Victor Stone: Cyborg Appreciation 2020

[Customizer]

The only thing the comics have to do is what larger media has already done. All the pieces are there, and have been. Making Vic a viable IP is not the difficult task some think it is; we already have everything needed. The comics just have to take five gods damn minutes to put the puzzle together and you've got a hero for the 21st century.

This.

Cyborg doesn't need an overhaul. He needs minor but meaningful and critical changes.

*thinks about how Marvel has been slowly but consistently changing Falcon*

This thread has accomplished its task. I now want new Cyborg content and will be rereading Semper's run lol.

[Ascended]

You guys see the 5G Black Canary design they just posted over in the 5G replacements thread?

I don't know if it's legit or just the artist messing around with designs, if it's for a mini or if it's Dinah's 5G replacement, whatever, but it's a modern rework of the Kingdom Come Black Canary; daughter of Ollie and Dinah.

*If* that's gonna be the Canary going forward, it does lend credence to the rumor that Kingdom Come is going to be a major influence on 5G. If that's true, the odds seem pretty good that Vic's "all gold" costume is coming back (again).

Can't say that would thrill me; it is literally just a dude who is made entirely out of gold metal. As superhero costumes go it's bland as hell.

[Customizer]

I'm not familiar with his gold armor" design . A Google search suggest it's named the "Omegadrome" . Is that accurate? If so that smooth featureless body that makes him look like a member of the Metal Men will receive none of my money.

[Ironmonk]

So far Odyssey started off as promising for Vic but now he's been relegated to the Ping Ping guy. Any word on any other books he's supposed to appear in for the future?

[Digifiend]

I'm not familiar with his gold armor" design . A Google search suggest it's named the "Omegadrome" . Is that accurate? If so that smooth featureless body that makes him look like a member of the Metal Men will receive none of my money.

Yeah, it's how he looked in the 1999 Titans series. By the time it merged with Young Justice into the 2003 Teen Titans book, he was back to his normal silver self.

[HandofPrometheus]

So far Odyssey started off as promising for Vic but now he's been relegated to the Ping Ping guy. Any word on any other books he's supposed to appear in for the future?

I don't remember any promising upcoming titles or stories including him.

[Johnny]

but the visor isn't always on Scott. Scott Summers' visor is a tool, he wears it when he needs to and it has been updated and tweaked to fit whichever story or style the fits the time because people change and update their tools. If Cyborg can take off or update the faceplate, he should because that's what a person would do. Victor should wear clothes because that's what a person would do. he shouldn't just be a faceplate, there are other ways to get that Cyborg feel without a chunk of metal on his face. put some grooves, keep the red eye and the blue triclops light on his forehead - boom - you get the same aesthetic but less clunky and dated.

I agree, my point was there are always going to be certain elements of a character design considered to be too recognizable to remove or change. The two things about Scott's design that always stayed were the visor and the X-Men logo. The visor may not look the way it did 40 years ago but it's still there, Victor's face plate with the red eye would always be there too regardless if they tweak it or not. Even if DC actually stops having Cyborg question his humanity or if they do give him more appealing design, I doubt the faceplate itself would get a complete overhaul. I'm actually waiting to see what 5G would do about that. Maybe older Cyborg would be very different in terms of both looks and attitude.

[dkrook]

It's easy to see why the guy will never go on to big things. He has literally struggled in the last 15 years yet people double down on needing to stay with this tin can look. Writers just can't get the monkey off their back. The craving to have Vic carry this look will NOT work if the goal is to have him be a big league hero. Its almost reflective of reality where black folk are painted with this brush of low expectations. Being resigned to keep Victor as is even though his design is rife with issues, that translate to his usage, leading to his comics charactorization.

[Ascended]

I'm not familiar with his gold armor" design . A Google search suggest it's named the "Omegadrome" . Is that accurate? If so that smooth featureless body that makes him look like a member of the Metal Men will receive none of my money.

Yeah, that's it.

I think the gold look first originated in Kingdom Come, where Vic was a very minor background character (along with the other NTT and almost every other hero at DC). When KC proved to be so popular, the main continuity adopted several elements, costumes, etc., from it and Vic's golden look was one of them. It didn't last very long. Even before he returned to the silver look in the early 00's, DC tried to thread the needle by giving Vic his recognizable visual, but in gold instead of silver.

[Ascended]

It's easy to see why the guy will never go on to big things. He has literally struggled in the last 15 years yet people double down on needing to stay with this tin can look. Writers just can't get the monkey off their back. The craving to have Vic carry this look will NOT work if the goal is to have him be a big league hero. Its almost reflective of reality where black folk are painted with this brush of low expectations. Being resigned to keep Victor as is even though his design is rife with issues, that translate to his usage, leading to his comics charactorization.

You're really missing the point of what people are saying. Nobody is saying to keep him as is. What they're saying is that the elements that have been successfully used in larger media (for years) need to be adapted into the comics. And we're also saying that the marketing and business realities mean the face plate can't be removed completely without some other marketable design they can use and capitalize on.

[Iconic]

It's easy to see why the guy will never go on to big things. He has literally struggled in the last 15 years yet people double down on needing to stay with this tin can look. Writers just can't get the monkey off their back. The craving to have Vic carry this look will NOT work if the goal is to have him be a big league hero. Its almost reflective of reality where black folk are painted with this brush of low expectations. Being resigned to keep Victor as is even though his design is rife with issues, that translate to his usage, leading to his comics charactorization.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I feel the only thing that’s being overestimated is the marketing power of Cyborg’s 3/5ths face. If that’s all he is to DC, then throw him in the trash cause it’s not elevating the character. It’s been mentioned that there are tweaks that can be made to his face that are far more acceptable and have a plausible in-story reason for existing. To ignore that is to be happy with the glass ceiling of this character.

Elevate his emblem. Put it front and center. Incorporate it into his name on covers. Have it be offset to his left as opposed to center chest. Try something different.

[Customizer]

While i do prefer the imposing armored body look this face is completely acceptable (and preferable) to me if the character didn't ditch the mechanical face altogether:

Attachment 91692

"C" chest insignia for easy identification like many other heroes? Check
Red eye paying homage to his legacy appearance? Check
Grooved face for those that must see a portion of his face as "mechanical"? Check
Cybernetic arms? Check


Again i'd prefer more body armor but i'd take this version of Victor Stone every day and twice on Sundays.

*shrugs* A reminder

[HandofPrometheus]

He needs a better emblem because I don't understand that gear insignia. He isn't even operated by gears so I don't see where that came from. I get that is shows a C but it can be better.

[CRaymond]

He needs a better emblem because I don't understand that gear insignia. He isn't even operated by gears so I don't see where that came from. I get that is shows a C but it can be better.

Black-power-symbol-T-Shirts.jpg

rotated 90°

[Iconic]

He needs a better emblem because I don't understand that gear insignia. He isn't even operated by gears so I don't see where that came from. I get that is shows a C but it can be better.

It’s called ‘not trying’.

*Heavy southern voices overheard at a conference room within DC offices*
“Gentleman, it’s come to my attention that we need to give that -uhh, negro fella we have, a proper emblem. I say...any ideas?”
“Well...isn’t he mechanical? How about a gear, sir?”
*Panel looks around shrugging at one another*
“Brilliant!!! Art team, get on it. First submission wins!”

“Has anyone seen what this Mr Walker and Reis have done with our darker skin Leaguer? I don’t know. I’m just not sure I like that very much. This (whispered)diversity(whisper ends) thing has just gone too far! Now his arms are brown? Was 3/5ths of his face not enough? If it was good enough for our forefathers then it should be good enough for us. Someone fix that. I just don’t like it! I just don’t.”
“On it, sir!”

“How long has it been since that colored robot fella has been dismembered?”
“It’s been a good six months, sir.”
“Has it been that long?!? My-my. Well let’s get on with anotha’ one of those. That one where his spine pulled out with his skull poled very well with our *clears throat* fan base.”
“On it, sir! Any particular limb you like this time?”
“The head will suffice, son. My daddy always told me “You don’t mess with a classic”. Be sure to show the dead in the eyes. Something about that always just tickles me!”
“Right away, sir”