Cliff Steele

* Biography
* Threat Assessment
* Trivia and Notes
* Gallery

## Robotman

* Robotman
* Cliff Steele

### Cliff Steele: 1973 - 1991

As a youth, Cliff was into extreme sports of all kinds. He engaged in urban exploring in Midway's abandoned factories, was heavily involved in skateboarding, and as a teen got into street racing. Sadly, life was not all fun. Cliff's parents died three days before his eighteenth birthday.

### Cliff Steele: 1991 - 1995

Cliff's uncle Walter Steele chose to invest in his nephew's ambition for sports. With Walter overseeing the investments of his inheritance, Cliff was able to engage in every extreme sporting event he could, from spelunking to race car driving. For Cliff's twenty-first birthday, he climbed the Himalayan Mountains. Two months later, he was able to raft down the Amazon River, and the spent six months living in a tribal African Village to learn their traditional hunting, tracking, and survival techniques.

While backpacking across Europe, Cliff took an extended break from his journey to become involved in the various racing circuits. Cliff won a few amateur races and was approached by a sponsor. Cliff went pro, racing cars and motorcycles. Cliff may not have been the best racer in the field, but he was versatile and developed a reputation as being an entertaining racer, due to his risk-taking strategies and lifestyle off-the-track.

### Cliff Steele: 1995 - 1997

Having built a name for himself, Cliff was suspended for a post-race fight. Cliff returned to the United States at the advise of his lawyers who were afraid any further bad publicity in Europe would lead to a ban. Cliff went to Star City to lay low and wait out his suspension with an extended stay with his uncle. But while he was kicking it with Uncle Wally, Cliff fell head over heels with a Star City novelist, Kate Daye. The feeling was mutual.

When Kate wound up pregnant, Cliff surprised her with a quick proposal and they slipped away for a secret wedding ceremony. After the birth of their daughter, Cliff received word his suspension had been lifted. He was intent on going back to Europe when Kate convinced him to stay with her.

### Cliff Steele: 1997 - 2000

Cliff became antsy. Unable to hold down a normal job, Cliff got into the habit of sneaking off with some shady friends and amateur daredevils. This put a strain on Cliff's marriage. When word spread of an upcoming charity race at the Star City Speedway, Kate thought this might be a good compromise to give Cliff his last hurrah and also do some good as well.

Early in the race, Cliff's showboating and rusty driving skills were in full display leading to a massive wreck. Cliff managed to drag his mangled body out of the wreck. He stood up, found his wife and daughter in the crowd, and gave them a cocky smile.

With ringing in his ears, Cliff did not hear everyone screaming at him to run. Cliff felt a sudden surge of warmth as his body was consumed by the explosion. Severely burned, with missing limbs and several broken bones, Cliff was transported to the hospital. After several months, Kate made the call to pull the plug when her husband was being kept alive by life support only. When life support ceased, Cliff's brain activity spiked and kept going. This medical abnormality drew the attention of STAR Labs.

### Supplemental Reports

* (*Submitted by Chief*) While Cliff's original body was built by Dr. Olivier and myself, the robotic shell was made incredibly obsolete in a post-Brainiac world. Steele's new body was a retired robot created by Dr. Will Magnus of Project METAL. This body was METAL-6 "Carbon", an early prototype for a military robot which I have given many retrofits since acquiring.
* (*Submitted by Oracle*) STAR Labs' lawyers prevented Cliff from being declared legally dead but Kate Steele wanted nothing to do with what she called "Frankenstein" experiments on her husband and filed a divorce. Kate later moved to Opal City and remarried. Cliff's attempt to attend the wedding in his new robotic body would lead to a restraining order against him.

## Threat Assessment

### Resources

* Aeternamic Brain Physiology
	+ *Accelerated Brain Tissue Regeneration*
* Robotic Chassis
	+ *Armored Chassis*
	+ *Enhanced Reflexes*
	+ *Enhanced Strength*
	+ *Jet-Assisted Leaping*
	+ *Reinforced Frame*
	+ *Sensors*
* Integrated Arsenal
	+ *Concussion Cannon*
	+ *Thermal Blade*
* Ceaseless Courage
* Extreme Sports Expert

### Weaknesses

* Addicted to Adrenaline
* Impaired Sense of Taste, Touch, and Smell
* Notorious Pottymouth

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* He's a metahuman with a condition called "cerebrum aeternam". His brain continues to regenerate itself so he can't really die. His brain feeds on adrenaline.
* Though he survived his accident, by way of his still-living brain being transferred to a robotic chassis, his wife Kate made the determination that it was best for their daughter Clara to be told her father had passed away. In order to start life anew, Kate and Clara moved to Opal City.
* He met Kate and Clara again while the Doom Patrol was investigating a security breach of his files. The encounter was tumultuous. When Clay Kendall, Kate's new husband, tried to play peacemaker which resulted in Cliff asking him who he thought he was and what business was this of his. It's unknown how Clay responded, but whatever he said prompted Cliff to throw him against the wall.

### Notes

* Unlike his comic book counterpart, Earth-27's Cliff Steele is African American, and the nephew of Walter Steele.
* His address and number on his shirt are nods to his first comic book appearance: *My Greatest Adventure #80* in 1963.
* Cliff being a family man, grumpy, foul-mouthed, and having bad-tempered personality are based from his *Doom Patrol* 2019 TV series incarnation.
* Cliff's father might be a nod to Robert Crane, the Golden Age Robotman. His mother, Rachel Caspian, was Bruce Wayne's love interest and daughter of Judson Caspian / The Reaper.
* Kate Daye might be a nod to Kaye Daye, a mystery writer from Gotham who has been part of the Mystery Analysts of Gotham City.
* The name of his high school is a nod to one of his creators, Arnold Drake.

## Network & Oracle Files

Network Files: Cliff Steele 1Oracle Files: Cliff Steele 1Oracle Files: Cliff Steele 1 (Old Version)
## Appears In

Doom PatrolCliff with the Doom PatrolWorld's Strangest Heroes

## Links and References

* Appearances of Cliff Steele

1. ↑ Network Files: Cliff Steele 1
2. ↑ Network Files: Clara Kendall