Will Magnus. Doctor Will Magnus is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A brilliant scientist who occasionally suffers from debilitating mental illness, he is responsible for creating the Metal Men and serves as a general robotics expert among the superhero community. Magnus first appeared in Showcase #37 (April 1962), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru.

Magnus has been adapted into various media outside comics, including television series and films. He has been voiced by Corey Burton, C. Thomas Howell, Townsend Coleman, Phil LaMarr, and Alan Tudyk.

Fictional character biography
Will Magnus is an esteemed scientist and the creator of the Metal Men, who possess a form of artificial intelligence derived from "responsometers". In an attempt to boost sales of the comic book, Magnus was temporarily reimagined as a fugitive bent on world conquest after a mad dictator brainwashes him.

The 1993 Metal Men miniseries reveals that the responsometers were not responsible for the Metal Men's sentience and that the Metal Men were imprinted with the intellects and personalities of real people during a lab accident. At the climax of the miniseries, Gold is killed and Magnus mortally wounded. He transfers his consciousness into the green robot Veridium and becomes the leader of the Metal Men.

52
Following the 2005–2006 "Infinite Crisis" storyline, which retconned several aspects of DC's history, the "blank robots with responsometers" origin is stated to be the Metal Men's definitive origin while the "human personalities" origin and the 1993 miniseries are described as the byproduct of a mental breakdown suffered by Magnus. Additionally, Magnus created Plutonium Man, a titanic superweapon based on the Metal Men. Egg Fu kidnaps Magnus and forces him to make a new Plutonium Man, but he refuses to do so and instead recreates the Metal Men. However, his insanity affects the Metal Men and alters their personalities.

The New 52
In the 2011 New 52 continuity reboot, Magnus creates the Metal Men to execute search and rescue missions that humans cannot tackle. The government forces the Metal Men to become assassins before Magnus recovers them.

Powers and abilities
Normally, Will Magnus had no special abilities aside from his great intellect. His vast intelligence was responsible for the creation of the Metal Men, along with various other robots.

As Veridium, Magnus can manipulate heat and energy.

Other versions
An alternate universe variant of Will Magnus, with elements of Bolivar Trask, appears in the Amalgam Comics one-shot Magneto & the Magnetic Men.

In other media

Television
 Will Magnus, renamed Milton Magnus, appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Corey Burton. This version previously worked with several other scientists before they were presumed dead in a lab accident and became the Gas Gang. Initially unaware of his colleagues' evil motives, Magnus built the Metal Men to continue their legacy.
 Will Magnus appears in the "Metal Men" segment of DC Nation Shorts, voiced again by Corey Burton.
 Will Magnus appears in flashbacks in the Creature Commandos episode "Cheers to the Tin Man", voiced by Alan Tudyk. This version was primarily active in the 1960s.

Film
 Will Magnus appears in Justice League: The New Frontier, voiced by Townsend Coleman.
 An alternate reality variant of Will Magnus appears in Justice League: Gods and Monsters, voiced by C. Thomas Howell. This version is a friend of Kirk Langstrom who attempted to help him create a serum to cure the latter's cancer, only to inadvertently turn Langstrom into a pseudo-vampire. A year after this, Magnus accidentally beat his wife Tina to death after realizing she preferred Langstrom over him. This caused Magnus to lose faith in humanity and attempt to end all human conflict. In the present, he creates three Metal Men to frame the Justice League for the deaths of various scientists and connect the minds of every human on Earth using nanites. However, Lex Luthor discovers and reveals Magnus' plan to the League and the U.S. military, allowing them to stop him. With his plan foiled, a regretful Magnus commits suicide by disintegrating himself with a nanite sphere.
 Will Magnus appears in DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, voiced by Phil LaMarr.

Video games
 Will Magnus appears in DC Universe Online as a vendor in the Watchtower's Tech Wing.
 Will Magnus appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.

Miscellaneous
 Will Magnus appears in DC Super Hero Girls, voiced by Phil LaMarr.
 Will Magnus appears in Smallville Season 11.

References

External links
 Toonopedia's Metal Men entry
 Will Magnus in 52 week 14

Characters created by Robert Kanigher
Characters created by Ross Andru
Comics characters introduced in 1962
DC Comics male superheroes
DC Comics robots
DC Comics scientists
Fictional characters with bipolar disorder
Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities
Fictional mathematicians
Fictional mechanical engineers
Fictional physicists
Fictional roboticists
Fictional suicides
Metal Men