The Mad Thinker (René Rodin) is a <!--Do not add "fictional" as it is tautological; supervillains (and characters in general) are by definition implied to be fictionalized to some extent.-->supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is portrayed to be an evil genius specializing in robotics. He is sometimes referred to just as "The Thinker".

Publication history

The Mad Thinker was introduced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four #15 (June 1963). Lee and Kirby gave the mad scientist a special ability to predict events to the precise second.

Little to nothing was known of his origins or true identity until, over fifty publication years later, the Mad Thinker's first name was revealed to be Julius in Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's Infamous Iron Man #2 (2016). In Fantastic Four #7 (2026), the character's name is instead stated to be René Rodin.

After his initial defeat against the Fantastic Four, the Mad Thinker becomes one of their many recurring enemies. With his Triumvirate of Terror (consisting of Piledriver, Hammerhead, and Thunderboot), the Mad Thinker captures the Avengers and invades Avengers Mansion, but is foiled by Hercules.

Mad Thinker, along with Awesome Android, appears as a member of the Intelligencia. During a conflict between the Intelligencia and the Sinister Six, the Mad Thinker is killed by Doctor Octopus. MODOK Superior later resurrects the Mad Thinker and the other Intelligencia members.

In "All-New, All-Different Marvel," Mad Thinker appears as a member of the Hood's incarnation of the Illuminati.

After escaping from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, Mad Thinker becomes obsessed with Mister Fantastic's whereabouts, as he has not returned to Earth-616. Misinterpreting Mister Fantastic's absence, Mad Thinker thinks that Mister Fantastic wants Mad Thinker to succeed him and the Fantastic Four. Mad Thinker hires Lumen, Goodfire, and Smash to make up his Fantastic Four and gives them powers similar to the Fantastic Four. Mad Thinker's Fantastic Four confronts Human Torch and Thing in an unidentified reality. Despite Human Torch and Thing being powerless at the time, they hold their own against Mad Thinker's Fantastic Four until they escape.

During the "One World Under Doom" storyline, Mad Thinker organizes a new version of the Masters of Evil and works with them to invade the Impossible City. After his teammates are stopped by Captain America, Mad Thinker dons armor with technology derived from the Super-Adaptoid that allows him to use all the abilities of his teammates. The Impossible City takes control of Dreadknight and performs a hard reset, freeing itself from the Masters of Evil. The rest of the Avengers appear and help defeat Mad Thinker.

Powers and abilities

The Mad Thinker does not have superhuman powers. However, he is an extraordinary genius with knowledge of technology centuries beyond conventional science, for reasons unexplained. He has an eidetic memory and can rapidly organize and correlate vast amounts of information and perceive non-obvious patterns. He has the facilities and means to create all manner of sophisticated weaponry, androids, armor, and vehicles.

His analytical, mathematical, and geometrical abilities are of a sophisticated order not commonly found on Earth. He is particularly adept at computers, robotics, and artificial intelligence, with Ph.D.s in computer science and engineering. He created the androids Awesome Android and Quasimodo, and uses various other equipment as needed, including monocle-sized hypnotic lenses.

The Mad Thinker is also a proficient disguise artist. Through a surgically implanted radio link, he can project his consciousness into an android simulacrum of himself.

Other versions

An original incarnation of the Mad Thinker named Rhona Burchill appears in the Ultimate Marvel imprint. She is a rejected applicant of the Baxter Building's think tank who sought revenge and removed portions of her brother Bobby's brain to increase her own intelligence. This process left Burchill with a deformed head and a disjointed, stream of consciousness speech pattern.

In other media

Television

  • The Mad Thinker appears in the "Iron Man" segment of The Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Len Carlson.
  • The Mad Thinker appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Danny Mann.

Miscellaneous

  • The Mad Thinker appears in issue #12 of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes tie-in comic.
  • The Mad Thinker appears in Fantastic Four: First Foes. This version is a former teacher of Reed Richards and acted as mission control in the mission that led to the Fantastic Four being exposed to cosmic rays. The Mad Thinker resents being sidelined, believing that he alone was responsible for returning the ship to Earth safely.

References

  • Mad Thinker at Marvel.com
  • Mad Thinker (Rhona Burchill) at Marvel.com
  • Mad Thinker at Marvel Wiki
  • Mad Thinker (Rhona Burchill) at Marvel Wiki
  • Mad Thinker at Comic Vine