AI Superheroes: Ranking the Top 5

Come with these AI superheroes if you want to live.

We’re living in an AI age. Love or hate it, artificial intelligence is a fact of our world. People use Claude and other services for countless tasks. These services have a dark side, overusing resources and producing mountains of crap. It’s easy to see the whole process as evil, but AI superheroes remind us of the potential good.

Fiction has spent decades prepping us for true AI. Some are housed in androids that are indistinguishable from human beings, others are vast computer networks. As they learn to understand humanity, some become heroes. We’re slowly approaching the day that sophont robotics become a reality. So who are the 5 AI superheroes actually leading to a hopeful future? Let’s find out.

#5 Android 16

Voiced by: Jeremy Inman, Hikaru Midorikawa, J. M. Gotay
Franchise: Dragon Ball

Dr. Gero was a scientist for the Red Ribbon Army whose son, Gevo, was murdered by Goku. He based Android 16 on his son and added built-in weapons. 16 was awoken by cyborgs 17 and 18 before Gero’s programming could finish downloading, making him a nature-loving gentle giant.

16 learned about the world while traveling with 17 and 18, tempering the siblings’ mischief and preventing them from becoming monstrous. The trio were attacked by Dr. Gero’s magnum opus, Cell, who wanted to absorb the twins and become invincible. 16 fought like a devil, but was overpowered once Cell absorbed 17, and couldn’t protect 18.

He was rescued by Goku and his friends and took part in the final battle against Cell. Android 16 was decapitated after a failed attempt to suicide bomb Cell. He convinced an ally to toss his head to Goku’s son Gohan and gave him a pep talk, convincing the young pacifist to fight. Cell crushed him underfoot, 16’s final sacrifice to awaken Gohan’s full power.

Android 16 was created to kill Goku and had plenty of tools for the job. He’s super strong, fast, durable, and can fly. 16 could detach his fists for a Rocket Punch, uncovering energy cannons used for his signature Hell’s Flash. Unfortunately, Android 16 didn’t have a soul, meaning he’s one of the very few permanently dead Dragon Ball characters.

#4 AI Superhero: Jet Jaguar

Franchise: Godzilla
Voiced By: Kira Buckland, Rie Kugimaya

A prodigy named Yun Arikawa created an AI called Jung. A mysterious substance called Archetype began spreading, allowing kaiju from other dimensions to attack Japan. Yun uploaded Jung into a giant robot, renaming him Jet Jaguar at the robot creator’s request. Jet Jaguar defended Japan from kaiju and decided that he had to become invincible.

The kaiju invasion grew worse when Godzilla emerged as a Singular Point, a living gateway spreading Archetype across the universe. Yun and Jet Jaguar discovered plans for a superweapon called the Orthogonal Diagonalizer, which could banish every kaiju. Jet Jaguar’s AI crashed while trying to compute impossible calculations, and it regressed to a childlike personality.

The final battle revealed the truth. Jet Jaguar was part of an infinite time loop the heroes created. The calculations were sent back in time, processed by a version of Jet Jaguar, then sent back again for the next. The new personality was his ‘descendant’, Jet Jaguar PP. He battled Godzilla while completing the equation and sacrificed himself to negate all Archetype on Earth.

This AI superhero wields The Spear of Anguirus, topped with one of that slain kaiju’s spikes. His most important tool is the “Make Jet Jaguar Invincible” program, a bootstrap paradox that calculates the time loop’s equations. His code is the equation’s solution, being endlessly created, transmitted, and received by himself. Jet Jaguar PP was born from nothing to become a Singular Point and complete the Orthogonal Diagnolizer.

Anyone else’s brain hurt?

#3 Penny Polendina

Voiced By: Taylor McNee
Franchise: RWBY

Penny Polendina was an artificial Huntress created by the Kingdom of Atlas. Her father, Pietro Polendina, transferred a portion of his soul into her body to give her life. Penny was sent to compete in a Huntsmen tournament to test her combat capabilities and befriended Team RWBY.

New friend Ruby Rose was able to convince Penny that she was real because she could sense her soul. Penny’s friendship was cut short in the tournament, when her opponent was tricked into killing her. The remaining pieces were returned to Atlas, where Pietro was able to rebuild Penny and rekindle her soul.

Penny became the protector of Atlas’ sister city Mantle. Not long after reuniting with Team RWBY, their enemies hacked her. RWBY used magic to create a biological body and transferred her soul into it before the robot self-destructed. Penny’s final life lasted an hour before she sacrificed herself to stop an enemy from stealing her magic and becoming invincible.

This AI superhero became a real girl, but Penny always had strings on her. They were used to control Floating Array, a set of levitating swords that could channel her energy into a laser. Penny was also entrusted with the Winter Maiden’s magic, making her a demigod who could control weather. She’s powerful, but Penny’s first two bodies were vulnerable to hackers and magnetic attacks.

Fun Fact: Like most of RWBY’s characters, Penny alludes to a fairy tale. She’s Pinocchio, with Pietro as her Geppetto and the former Winter Maiden Fria as the Blue Fairy. No Jiminy Cricket, which is odd.

#2 AI Superhero: Vision

Played By: Paul Bettany
Franchise: Marvel

Vision is an android created by AI supervillain Ultron to destroy The Avengers. They subdued him and broke through Ultron’s programming, discovering that he was made from former hero Human Torch and the brain patterns of Wonder Man.

He joined the Avengers and began trying to understand humanity. Vision fell in love with the Scarlet Witch and married her. He often grapples with his nature as an artificial being, especially when Wonder Man starts pushing his buttons about not being human or stealing Scarlet Witch from him.

There’s a lot more to this android’s tale. Fire up the Mind Stone and head over to our Vision Backstory when you’re done here.

#1 Mega Man X

Voice By: Mark Gatha, Takahiro Sakurai
Franchise: Mega Man

Mega Man X was Doctor Light’s final creation, a Reploid able to feel emotions and make his own choices. Light feared X could destroy the world and sealed him away for decades of ethics training. X was found a century later and copied to create a race of Reploids.

X joined the Maverick Hunters, a military police force that destroyed Reploids infected by the Maverick Virus. Their work became overwhelming when leader Sigma was infected and mutated it into the far more dangerous Sigma Virus. Mega Man X and his partner Zero fought through hundreds of Mavericks and many disasters that wrecked Earth. After Zero disappeared, X purged the Sigma Virus for good with a superweapon called The Mother Elf.

He founded a city called New Arcadia where humans and Reploids could live in peace and created four Guardians to protect it. Mad scientist Dr. Weil corrupted the Mother Elf into the Dark Elf and sparked a war. X sacrificed his body to seal the Dark Elf. His soul was transformed into Cyber Elf X and became a mentor to Zero, who had resurfaced. 

Mega Man X fights with the X-Buster and often uses Zero’s Z-Saber. His Variable Weapon System allows X to copy weapons from any Maverick he defeats. Doctor Light hid many armor upgrades to enhance his powers. Mega Man is a staunch pacifist who discards his copies and armors when a disaster is done. It’s not wise, but the values of X remain constant.

Which AI Superhero would you prompt for help? Tell us in the comments.

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.