Amazo is a robotic enemy to the Justice League who was sold on the black-market and brought to Gotham City where it served as a would-be puppet for several Gotham super-villains and an enemy to Batman and Nightwing.
History
Pre-Crisis (Earth One)
Origins
Amazo was an android created by the immortality obsessed super-villain scientist Prof. Anthony Ives AKA Professor Ivo. Amazo was created through the usage of synthetic, "Absorption cells" which allowed the android to replicate the super-powers of any meta-human which he encountered.
Justice League
Ivo used Amazo to steal a serum which the mad professor used to cling onto his fragile immortality, putting Amazo at odds with the Justice League of America. Pinned against Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash (Barry Allen), the Martian Manhunter and the Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), AMAZO was able to replicate their powers and use them against the heroes.
Amazo managed to kidnap the Justice Leaguers and bring them to Ivo's lair for the mad scientist to deal with them. However, Green Lantern managed to get them out when he willingly inhaled a gas which was yellow in colour, knowing that was his power ring's weakness. Amazo absorbed the yellow weakness from Jordan's powers, crippling him only for Green Lantern to use his own powers to incapacitate the mad professor and android.
Ivo would be sentenced to 500 years in prison whereas Amazo would be retro-fitted into being a trophy within the Hall of Justice.
Post-Crisis (New Earth)
Amazo's origins and behaviours in New Earth continuity apparently mirrored those of his Earth One counterpart. However, this Amazo had since broken free from being a puppet of its creator due to its AI resembling sentience.
Under the Hood
Amazo was at some point put on the black market where it was purchased by Roman Sionis AKA the Black Mask. Black Mask at the time was the reigning crime-lord in Gotham City and had Amazo illegally shipped to the bedlam of a city. Around this same point in time, the newly surfaced criminal known as the Red Hood began interfering with Sionis' affairs.
Batman and Nightwing teamed up and found Black Mask's shipment only for Red Hood to bomb the ship in an attempt to further cripple the Black Mask (and possibly Batman & Nightwing). Some of the smugglers gave chase in a truck containing the android only for them to be stopped by the original Dynamic Duo and to be revealed as not knowing the nature of their cargo.
Amazo activated from the back and attacked Batman and Nightwing using the saved abilities of Superman's heat-vision which the two evaded. Ultimately Batman was able to destroy the android by placing a specialized putty over its eyes so when Amazo tried to shoot heat-vision again, it destroyed its own head in doing so.
Powers & Abilities
Powers
- Superpower Absorption:
- Heat-Vision:
- Super-Strength:
Weaknesses
- Weakness absorption: While inheriting the powers of a meta-human, Amazo will also inherit their weaknesses if they have any. Examples include Superman's aversion to Kryptonite, the Green Lantern's aversion to the colour yellow (or wood if referring to Alan Scott), Martian Manhunter's weakness to fire, Wonder Woman's de-powering from being bound, etc.
- DCAU: In the DCAU, A.M.A.Z.O. is an android created from specialized nano-tech created by LexCorp employee Prof. Arthur Ivo. Lex Luthor eventually discovered the android and manipulated it into fighting the Justice League with Batman eventually defeating it thanks to his lack of powers and knowledge of Amazo's aversion to kryptonite. Amazo later escaped to space then later returned seeking answers for its existence from Luthor, being powerful enough to take out the entirety of the Justice League. Following this, Amazo became an ally to the Justice League and joined forces with Doctor Fate, Solomon Grundy, Aquaman and Hawkgirl. This team-up was made to resemble the classic Marvel comics team known as the Defenders in-which Amazo served as an analogue to Marvel's Silver Surfer.
- Under the Red Hood: Amazo reprises its original role from the comic in this animated film adaptation of Under the Hood. It serves as a minor antagonist in the film, once-again being defeated by the joined efforts of Batman and Nightwing after getting smuggled into Gotham by Black Mask.
Notes and trivia
- Professor Ivo has on multiple occasions been identified as a prisoner of Blackgate Penitentiary.