The Mechanical Monsters is the second of the seventeen animated Technicolor short films based upon the DC Comics character Superman. Produced by Fleischer Studios, the story features Superman battling a mad scientist with a small army of robots at his command. It was originally released by Paramount Pictures on November 28, 1941.
The Mechanical Monsters is referenced in works such as Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Castle in the Sky, and the more modern short World of Tomorrow (2004) by Director Kerry Conran, a prequel to his Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004, also released by Paramount), in which an army of robots attack New York City.[1][2][3]
Historians also point out the similarity between the robots in the Lupin III (Episode 155 Farewell My Beloved Lupin) television series and the ones in The Mechanical Monsters.[4]
A mechanical monster is shown on display in Superman's Fortress of Solitude in Superman: Doomsday.
During an episode of The Wire entitled "Hot Shots" a character can be seen watching The Mechanical Monsters on TV, paralleling the robbery that is about to occur.
