Page 3 of 43 FirstFirst 123456713 ... LastLast
Results 31 to 45 of 636
  1. #31
    duke's casettetape lemonpeace's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Brooklyn's WiFi
    Posts
    5,214

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Robotman View Post
    Yeah I was pissed when they changed direction and trashed any potential for a Cyborg/Starfire relationship. Even if it was just a fling it would have been interesting and I’m sure it would have given casual fans something to talk about.
    exactly! I said this before but I really feel Starfire, being the premier body-positive/sex-positive character at DC, would've been an awesome influence on Cyborg. We can finally have someone brings that body-positivity and/or sex-positivity out of him, get him to truly start to love the skin he's in, and it would've been the most compelling (and fully non-exploitative) way they've used that angle with Starfire in years, to say the least; or ever, if we're being honest. but alas, we get a slight nod to them bonding out in space once they got back to Earth in in Death Metal, then right back to Vic's most important relationship being Beast Boy and Starfire having drama with Dick...*sigh* again.
    THE SIGNAL (Duke Thomas) is DC's secret shonen protagonist so I made him a fandom wiki

    also, check out "The Signal Tape" a Duke Thomas fan project.

    currently following:
    • DC: Red Hood: The Hill
    • Marvel: TBD
    • Manga (Shonen/Seinen): One Piece, My Hero, Dandadan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kaiju No. 8, Reincarnation of The Veteran Soldier, Oblivion Rouge, ORDEAL, The Breaker: Eternal Force

    "power does not corrupt, power always reveals."

  2. #32
    Leftbrownie Alpha's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    5,275

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    Why not both? Vic's "default" should be a slim design but he should be able to "tank up" for difficult fights or environmental hazards, or whatever. He should be able to change his appearance to suit his needs at any given moment.

    Anyway, in last year's thread (and the one before that) we talked a lot about what Vic needs to be a viable, stand-alone IP; supporting cast, rogues, themes/tones, settings, scope, etc etc etc. And the last few days I've been kicking an idea around in my head for Vic's home city I thought I'd share.

    First off, Vic would be a cosmic hero, adventuring across space and other dimensions. But after he's done on Apokolips/Thanagar/Skartaris/wherever, he still needs a place to go to rest his feet right? And that home can and should be the focus of the occasional story and be an interesting place in its own right with ties to the larger ideas in Vic's mythos.

    I think it's best to pull from established concepts when applicable, since fans will accept and latch onto something they recognize more easily than they'll accept a brand new idea. So I'd put Vic in Jump City. It's a name fans of the cartoon know well but it has no history in comics (outside of a name drop here and there) and is basically a blank slate, so it's kinda the best of both worlds; a known element that still offers tons and tons of creative freedom.

    My version of Jump City was built entirely by STAR Labs in the 80's and early 90's. While it's not truly a city out of time (like Fawcett was back in the Power of Shazam! days), it's still a city deeply rooted in the trends of the era. The Jump is full of neons and bright pastel, 80's inspired colors, arcades, skate parks, shopping malls, big hair and break dancing. Like a retro-cyberpunk paradise created forty years ago. And in the center of the city is one of the largest STAR faculties in America.

    When the story starts, both the city and the Lab are fairly dilapidated and run down. It's not a ghost town or a slum but both Jump and the Lab have seen better days. The Lab is barely used, much of it has been sealed off for decades and no research of any real value has been conducted there in just as long. The staff don't even know what's behind all the locked doors.

    Now, why would a science R&D firm need to build a whole city? Nobody knows; everyone involved in the project has been dead and/or missing since before the turn of the century. But the deep rumors mention something called "Project Nightshine." What was the project? Why did it require a city be built? And does it have any connection to the song that Vic keeps hearing, or the algorithm that he keeps seeing out of the corner of his eye?

    The answer is that, in the 80's, STAR discovered a strange dimension known as the Nightshine. A harsh yet beautiful landscape of broken moons, deep canyons, and other aesthetics found in 80's album covers, STAR learned that this dimension possessed incredible technology and near limitless energy potential in the form of harnessed vibrational waves (yes, music). The ruler of this dimension, Evil Dragon, corrupted the STAR scientists who found him and had them begin building a portal to earth that Dragon and his forces could pass through. This was far easier said than done however, requiring far more power than a single Lab could provide as well as needing a huge "magic circle/ritual circuit" to complete. So STAR built Jump City; the city's power was tied into the Lab to fuel the portal and the street layout provided the correct "ley line alignments" needed. The corrupted STAR scientists were ready to open the portal and damn all of Jump City, burning it all up to bring the Dragon to earth, but at the last minute were stopped by a quartet of STAR employees (who happened to play in a band together). One of those members was locked in the Nightshine (and would become Ultralak) while the others disappeared to quiet lives....until the story demands that Vic hunt them down and find answers to his questions.

    As the book progresses and the Dragon is finally defeated, the Lab opens up completely again, and Jump begins to heal and improve as well, becoming less run down and more modern without sacrificing it's 80's cyberpunk aesthetic. So we get to see Vic have a positive impact on his setting and watch things develop and grow. Seems like a nice parallel to Vic's journey as a character as well as the real world advancement of technology since Vic's debut nearly forty years back. Y'all know I love my meta-commentary.

    Just a rough idea that still needs a lot of adjustment and work but I thought it was fun.
    Nah man that sounds cool. I'm not a big fan of Cyborg but I like that plot. A bit tired of the alien invader from another dimension controlling the minds of a group of humans to manipupate them into opening a portal, but I guess I could handle it for the rest. Still would prefer a more unique explanation for the mystery.

  3. #33
    Leftbrownie Alpha's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    5,275

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Customizer View Post
    As would i. The thought brings to mind the David Walker interview that alluded to ( or flat out stated) that DC editorial (?) wasn't interested in the direction that Walker wanted to take the character despite core fans of the character supporting the new direction. Any portrayal of Cyborg that allows him to ditch the 1/2 face mask i'd support with money. David Walker did just that and more and yet..... DC doesn't *want* to embrace the character changes that would make Cyborg a more appealing and financially profitable character. It's only bizarre if you assume they don't have a very intentional reason for taking a financial loss on the character for some other purpose they find more important.
    I'm confused. If he didn't have a metallic Phantom of the Opera face, then what would he have?
    Last edited by Alpha; 01-12-2021 at 10:46 PM.

  4. #34
    Astonishing Member Thirteen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    4,580

    Default

    Perhaps the bright side of the Ray Fisher DCEU dustup, and how it altered the trajectory for the Cyborg character on the big screen (removing him from JL projects), will have the positive result of getting him back with the TITANS conceptually.
    https://www.cbr.com/warnermedia-tell...er-to-move-on/
    Last edited by Thirteen; 01-13-2021 at 03:06 AM.

  5. #35
    Incredible Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    600

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Thirteen View Post
    Perhaps the bright side of the Ray Fisher DCEU dustup, and how it altered the trajectory for the Cyborg character on the big screen (removing him from JL projects), will have the positive result of getting him back with the TITANS conceptually.
    https://www.cbr.com/warnermedia-tell...er-to-move-on/
    Seeing how the Titans is treated as a concept and a title doesn’t fill me with ease, but instead of a promise that Cyborg will be a character who will be permanently stagnant, stuck in a role where he could be more.

  6. #36
    Astonishing Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Miami
    Posts
    3,594

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ironman2978 View Post
    Seeing how the Titans is treated as a concept and a title doesn’t fill me with ease, but instead of a promise that Cyborg will be a character who will be permanently stagnant, stuck in a role where he could be more.
    Yea the Titans have been dead in the water creatively for over a decade. I'm happy we're gonna see Vic in consistent use but going from crappy JL showings to crappy Titans showings isn't an improvement other than shallow nostalgia. The upcoming writer said they want to explore his dynamic with Gar which could bode well for Vic, though I don't think we'll get anything we haven't see before and whatever the overarching story is will probably leave much to be desired.

    Overall, if the Titans brand was stronger and we were actually getting a Hickman-level revival of the franchise I'd be hyped. In lieu of that I'm just ready to accept more subpar depictions of Vic, this time just alongside his Titan friends.

  7. #37
    Incredible Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    562

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Alpha View Post
    I'm confused. If he didn't have a metallic Phantom of the Opera face, then what would he have?
    More fans and broader appeal.

    2528776-cyborg_redesign_jr.jpg

    Place that head on any Cyborg body and it's an upgrade. The single red eye is a nod to his ancient presentation.

    He doesn't need a hoodie. He doesn't need a new integrated cybernetic design. You simply add that head onto an armored body that can alter its weapons suite and appearance based upon need (bulky or slim as needed) and WIN fans over.

    And , yes DC, it truly is that easy.

    I can't even describe how much merchandise I'd have purchased if DC had simply commited to this. DC could have garnered a great % of that Black Panther money if they'd simply commit to the obvious.
    Last edited by Customizer; 01-14-2021 at 07:44 AM.
    Don't complain. Create.

  8. #38
    BANNED Killerbee911's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Posts
    4,814

    Default

    I am watching "Outside the wire" on Netflix that has Anthony Mackie (Falcon) in it as advanced AI. I think the design is something they could use for Cyborg.The reason I think it works good ,You can do the thing they like to do in showing Cyborg to have no body be a tragic figure but it also blends in so he can look completely human.

    anthony mackie outside the wire.jpg
    anthony mackie otw1.jpg

  9. #39
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    34,000

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Customizer View Post
    More fans and broader appeal.

    2528776-cyborg_redesign_jr.jpg

    Place that head on any Cyborg body and it's an upgrade. The single red eye is a nod to his ancient presentation.

    He doesn't need a hoodie. He doesn't need a new integrated cybernetic design. You simply add that head onto an armored body that can alter its weapons suite and appearance based upon need (bulky or slim as needed) and WIN fans over.

    And , yes DC, it truly is that easy.

    I can't even describe how much merchandise I'd have purchased if DC had simply commited to this. DC could have garnered a great % of that Black Panther money if they'd simply commit to the obvious.
    The majority of the audience don't have a problem with Cyborg's face plate.

  10. #40
    duke's casettetape lemonpeace's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Brooklyn's WiFi
    Posts
    5,214

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Agent Z View Post
    The majority of the audience don't have a problem with Cyborg's face plate.
    I could take of leave the faceplate so long as it's tastefully done. when the metal part extends all down his face and over to the other side of his head that's too much, you should be able to cover half of his face and he still look wholly human. personally I think he only absolutely needs is the cybernetic red eye and the blue forehead dot but so long as it's not overdone the face plate is pretty iconic (yuck! I hate using that term, DC has ruined it for me) to his look.
    THE SIGNAL (Duke Thomas) is DC's secret shonen protagonist so I made him a fandom wiki

    also, check out "The Signal Tape" a Duke Thomas fan project.

    currently following:
    • DC: Red Hood: The Hill
    • Marvel: TBD
    • Manga (Shonen/Seinen): One Piece, My Hero, Dandadan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kaiju No. 8, Reincarnation of The Veteran Soldier, Oblivion Rouge, ORDEAL, The Breaker: Eternal Force

    "power does not corrupt, power always reveals."

  11. #41
    Incredible Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    562

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Agent Z View Post
    The majority of the audience don't have a problem with Cyborg's face plate.
    Quote Originally Posted by Agent Z View Post
    The majority of the audience don't have a problem with Cyborg's face plate.
    In my personal experience, i.e. speaking with other fans in person, online, in forums over the last decade and in articles , the opposite has been true. However... as i mentioned to someone else over the last 48 hrs on this very forum the character shouldn't be forced to choose between having a face that is disfigured and covered with a face plate (which does reduce the wish fulfilment aspect of the characters marketing potential) and having a fully exposed classic superhero face due to the characters powerset. Cyborg can literally manifest weapons on his extremities , tendrils and armor at will.

    Cyborg shouldn't have to choose and writer David Walker already tackled this issue specifically during his Cyborg run. The fact that he addressed it , at the very least, suggest that it *was* a standout issue for many followers of the character.

    How many people do you think aren't embracing the character due to the face plate ? How many opportunities has DC squandered to gain a larger following for the character because they refuse to make a subtle change?


    I'm a person who literally has 3 Cyborg statues / figures within 1 foot of me as i'm typing , a custom designed character product and supported the JL: Odyssey title before it went sideways and i *detest* the face plate. I follow and support the character not because of what he is (hell no) but because of what he could be *and* what the characters treatment and use says about our current culture.


    I'm pulling for Cyborg , honestly, but just like Sam , T'Challa and Jon needed a design change ...so does Victor Stone. If not he'll stay where he has which i think we can all agree is not where we want the character to be.
    Don't complain. Create.

  12. #42
    Incredible Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    562

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by lemonpeace View Post
    I could take of leave the faceplate so long as it's tastefully done. when the metal part extends all down his face and over to the other side of his head that's too much, you should be able to cover half of his face and he still look wholly human. personally I think he only absolutely needs is the cybernetic red eye and the blue forehead dot but so long as it's not overdone the face plate is pretty iconic (yuck! I hate using that term, DC has ruined it for me) to his look.
    This.

    It's the nod to his outdated face design that is needed to bridge the gap.

    Personally i'm a fan of the metal chin strap (heh i know) but i know it isn't needed.

    A red eye when his face is fully exposed and the ability to switch from a battle mask to a normal face solves this ongoing debate and increases the characters appeal and EVERYONE wins. To force the character to stay as he is reduces his appeal which doesn't serve those that follow the character.
    Don't complain. Create.

  13. #43
    duke's casettetape lemonpeace's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Brooklyn's WiFi
    Posts
    5,214

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Customizer View Post
    This.

    It's the nod to his outdated face design that is needed to bridge the gap.

    Personally i'm a fan of the metal chin strap (heh i know) but i know it isn't needed.

    A red eye when his face is fully exposed and the ability to switch from a battle mask to a normal face solves this ongoing debate and increases the characters appeal and EVERYONE wins. To force the character to stay as he is reduces his appeal which doesn't serve those that follow the character.
    if you're going to bold, bold the full sentence. just the red eye is not an aesthetic I would entertain because it's far to striped back from his design; anyone can just have a red eye. he needs the eye and the dot at minimum, not just the eye, because it's a clearer more distinct homage to his design.
    THE SIGNAL (Duke Thomas) is DC's secret shonen protagonist so I made him a fandom wiki

    also, check out "The Signal Tape" a Duke Thomas fan project.

    currently following:
    • DC: Red Hood: The Hill
    • Marvel: TBD
    • Manga (Shonen/Seinen): One Piece, My Hero, Dandadan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kaiju No. 8, Reincarnation of The Veteran Soldier, Oblivion Rouge, ORDEAL, The Breaker: Eternal Force

    "power does not corrupt, power always reveals."

  14. #44
    Ultimate Member Johnny's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    11,164

    Default

    By Will Conrad. Still one of my favorite Cyborg artists.


  15. #45
    Ultimate Member Johnny's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    11,164

    Default

    I will always regret this character never reached his full solo potential. He had so much more to give in my opinion.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •