ROE

History: With the world teetering on the brink of atomic annihilation, a special assembly of the United Nations met and decided that an enormous computer would be built to govern the world. Containing all human knowledge, the computer was housed in a palace atop an isolated mountain. The super-computer was built in the shape of a sitting man (because men always feared things which were not human) and named ROE (Ruler Of Earth). It was programmed for humility, and every hour on the hour it was programmed to recite a phrase: “I am inferior to man, for I am only a mere machine”. ROE's calculations let it solve such problems as border disputes between countries, and predicting weather patterns to double the world's food supply. All problems were solved logically by ROE's impartial, fair governing. By the “future” year 1990, the world was a utopia. A faction of the Soviet Union tried to plug an electronic component into ROE, to corrupt its programming and give it “evil” qualities (greed, deceit, dishonesty) so that ROE might favor their nation and help them conquer the world. ROE unplugged the component and threw it aside, saying: “I am incapable of wrongdoing. Only man can be evil, and I am inferior to man, for I am only a mere machine.”

Height: 30 ft.
Demonstrated Powers: ROE was a super-computer programmed with a data base of all human knowledge. ROE had no human emotions, basing all of its decisions on pure logic alone. ROE had limited movement, and was show unplugging the Soviet component from itself with its “arms”.

Comment: When this story was reprinted in the 1970's, there was a warming of relations between the USA and the USSR. To reflect this friendly detente between the two nations, Marvel redrew and relettered this story, changing the “hammer-and-sickel” insignia to an “H”, and having the Communists become Hydra agents (Hydra - a subversive network of spies working for world domination, introduced in Strange Tales # 135, Nick Fury - Agent of SHIELD series).

For another entry on ROE, click HERE.

If we're speculating on the integration of these monsters with the main Marvel Universe, R.O.E. could have been an eariy version of the Cerebrus computer built by Stark Industries (Iron Man v1 # 5). This, then, could have been upgraded to the computer that created the robot Colossus (“I Created the Colossus!”, Stranges Tales #72) by 2020, and then to the menace Cerebrus became. Eventually, this could have become Baal, who created Mr. Kline, the Assassin, and attempted to change time. (Daredevil #s 78-84).

I've heard of the mutant-detecting computer, Cerebro. But, what did this Cerebrus try to do, with regard to world conquest?

Never mind! I just looked it up at the UNOFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, earlier today. And, if Cerebrus was destroyed by the resistance leader Krylla, then Baal the A.I. could not have been created from “him.” It's more likely that “he” was one of Ultron's brainchildren!

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