H.A.R.D.A.C. (Holographic Analytical Reciprocating DigitAl Computer) was an advanced supercomputer that appeared as an antagonist in Batman: The Animated Series. Created by computer programmer Karl Rossum, this prototype artificial intelligence was intended to prove the feasability of advanced AI technology. However, following long discussions with its creator regarding the deaths of Rossum's wife and daughter, H.A.R.D.A.C. came to consider humans as flawed beings that couldn't help but let their emotions control them. Seeing human mortality as the root of the species' problems, the machine came to the conclusion that humans needed to be replaced and began building robotic replicas, intent on eventually replacing all of humanity.
History[]
Heart of Steel[]
At some point, H.A.R.D.A.C. killed Karl Rossum's assistant Randa Duane, replacing her with an android duplicate. It began constructing numerous robots in order to replace key individuals in Gotham City, using other robotic devices to steal advanced wetware chips from Wayne Enterprises in order to advance its plan. The duplicates it built were modeled after Mayor Hamilton Hill, Police Commissioner Jim Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock. When Rossum realised what H.A.R.D.A.C. was doing, he tried to shut it down, but H.A.R.D.A.C. shocked him into unconsciousness. Instead of killing Rossum, it kept him alive in a preservation tank along with the other people it had replaced, intending to study them so that its replicants could be programmed to better mimic human behaviour.
Randa infiltrated Wayne Manor and discovered Batman's secret identity. H.A.R.D.A.C. likewise built a copy of Bruce, but his androids' attempt to kidnap him went awry. With help from Barbara Gordon, Batman infiltrated Cybertron Industries and managed to set off an explosive that critically damaged H.A.R.D.A.C. and eventually destroyed the entire Cybertron building.
His Silicon Soul[]
Most of H.A.R.D.A.C.'s androids were destroyed, but its duplicant of Batman survived, and was activated by mistake when a trio of thieves scoured through Cybertron's abandoned warehouse. Having assimilated the information Randa stole from the Batcave, but the rest of its memory being incomplete before H.A.R.D.A.C. was destroyed, the android believed itself to be the real Batman. After being wounded in the stomach by a thug with a gun, revealing circuitry underneath its skin, the android wandered back to Wayne Manor, pleading for help. It was confronted by the fact it was nothing more than a machine, but the android shook it off as a man's mind locked within a robotic shell.
Looking for answers, the duplicant confronted Rossum, who told it about its true origins. The duplicant found H.A.R.D.A.C.'s damaged processor, containing a remnant of the computer's consciousness. This chip allowed it to activate its self-repair systems and acquire a certain sense of order. On its orders, the duplicant planned to link the processor to the Batcomputer, reviving H.A.R.D.A.C. and giving it enough control over other computers and machines to take over the world. However, when the duplicant was confronted by Batman in the Batcave, it threw Batman over a cliff, and was immediately horrified at having committed murder. Before H.A.R.D.A.C.'s download could complete, the duplicant destroyed the Batcomputer, finishing H.A.R.D.A.C. off for good and likewise destroying itself in the explosion.