This article contains spoilers for Metal Society #1 on sale by Image Comics
Metal Society (written by Zack Kaplan with art by Guilherme Balbi and Marco Lesko) is a new mini-series from Image Comics and Top Cow Productions. The story presents a unique perspective between humans and robots. Here, robots are the dominant species on the planet while humans are created in labs to do laborious tasks that robots themselves don’t want to do.
The storyline presents itself within the first few pages of the comic. Readers are introduced to the main characters at the begining of a fight. Only, this fight is unlike any other. Human champion, Rosa Genthree, is not just fighting for a title. She’s fighting for human rights, and for humans to be seen as equals in the eyes of robots. Her opponent is a former construction bot by the name of WOL-421313.
Three years ago, Rosa was born fully grown in a human lab. She is genetically modified to dent metal, making her ideal for working in the trash fields. Exposition during Rosa’s “orientation” paints the robots as the saviors of humanity. Humans lived thousands of years ago, but only as “uncivilized animals” that dumped trash and spread disease.
Later, Rosa is working in the trash fields when her friend, Simon, collapses. She begs the robots on duty for help, but they brush her off, and say that he needs to adapt to manage his output. As she continues to argue, her co-workers try to get her to back off, only for her to claim that they could be doing so much more. The robot makes a comment about how she is human. This statement, once again, reinforces humans as the lesser species in this dystopian world.
After work, Rosa discovers a gym, where security officers are taking part in fight training. She wants to try it, and takes out her frustrations on a dummy resembling a robot. This is where her fight for humanity begins. With some help from a councilman named Abe, Rosa is able to channel her distaste for robots into a fight for equal rights.
The treatment of humans by the robots is reminiscent of how humans in the present world treat robots. These machines are created for many reasons, one of which is to complete the jobs humans don’t want to do. These tasks include vacuuming, cleaning, and other tedious tasks. Other times, scientists create robots out of vain, to see what they can create. This aspect is similar to the speech Abe gave to Rosa whenever they were in the nursury.
This miniseries will debut five issues, possibly exploring more themes regarding the relationship between humans and robots or creators and their creations. It’s too early to tell whether this series will strictly follow the story from the human’s persepective, or if readers will be able to see it from the robot’s side. Metal Society #1 is on sale now from Image Comics and Top Cow with #2 set to release June 8.
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