BOOYAH: Cyborg Appreciation 2021

[Vordan]

I dislike this concept though. Why does there have to be a "premiere Black character"? Is there a premiere White one?

And frankly, with how popular the Titans are outside of comics, why does DC fear them overshadowing the JL? Especially Batman. He's great but he's had over 80 years. Give the focus to someone else.

It's also kind of sad a character needs a corporate executive to be a fan themselves in order to get support

I feel ya, but I’m just speaking to what I see. There’s rarely more than one black character on the League, and whoever gets the spot tends to have be the one who represents all black characters. It’s like how WW is usually the token woman on the League (although they’ve started putting Hawkgirl and Mera on to alleviate that, would be nice if Vixen was put on the League as well).

With the Titans, Didio didn’t want them overshadowing their mentors. Don’t know how the current regime feels about them but so far the Titans still don’t feel on the same level as the League.

[abetterday]

For me personally (I'm not trying to speak on behalf of other Black people/fans) but it's kind of offensive that DC is replacing Cyborg for John Stewart just because they share the same skin color.
At this point it should be obvious that DC and Warner Bros are more than just a movie studio and a comic book publisher. They are IP farms. They take the intellectual property of hungry artists-milk them dry and then let it sit on the shelf for ages. For what reason I don't know.

[skyvolt2000]

I dislike this concept though. Why does there have to be a "premiere Black character"? Is there a premiere White one?

No there is NOT a premiere white one.

Why? Because there is ZERO pushback to showcasing more than one white guy. Yet everyone else at times faces pushback.

Women are an odd case as while we have Wonder Woman and her 700+ books. She is NOT the only female at DC with at least 50 solo/co-starring issues.
Catwoman is over 200.
Cassandra Cain proved Batgirl could sell and went 72, Babs is now over 100.
Lois Lane held a solo that outsold Superman.
Batwoman has done well.
Jessica Cruz went 50 with Simon.
Stephanie, Zantana and Power Girl did well but go derailed by New 52 like everyone else.
Hawkgirl held her own for awhile.
Then we have Supergirl who could not sell, got killed and still came back to hold a solo since 1995.

While with black folks it's the war of the worlds-be it toxic fans, incompetent editors, bad writers and store owners-SOMEBODY has an issue.
Even if they sell-they still get dumped on-see Steel and Jason Rusch or Duke Thomas after his first mini.

Right now your most successful black person is Steel at 54 solo(ish) issues. Marvel has 3 past that-Cage, Panther & Miles. Image has 2 past that-Spawn and Malcolm Dragon.
Green Lantern Jo is your most successful DC female at 12. Marvel has 3 and Image has 1 with more than that.

[skyvolt2000]

For me personally (I'm not trying to speak on behalf of other Black people/fans) but it's kind of offensive that DC is replacing Cyborg for John Stewart just because they share the same skin color.
At this point it should be obvious that DC and Warner Bros are more than just a movie studio and a comic book publisher. They are IP farms. They take the intellectual property of hungry artists-milk them dry and then let it sit on the shelf for ages. For what reason I don't know.

John Stewart has been given shots. DESPITE editors-books with him have sold even Mosaic and New 52 GLC. So it's not tossing away Cyborg over skin color.

And it does help John that the new head of DC is a John Stewart fan.

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

I dislike this concept though. Why does there have to be a "premiere Black character"? Is there a premiere White one?

And frankly, with how popular the Titans are outside of comics, why does DC fear them overshadowing the JL? Especially Batman. He's great but he's had over 80 years. Give the focus to someone else.

It's also kind of sad a character needs a corporate executive to be a fan themselves in order to get support

Because the Titans have overshadowed them in the past, in term of both quality and sales. And while DC was happy for the sales, the fact that the "sidekicks" were overshadowing the "mentors/main heroes" both flummoxed them and violated their deeply ingrained hierarchical mentality. The "main heroes" are supposed to be on top, according to this mentality. ALWAYS. The heroes who used to be traditionally associated with "Earth-1" during the Silver & Bronze Ages are supposed to take priority over all over heroes from different Earths/companies. The Earth-2/DC's Golden Age get second priority, with the Fawcett, Quality, Charleton, Wildstorm, and anybody else left scrabbling for scraps. It's why Captain Marvel can't outshine Superman; it's why Captain Atom was designated the "hero who goes evil" in the original plans for "Who is Monarch?" back in '91 after the way he'd been used looked like he might encroach on Superman's role as the "premiere" hero. (It's a pet theory of mine, but I'm sticking to it.)

[Holt]

DC has A LOT of had questions that need to be addressed and answered, but that's a subject for another thread. I will say that their obsession with not wanting the TT(or anyone else) to over shadow the JL(Batman to be more specific) is short sighted and dumb, especially when Batman has been a failure of a hero and human being for years now.

...Where are y'all getting this idea about the Teen Titans potentially overshadowing Batman? That is never gonna happen.

[king81992]

I dislike this concept though. Why does there have to be a "premiere Black character"? Is there a premiere White one?

And frankly, with how popular the Titans are outside of comics, why does DC fear them overshadowing the JL? Especially Batman. He's great but he's had over 80 years. Give the focus to someone else.

It's also kind of sad a character needs a corporate executive to be a fan themselves in order to get support

Why shouldn't there be a 'premiere black character'?

The 'premiere white character' is currently Batman. It used to be Superman.

[king81992]

For me personally (I'm not trying to speak on behalf of other Black people/fans) but it's kind of offensive that DC is replacing Cyborg for John Stewart just because they share the same skin color.
At this point it should be obvious that DC and Warner Bros are more than just a movie studio and a comic book publisher. They are IP farms. They take the intellectual property of hungry artists-milk them dry and then let it sit on the shelf for ages. For what reason I don't know.

I'm tired of Cyborg getting shafted, but John is long overdue a proper push. His previous pushes were derailed by backlash from a certain segment of fans.

[king81992]

...Where are y'all getting this idea about the Teen Titans potentially overshadowing Batman? That is never gonna happen.

It's not about the TT or anyone else overshadowing Batman, its how Batman is pushed at the cost every other IP DC has.

[CosmiComic]

I'm tired of Cyborg getting shafted, but John is long overdue a proper push. His previous pushes were derailed by backlash from a certain segment of fans.

They should both get promoted, though

[king81992]

They should both get promoted, though

Agree, but the people running DC aren't interested in doing that.

[Robotman]

Years from now I don't want to look back at a character like Cyborg and think of him as wasted potential or example of how not to do something.
He deserves better than that.

Vic is a HUGE example of wasted potential. A POC character who is a god of technology in this day and age could have been great. The Ivan Reis Cyborg is still one of the best character designs of the modern era. That book also gave him the power to change back into Vic Stone, which is something fans were begging for. But of course DC trashed all the character development. Say what you will about the Snyder Cut but Cyborg’s character arc was great and had some very positive audience responses. But all the fallout with Fisher, Johns, and Whedon makes it all for naught.

Cyborg is wasted potential and the victim of bad luck.

[CosmiComic]

Agree, but the people running DC aren't interested in doing that.

I can't understand the zero sum approach DC has to diversity. Yet a million White male heroes can coexist

[Johnny]

I'm tired of Cyborg getting shafted, but John is long overdue a proper push. His previous pushes were derailed by backlash from a certain segment of fans.

They were derailed because they did not intend to give him an actual proper push. If they did, they would not have introduced Kyle in the first place and had John take over in the 90s when he seemed like the most logical choice. He's getting a push now because the current management clearly likes him, while Cyborg isn't because they clearly don't. It's kind of messed up that the fate of some of your favorite characters is always dependent on whether they serve the personal or corporate interests of the higher-ups but that's just how it is.

[Johnny]

Vic is a HUGE example of wasted potential. A POC character who is a god of technology in this day and age could have been great. The Ivan Reis Cyborg is still one of the best character designs of the modern era. That book also gave him the power to change back into Vic Stone, which is something fans were begging for. But of course DC trashed all the character development. Say what you will about the Snyder Cut but Cyborg’s character arc was great and had some very positive audience responses. But all the fallout with Fisher, Johns, and Whedon makes it all for naught.

Cyborg is wasted potential and the victim of bad luck.

Well I don't want to remember him that way. And I certainly don't want Cyborg to be considered a radioactive character due to events that have nothing to do with the character himself.

Either way, seems like he still gets promoted here and there.