Image courtesy of TitansGo.Net and Cartoon Network.
Real Name[]
Not applicable.
Known Aliases[]
None
First Episode/DC Appearance[]
Spellbound (Series Episode #32)
First Story Appearance[]
Wings of the Eagles
Weapons[]
Long mechanical tentacles that can easily smash or crush most objects, and also possess a powerful vacuum suction for capturing its chosen prey, small children.
Powers[]
A mechanical creature, Kardiak can levitate (though it is somewhat slow) and can also morph itself into other mechanical objects, including ones considerably smaller then itself. It also seems to possess some kind of regeneration power.
Current Status[]
Disabled
History[]
It is unknown where Kardiak came from, who or what built it, why it seems to desire small children, or anything else. In the fan story Hand In Hand, Kardiak was given the history of being built by a doctor known as Professor Maddy McScientist (names changed to protect the not so innocent, it seems) as a weapon for destruction; it was apparently either supposed to receive some kind of greater intelligence (Kardiak's mind is highly rudimentary, though it seemed capable of working with others and executing a planned attack as demonstrated in 'Calling All Titans' when it, as part of the Brotherhood, attacked Beast Boy) and either did not or failed to accept it, leaving Kardiak with no mind. Without a brain, all it had were the basic impulses for survival, and desiring only to live, Kardiak did just that in the way it had to: devouring people for their telomerases (enzymes with RNA that are at the very tips of DNA and shorten whenever a cell divides). Hence, this is why Kardiak prefers to absorb children, their telomerases are quite long. This origin is as good as any, and despite lacking any malice in this, it is quite obvious why the Titans cannot let Kardiak float around and eat people, and so they battle the machine.
Despite its need to feed, Kardiak was ironically the background threat in its first appearance, the real trouble being the 'wizard' Melchior, whose taught spells to Raven allowed her to disable and destroy the machine. However, it eventually regenerated and tried again, this time attacking a waterpark. Once again it was defeated, yet another victim of the child heroes the Zap Pack.
In the end, Kardiak's efforts to survive failed, as it was one of the confirmed destroyed in the final battle between the Titans and Brotherhood in We All Fall Down. Then again, it has been though destroyed before, and it proved the world wrong. Let's hope this time the world was correct in its assumption...though you know what they say about assumptions...
(Yeah, it makes an ass out of U and umptions! Heheheh... my turn for bad jokes. - Z)
(*groan* - LM)