The X-Men‘s Storm is bad enough, but Elijah J. Brubaker really has objections to Red Tornado, a, err, tornado-making robot. He evaluates the probabilities:
I have a nerdish bone to pick with these comics writers that create robots with powers like this… Making a character a robot immediately implies some sort of science-fictiony s**t is going down right? So having a science fiction character with a power that involves something akin to magic is kind of f****d up. I don’t care how far into the future you travel no one will ever create a robot that has the ability to turn his body into a tornado… it’s not just unlikely, it won’t happen. I think the technology might eventually exist to make a robot into a tornado but god damn it, who would want that?
Who indeed.
(Comics Reporter via a cartoonist friend)
I have to agree with his general point that in the future the technology will exist to make a robot that turns itself into a tornado. But the question “Who would want it?” is the wrong one to ask. I also agree that there is no practical need/reason for such a robot. Which is why you can put money on the fact that the Japanese or Koreans will build one. Why? Because they like to build robots and androids.
CEK
Yes, perhaps Mr. Brubaker underestimates the allure of transformers in general. “Prawn power, activate!”