Worst use of Metal men ever -- the whole point of the mini was just to turn Doc Magnus into a robot so he could give the punch line, Doc Mangus Robot Fighter! ::groan::

That really needs to be undone and then something good be done with the Metal men (would really love a Metel Men series drawn by Paul Pelletier, he seems suited for it)

Eric Kleefeld wrote: I could swear there have been some Metal Men appearances since then that ignored the mini, but I can't quite remember for sure.

Gold, who was killed in the mini and replaced by Doc, was clearly shown with the Metal Men in IDENTITY CRISIS.

You know, a book like Doom Patrol just cries out for a guest appearance by the Metal Men.  We've already seen Metamorpho show up in Doom Patrol, so this would just be the icing on the cake.

Ron Chevrier wrote: Also, any Metal Men fans who are not all that thrilled about losing Gold, and Doc becoming a robot, please raise your hands. . .

[JCB raises hand]

I'm not a HUGE fan of the Metal Men, but I've always had a real fondness for them. 

Ron Chevrier wrote:         I always thought that there was a lot of unused mileage for the Metal Men concept, particularly with all the advances in technology in general, and especially in the field of robotics in particular, since their debut. I find it hard to believe that Doc Magnus, who (to my mind) should be DC's answer to Tony Stark in many ways, can only come up with six properly functioning robots,  while all the later  ones have been duds, or inexplicably (and inevitably) became menaces to society.         Surely a man who can invent robots with their own individual personalities can come up with other mind-boggling inventions? How hard would it be for DC to establish Doc as the "go-to guy" for all things cybernetic? There are quite a few artificial and mechanical humanoids in the DC universe. Hypothetically, a simple story could establish a common connection between them through a purloined version of  Doc's responsometer technology. With the exception of Cliff Steele (who was built by the Chief), characters like Amazo, the Red Tornado, Metallo, Cyborg et al could have been designed with Magnus tech as a common origin, whether legally obtained or not. At least Doc could become  a more prominent character in the DCU, and by extension, the Metal Men, as well.

Good analogy on the Tony Stark angle.  I was also thinking that Niles Caulder and Doc Magnus should be acquaintances at the very least.  Is there much (any?) established history between the two characters? 

It would be kinda cool to "update" the Metal Men to include nanotechnology as part of their basis -- similar to what was done with Amazo in the animated Justice League series.  That would open the door to have Ray Palmer interact with Magnus and the Metal Men.

Lots of untapped potential here.

How does one go about getting a manuscript read at DC, Mr. Byrne?

;-)

• It removed Gold from the mythos, thereby depriving the Metal Men of a decisive, capable leader, which hampers their overall effectiveness as a team in battle situations.
• It turned Doc Magnus into a robot, which removes the human/parental element from the group, as well as much of the quirky personality bits which result from Doc interacting with his human-like, but still not exactly human creations. What reason do the MM have to listen to Doc now that he is playing on their level?  To say nothing of the possible business and legal complications which could result from Doc suddenly becoming an object, rather than a person, as I had previously mentioned, citing the Young Justice issue.
• The most egregious crime that the miniseries committed against the franchise is that Doc Magnus has been reduced to a bumbling fool. Once  he was regarded as one of the DCU's most brilliant (if occasionally unstable) minds, who created the technology to make six unique mechanical beings, and programmed them with individual personalities, no less! Doc is now a semi-competent inventor whose best days are behind him. His greatest creations are actually the result of an experiment gone bad, which ruined the lives of six people, and cannot be undone. He has never come up with another great creation since the Metal Men, and since they were an accidental, unintended result, he doubtless never will.

Best thing to do: ignore the mini. Doc is human, Gold is "alive". They are original robots with no human counterparts.

Roll from there with the original concept.

I was thinking the same thing.  It'd be fun to see JB draw them all together.