Issue(s): Machine Man #1
Cover Date: Apr 78
Title: "Machine Man"
Credits:
Jack Kirby - Writer
Jack Kirby - Penciler
Michael W. Royer - Inker

Review/plot:
Machine Man's (AKA X-51, AKA Aaron Stack) first appearance was in Jack Kirby's 2001: A Space Odyssey adaptation/extension, but this is the first issue of his own series. For all intents and purposes this is a direct continuation of the 2001 series, though. The final three issues of that series starred Machine Man (or Mister Machine) exclusively, and this issue was published the month after the last issue of 2001.

But he's here now, and after saving a couple of hikers from a fall...

...he heads into civilization. He runs into psychiatrist Peter Spaulding (spelled 'Spalding' in this issue).

They part ways for now, but Spaulding will be a supporting character in this series.

Machine Man is currently on the run from the government. He's part of the "X" series, and the rest have gone crazy, so they think he needs to be destroyed.

His main pursuer is the eye-patched Colonel Kragg.

This book has the same stilted Kirby dialogue that made his Eternals, Black Panther, and Captain America so hard to read. And the plot isn't really a good platform for Kirby's wild imagination to run loose on the art; it's mostly mundane settings, and nothing really fantastical, although some of Machine Man's gadgets can be pretty trippy.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - Machine Man in his own book

Chronological Placement Considerations: It's not clear how much time has passed since the end of the 2001 series but it's definitely not a direct continuation of a specific storyline.

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

FOOM#19 announced this book as "Mr. Machine".

The name change (from Mister Machine to Machine Man) was due to a toy which was called Mister Machine.

Youtube- Vintage Mr Machine Robot toy TV Commercial from IDEAL