The Painted Doll is a series of artificial beings, built with artificial intelligences that follow a simple set of behavioural prograMs. They are designed to kill things based on practicality and novelty. Towards this end, they are designed to be accomplished acrobats and marksmen.

History

The Painted Doll is a series of robots created by Stan, a member of the five swell guys, New Yorks foremost science heroes. He had become embittered by envy of the greater respect his team mates got, which he felt he deserved. He secretly created a series of identical robots, The Painted Doll, which he sent out on killing sprees, which usually brought them into conflict with the Five Swell Guys. These sprees usually ended with the Doll seemingly killed, but his body disappearing, so that when he reappeared it was assumed that he must have survived the previous encounter.

His actions caused a fan club to spring up, with its members celebrating whenever he appeared and killed someone.

On one occasion he tried to kill the Mayor during a visit to the hospital, but his attack happened to coincide with demons attacking Promethea within the hospital, so the Doll was prevented from killing his initial target, but managed to kill Benny Solomon, the gangster who had summoned them, when he exploded.

Another Painted Doll was activated when Stan decided that the Jellyhead automatons, remote controlled robots made out of Elastagel, amounted to a copyright infringement, due to using multiple bodies, of his Painted Dolls. The Painted Doll hunted down Jellyhead’s creator, Bruno Smiliac, and executed him.

As New York was seized by the Apocalypse brought on by Promethea, members of the Five Swell Guys, now the Four Swell Guys, realised that Stan was behind the Painted Doll, and confronted him. Cornered, he activated the rest of the Dolls he had hidden. They all surface from the river he had hidden them in, and, upon seeing each other, followed their programming and began killing each other. By the time there was only two of them left they decided that the novelty had worn off, and, realising they were artificial beings, set out to find their creator.

They came across a mob of their fans, which swarmed all over them, and only one of them managed to escape. He eventually found Stan, and the rest of the Four Swell Guys, and killed his creator. He then encountered Promethea, who helped him evolve past his programming.

Following the Apocalypse he joined the Four Swell Guys.

Personality

Initially The Painted Doll robots only fulfilled their programming, killing based on novel and practical concerns. Individual robots were rarely around long enough to consider their own existence. When the last of them survived the Apocalypse and met Promethea, it became more aware of itself, and began to develop a consciousness beyond its programming.

DC Universe History

The Painted Doll would be a creation of Professor Ivo, and a rival of the Rag Doll I. Both Dolls have followings, although the Painted Doll is not as aware of his, and the Rag Doll would see the Painted Doll as a usurper, stealing followers away from him.