Technocrat (character)
Technocrat is a superhero in the DC Comics and a former member of the Outsiders. His first appearance was in Outsiders Alpha v2 #1 (November 1993). written by Mike W. Barr and drawn by Paul Pelletier.[1]
| Technocrat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Outsiders v2 #1 Alpha (November 1993) |
| Created by | Mike W. Barr (writer) Paul Pelletier (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Geoffrey Barron |
| Team affiliations | Outsiders |
| Abilities | Suit of powered armor |
Baron nicknamed "TC" is portrayed by Christopher A'mmanuel in the live action series Black Lightning.
Fictional character biography
Markovia
An inventor and business magnate, Geoffrey Barron came to Markovia to sell his battle armor, the Technocrat 2000, the latest in personal defense gear (in 1993). Barron was accompanied by his bodyguard Charlie Wylde.[2]
During their stay in Markovia, the Outsiders were framed for the murder of Markovia's Queen Ilona. Barron and Wylde were forced to flee into the woods alongside the Outsiders. While in the woods the pair encountered the sorcerer Sebastian Faust and his pet bear. The bear mortally wounded Wylde, and in order to save Wylde's life, Faust fused both Wylde and the bear into a huge amalgam, a werebear. The Outsiders fight Prince Roderick and his vampire troops.[2]
Geoffry Barron wound up having to put on the Technocrat 2000 suit in order to defend himself. Barron and the newly mutated Wylde joined the Outsiders in their attempt to clear their names. Barron offered the team his home in Switzerland as a safe haven. Unbeknownst to Barron, his ex-wife Marissa had paid the assassin known as Sanction to assassinate him. It turns out Sanction is known to Wylde and Barron as Ryer, an associate of the CIA. As Barron understands it, Ryer was punished by the CIA for blatantly advertising a drug-dealing side venture. Ryer himself believes that Barron abandoned him in Angola. Sanction's first defeat comes when Katana disrupts his systems with her sword. (Outsiders volume 2 #2 December 1993
At one point, Technocrat assists in defending the alien planet Nekrome from the supernatural threat of Eclipso. This ends with his armor being upgraded with alien technology.
Gotham
art by Paul Pelletier
The Outsiders barely made it back to Gotham City before clearing their names. Shortly after their homecoming, Sanction the assassin kills both Marissa Barron and Halo. The trauma of this death forced the Aurakle inside of Halo to jump into Marissa's body. After this, Barron found it difficult to separate his feelings for his wife from Halo's physical body. Barron began to fall in love with the Aurakle, but Halo had her own designs on their teammate, Faust.[2]
When the Outsiders split into two teams for a time, Technocrat joined the team with Geo-Force and Katana so as to distance himself from Halo. At one point Prince Brion (Geo-Force) tried unsuccessfully to arrange a date between Barron and Katana. The two halves of the team eventually rejoined and Technocrat remained with them through the end of their recorded adventures. Technocrat loses Wylde to the plans of Felix Faust. Wylde, overcome by his feelings for Looker, ends up betraying the team to Felix Faust and becoming a near mindless bear trapped in a zoo. Before the modern era, Technocrat was last seen in attendance at Geo-Force's wedding.
Infinite Crisis
Technocrat is one of the many heroes to answer the call to defend Metropolis from an assembled army of supervillains intent on destroying it. Technocrat is seen hovering in a single panel behind Looker just before Breach explodes, his status is unknown; however, he appeared in Outsiders (vol. 4) #38 alive and well battling Black Lightning and his team of Outsiders on behalf of Geo-Force.
Powers and abilities
Technocrat had no metahuman abilities, he was a genius level cyberneticist and polymath. He wore a high tech powered exoskeleton of his own design, which could be equipped with a variety of weapons and modular add-ons.
In other media
Technocrat appears in the CW show Black Lightning, portrayed by Christopher A’mmanuel.[3] This version goes by T.C. and is a metahuman with technopathy who was previously placed in one of the A.S.A.'s pods. Due to him hearing a lot of current technology speaking after being freed, Baron took residence at an old radio station where he met Peter Gambi and assisted him and Thunder in getting Jamillah's message to outside of Freeland. Baron later found himself at Gambi's tailor shop where he found Gambi's secret room and his connections with Black Lightning, Thunder, and Lightning. When Baron goes onto Gambi's computers to find information on who tried to have Gambi killed, he has a brief collapse as the image on the monitor shows a picture of Lady Eve. He later meets Jefferson and translates Painkiller's technology. When it comes to the raid on a Markovian facility to rescue Lynn Stewart in the episode "The Book of Markovia: Chapter Four: Grab the Strap", T.C. deactivates the chip in Erica Moran that would've activated the contingency to kill Lynn if she can't be stopped and helped Gambi to coordinate the retrieval of Lynn and Tobias Whale. In the season finale, T.C. helps Gambi coordinate Black Lightning's rescue of Lightning and warn him that Agent Odell set the Pit to self-destruct. Afterwards, T.C. and Gambi get into a shootout with Major Sara Grey and the A.S.A. soldiers with her where T.C. shoots Grey while the rest are killed by Gambi.
References
- Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 356. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- https://www.cwtv.com/shows/black-lightning/the-book-of-resistance-chapter-three-battle-of-franklin-terrace/
External links
- Cosmic Teams: Technocrat
- "Technocrat". dcuguide.com.