DC Database

Cauldron was an elite soldier project of Project Cadmus.

Cauldron's history is tied to a man name Kevin Crow, who was a member of the special forces for Cadmus. He was one of the elite flying units sent to provide backup for Superman in his battle against Doomsday. Crow was badly injured during the battle, losing his right eye and the use of his legs. Crow volunteered for an experiment at Cadmus, where a cybernetically enhanced clone of Crow was created. The clone, called Cauldron, was controlled by Crow from a mobile command center. The project, hoping to shore up public support, sent Crow to control Cauldron in busting up several gangs and gunrunners. Unfortunately, Dabney Donovan, for fun more than anything, managed to take control of Cauldron and cause him to run amok, forcing a confrontation with Superman. Dabney relinquished control, which allowed Crow to control the clone long enough to help Superman save some lives from a collapsing building, but Cauldron was apparently destroyed in the incident.[1]

Later on, the technology was sold by someone at Cadmus to a terrorist named Nikolai Karpov, who rebuilt and recloned Cauldron, significantly augmenting its abilities. It could now absorb heat, and was much more powerful than its predecessor. Crow and Cadmus attempted to override the signal Karpov was sending it. While they were unsuccessful, they did learn that the human part of the Cauldron was resisting the commands. Superman would not destroy it because of this, so he instead burried the machine in the very core of the planet. There it was unable to escape, but even the intense heat of the core was not enough to destroy it.[2]

Powers

  • Energy Absorption: Cauldron is able to withstand and absorb incredible amounts of heat and energy and augment its power.


Weapons

A "gun arm" loaded with multiple hard point ammunition

  • Cauldron's first appearance, in Action Comics #695 featured two editions of the cover: a regular newsstand issue, and a special edition foil embossed cover.

Related

Footnotes