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== History == |
== History == |
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| − | [[Bruce Wayne]] once said that Rossum had taught him everything he knew about electronics, suggesting that Rossum was once a mentor to the young businessman. He also briefly served as one of theme park tycoon [[Grant Walker]]'s " |
+ | [[Bruce Wayne]] once said that Rossum had taught him everything he knew about electronics, suggesting that Rossum was once a mentor to the young businessman. He also briefly served as one of theme park tycoon [[Grant Walker]]'s "Visioneers". |
Rossum went into semi-retirement after his daughter was killed in a car accident. In his grief, Rossum thought of making a "perfect" world populated by androids instead of humans, where such things would never happen. To that end, Rossum resumed active leadership of Cybertron and designed and built H.A.R.D.A.C., a prototype artificial intelligence capable of producing androids that could impersonate living people. |
Rossum went into semi-retirement after his daughter was killed in a car accident. In his grief, Rossum thought of making a "perfect" world populated by androids instead of humans, where such things would never happen. To that end, Rossum resumed active leadership of Cybertron and designed and built H.A.R.D.A.C., a prototype artificial intelligence capable of producing androids that could impersonate living people. |
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Revision as of 19:37, 1 October 2011
Karl Rossum was head of Cybertron and the creator of the supercomputer H.A.R.D.A.C..
History
Bruce Wayne once said that Rossum had taught him everything he knew about electronics, suggesting that Rossum was once a mentor to the young businessman. He also briefly served as one of theme park tycoon Grant Walker's "Visioneers".
Rossum went into semi-retirement after his daughter was killed in a car accident. In his grief, Rossum thought of making a "perfect" world populated by androids instead of humans, where such things would never happen. To that end, Rossum resumed active leadership of Cybertron and designed and built H.A.R.D.A.C., a prototype artificial intelligence capable of producing androids that could impersonate living people.
Midway through his scheme's execution, Rossum realized that what he was doing was wrong, and that H.A.R.D.A.C. had gone beyond his control. He tried to shut H.A.R.D.A.C. down, but was incapacitated and imprisoned along with James Gordon, Hamilton Hill, and Harvey Bullock. They were rescued by Batman and Barbara Gordon, and he helped them all to escape Cybertron's building before an explosion that destroyed H.A.R.D.A.C. Outside, Hill assured him that he would not be held responsible for his creation's actions.
Rossum retired to a farm outside Gotham, settling for a more pastoral life, though still attended by a host of his robotic creations.
Unfortunately, his past came back to haunt him when a barely functioning H.A.R.D.A.C. managed to create a Batman duplicate. Although he ultimately survived, Rossum's greenhouse was destroyed in the fight between Batman and his duplicate.
Batman later tracked Rossum down when he suspected his involvement in Mr. Freeze's breakout. Rossum denied any involvement, but he did recognize the robot that took Freeze as being of a similar design to one he supplied to his old boss, Grant Walker.
Abilities and Appearance
Rossum was a brilliant inventor and electronics engineer, with a particular fondness for robots designed for various purposes.
He wore old-fashioned clothes, including a bow-tie, and spoke with a Mid-Western accent, giving him a rustic, "hayseed" appearance that belied his vast technological expertise.
Background Information
The name "Rossum" is a reference to the titular character in the 1921 play Rossum's Universal Robots by Karel Čapek, who coined the term "robot" in this play. The character also has allusions to the character J.F. Sebastian from the film Blade Runner, also played by William Sanderson, who was a retired Replicant (robot) designer who, by the time he shows up in the story, simply makes robotic toy friends for himself.