Cyborg: Where Do I Start?

Have your loved ones ever bugged you about being on the internet too much? Well, imagine what they’d say to DC’s Cyborg, a half-man half-machine who’s plugged into the world’s computers 24/7. But it has its benefits as well.

Cyborg currently works inside DC’s premiere super-hero team the Justice League as its resident IT guy and teleporter, using Boom Tube technology to get from A to B. But although his tenure in the Justice League is new, Cyborg is a long-lasting member of the DCU going all the way back to 1980’s DC Comics Presents #26. Originally created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, Cyborg became a key part in those two creators’ rejuvenation of DC’s Teen Titans title. The man known as Victor “Vic” Stone became an integral part of the team, and from time to time was able to explore his own origins and his own adventures outside the team. With the advent of the “new 52” in November 2011 Cyborg was drafted into the Justice League, but curiously he’s the only team member without his own series — past or present.

In this week’s Where Do I Start?, I tap into the DC database for Cyborg and come back with four key texts that are the best FAQ to get to know Cyborg. Now, get to downloading.

The New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 1: Although he may call the Justice League his team now, Cyborg’s first — and most long-lasting membership — was as part of the Teen Titans. And this hardcover collects all of their early stories, including the  one-off issue Tales of the New Teen Titans #1  showing the origin story for Vic Stone. Although it doesn’t include the character’s connection to Darkseid that was introduced in the “new 52”, it still shows his childhood rebellion against his parents’ scientific attempts to make him a superhuman  and his tragic accident which led to them making him a cyborg. While the other stories inside this hardcover don’t focus exclusive on Vic, it does show the team dynamics between him and the other Titans and just how much of a team player Cyborg is.

Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin: Team-building stories are some of the most iconic and memorable stories in super-hero comics, and in these first six issues of “New 52″‘s flagship book by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee they certainly do it right. Facing an overwhelming threat in the form of Darkseid and his Apokolips army, a disparate group of heroes are formed — some familiar to the Justice League name and one, Cyborg, new to the franchise. Although Cyborg’s new origin is only told in snippets between the larger arc, it shows just how integral Cyborg can be to the team — acting as one part Martian Manhunter, one part Oracle and one part valet getting them from place to place.

Teen Titans Spotlight: Cyborg: The only time Cyborg’s got a series of his own was in this 2008 mini by Mark Sable, Ken Lashley and Carlos Magno. Despite the relatively off-kilter art team, Sable tells a fine story that is reminiscent of Iron Man’s “Armor Wars” except for Cyborg’s father. In this, Cyborg is trying to stop an evil corporation from subverting his father’s technological achievements for dark purposes. As Vic digs into this, he’s met with someone trying to create a new version of Cyborg which — as you’d expect — he has to fight. While it’s no Batman: Year One, for Cyborg this is the closest thing you’ll get to a long-term arc exploring his character for now.

Teen Titans Spotlight #13: A hidden gem in the DC archives, this never-collected one-off story shows Cyborg facing against a very similar, but very different — man with a split life like himself: Two-Face. Written by a young J. Michael Straczynski, the story starts when Two-Face kidnaps Cyborg’s girlfriend and puts the Titan through a series of Arcade-esque traps to rescue his lover. In the end it forces Cyborg to face just how similar he is to Two-Face, and really giving Cyborg some heart in just 22 short pages.