Back in August 2016, Nerdvana looked at Marvel’s Super Hero Squad Show.

Specifically, we celebrated the Animal Factor, one of the specific factors that each SHS member (aka the “Squaddies”) employed to make an ideal team. Today’s Nerdvana looks at another one of said factors, The Technology Factor, aka The Tech Factor.

For the uninformed, Tech Factor characters are in possession of amazing, futuristic high-tech, able to create everything from the latest advanced weaponry to the Egg Scrambler of Tomorrow and employing the most far-out gear, gadgets, gizmos and gigabytes into their daily lives.

Hmm, four Gs. That sounds familiar somehow.

 

So without further ado, here are some of my favorite Tech Factor characters.

CYBORG

 

Everybody’s favorite half-organic, half-cybernetic Teen Titan turned founding Justice League member. Though he actually made his TV debut on ABC’s Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, his most famous incarnation was in Glen Murakami’s Teen Titans: The Animated Series.

He was cool there, but he was basically just the strong man on that show, with some tech-savvy on the side. Later on, he was retconned to his current version, where he is capable of flight and the ability to literally plug into electronic devices and interface with machines and computers. Cyborg’s adaptability enables him a vast array of robo-powers.

MR. TERRIFIC

Yes, I know that there were actually 2 Mr. Terrifics in the DC Universe, but I’ll only be covering the 2nd Mr. Terrific, Michael Holt, as he’s the Mr. Terrific of “my” generation and the only one I really know about besides the name. Mr. Terrific’s super power by his own admission is learning. He’s one of THE smartest people in the DCU, as a kid he was mastering quantum physics while the other kids were struggling with Sesame Street. He’s also the inventor of the T-Spheres…

…Which can do a plethora of things:

-self-propelled flight
-form a laser grid between the spheres
-create holograms
-record
-sensors
-link to computers/data
-be used as a weapon by flying into things
-bombs

Forget Siri, I gotta get me some of these!

TONY STARK/IRON MAN

Perhaps the most famous Tech Factor hero of all, Mr. Stark has a suit or armor and a high-tech device for seemingly any occasion. Uni-Beam, Repulsor Blasts, Smart Bombs, Rocket Boots, a computerized A.I., you name it.

GEAR

Static Shock’s sidekick, er, um, partner, received latent exposure to the Big Bang gas, accelerating his intellect tenfold. At least he didn’t just get a rash or something.

In addition to possessing rocket shoes and the ability to project holograms, Gear is the inventor of Backpack, a high-tech assistant that Richie wears on his back (duh!) which constantly feeds him data that only a super-genius brain can keep up with. It also makes Julian Fries.

GIZMODUCK

A numerical savant accountant inside a suit of robo-armor invented by nutty chicken inventor Gyro Gearloose. In addition to possessing cool techno-powers and getting to zoom around on a single radial tire, I like how in the Disney Duck-Verse Gizmoduck has Superman status, being one of Duckburg and St. Canard’s most beloved heroes.

Also, in the new DuckTales series, the duck inside the armor will be voiced by Lin Manuel Miranda, and at the actor’s request, will also be Latino.

TECNA

I gushed over Tecna before, and I’m doing it again here. She’s a fairy whose magical powers is technology, my kind of fairy. She’s a genius (obviously), she’s decked out in purple, one of my favorite colors…

…And she hails from a technologically advanced planet called Zenith. (It was called Techno Fairyland in the 4Kids dub, ’cause they didn’t want to get sued. Too late!)

Plus, one of her signature moves is the Digital Traingle. What’s so great about triangles? Just ask Pythagoras.

DEXTER

Is Dexter a superhero? No, but he is a Boy Genius, having registered the term.

This kid has his own insanely vast science laboratory hidden within the bowels of his ordinary suburban home, where he’s constantly tinkering away, creating all manner of Mad Science.

Finally, we’ll wrap this up by providing something for the benefit of those who may opt to create their own robots: A brief run-through of Asimov’s 3 Laws of Robotics.

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its’ own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.