Cliff Steele

**Cliff Steele** (born May 23, 1956), nicknamed **Robotman**, is a former race car driver who got into a car accident. He was saved by Dr. Niles Caulder, who salvaged his brain and placed it into a robotic body.

## Biography

At one point, Cliff was a famous race car driver. Once a loving father and husband, his fame and success went to his head and he began to neglect his family and involved himself in multiple affairs, including one with his daughter’s nanny, Giselle. During one of these races, he found out his wife Kate was having an affair with his best friend Bump as a form of revenge for Cliff's infidelity. Distracted by this revelation he nearly crashed into another car but managed to dodge it at the last minute, thus gaining the lead and winning the race. After the race was over, Cliff assaulted Bump with his trophy and once again had sex with Giselle. However, Cliff felt guilty for his treatment of his family, and wanted to reconnect with them. He called Kate, leaving a voicemail in which he promised to be better for them, which spurred Kate to answer his call. Kate decided to give him another chance, and allowed Cliff to pick up both her and her daughter that same night. While driving, Cliff was distracted by his family, and was unable to see a truck that was parked sideways in the road. The car plowed under the truck's trailer, decapitating Kate and destroying Cliff's entire body, save for his brain.

After the accident, Cliff's brain was transferred into a robotic body by Dr. Niles Caulder. Cliff soon after came to live with him and a number of others in his house.

In 2018, Cliff called Gar Logan out for leaving the house. When Gar claimed to have left just to get a new video game controller, Cliff pretended to leave, but he returned as Rachel Roth showed herself. He took the two of them up to the main part of the house, but as Cliff scolded Gar, Rachel went wandering, finding herself in the kitchen. Larry Trainor and Gar were in agreement about having Rachel stay for dinner, rather than Cliff wanting her to leave, so he resigned. During dinner, Cliff watched as Rachel ate her food, jealous that she could taste it. Asking Rachel what certain food tasted like, Rachel described it as best as she could. This caused Cliff to lament that he used to love the finer things in life, such as eating and dancing.  When Rachel inquires why he doesn't dance, Cliff tells her no one would dance with what he is. To cheer him up, Rachel reassures him that she would and as an affectionate joke, perform the robot. Causing everyone to laugh and Cliff who has spent the entire night asking her to leave; to annouce she could stay.  During dinner, Cliff witnesses Rachel interacting with Rita and helping her during her breakdown. When Rita composes herself, the Chief appeared, home early from a trip, and so the group went to assist him with a new patient, Shyleen Lao. Following this, they all sat down with Caulder for some tea, during which the doctor explained how they had saved them all. Later that night, Dick Grayson and Kory Anders entered the mansion, Cliff and Larry attempting to get rid of them. However, after the two helped to calm down an enraged Rachel, Cliff and company let them leave, suggesting Gar go with them and have a life.

## Powers and abilities

### Powers

* **Cybernetic Enhancement**: All of Robotman's powers originate from his cybernetic components. The outer body shell is formed by multiple layers of special flexible ceramic metal.
	+ **Enhanced Strength:** Due to his robotic physiology, Cliff is capable of lifting much more than an average human, which is demonstrated when he lifted up a piece of street in order to create a barrier against Rita Farr. He was able to overpower and tackle Cyborg through a solid wood wall. He is also shown as throwing and tearing apart human bodies with ease.
	+ **Enhanced Durability**: Cliff’s robot body is highly durable. When Crazy Jane in Hammerhead personality use her super strength and toss Cliff around Doom Manor, Cliff body didn't take any injuries.
	+ **Superhuman Stamina**: Due to his robot body, Cliff has no need for food or sleep and he does not tire.
	+ **Longevity:** Due to possessing a robot body, Cliff is immune to the effects of aging.
	+ **Immunity to Diseases:** Cliff's robot body grants him immunity to all known diseases and viruses.
	+ **Psychic Immunity:** Cliff's robot body gives him at least some degree of immunity to mind control as he was able to resist Karen's ability to make others feel affection for her.

### Abilities

* **Driving:** Being a former race car driver, Cliff possesses finely honed driving capabilities.
* **Swimming:** Cliff has mentioned that he used to swim before becoming a robot.
* **Dancing:** Prior to his accident, Cliff watched the movie *Flashdance* a total of 87 times, and as a result is familiar with a variety of dances.

## Weaknesses

* **Loss of Senses:** Without an organic body, Cliff had lost three of the human body's five senses; taste, smell, and touch.
	+ **Taste:** Cliff's robot body doesn't have a digestive system nor any tastebuds, so he cannot eat or taste food.
	+ **Smell:** Cliff cannot smell, as he has no nasal passage or equivalent sensor.
	+ **Touch:** Cliff cannot feel anything he touches as his new body has no nervous system. This also means Cliff cannot feel pain.
* **Reduced Speed:** Cliff is slower than an average human since his metal body weighs substantially more than a typical human.
* **Trauma:** Cliff's experiences have left him very emotionally fragile and he still struggles greatly with the emotional toll of his accident, as well as losing his body and being unable to experience most of the typical human senses.
* **Malnutrition:** While being only a brain in a robot body, makes Cliff effectively immortal, his brain still requires nutrition to stay alive.  His body is fitted with a nutrient tank to keep him alive. Any disruption of that tank can cause him to go hallucinate or worse go into a stroke.

## Appearances

### *Doom Patrol*

Season 1
* "Pilot"
* "Donkey Patrol"
* "Puppet Patrol"
* "Cult Patrol"
* "Paw Patrol"
* "Doom Patrol Patrol"
* "Therapy Patrol"
* "Danny Patrol"
* "Jane Patrol"
* "Hair Patrol"
* "Frances Patrol"
* "Cyborg Patrol"
* "Flex Patrol"
* "Penultimate Patrol"
* "Ezekiel Patrol"

## Behind the scenes

* In the DC comics, Cliff Steele is a member of the Doom Patrol known as "Robotman".
* In each episode of Doom Patrol, Cliff says: “What the Fuck?” as he is often confused and surprised by the strange situations the Doom Patrol find themselves in.

## References

2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Doom Patrol`

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