Biomechanoids are cybernetic constructs that appear in the 1992 comic Virus and its 1999 film adaptation. They were created by an a non-corporeal alien intelligence that had inhabited the computer systems of the Russian research ship Vladislav Volkov, which used both mechanical parts and the bodies of the ship's crew to build these creatures as extensions of its own will.
History[]
When the Intelligence occupied the computers of the Vladislav Volkov, it took control of all electronic systems, including the ship's machine shops. With these facilities, the Intelligence built several robotic units that it used to hunt down the crew. The crew themselves were regarded as "spare parts" by the alien entity and it began carving up their bodies and using their flesh and bones to build new biomechanical drones.
The Intelligence intended to bring the Vladislav Volkov to shore in order to spread its influence across the Earth, taking control of land-based machinery and converting the human population into biomechanoid slaves. In the end, the entity was killed when the crew of the cargo ship Sea Star were able to use munitions stored in the ship’s hold to destroy the Vladislav Volkov.
Description[]
Biomechanoids come in various shapes and sizes, depending upon their purpose and the components used in their construction. Some appeared as robotic insects with stretched human flesh forming fly-like wings. Others were humanoid, made from hollowed-out human bodies that were filled with machinery. Others still appeared more alien, such as the Goliath which housed the "core" of the Intelligence.
In the comic, the Biomechanoids were directly connected to the ship's power grid via cables, limiting their range of movement. In the film, the creatures were not restricted by power cables and were capable of moving freely.
Individual Biomechanoids[]
- Dragonfly - An insectoid biomechanoid that appears in the comic. It possessed long limbs ending in needles to stab victims.
- Bot Fly - A fly-like biomechanoid that appeared in the film. It crawled about in dark spaces and spied on the Sea Star crew.
- Crab - A small biomechanoid resembling a crustacean that appeared in the comic. Its mechanics were coated in molten human flesh and it possessed a pair of eye-stalks that sported actual human eyes.
- Beetle - An insectoid biomechanoid from the film that had wings woven from human skin. It was armed with a nail gun.
- Alexi - The captain of the Vladislav Volkov had been killed by the Intelligence and his corpse was hollowed out to make way for mechanical components.
- Tank - A biomechanoid from the film that moved about on a tank-like base. It had a humanoid upper body and was strong enough to kill a human by punching straight through their torso.
- Squeaky - A member of the Sea Star crew in the film. After disappearing into the Volkov's lower decks, he later reappeared as a zombie-like cyborg. Most of his body remained human, the most notable mechanical parts being a camera-like device replacing his right eye. He was killed after being shot by fellow crew member Hiko.
- Robert Everton - The captain of the Sea Star in the film. After being disregarded by his crew as a drunken lunatic, Everton offered to help the Intelligence and submitted himself to conversion. As a biomechanoid, he retained his human intelligence and emotions when he attacked his surviving crew. He was killed when Kit Foster incinerated him with a thermite grenade.
- Goliath - This biomechanoid was the most powerful of them all and housed the Intelligence itself. In the comic, it was created from a converted Chinese fighter craft, whereas the film version was built using components from the ship's computer core.