Grant Haskill (Earth-One)

N.R.G.-X
Mainstream Universe‎, 1950s-1986
Gallery
Real Name	Grant Haskill
Main Alias	N.R.G.-X
Other Aliases	Nuclear Radiation Generator-Experimental
Base Of Operations	Shady Point Nuclear Generating Station 25 miles north of Metropolis
Status
Alignment	Bad
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Researcher
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Blond
Origin
Universe	Earth-One
Creators	Len Wein · Curt Swan
First Appearance	Superman #339 (September, 1979)
Appearance of Death	Superman #340 (October, 1979)

N.R.G.-X was a remote-controlled android drone built by nuclear scientist Grant Haskill for purposes of doing risky work in a nuclear laboratory.

History

Haskill excelled in all pursuits he applied himself to, both academic and athletic, causing his life-long friend Ray Ryker to grow envious. N.R.G.-X was designed to copy the movements of a human technician wearing an exoskeleton, but during a demonstration of the robot while wearing the exoskeleton, Haskill was caught in the blast radius of a bomb planted by Ryker. The blast short-circuited the electronics of Haskill's exoskeleton, somehow transferring his consciousness into N.R.G.-X while leaving his original human body in a coma. Superman arrived on scene to contain the destruction of the bomb and wrongly assumed that N.R.G.-X was the cause of the explosion. Haskill/N.R.G-X fought Superman in self-defense and escaped.

Haskill attacked the HQ of the anti-nuclear protest group C.U.R.E., believing them to have set the bomb in his laboratory. Superman drove N.R.G.-X away and stopped the building from collapsing. The next day, a WGBS-TV news broadcast revealed Ray Ryker as the perpetrator, and N.R.G.-X attacked Ryker at his favorite gym with the intent to kill. Superman intervened, having deduced that Haskill's consciousness was controlling N.R.G.-X's actions, and disabled the robot by crushing his hands. In a last, desperate move, N.R.G.-X ejected the control rods of the miniature reactor powering his body and tricked Superman into damaging the reactor by punching his torso. Realizing that a nuclear explosion was imminent, Superman threw N.R.G.-X into outer space, where he detonated without harming anyone else. Superman surmised that Haskill's personality was destroyed along with the robot, but the comatose Haskill's eyes lit up in the hospital immediately afterward, leaving the possibility of his recovery.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Android Body
  • Energy Projection
  • Radiation Production
  • Molecular Reconstruction
  • Superhuman Strength
  • Superhuman Durability

Abilities

• Science
• Athletics

Weaknesses

• Power Instability

Notes

• This version of N.R.G.-X, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–1986 crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the 2022-2023 crossover event Dark Crisis. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.

Related

• 2 Appearances of Grant Haskill (Earth-One)
• 1 Images featuring Grant Haskill (Earth-One)
• 1 Quotations by or about Grant Haskill (Earth-One)
• Character Gallery: Grant Haskill (Earth-One)

External Links

• N.R.G.-X at Wikipedia.org

Footnotes

Superman Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category."