This week: H.E.R.B.I.E.!
Back in the 60s, Marvel was kind of a big deal. So it made sense that they would start branching out into toys, tv shows, and movies. They made several cartoon versions of their comics, one of which was Fantastic Four (1967). But there was a problem. Marvel had licensed Human Torch to Universal to get a solo cartoon that never happened, which means that when it came time to make Fantastic Four, they couldn't use him. You can't have a team called "Fantastic Four" with only three characters, so they introduced HERBIE, a robot created by Reed Richards.
HERBIE makes his first appearance in the comics in Fantastic Four #209 (June 1979), which even explains that the Human Torch didn't appear in the cartoon because he wasn't in town to sign the contract. If you're not aware, a strange quirk of the Marvel Universe is that Marvel Comics exists within it and publishes comics about the heroes, to varying degrees of accuracy. This mainly shows up in Fantastic Four, because they have public identities and license their likenesses for merchandising, and She-Hulk, because she frequently breaks the fourth wall. So it stands to reason that, if the comics exist, the comics adaptations can exist as well.
He sacrificed himself a few issues later because he was possessed by Doctor Sun, but you can't keep a good robot down. He has continued to appear in comics in a variety of roles, usually either performing security functions in the Baxter Building or being a companion for Franklin Richards.
Probably the most notable later appearance is in 1998 when Reed Richards becomes HERBIE! See, in What If...? #105 (December 1997) and the MC2 Universe that that issue spawned, it's about twenty years in the future and the marvel heroes have mostly been replaced by the next generation. In this world, the Fantastic Four is now the Fantastic Five, comprising an adult Franklin Richards, The Thing, the Human Torch, Lyja the Skrull, and Reed Richards...who's now just a brain in a HERBIE body.
HERBIE's latest appearance is in the pages of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, where it was revealed Reed first built to HERBIE to monitor for Galactus. No one can say for sure why a small robot from a 50-year-old one-season cartoon has managed to have the staying power that it has, but I think it's safe to say that cuteness goes a long way!
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