Courageous Cybernetic Creators: Will Magnus & Chuck Grayson

Their worlds’ preeminent masters of robotics, Will Magnus of Earth-One and Chuck Grayson of Earth-Two were the programming progenitors of their cybernetic creations, the Metal Men and G.I. Robots. While these cosmic twins were equally intelligent and adept in cybernetics, they had different radically differing psychological profiles that made each one unique from his doppelgänger.

While both men sought to use their scientific knowledge for the betterment of mankind, they each went about it in differing ways. The older Chuck was far meeker, a life-long bachelor married to his work. He first began his career working as an assistant to his friend Robert Crane and later as a resident roboticist for the government agency Project M. The younger Will was more self-assured, a true ladies' man. He started building his own company Magnus Labs, becoming reputable enough that its main client was the United States government!

Will invented the Responsometer which could both animate non-living objects, giving them sentience approaching synthetic life. From this technology, Magnus designed the Metal Men, six robots based on specific elements pliable enough to become powerful protectors of humanity. These Metal Men were Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Tin and a Metal Woman named Platinum. Also known as Tina for short, Platinum nurtured a deep abiding love for her human creator, which Will often repulsed given their differing natures. During the course of their adventures together throughout the years, these Metal Men would combat a variety of automated, artificial and alien adversaries around the world

Chuck used his knowledge to assist Doctor Robert Crane in constructing a Robotman, which he soon after transplanted Crane’s brain into following the scientist’s murder caused by gangsters. Robotman and Chuck Grayson would be valuable allies of the All-Star Squadron, while having several independent adventures. After leaving Crane's employ, Chuck was recruited in the United States’ secret department known as Project M during the early days of World War II. There, Grayson would build the G.I. Robot series based on his and Crane’s prototype Robotman. Around this period of time, Chuck became acquainted with his long-lost cousin, Dick "Robin" Grayson.

Will's mind was eventually brainwashed when he was kidnapped by a foreign dictator named Karnak, until that warlord's rule was overturned and Magnus was freed. However, a now mentally-unhinged Magnus was tasked by a representative of Karnak's country into infilitating a government agency. At this point, Will transformed himself into the insidious Plutonium Man, taking on his former creations until the Metal Men's self-sacrifice in battle with him helped Will regain his sanity once more. However, Magnus would continue to have psychological problems for quite some time, until he regained a semblance of normancy after once more returning to mentor the Metal Men.

Chuck’s brain was exposed to the rays emitted from Ultra’s Powerstone, which would have dire ramifications for Grayson years later. Grayson assisted Robotman in reviving the future robot known as Mekanique, opposed by the entire assemblage of the All-Star Squadron. Years after this, when Robotman temporarily migrated to Earth-One at the invitation of fellow former All-Star teammate Commander Steel, Chuck succumbed to a fatal condition. The potent Powerstone radiation resulted in Grayson's passing away from brain cancer. However,  his body was kept alive and youthful, prolonged in cryogenic stasis for decades awaiting the time when it could be used to house the brain of Chuck's old friend Robert.  Which eventually happened, with the former Robotman by 1980 assuming the Grayson identity his best friend left behind at death.

Mindful Malevolent Metallics Mask Mystery

The Responsometer was a revolutionary device developed by robotics scientist Dr. Will Magnus. Theorizing that the intrinsct properties of various metals reflects "personality traits", and so created this mechanism which when implanted in specific metals gave them a form of sentience. From this invention, Magnus created the Metal Men, consisting of the original six members: Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Platinum and Tin. Over time, other metals and elemental substances would also be implanted with their own Responsometers, spawning various sub-groups similar to the Metal Men themselves. These robots at times teamed up with various members of the Justice League of America on Earth-One, including the Batman whom they worked with throughout the years.

On Earth-Two, sentinence also was implanted in the vehicle originally named Esmerelda and eventually named Goitrude. Throughout the decades of its existence, this car had various forms consisting of numerous parts, yet was aware of its existence and its surroundings. Eventually, it became the property of cab driver Doiby Dickles, and aided its owner and his friend Alan "Green Lantern" Scott of the Justice Society of America in various adventures. Possibly due to exposure from the emerald energies of Scott's green lantern battery, Goitrude gained its intelligence.

The Metal Men was a cohesive unit, working as one, and even on occasion were fused together as an alloy entity. They also from time to time used their shape-changing abilities to become various racing vehicles. Although the "Jovian Metallic Horde" invading Earth-Two originating from Jupiter-Two were also doppelgängers for these Metal Men, they lacked the moldability and individuality, working as cohesive collective replicating the metallic substances they touch.

Goitrude was the forerunner of a generation of special vehicles aiding various superheroes, including the Black Widow, Sand-Car, Atomobile, Esmerelda and the Doll-Plane... driven by the Spider, Sandman, Atom, Wonder Woman's friend Etta Candy and the Doll Man, respectively. 

While none of these other transports evidentially displayed the same self-sentience as had Goitrude, that cab itself passed a portion of its own sentience onto various clones of the supervillain Sinestro, as that renegade former Green Lantern of Earth-One's universe merged his mind with Goitrude's in order to restore his body. It seems that the sentience of the Green Flame Starheart empowering Alan’s lantern also imparted a portion of its intellect to Goitrude, with its emerald energies attracting Sinestro, which he would thereafter absorb.

Sinestro's clones remained on Earth-Two, presumably incarcerated or transported off-world to prevent them from harming humanity. They seem to have have been ingrained with Goitrude's redeeming quality of loyalty, as these synthetic Sinesteos allowed themselves to be easily defeated by the Green Lanterns of Earths One and Two, despite having superior numbers and power matching the pair. Perhaps these clones eventually turned good themselves, with Goitrude’s personally overwriting that of Sinestro’s, who returned to his own native universe.

Mercurially Malevolent Metal Men

Will Magus' and Herbert Crawford's Metal Men were either malevolent machines or menacing mechanisms. On Earth-One, Magus developed his Responsometers which stored personalities within the malleable metallic frames of his Metal Men, originally developed to assist the United States government and later the world in combating various threats, both those originating from their own planet as well as those arriving from outerspace. 

On Earth-Two, Crawford developed a means to communicate with an extraterrestrial metallic horde from Jupiter-Two, luring them to his world where solar rays enlarged these Metal Men. Magus designed his artificially produced Metal Men based on the metals of gold, lead, iron, mercury, platinum and tin. Crawford's alien Metal Men replicated the metals of gold, silver, iron, magnesium and copper (another form of Metal Men remained on an alternate Jupiter that Starman once visited).

While the Mangus Metal Men had dozens of adventures as protectors, the Crawford Metal Men only had one notable appearance opposing the Justice Society of America. However, while the original five robot men of Gold, Iron, Lead, Copper, Mercury and their lady robot Platinum were all destroyed after their debut, Mangus rebuilt them and would continue to each time they were destroyed. The later models proved structurally superior to the originals he built.

Besides the original Metal Men, either a maddened Mangus or a robotic duplicate of his spawned other malevolent mechanized men, These included the Robots of Terror aka the "New Metal Men", consisting of Barium, Aluminum, Calcium, Zirconium, Sodium, and Plutonium. Shortly after, the Gas Gang is unleashed on the world, consisting of Oxygen, Helium, Chloroform, Carbon Monoxide, and Carbon Dioxide. Then there was the most notable Metal Men clones, the Metal Women!

While these various versions of the Metal Men co-existed, so too were multiple copies of the Jovian Metal Men on Earth-Two, consisting of at least four of each metal: Gold, Cooper, Silver, Iron, Magnesium, and Metal-X. All these quartets save the Metal-X men were destroyed during their battle with the Justice Society.

The Metal Women consisted of five female counterparts and a male counterpart of the Metal Men created to be love interests for their opposite numbers. The five Metal Women tragically had their synthetic lives cut short during their first adventure, with only the sole male member Platinum Man remaining functional. He would reappear years later, seeking revenge against the Metal Men while entrapping the honorary Metal Men femme-bot known as "Nameless". Batman and the Metal Men defeated Platinum Man and his robotic minions, while the object of his... and Metal Man Tin's... affection perished protecting them.

On occasion, the Metal Men even transformed into various vehicles, which mirrored those automated entities who took the place of Crawford's Metal Men. These were the vehicles Goitrude, Black Widow, Sand-Car, Atomobile, Esmerelda and the Doll-Plane... driven by Green Lantern's pal Doiby Dickles, the Spider, Sandman, Atom, Wonder Woman's friend Etta Candy and the Doll Man. Sometimes these mechanisms, such as Goitrude and its former host vehicle Esmerelda displayed sentience, while others such as the Doll-Plane and Black Widow were at times self-piloting vessels. Some had metamorphic properties, such as the Sand-Car and Atomobile.

The Metal Men of Earth-One had scores of adventures handling a wide-range of threats, both terrestrial and extra-terrestrial. The Jovian Metal Horde only had a single case with the majority of their members versus the Justice Society on Earth-Two, while the aforementioned vehicles had rendered valuable assistance to their human masters in dozens of cases throughout the years.

Mechanical Motorized Marvels Meet Metal Men

Gold, Lead, Platinum, Iron, Mercury and Tin. Six elements in nature, and six malleable Metal Men created by robotics scientist Will Magnus to protect his world of Earth-One. While six other Metal Men, multiple copies of each In fact, also appeared on Earth-Two… these were actually menaces to mankind summoned by Hubert Crawford from the planet Jupiter-Two. 

Interestingly, there were other mechanized marvels who aided members of the Justice Society and All-Star Squadron, just as the Metal Men had aided members of the Justice League. Only these Earth-Two automatons were specialized vehicles, which the Metal Men mimicked on occasion when they also transformed into various cars. 

These were the following vehicles and their owner operators which they utilized on numerous cases:

• Goitrude driven by cab driver Doiby Dickles, which drove Alan “Green Lantern” Scott to numerous adventures. It displayed sentience and later was capable of flight powered by Q-Force.

• Black Widow driven by Tom “The Spider” Holloway and his chauffeur Chuck. Capable of traversing not only streets but other surfaces like walls and buildings.

• Esmerelda driven by Etta Candy which carried her and her Holliday College classmates to several adventures with Wonder Woman.

• Atomobile designed and driven by Al “The Atom” Pratt which could atomically transform from a normal car into a sleek convertible, inspired by his pal Percy's Atomobile made for the Boy Commando.

• Sand-Car driven by Wesley "Sandman" Dodds along with his fiancée Dian Belmont, with a state-of-the-art engine equipped with its owner's special silicon-based weaponry.

• Doll Plane designed by Professor Roberts and driven by his future son-in-law Darrel “Doll Man” Dane which operated on autonomous remote control.

These golden and silver age “Transformers”, either had their own personalities like Goitrude or reflected those of their human partners. This corresponded to the base Responsometers at the heart of the individual Metal Men on their various replacements bodies. Despite occupying new bodies, these were the same personalities and memories of the previous models, with their unique traits, characteristics, and quirks.

Among the various threats they faced included ones also created by their creator, as Mangus in some manor had a hand in spawned the Metal Men II aka the Robots of Terror, the Gas Gang, and the Metal Women along with their teammate Platinum Man. Each of these robots caused the original Metal Men and Tina some anxiety, although they each proved to be one-and-done inventions before they were scrapped. Only the original six Metal Men, and for a time Tin's own creation known as Nameless, endured throughout the years.


By the time the Jovian Metal Horde had arrived on Earth-Two in their insatiable attempt to consume various elements, which they transformed into, these vehicles had already rendered invaluable service to their human designers and drivers. Although their aid was behind-the-scenes, they were invaluable to the members of the Justice Society and Freedom Fighters during their periods of service, before each retired.


As there were multiple copies of the Metal Horde from Jupiter, it was theoretically possible for the each of the the four malevolent Metal Men within their five separate squads confronting Justice Society members could have themselves absorbed a variety of elements, yet they all solely transformed into the elements of Gold, Silver, Magnesium, Iron, and Copper... with a sixth regime remaining on Jupiter remaining as the element Metal-X, who Starman encountered years prior to the Horde's invasion of Earth-Two. Of course, the shark-like sentient spaceship which transported the Jovians to that world also posed a threat, as had its counterpart Starro the Starfish Conqueror who invaded Earth-One. As had the Metal-X ship versus the Justice Society, Starro was defeated by the World's Greatest Heroes, the Justice League.

Whatever Happened to the Starfish Conqueror?

Starro the Starfish Conqueror was a mysterious entity originating from outerspace. When he arrived on Earth-One, he sought to dominate that world's lifeforms. To this end, he mutated three duplicates, although each of these was dispatched by five members of the newly formed Justice League of America. From a local boy in Happy Harbor, Snapper Carr, the Leaguers learned of Starro's vulnerability... lime, which the lad used on his family's lawn during the alien invasion.

As such, Green Lantern used his power ring to dowse Starro in a thick covering of lime, which immobiized him. Something similar worked on Earth-Two with the shark-shaped spacecraft made of Metal-X, which Green Lantern alongside his Justice Society allies drenched the animalistic alien in acid.

As for Starro, a fragment of the creature had survived and nurtured itself in the poisonous waters of Earth-One, spawning a duplicate that gained even greater mental abilities while gaining a weakened immune system when removed from these toxic waters. However, despite retaining the transmitted memories of the original, this new Starro needed years to grow to maturity. Meanwhile, a fake Starro was built by T.O. Morrow to battle the League when they teamed up with the Society. This synthetic Starro of Earth-One was like the Metal-X ship of Earth-Two, a cybernetic rather than biological being.

Back over on Earth-Two, the actual doppelgänger of Starro and its replicants was the undersea tyrant Nyarl-Amen and his Fishmen, which launched an attack on Hawaii that was repelled by Doctor Fate. Decades later, Fate along with his Justice Society colleague Hourman faced the Psycho-Pirate, who spawned a replica of Nyarl-Amen along with other older adversaries of the hero to briefly confuse him.

Once strong enough, Earth-One’s Starro enlisting the aid of various marine life as well as members of Aqualad's undersea people. Starro sought revenge against Aquaman, who was one of the five originally defeating him. However, the Marine Marvel used his telepathic abilities to summon porcupine fish, which sprayed fresh water on the antagonistic alien. Aquaman then called upon his League teammate Green Lantern to dispose of their enemy, yet even still, Starro was able to jettison another fragment into space to fight another day.

And so it was that yet a third Starro, not counting the three starfish he mutated during his first appearance, appeared to once more war against humanity. This time, Starro was largely successful in mentally dominating millions of New Yorkers, including several members of the Justice League. However, Starro misjudged the Red Tornado, who unlike the other Leaguers was not human and so was not suspectible to the creature's mind control tactics. Leading the charge with his remaining teammates, Reddy was able to shut off the source of the alien's strength, while the other heroes used ice cold freezing blasts from Firestorm and Green Lantern to render this Starro inert. However, Starro had a contingency plan with yet another fragment of his former body.

This latest piece entered a space warp, arriving on Earth-C, whereby a new Starro was created in that univere. This version only had the memories of the original, and of the duplicate that had fought Aquaman, unaware of his counterpart's third attempt in New York.

This Starro's arrival on this new world inadvertently created the circumstances that empowered six new superheroes, who would become Captain Carrot and his Zoo Crew. Together with a visiting Superman, who had been displaced from Earth-One in the same space warp, these new champions were able to replicate the lime dowsing technique used by the League years earlier. This time, it finally seemed as if the threat of Starro had finally been extinguished, and indeed under normal circumstances this would indeed have been the case. However, unlike what had previously transpired, another entity engineered an unlikely resurrection of the Starfish Conqueror... Brainiac!

Brainiac along with Lex Luthor of Earth-One assembled a legion of doom from various eras and from five Earths, in order to implement of coordinated attack on three of those Earths. Starro was dispatched with several other supervillains to Earth-S, yet despite his awesome abilities, it proved unable to defeat Superman. This was no doubt due to the fact that Brainiac sent the being to a section of Earth-S placed under a deep freeze by the Icicle, Captain Cold and Killer Frost... a tactile mistake for the rogue robot. Whether this Starro was the original or replica that battled the League on Earth-One, or the clone that battled the Zoo Crew on Earth-S, is unknown?

The Starros of Earth-One, Earth-C and Earth-S, Metal-X of Earth-Two, the Starros of the Post-Crisis Earths... each were terrifying space-faring foes of mankind. And yet, despite their massive mental might, they each came up short when faced with their World's Greatest Superheroes!
  

Evil Elementals: Metal Men Menaces

While we've previously considered the original Metal Men of two Earths, there were other elemental beings created on Earth-One that did not have humanity's best interests at heart. Since they, well, had none to speak of...they were automatons after all.

During a space voyage, the Metal Men's interstellar vessel is disabled. While attempting repairs on its exterior, team creator Dr. Magus transforms into a robot himself. Striking out against his creations who see his demeanor change from good to evil, Magnus creates the Gas Gang consisting of members Oxygen, Helium, Carbon Monoxide, Chloroform and Carbon Dioxide. They are resurrected twice more once to battle the then evil Metal Men and later by the team's forgotten member Nameless as an act of vengeance. 

While Hebert Crawford of Earth-Two never got around to creating his own Metal Men like his counterpart Will Magus of Earth-One, having recruited ones from hyperspace Jupiter instead, he himself turned into a metal man and displayed the various qualities of his team i.e. gold, silver, iron, magnesium, and copper, becoming living manifestations of each of these elements. He was cured of his insanity thanks to the intervention of the Justice Society of America.

Mighty Metal Men - And the Men Behind Them

Doctor Will Magnus was the preeminent robotics scientist on Earth-One, and when motivated to create artificial life based on metallic elements his Metal Men was spawned. While first viewing this team of Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Platinum and Tina as mere expendable pawns... Magnus grew in his affection towards this team. And even after experiencing a period wherein he was brainwashed and temporarily evil, he still proved his loyalty to his team in the end. At times Magnus actually imitated the adaptability of his creations before regaining his humanity.

During they're memorable career the Metal Men met the Atom, Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and several other heroes while aiding the caused of justice. And despite becoming fugitives of justice from time to time due to misunderstanding with humanity and during periods when Magnus' more off-center moments, the Metal Men on Earth-One truly endeared themselves to mankind and were seen as useful tools of the American military on different occasions. Such was not the case for their counterparts a universe away.

And the man behind the appearance of Metal Men from (a) Jupiter on Earth-Two, Hubert Crawford, was also a prominent scientist although his predictions of a robotic invasion had been scoffed at for so long he grew bitter. After contacting these robotic creatures, he obtained their unique attributes and incorporated them by some undisclosed process into his body.

Like Crawford, a recurring adversary of Magnus was Professor Snakelocks, a prominent scientist from a Communist country. Designed an synthetic energy life-form named Sizzler, he used his creation as a weapon against the Metal Men and their master. Sizzler transformed Will into a robot and the Metal Men into humans, but changes allegiances when she fell in love with Magnus. Unlike his counterpart Crawford, Snakelocks only transformed once into a robot due to Sizzler’s intervention in behalf of the Metal Men whom he was attacking. Snakelocks soon regained his humanity as Sizzler lost his artificial life.

Mighty Metal Men or Sinister Starfish?

The mascots of the Justice League/Society were in a pickle, as they faced alien entities with aggressive appetites. Starro the Starfish Conqueror invaded Earth with the goal of enslaving its population by attaching its mind-control miniature starfish, and the vessel of the Metal Men of Jupiter-Two known as Metal-X simply wanted to continue to feed and grow to mammoth proportions by instinct only.  When Snapper Carr stumbled upon Starro and realized that lime was the necessary component to neutralizing Starro, and when Johnny Thunder realized he needed the aid of his Justice Society allies to destroy Metal-X, they called upon their fellow heroes. 

What is interesting to the method in which the Justice League and Justice Society used to defeat these similar gigantic alien threats. The Earth-One Green Lantern soaked Starro with lime lather while Earth-Two's Green Lantern poured acid on Metal-X.

Starro would return from seeming extinction to plague Earth a few more times in the years to come. This included a robotic replica of Starro developed by T.O. Morrow, similar to Metal-X. As for the actual counterpart of the real Starro on Earth-Two, that was Nyarl-Amen and his clones, which sought to conquer the surface world until repulsed by Doctor Fate. 

Ultimately, Starro migrated first to Earth-C to battle the Zoo Crew, and still later to Earth-S during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Metal-X apparently never returned... although the man behind its appearance still remained for the Justice Society to face soon thereafter.  

Mighty Metal Men - Golden Gladiators

The Fastest Man Alive on Earth-Two had a difficulty hurdle to overcome, tackling the threat of golden Metal Men from Jupiter! Thankfully, his prime ability is his quick wit while thinking on his feet, which would help him eliminate this persistent threat!

Using his swift feet, he bent the malleable frames of his foes into silly putty. Now he needed to rejoin his allies as they tackle a final Metal Men who would be the greatest threat of them all!

Gold was the natural leader on Earth-One's Metal Men, and it showed in his courageous contenance in the face of danger. And his peculiar qualities elementally lent to ingenious abilities. Each successful Gold replica followed the same aptitudes of the original.

Mighty Metal Men - Copper and Mercury

Like his Justice Society teammates, Doctor Mid-Nite had a tall order to handle. His Earth-Two Metal Men adversaries consumed copper and adopted the attributes of that particular element. How would he defeat a mini-armada of such foes?

Turned out that while making his dimwitted enemies, Doc tricked them into replenishing their energy eating copper fixtures which gave them sore stomachs. Too much isn't a good thing, guys!

Mercury, the sarcastic member of Earth-One's Metal Men, was also its most pliable and adaptable. Rather than get poisoning from getting to close to another element, he proved a mastery of form and fluidity, literally!

Although it must be said his salty disposition at times wore thin with his teammates, he nevertheless proved a valuable asset, all incarnations of him including his later replacements as each model expired.

Mighty Metal Men - Lead and Magnesium

Alan Scott, the Green Lantern of Earth-Two, tracked his Metal Men of Jupiter to mines wherein the creatures were consuming and adopting the attributes of Magnesium. While Lantern had mastery over most metals, this particular metal seemed to cause him some difficulty defeating, at least initially. Thankfully, with a bit of will power, the tide would turn.

With his power ring doubling as a blow torch, he melted his foes down to size before flying off to aid his pals.

Lead of the Metal Men was that Earth-One team's first line of defense, literally, as his superior mass provided a capable if clumsy shield that more often then not saved Doc Magnus from having to construct more Metal Men replicas after the last versions were destroyed by foes.

Mighty Metal Men - The Iron-Men

While his chum Hawkman faced off against a horde of Silver Metal Men, Earth-Two's Atom dealt with their Iron brethren. The creatures consuming the metallic substance and adopting its abilities, wrought havoc on subway systems. How would the Mighty Mite deal with this threat to transportation everywhere. Using his noggin, naturally!

Using a spray of oxgyen, the Mighty Mite is quickly able to rust out the bodies of these critters, leaving them "dead pigeons"... so to speak!

Earth-One's Iron of the Metal Men was the powerhouse of his team, helping them out of many scrapes. One attribute he didn't possess, however, was adaptability and relied heavily on his scrappy nature. When faced with rival robot Cobalt on one occasion, he realized how limited he was when not using his head along with his hands! Still, he was always a reliable pal to his computerized comrades.

Mighty Metal Men - Silver and Tin

On the trail of invading Metal Men from Jupiter, or at least a planet thought to be Jupiter (we last saw that world in Starman's hyperspace voyage yesterday) by a concerned scientist, Earth-Two's Hawkman is the first to encounter his prey, Silver!

Each of these metal men consume various metals and adopt the attributes of said metal. Using pennys to fuse their atomic structure, this regimen of robots was knocked out.

Tin of Earth-One's Metal Men had always been a good natured teammate if a bit beholden to a massive inferiority complex given that he was a lesser renowned element. On one occasion, he exhibited tyranical disposition when an alien race made him their king and fed him a diet that turned him massive and evil. He soon recovered and rejoined his mates.

And over time, when each Tin was destroyed a replica was constructed in his place. Feeling the need for companionship, he eventually constructed a "girlfriend" known only as Nameless who had a tragic end despite their mutual feelings for one another.

Mighty Metal Men - Magnanimous or Malevolent

The Metal Men were a novel idea when they were first introduced during 1962. Mixing equal parts heroism with science, teaching readers the usefulness of the Periodic Table of Elements. 

However, the silver age wasn't the first time this concept had been introduced. For while the robotic men of metal were on the outer edges of Earth-One continuity fighting all types of unorthodox foes as inhuman as they, in the fall of 1945 their predecessors on Earth-Two came in conflict with the Justice Society.

Before we consider that episode, consider the introducing to the Metal Men of Jupiter, as they would be known. The first appearance of such creatures was in October 1942, when the Justice Society members were Shanghaied in Space by Nazi scientist Gootsden under the orders of no less than Adolph Hitler. Among the exiles was Starman, who ended up on the planet Jupiter, or so he initially thought until he realized that this was another planet in hyperspace he arrived at under diress:

Upon being introduced to a benevolent race of metallic armored beings with human-like organs housed within their mobile structures, these Metal Men implored Starman to assist them in removing the Red Spot which was a living organism threatening that world. 

After a heroic sacrifice by one of their number who accompanied the Cosmic Crusader, Starman realized that his gravity rod had immunized him to the adverse effects to this planet which also proved toxic to the entity. Constructing a massive gravity rod with the aid of his near allies there, the Red Spot was sent into space. And Starman was sent back to his Earth with technology that would enrich his world. Or not, since it was never referred to again.

On Earth-One, the first of the Metal Men introduced with the sole Metal woman, Platinum aka Tina, who was a personal favorite of their creator Doctor Magnus. Other models based on various other metallic substances would appear briefly from time to time. However, besides Tina there would be five others that would be the Metal Men.

More coming...