Cyborg (DC Comics)

This article is about the Teen Titans character. For the character "The Cyborg", see Hank Henshaw.

Cyborg
File:TalesoftheNewTeenTitans1cyborg.jpg Cover of Tales of the New Teen Titans #1 (June 1982). Art by George Pérez.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	DC Comics Presents #26 (Oct. 1980)
Created by	Marv Wolfman George Pérez
In-story information
Alter ego	Victor "Vic" Stone
Team affiliations	Teen Titans Titans East
Notable aliases	Cyberion, Robotman III, Technis, Cyborg 2.0, Omegadrome
Abilities	Body replaced with advanced prosthetics granting; Superhuman strength, intellect and durability Numerous functions like sensors and weaponry.

Cyborg is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, and first appears in DC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980). Cyborg is best known as a member of the Teen Titans.

Fictional character biography

Victor Stone is the son of Silas and Elinore Stone, a pair of scientists who decided to use him as a test subject for various intelligence enhancement projects. However, Victor grew to resent this treatment and struck up a friendship with Ron Evers, a young miscreant who led him into trouble with the law. This was the beginning of a struggle where Victor strove for his own life engaging in pursuits of which his parents disapproved, such as athletics. In addition, Victor still kept bad company that led him into incidents such as when he was talked into participating in a street gang fight in which he was wounded. For the most part however, Victor still had a largely normal life under the circumstances where he also refused to follow Evers' grandiose plans of racially motivated terrorism.

Victor's horrified reaction to his prosthetics.

When he visited his parents at work at S.T.A.R. Labs, an experiment in dimensional travel went horribly awry when a massive gelatinous monster crossed over an experimental portal and killed Elinore. The creature then turned on Victor and severely mutilated him before Silas managed to force the creature back through the portal.

To save his son, Silas outfitted him with experimental prosthetics of his own design. However, the equipment could not be worn inconspicuously, and thus Victor was horrified to see much of his body, including part of his face, replaced with sheer metallic limbs and implants. Although Victor wanted to die at this shock, he eventually adjusted enough through his resulting physical therapy to control his implants with suitable skill.

However, upon release from medical care, he found his life was seriously inconvenienced with the fearful reactions of the public at his implants; even his girlfriend Marcy Reynolds rejected him. In addition, he was also disallowed participation in athletics not only for his implants, but also for his poor grades, which were further exacerbated by his long convalescence. However, when his old friend Ron Evers attempted to use Victor's troubles to manipulate him into attempting a terrorist attack on the United Nations, Victor found a new purpose as he equipped his weapons attachments and stopped his friend in a pitched battle on top of United Nations Headquarters.

Teen Titans

Victor joined the Teen Titans, initially for the benefit of a support group of kindred spirits and outsiders, and has remained with that group ever since. In addition, Victor found new friends who saw past his disfigurements to his own nobility, such as a group of children who were adjusting to their own prosthetics and idolized Victor with his fancy parts and exciting adventures as well as their beautiful teacher, Sarah Simms, who has often assisted him. Cyborg and Sarah have a deep relationship that is considered by some fans to be Cyborg's one true love, although writer Marv Wolfman insists it is a deep, caring friendship.

Another person who saw past the cybernetic shell was Dr. Sarah Charles, a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist who helped him to recuperate after having his cybernetic parts replaced. Cyborg and Dr. Charles dated for some time, and, along with Changeling, she kept trying to reach him when he was seemingly mindless following a plane crash.

Deaths and rebirths

Victor Stone - as Cyberion - is reunited with Sarah Charles.

Although Cyborg's body was repaired after the plane crash, albeit with more mechanical parts than previously, his mind was not. Eventually, his mind was restored by an alien race of computer intelligences called the Technis. Cyborg, however, had to remain with the Technis both to maintain his mind and because, in return for restoring him, he had to teach them about humanity. He took the name Cyberion, and gradually started becoming less human in outlook, connecting entirely to the Technis planet.

Eventually, Cyberion returned to Earth. With Vic's consciousness dormant, but his desire for companionship controlling the actions of the Technis' planet, it began kidnapping former Titans members and plugging them into virtual reality scenarios, representing what he believed to be their "perfect worlds"; for example, Beast Boy was back with the Doom Patrol, Damage was spending time being congratulated by the Justice Society, and Nightwing was confronted by a Batman who actually smiled. Although the Titans were freed, there was a strong disagreement between them and the Justice League over what action to take; the League believed that there was nothing left of Victor to save, whereas the Titans were willing to try, culminating in a brief battle, where the Atom and Catwoman (who had followed the Justice League to investigate) sided with the League while the Flash fought with the Titans. While Vic was distracted trying to aid his friends, a Titans team consisting of Changeling and the original five Titans were sent by Raven to try making contact with Vic's human side, while Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Martian Manhunter, Power Girl, Captain Marvel, and Mary Marvel moved the moon back to its proper place. Eventually, thanks primarily to Changeling's encouragement, and Omen and Raven holding Vic together long enough to come up with a plan, Vic's consciousness was restored, and "downloaded" into the Omegadrome, a morphing war-suit belonging to former Titan Minion. In the wake of this event, the Titans reformed and Vic was part of the new group. However, he felt less human than ever before.

Shortly after this, Nightwing revealed he had cloned Vic's body, and by flowing the Omegadrome through the clone, Vic regained his human form, but still had the abilities of the Omegadrome. He often used the Omegadrome to recreate his original look in battle. With his newfound humanity, Vic took a leave of absence, moving first to L.A. with Beast Boy and then to Central City. While in Central City, Vic was involved in one of the Thinker's schemes.

Mentor

Vic mentored the new incarnation of the Teen Titans, consisting mainly of sidekicks, most of whom have taken over the identities of former members (i.e. Tim Drake, the third Robin, instead of Dick Grayson, the original Robin and Titans leader), as well as stalwarts such as Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy, where they have fought enemies such as Deathstroke, Brother Blood, Doctor Light, The Titans Tomorrow, and a brainwashed Superboy and Indigo during a team up with the Outsiders in the Insiders storyline. In the end, Cyborg was the only one capable of standing up to Dr. Light, thanks to his solar shields.

Infinite Crisis and beyond

During Infinite Crisis, Cyborg joined Donna's New Cronus Team that went to investigate a hole in the universe that was found during the Rann-Thanagar War. He left Beast Boy in charge of the Titans while he was gone. They arrived at the reset center of the universe and with the help of assorted heroes aided in the defeat of Alexander Luthor, who was attempting to recreate the multiverse and build a perfect Earth from it.

According to 52 Week 5, Cyborg was fused together with Firestorm after returning to Earth. This was caused by the energy ripples caused by Alexander Luthor Jr. which altered the Zeta Ray Beams the heroes were going to use to return home.

After being severely damaged during the events of Infinite Crisis, Cyborg was rebuilt over time in thanks to Tower caretakers Wendy and Marvin. He awoke a year later to find a wholly different Teen Titans being led by Robin, the only member from the team he formed prior to going into space. He is still a member of the team, but feels that Kid Devil and Ravager are hardly worthy Titans, and thus is attempting to find a way to reform "the real Titans".

After the team along with the Doom Patrol defeated the Brotherhood of Evil, Cyborg asked Beast Boy to rejoin the Titans, but Gar refused, saying that his skills were needed with the Doom Patrol. After returning to Titans Tower, Cyborg began reviewing the security tapes during the last year, in which it appears that he was looked to by all the Titans of the past year for a shoulder to lean on, despite being in a coma-like state.

It appears that although Cyborg has returned to the team, the role of leader is now in the hands of Robin. He does however retain the position of statesman amongst the team and occasionally plays second-in-command.

In Justice League of America (vol. 2) #3, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman agree that Cyborg should be offered membership in the new Justice League. However, following a battle against Amazo, Green Lantern and Black Canary take over the formation of the JLA, and Cyborg is not amongst the roster.

In the Teen Titans East one-shot, Cyborg gathered together a new team of Titans. During a training exercise, the group was attacked by Trigon, and Cyborg was blasted by a giant energy beam. He was last seen in a crater, with only his head and torso remaining.

Titans

Cyborg is set to be a main character in the upcoming comic book Titans which focuses on a new team of Titans coming from the old veterans: Titans Cyborg, Nightwing, Troia, Flash (Wally West), Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Red Arrow. The story takes place immediately after the events of the Titans East one shot. In the aftermath of Trigon's assault, Cyborg has been placed into a special hoverchair while he recuperates. Cyborg's body is completely repaired in Titans #5. Soon after, the resurrected and unbalanced Jericho enters Cyborg's body, using him to manipulate the defenses at Titans Tower to kill the Teen Titans. Jericho's plans are foiled when Static, the newest Teen Titan, uses his electrical powers to overload the Tower's systems, causing feedback that knocks Jericho out of Cyborg. After recovering, Cyborg pretends to still have Jericho inside of him, in order to draw out Vigilante, who was currently targeting Jericho. The ploy works too well when Vigilante appears and shot Cyborg in the head. The story is ongoing.

Cyborg: 2008 miniseries

In an unspecified time during the main Teen Titans comics, a man with enhancements similar to Cyborg's attacks Dr. Sarah Charles on the day of her wedding to Deshaun, a young scientist. Cyborg rushes in for the save, discovering how Deshaun, connected to Project M, has sold the technology used to turn Stone into Cyborg to the military. He also finds that the enhanced man was Ron Evers, once Vic's best friend now turned terrorist, who was seeking vengeance for the soldiers used as test subjects. After Cyborg manages to calm down his friend and discovers the truth, Mr. Orr, revealed as the mastermind behind Project M's cyborg research, brings his Stone-derived best subjects: the current Equus, an armored form of the Wildebeest, and a cyberized man sporting enhancements even more powerful than Stone's current ones called Cyborg 2.0. Cyborg 2.0 turns out to be the Titans Tomorrow Cyborg 2.0, snatched from his proper timeline and cajoled by Orr into fighting his younger self for the possession of their shared technology and Orr's permission to use it in the battlefield. Cyborg is soon forced to fight simultaneously against the Phantom Limbs, an elite force of soldiers crippled in the Middle East and restored by his tech, and the Cyborg Revenge Squad, a broader formation composed of the Fearsome Five, Magenta, Girder, the Thinker, and Cyborgirl. Albeit the Cyborg Revenge Squad gains soon the upper hand, with the help of his fellow Titans Cyborg is able to hold its own in combat, reverse engineer on the fly some of the future technology used by Cyborg 2.0 and enhance his own body enough to win against Mr. Orr. He later decides to get a new lease in life, forgiving Deshaun and Sarah Charles on their wedding day for abusing his technology, resuming dating Sarah Simms and having the Phantom Limbs fitted with new, non-military, prostethics. It's however implied the Phantom Limbs, unwilling to see Stone's offer as a sign of good will, are trying to get back their weaponized prostethic and wait for a rematch.

Powers and abilities

Cyborg possesses cybernetic enhancements that provide superhuman strength, speed, endurance, and durability. Cyborg can also interface with computers. Built into his body-armor were an infrared eye, computer generator, sound amplifier, and special programming adapters that allowed him to interface with other body extensions. Additionally, he possesses an "exceptionally gifted" level of intelligence; his IQ has been measured at 170.

Cyborg in time has tinkered with his cybernetic parts, enhancing his function at levels beyond the abilities set by his father. A feature that sets him apart from the "mass production" version built by Project M is a self-repair system, able to flawlessly repair the mechanical part of his body, no matter how worn out they are, and even improve the health of the still biological ones to an unknown degree.

In other media

Television

Super Friends

Cyborg appeared in The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (the final incarnation of Super Friends) from 1985 to 1986. He was voiced by Ernie Hudson. Cyborg's origin was told via a medical journal read by Dr. Martin Stein saying Cyborg was a promising decathlon athlete until an accident destroyed most of his body and his father replaced part of his body with machine parts. Also, he is not a Titan. He becomes fast friends with fellow teammate Firestorm. He is an affiliate of the Justice League of America under Superman. In the introductory episode to Cyborg, The Seeds of Doom, Cyborg's abilities save Earth from Darkseid's seeds, but as Superman warns, make Darkseid a dangerous enemy to Cyborg, so Cyborg joins the League.

Justice League pilot promo

When Justice League was pitched to the Kids' WB network, the lineup originally included three young members as proteges for the League. The members would have been Robin, Impulse, and an original character described as a "teenage female version of Cyborg"(Cyborgirl). The promo is viewable on the fourth disc of the Justice League Season 1 boxset.

Teen Titans (animated series)

Cyborg in the episode "Nevermore" on the Teen Titans animated series.

Cyborg appears in the Teen Titans animated series, voiced by Khary Payton. This version of Cyborg is very similar to his comic book counterpart. His nickname is "Cy", and like his teammates, in the animated series Cyborg is never referred to by his given name; however, he does take the alias "Stone" (based on his real last name) in the Season 3 episode "Deception". The two main differences are his design and that he is more easygoing than his comics counterpart. His head is considerably more rounded and bald (based on his Titans Hunt counterpart), and his mechanical parts are bulkier. His primary weapon is a sonic cannon housed in his forearm; initially he uses only his right arm to fire, but later episodes reveal that his left arm has an identical cannon built into it as well.

Cyborg is the Titans' chief technician and gadgeteer. He is responsible for the construction of the Titan Tower's electronic and security systems and the team's main vehicles, the T-Car and the T-Ship. His most dominant personality faults featured in the series are his gluttony and that he can be a bit too vain about his work ("Deep Six", "Car Trouble", and "Wavelength"); for this reason he fosters a special dislike for those who abuse his devices irresponsibly, especially Gizmo and Brother Blood. On occasion, Cyborg acts as the team's second-in-command, but he tends to butt heads with Robin on rather trivial matters. In "Cyborg the Barbarian" he was sent back to 3,000 B.C. There, he met a woman named Sarasim (a homage to Victor Stone's lover Sarah Simms) and fell in love with her. The relationship ended when Cyborg was brought back to his own time.

Cyborg's age is never specified, but he knows how to drive (which makes him at least sixteen), and he says in "Deception" that he never finished high school, pinpointing his age between sixteen and eighteen. The only time Cyborg's personal history has been discussed is in "Deception", in which he discusses his involuntary cyborg status with Starfire, and in the 4th season episode "The End: Part 2." In this episode, Trigon creates duplicates of Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy. These duplicates reflect the dark side of each character. During the fight between Cyborg and his duplicate, the dark duplicate says "Go ahead! Run cryin' home to Mommy! Oh that's right. You don't HAVE a Mommy." In the episode "Go!", in which it is revealed how the Teen Titans met, Cyborg tells Beast Boy that he was in an accident, which is how he got his mechanical parts. He is shown wearing a hooded sweater at the beginning of the episode, trying to hide his appearance

The spin-off comic book series "Teen Titans: GO!" reveals that his mother died, and he himself was injured to the extent he required his cybernetic implants, in a car accident.

In the Titans Tomorrow storyline a future version of Victor Stone is shown having similar plating as the animated Cyborg.

Smallville

File:Victor Stone-Cyborg.jpg

Lee Thompson Young as Victor Stone in Smallville.

Cyborg appeared in the 15th episode of Smallville's fifth season, which was also titled "Cyborg", and premiered on February 16, 2006. In this version, Victor (Lee Thompson Young), is a former Metropolis High School football star. He is involved in a car accident that kills him, supposedly, and the rest of his family. However, he is secretly rebuilt by Cyntechnics scientists including Dr. Alistair Krieg (Mackenzie Gray), who experimented on a group of test subjects. Victor was the only test subject to survive the experiments. Cyntechnics was bought up by LuthorCorp shortly before Victor's escape. Lex denies any knowledge of Cyntechnics' secretive activities. "Alistair Krieg" is very likely a reference to Alice Krige, who played the Borg Queen (the name 'Borg' itself is derived from the word, 'cyborg') in Star Trek: First Contact. In that movie, her character attempted to create a sort of reverse-process cyborg by grafting organic tissue onto the android Data.

Although Victor's cybernetic enhancements are entirely endoskeletal instead of exoskeletal as they are in the comics and other media, a shot of Clark Kent's X-ray vision reveals that Victor's cranial armor covers the same-shaped area as it does in the comics. He also bleeds a dark fluid as he does in the comics. Smallville never uses the name "Cyborg" in his first appearance. Instead, Victor refers to his enhancements as "bionic", and the episode explicitly references the 1970s television series The Six Million Dollar Man which also featured a cybernetically-enhanced "bionic" man.

Lee Thompson Young reprised his role in "Justice", a Season 6 episode about Green Arrow gathering together a group of individuals to combat Lex Luthor and his experiments. The episode premiered on January 18, 2007. In this episode, Victor has finally taken the name "Cyborg", as Green Arrow's team uses code names. Also on the team are Aquaman and Impulse. While Victor was last seen with a girlfriend named Katherine, he explains that his mechanical parts put a strain on the relationship. After their eventual break up, Victor states that it was Green Arrow who kept him from committing suicide. The episode also shows Cyborg wearing something of a costume (a stylized silver vest), and utilizing further enhancements Green Arrow gave him. One of his new functions allows him to hack into and disable security systems. While connecting to machines, Cyborg's left eye glows red, another nod to his comic book incarnation.

Cyborg is a main character in the online animated Smallville spin-off Smallville Legends: Justice & Doom along with the other Justice Leaguers. In episode three, he displays additional abilities such as offensive sound wave projection.

Smallville's Cyborg received mixed reviews. While some liked the changes made from comics to show, others felt that he was so little like his comic book counterpart that they may as well have given him a different name.

Video games

DC Universe Online

Cyborg is set to appear in the upcoming video game DC Universe Online.

Toys

Cyborg will be released as a figure in the Justice League Unlimited toyline at some point in the upcoming year. Two versions of the character were released in Mattel's DC Universe action figure line, and in the 1980s, a very hard-to-find version was made for the Kenner Super Powers range.

External sources

• DCDP: Cyborg (Victor Stone) - DC Database Project
• Titans Tower biography
• Cyborg's description on the animated series