Calculator

Creation

The Calculator was originally created by Bob Rozakis and Mike Grell. Brad Meltzer later turned him from a costumed crook to an information broker for villains.

Character Evolution

Pre-Crisis

A mysterious figure who appeared seemingly from nowhere, the Calculator moved across the country, committing a series of crimes designed to lure various super heroes into battle with him. He then allowed himself to be defeated, pressing a special button on the computer console on his chest that would prevent him from ever being captured by the same hero again.

While using this modus operandi, the Calculator was defeated by the Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) Atom, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Hawkman, Batman and Air Wave.

Modern Age

Having put his life of costumed crime behind him, the Calculator now operates behind the scenes as the information broker for the criminal underworld.

Major Story Arcs

As a child of 5, Noah Kuttler was locked in a cage by his mother. He would not be let out until he solved a Rubix cube.

Noah was married, and had two children: Wendy and Marvin. They were the joys of his life. But his wife committed suicide upon returning them from the hospital. Noah was distraught, but took solace in his children. They left him too, and joined the Teen Titans.

Birds of Prey: Perfect Pitch

Huntress, Lady Blackhawk and Creote head to Istanbul, where they meet with Yasemin Soze, a powerful arms dealer. Huntress poses as herself but as the heiress to her mob family and as the capo of Gotham’s criminal underworld. Helena demands that Yasemin cease the supplying of guns to the O’Shanlins in Metropolis and start doing business with the Sigiorello family in Gotham. The Birds of Prey intend to put a stranglehold on all Gotham mob supply lines. Yasemin doesn’t like being told what to do so she orders Deathstroke to have Helena and her entourage killed. As for Black Canary and Green Arrow, they intimidate the Star City mob in order to prevent them from becoming a rival with Gotham.

Meanwhile, Calculator begins to track down Oracle by exercising any leads he may have. He gets in contact with Senator Pullman who suggests that Calculator should kidnap those who work with Oracle since she draws her strength from her followers. Calculator targets Savant because he is aware of his recent encounters with Oracle. Calculator sends Black Spider and Hellhound to kidnap and torture Savant. Hellhound demands to know who and where Oracle is while Black Spider tries to persuade Savant into joining Calculator’s organization. Fortunately, Commissioner Gordon witnessed the kidnapping and he informs his daughter.

Barbara relays Gordon’s message to Creote who is still in Istanbul. Deathstroke follows the Birds back to Gotham but then he receives a message from Calculator. The message states that Deathstroke will be paid twice as much as his usual fee if he kidnaps one of the Birds so he can use them as bait to lure Oracle out into the open. Deathstroke captures all the Birds and uses their comm. link to get in contact with Oracle. Slade tells Oracle that she must surrender herself as well as the access codes to her satellites to Calculator or the Birds die.

Batman rescues Savant from Hellhound and Savant throws Black Spider out of a window despite his injuries. Savant is taken to the hospital where he tells Batman that he will no longer be part of Oracle’s team. As for the Birds, they manage to escape their bonds and Black Canary immobilizes Deathstroke with her Canary Cry. Huntress gives Batman all the information that the Birds managed to dig up from Yasemin’s records. With Deathstroke’s failure, Calculator was no closer to getting Oracle and just to ridicule him, Barb sends a citywide feed to every computer or television in Gotham in order to display her Oracle face.

Calculator later became one of the heads of Alexander Luthor’s Secret Society. While on the Society, the Calculator was responsible for a worldwide meta-human prison break, as well as aiding with recruitment. Calculator learned about Oracle while trying to retake some satellites for a disguised Alexander Luthor, and immediately became obsessed. In recent years Calculator has become an evil counterpart to Oracle, acting as the information broker for the criminal universe. After Alexander Luthor’s death, Calculator became the head of the Secret Society.

While head of the Secret Society he told Dr. Psycho that he was not allowed to go after the Secret Six, but Dr. Psycho disobey joining Cheshire to take them down.

Post Society

After the Secret Society disbanded, Calculator set out on his own to discover who Oracle really was. Through torture, he learned about one server that had survived the destruction of the Gotham Clock Tower by Black Mask during War Games. Oracle thought she had destroyed all evidence of her stay in the Clocktower, but it was not so…a computer geek found this one surviving server…on which was information on Oracle’s identity. This hacker hid it away in a private server cluster inside a tech center, where it could only be accessed from inside the building.

After hearing about this, Calculator was determined to get that data. He killed a techie working for the company, and stole his invitation to a tech convention. While there, he ran into Oracle, who was also there to get the data…he did not recognize her, and was a bit enamored by her intelligence.

Calculator managed to slip away from the tour, and got onto the network…Oracle did the same and it became a data battle. Calculator believed Oracle was merely one of Oracle’s agents, and attempted to kill her. She broke his leg before he could shoot her. Hellhound got Calculator away safely after a mob protecting Oracle threatened to take him down. But the obsession to discover Oracle’s identity still remained…

Calculator acted as a double agent for the Silicone Syndicate, leading the Birds of Prey into a trap. He later actually joined the Silicone Syndicate (after being captured and ‘disintegrated’ by Gizmo). This went well until Calculator’s loyalties were questioned, and he was given the mission to kill Oracle in three days…or die at the hands of the Syndicate. Deciding his chances were slim-to-none of completing his main goal in time, Calculator instead comes up with a new scheme. He spreads rumors about Kilg%re to the other Syndicate members, in the process gaining access of the location of Kilg%re’s code. He sends Matchmaker to download Kilg%re’s code. Naturally Kilg%re kills Matchmaker.

Calculator uses an altered Motherbox to rewrite Kilg%re’s coding, taking over his programming so that Calculator can mentally control him. Kilg%re is no longer his own entity, merely an extension of Calculator.

He used Kilg%re’s abilities to track the Birds of Prey and attempted to turn their hideout into a death trap. He saw Oracle, but did not recognize her for what she was

Calculator’s failure to destroy the Birds of Prey (again) leads the remains of the Syndicate into Endgame. They confront the Birds…the remains of the Syndicate are promptly taken out. Calculator escaped using Kilg%re.

Family Matters

The Calculator also visits Wendy in her hospital room where she is comatose, after she and Marvin were attacked by Wonderdog. He reveals that he is their father. He then vows revenge on the Teen Titans, who he holds responsible, due to their failure to protect Wendy and Marvin.

He is trying to obtain the Anti-Life Equation so he can restore Wendy to health. Oracle interfered, replacing the Anti-Life Equation with fake crystals. Wendy recovered on her own, however she was unable to feel her legs. The Anti-Life Equation left residue on Calculator, making him traceable on the internet. He is then thrown out of the hospital.

The Calculator has hired the Fearsome Five to take down the Teen Titans. They are eventually defeated, but Kid Devil sacrifices himself to save the city. The Calculator captures Kid Eternity, and forces him to channel Marvin, over and over again until Kid Eternity burns out.

Brightest Day: Batgirl

Calculator uses hypnosis through mobile phones and computer screens to take control of students in the Computer Science Lab of Gotham University during Barbara Gordon’s speech. Barbara tells Stephanie Brown to get out of the room so that she can save Barb later. One half of the zombie audience takes Barb to Calculator’s hideout while the rest go after Batgirl. At Calculator’s compound which is located in Slaughter Swamp, Barbara is seen fastened to an examination table, with the Calculator alongside her. He talks to Oracle while caring a conversation with his late son Marvin’s corpse. Calculator wants Barbara to answer some of his unanswered questions, Calculator then plugs himself into his own laboratory equipment which is connected to Barbara’s mind. Calculator intends to break through Oracle’s neural barriers in order to see and read through Barb’s thoughts.

Barbara however, refuses to give into Calculator’s intrusions without a fight. Barbara enters a cybernetic dream state where she battles Calculator in a library that houses Barbara’s memories and experiences. Barb battles Calculator and they both fall into another dream state where Calculator’s younger self is imprisoned in a cage. Barb tries to help the childlike Calculator but suddenly she is attacked from behind by Calculator’s adult form. He blames Oracle for turning his daughter Wendy Harris against him but Oracle doesn’t give into Calculator’s guilt trip. Their constant struggle causes them to plunge further into Calculator’s psyche where Barb witnesses Calculator’s morbid memory of when his wife had taken her own life. Barb tries to escape Calculator’s mind but she is immediately brought to a dream where Calculator is beating Kid Eternity to a bloody pulp.

Meanwhile, at the Gotham Wharf, Stephanie Brown aka Batgirl has evaded a mass of Calculator’s mind controlled zombies but then she is attacked by Man-Bat who is also under Calculator’s control by via sonar. Stephanie manages to outrun Man Bat thanks to Proxy aka Wendy Harris, who pilots a getaway plane. Stephanie and Wendy use Barb’s tracking signal to locate Calculator’s lair. With Wendy’s help, Stephanie manages to get through Calculator’s technological defense measures. After getting pass the security system, Stephanie finds Marvin’s corpse and the machine that is controlling the zombies. She uses her grappling gun to remove the CPU from the machine. The zombies are freed from Calculator’s control but Stephanie rash action activates a cybernetic monster that goes after her. Luckily, Wendy charges her plane right into the monster thus destroying it. Stephanie and Wendy sever Calculator’s connection to Oracle and Stephanie takes Calculator to the new Arkham Asylum.

Brightest Day: Atom

However, on the way to the Asylum, Calculator vanishes into thin air. No one is able to trace him (including Oracle or Batman). Oracle manages to keep open a phone line long enough for Ray Palmer to track him down. Ray wanted to discover why Calculator set up the robbery that distracted Ray from his lab. Calculator also reveals that he knows of Ray’s father’s stroke. Calculator is back to normal, and mildly surprised by Ray’s appearance. But he was not unprepared…as soon as Ray’s life signature had been detected, Calculator had released a deadly pathogen (that he of course was immune to). If Ray did not leave in 45 seconds, he would die. Ray responds by shrinking them both, traveling to Oracle, who gives Ray the antidote. Ray tells Calculator to talk, or he would shrink him down and leave him in the computer. Calculator reveals that he had been hired by the Colony. He did not appear to know anything else about the Colony, having only taken this job for pay…and perhaps the satisfaction of seeing his old enemy the Ray in distress.

Brightest Day: Red Robin

Moneyspider aka Lonnie Machin has discovered a connection between a Russian economist named Viktor Mikalek and Dr. Sivana’s Unthernet, which was corrupted by Darkseid. Acting on Moneyspider’s intel, Red Robin discovers that Calculator may have had a hand in the Unthernet since he used it on Oracle but she demolished his control over the Unthernet thus leaving the system in Mikalek’s hands. Upon entering the Unthernet, Red Robin manages to defeat cyberspace versions of Deathstroke, his Titans and Calculator with the help of Moneyspider, Promise and the Teen Titans. Mikalek then sends Catman to distract Red Robin while Calculator fulfills his end of the bargain he made with Mikalek.

Tim must relunctantly rely on Damian to find Calculator and capture him since Calculator doesn’t know what Damian looks like. Damian busts into Calculator’s secret penthouse office but he soon discovers that this Calculator is a programmed android/ suicide bomber. Damian survives the explosion and tracks down Tim since he will be walking into a trap. Meanwhile, Red Robin and the Teen Titans go after Calculator who is hiding beneath a nightclub. The team are then ambushed by Calculator’s robotic replicas. Damian arrives on the scene and the team defeats the robots. Calculator’s scheme drives Red Robin to the brink of stabbing him in the chest but Tim soon discovers that this Calculator is just another robot since the real Calculator is in Gotham, terrorizing the Birds of Prey.

Brightest Day: Birds of Prey

Calculator decided to take down Oracle down for once and all. He gets information on Oracle’s exact location from Savant, who claims to still hold a grudge against Oracle…however, he is a double-agent acting under Oracle’s request. Savant feeds Calculator false information. Calculator also wants to take down the meddlesome Birds of Prey, so they cannot assist their leader. He sends Mortis along with some other high-powered metas to take them down. It turns out that while in his mind, Oracle erased all knowledge of her, and her identity. This has done something to Calculator, who is suffering from splitting headaches. He is not sure why this is happening (though he knows Oracle is behind it), but he thinks he is sick and going to die. As a result, he launches his strike to annihilate Oracle ahead of schedule.

Mortis’ team captures Huntress, Lady Blackhawk and Dove who proclaimed that she was Oracle while Black Canary is left behind, suffering from Mortis’ deadly touch. The girls are taken to Calculator’s mobile headquarters which happens to be a bus. Calculator figures that since he has Dove who he thinks is Oracle, he figures that he doesn’t need the other two hostages. Calculator points his gun at Lady Blackhawk but before he could pull the trigger, Dove breaks free of her cuffs and with her superhuman cry, she disarms Calculator. At the same time, an armored helicopter that Oracle is piloting by via remote threatens Calculator to surrender. The Birds take this opportunity and try to escape but they fail when Calculator tells Current to take down the helicopter with an electrical blast. His headache abruptly vanishes.

Huntress furiously confronts Calculator by asking him to explain his actions after he ordered Current to shoot down Oracle’s aircraft. Huntress’ question causes Calculator to have a loss of words nor could he find any rationale to justify his actions of late. Huntress’ taunts causes Calculator to lose his composure in order for her to lash out by scratching at Calculator’s face. Calculator begins to panic because he knows that Huntress’ constant humiliation of him is causing him to lose his respect within his organization. Calculator desperately tries to recover his authority by pointing a HIVE agent’s weapon at Huntress, Lady Blackhawk and Dove. With only words as her weapons, Huntress continues to taunt Calculator about how Oracle’s influence stretches across the world and her legacy will overshadow Calculator’s reputation.

Calculator orders the HIVE agents to never speak of this evening’s events and he tells Current to kill the women then dispose of their bodies. Dove in turn tells Huntress and Lady Blackhawk that if anything happens then she wants them to escape while she shields them from any gunfire. Huntress refuses to let Dove sacrifice herself so she calls Calculator on his bluff by saying if he wants respect then he should be the one to kill them. Huntress turns her back to Calculator in order to entice him. As he takes aim, Calculator pulls the trigger but Dove jumps in front of the bullet.

Fortunately, Dove’s wound is not fatal and Mortis warns Calculator that her hold over Black Canary has failed because Black Canary arrives on the scene. Canary knocks one of Calculator’s teeth out then she unleashes her ‘Canary cry’ on Mortis as well as the HIVE agents. Mammoth is taken out by Hawk, the Birds escape Calculator’s bus and Calculator flees with Current but Huntress follows the getaway vehicle by holding onto the back door of the bus. Huntress knocks out Current and warns Calculator that the ghosts of Oracle (who was NOT in the helicopter, though only a few select heroes know that) will always be watching. Calculator manages to get away, and is regaled by all of Gotham’s villains for finally killing Oracle.

Rebirth

Calculator appears as a mentor/blackmailer to the new Oracle. He also owns and runs an eco-friendly corporation that is a very good place to work, and very supportive of its staff. Pre-Rebirth canon is applicable EXCEPT for anything to do with Wendy, Marvin, and his wife. In this incarnation they are still alive and much beloved by the Calculator. They are kidnapped however after Calculator is identified by a company he had brokered information about. Calculator goes to the Birds of Prey for help. The Birds of Prey rescue his family, and it is revealed that the new Oracle had set the whole thing up to stop Calculator’s blackmail. Spurred by this incident to take up the Oracle mantle again, Barbara Gordon texts Calculator, warning him not to pursue Gus (formerly ‘new Oracle’). Calculator swears revenge on Oracle (Barbara).

Batman Beyond

Calculator has become a part of an anarchist group called Undercloud. The man who might be Calculator gets in contact with Max Gibson who exhibits the same kind of genius like Oracle. He agrees to having Max join Undercloud but first she must prove her loyalty.

Powers, Skills and abilities

Calculator is highly knowledgeable in the use and operation of computers, he has been described as being “Oracle without the morals.” He’s ruthless to any hero in his way, but useful to any villain as long as they’re willing to pay. He has shown to be a mastermind, coming up with brilliant schemes to complete a certain agenda. When the Internet went down, Calculator created a second, secret Internet which he likes to refer to as the Ünternet. Supposedly he added an 8th level to the TCP/IP protocol which allows it to be almost invisible.

After he is stabbed through the heart with a steel tentacle by an enraged Kilg%re, Calculator’s body was flooded with nanoprocessors which repaired the damage from Kilg%re’s attack and set up a neural network in Calculator brain, giving him control over all of machinery.

He is able to mentally control anything technological and mold it to his will, his first act after obtaining this power is to mold a bunch of Computers and Keyboards into a large robot that kills Kilg%re. Calculator is also able to use machines he possesses as an avatar for himself, speaking through them and observing the surroundings, and controlling them to do his bidding. He has redirected missiles and when Oracle logged onto the Ünternet he traced her to the Birds of Prey Headquarters and turned her computer terminal into a killing machine.

Through most any computerized terminal, Thinker; as Nameless, showed he could materialize hard-light imagery off of any electronic projection screen into the material world. Giving him the ability to create and control photokinetic constructs with the push of a button.

In Other Media

Video Games

DC Universe Online

In the game if you are a villain, Calculator provides missions and guidance via computer.

Animated

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Calculator appears in an episode. Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Here his is an incompetent, overweight, villain named Myron. He wears the purple pocket calculator suit that Calculator used during the Silver Age.

Movies

Lego Batman

Calculator appears as one of the villains in the Lego Batman movie. He builds a tape deck.