teen Titans #31 (2006). In Birds of Prey #120-121 (2008), Gizmo was reanimated by the geniuses at Macintech Research & Development, a technology company located in Platinum Flats. He disposed of their C.E.O and earned his seat on the Silicon Syndicate, a sinister group of high-tech criminals. Gizmo retained most of his brain function, but is still missing his eye and is partially decomposed.

O'Jeneus

In DC Special: Cyborg issue 5 a new Gizmo debuted where he is the son of the first Gizmo.^[1] He is based visually on the animated Gizmo. After graduating from the villainous H.I.V.E Academy, the diminutive teen followed in his father's footsteps and became the second Gizmo, a high-tech super-thief. He battles Cyborg as a member of Mr. Orr's "Cyborg Revenge Squad."

Powers and abilities

Gizmo is capable of creating unbelievable weaponry by transforming one machine into another. In his tiny hands using state-of-the-art technology, something like an ordinary vacuum cleaner can easily be converted into a deadly, unstoppable tank.^[1]

In other media

Television

• In the Teen Titans animated series, Gizmo (voiced by Lauren Tom in earlier appearances and by Tara Strong in "Revved Up" and in "Titans Together") is a recurring villain from the H.I.V.E Academy. Gizmo was redesigned into an apparent pre-teen kid (as opposed to being a middle-aged dwarf as he was in his comic book form which was later adapted in the comics as the son of the original Gizmo). He works with Jinx and Mammoth most of the time, although in the episodes "Car Trouble", "Revved Up", "Crash", and "Winner Take All", he is seen conducting solo acts. Gizmo's main gadget is a harness that can deploy wings, large mechanical spider legs, a device that creates holographic copies of himself, and a technological suit of armor. His knowledge of computers and incredible hacking skills make him a formidable foe for the Titans (though constructing a Level 4 Containment Field is hard, even for him). He also has a short temper and swears in pseudo profanity ("crud" and "snot" are his most frequently used terms). He has a special enmity with Cyborg and was able to tell that something was wrong with him when Cyborg went undercover as "Stone" at the H.I.V.E. Academy. He is also scared by Raven easily in "Crash" when she makes her head look like that of a movie monsters. He later forms The H.I.V.E. Five with Jinx, Mammoth, See-More, and Private H.I.V.E. He was sent with Billy Numerous to capture Kole and Gnarrk, but failed when Kole turned into a boomerang and severed his spider legs. During the final battle of "Titans Together", he was knocked unconscious by a giant hex from the reformed Jinx while trying to escape. Kid Flash placed him in the Brotherhood of Evil's freezing machine, taking him out for the rest of the battle. Gizmo is the only villain to appear in all five seasons of Teen Titans (as opposed to Slade, who is seen only once in the third season as an illusion and as a Slade-bot in the last season).

• Gizmo appears in the Teen Titans Go! episode "Laundry Day", voiced again by Lauren Tom. Gizmo was about to take over Jump City with his giant robot army. But after seeing Robin naked outside the Titans Tower, he decides to reschedule his plan. He is later seen in "Artful Dodgers" stealing an artifact from the museum with the rest of the H.I.V.E. F.I.V.E. when the Titans soon arrive to save the day. Gizmo then reveals to them that they've rigged the museum to blow with tons of people tied to it. After Cyborg questions why'd he'd do something like that he tells him so they can get away. The Titans and H.I.V.E. then begin arguing about how the H.I.V.E.'s actions are unfair. They soon decide to ignore the Titans and Gizmo cloaks them but the Titans find them and defeat them along with Starfire cracking See-More's eye so that the bomb would stop. They are later seen at the dodgeball league as the Hive Fivers in which they go against the Team Titans. The Hive Fivers win and walk off to later rob a bank. The Titans arrive and state they want to have a rematch. Gizmo confused asked if it is really not about them robbing the bank. Cyborg then tells Gizmo to get it into his evil little skull that they just want to play some dodgeball. They then have a rematch in which the Hive Fivers win again and drive off with the money they stole. Later at the dodgeball finals, the H.I.V.E. is shocked with the Titans began using their powers. Gizmo calls them out on this but Beast Boy remarks that they are being babies. While the Titans are distracted, The Hive Fivers throw dodgeballs at all of them winning the game- until Robins calls the police resulting in the Team Titans winning by default. In "The Left Leg," Gizmo pilots a giant robot in a plot to lead his giant robots into attacking Jump City until they end up fighting the Teen Titans in their Titan Robot. Gizmo's Robot ends up shooting the Titan Robot down as Robin ends up detaching the left leg and defeating Gizmo.

Video games

• Gizmo is a boss in both Teen Titans video games.
• Gizmo appears in DC Universe Online as part of the "Sons of Trigon" downloadable content.

Miscellaneous

• Gizmo has also made several appearances in Teen Titans Go!. He is the main villain in issue #9.

References