Cypher actually have great potential

[Banner]

His old powers were restricted to linguistics. He could understand all languages. His updated powers allows him to read body language, and he seems to be close to having technopathy. Anyone remember the film Lucy with Scarlett Johansson, where she can see all the cell phone signals and similar information?
Everything in the living world is information and communication, called biosemiotics. Mykorrhiza is the symbiosis between plants and fungi. Inside every multicellular body, there's communication between cells. Inside the gut, there is communication between microbes and the body, which affects your health.
Cells are made up of DNA, RNA and proteins. If his powers become even stronger, he could read what was wrong with people, acting as a healer (for instance finding and curing cancer in its early stages). He could see if a fertilized egg would turn into a mutant or not (and turn it into a non-mutant, or vice versa). And he could take a seed, or an egg, and by reading and interfering with the cells and their communication, shape it into something new during its development, like a strawberry blant into a bush, or an apple tree into a herb. Or a chicken into something resembling a dinosaur. Or change the DNA of a plant, so it produce all essential amino acids in the form of meatlike fruits.
He could probably also do well within mechanics and electronics by being able to see weaknesses in design and how to improve them. And read chemical reactions. In a battle, he may mess with the enemy's biochemistry, making them sick or even kill them.

Just some thoughts considering we are dealing with a mutant able to read and understand information, and we are living in the information age.

(Also, he will fully understand the dancing language of the bees, the light signals of squid, and the pheromone language of ants and termnites)

[Agatha's Ghost]

It sounds as if you are describing that woman with the computer brain in X-Force who can read and control DNA.

[Frobisher]

Understanding language and interpretting meaning are two different things. Possibly the World would be a better place if there wasn't so much meaning lost in communication - on the other hand, possibly we would fight each other all the more fervently if we truly understood each other's intent.

[Phoenixx9]

His old powers were restricted to linguistics. He could understand all languages. His updated powers allows him to read body language, and he seems to be close to having technopathy. Anyone remember the film Lucy with Scarlett Johansson, where she can see all the cell phone signals and similar information?
Everything in the living world is information and communication, called biosemiotics. Mykorrhiza is the symbiosis between plants and fungi. Inside every multicellular body, there's communication between cells. Inside the gut, there is communication between microbes and the body, which affects your health.
Cells are made up of DNA, RNA and proteins. If his powers become even stronger, he could read what was wrong with people, acting as a healer (for instance finding and curing cancer in its early stages). He could see if a fertilized egg would turn into a mutant or not (and turn it into a non-mutant, or vice versa). And he could take a seed, or an egg, and by reading and interfering with the cells and their communication, shape it into something new during its development, like a strawberry blant into a bush, or an apple tree into a herb. Or a chicken into something resembling a dinosaur. Or change the DNA of a plant, so it produce all essential amino acids in the form of meatlike fruits.
He could probably also do well within mechanics and electronics by being able to see weaknesses in design and how to improve them. And read chemical reactions. In a battle, he may mess with the enemy's biochemistry, making them sick or even kill them.

Just some thoughts considering we are dealing with a mutant able to read and understand information, and we are living in the information age.

(Also, he will fully understand the dancing language of the bees, the light signals of squid, and the pheromone language of ants and termnites)

I believe a more modern addition to Cypher's powers is the ability to understand the movements/fight pattern of foes, making him a better fighter.

It sounds as if you are describing that woman with the computer brain in X-Force who can read and control DNA.

Do you mean Sage?

Understanding language and interpretting meaning are two different things. Possibly the World would be a better place if there wasn't so much meaning lost in communication - on the other hand, possibly we would fight each other all the more fervently if we truly understood each other's intent.

Especially when one side can see that the other is lying to them.

[Banner]

It sounds as if you are describing that woman with the computer brain in X-Force who can read and control DNA.

If you mean Sage then it's not exactly the same. Her mind may work like a computer, but is not the same as a technopath. She did help save Beast, which triggered his second mutation, but it was my impression that she could see into his essence (or whatever to call it) from a more holistic point of view.

I believe a more modern addition to Cypher's powers is the ability to understand the movements/fight pattern of foes, making him a better fighter.

Yes, but I was thinking that they could go even further. The ability to read movements in battle is something both Fantomex and Conquest (Bridget Malone) are good at.

Understanding language and interpretting meaning are two different things. Possibly the World would be a better place if there wasn't so much meaning lost in communication - on the other hand, possibly we would fight each other all the more fervently if we truly understood each other's intent.

In human language there are so many layers and nuances that there can be hidden meanings. Which skilled people are able to pick up. But the more primitive a communication is, the fewer layers there should be.

[BESTXMAN]

Cypher should be a great hand to hand combat expert just from reading body language. He would be a champion judo and aikido fighter alone.

[Banner]

Could be interesting to see him go up against someone like Taskmaster for instance.

[Sutekh]

Cypher should be a great hand to hand combat expert just from reading body language. He would be a champion judo and aikido fighter alone.

What could be neat would be to see someone that can not only read micro-expressions and body language during a fight, but also had trained their body to *lie* with those exact same stances and postures and whatnot, so that an experienced fighter going up against them would constantly be 'defending all wrong,' dodging attacks that they aren't really launching, and failing to effectively defend against the attacks they *do* launch, as they are convinced by how they are standing or holding their weapon or where their eyes are tracking that they are going to sweep the leg or whatever, when they really are aiming for the gun-hand or the head or something. Stripped of that advantage, such as in a darkened room where the enemy can't see their 'lies', they'd be an adequate, but unexceptional fighter, who'd get their butt handed to them in a fight against someone like Daredevil or Iron Fist or Wolverine, but when their power is on, they seem unbeatable, never where their foe thinks they are, and always striking almost unopposed, every attack a surprise.

Such a character could appear as 'the new Swordsman' and use a secondary Adamantium sword or something, and have everyone convinced he's some super-swordsman with decades of experience, and the mask comes off later and it's Doug Ramsey, exploring this new 'stance is a lie' option of his translation power, and that he's not really that great of a swordsman, as someone demonstrates by *closing their eyes* and just swinging blindly at him, negating half of his big advantage! (as he could still predict what they are doing, but couldn't fool them any longer)

[Bozack]

Cypher should be a great hand to hand combat expert just from reading body language. He would be a champion judo and aikido fighter alone.

Just because he can read body language doesn't mean he's physically capable of executing martial arts. I think his physical limitations are dope.

[Glio]

Just because you know where you are going to get punched doesn't mean you have the motor skills to avoid it.

[Frobisher]

Just because he can read body language doesn't mean he's physically capable of executing martial arts. I think his physical limitations are dope.

It's like how I just started learning piano. I can already read music, but I can't play piano for shit yet. I still have to train my hands to play what I read.

[Frobisher]

Just because you know where you are going to get punched doesn't mean you have the motor skills to avoid it.

Or that you won't just flinch or lock up.

[Alan2099]

I preferred when Cypher was just able to understand languages rather than him being able to understand everything because everything is a kind of language.

[ericng]

Could be interesting to see him go up against someone like Taskmaster for instance.

In Claremont original series
1. He can speak alien language
2. He can speak any language on earth
3. He can crack computer codes and understand all computer languages

In other series
1. He can communicate with animals i.e. Birdbrain and understand dolphin sounds

Did you not read Zeb Wells New Mutant series? This isn't 'potential' but already established back then but most writers didn't bother to read that series.

In that series:
1. He can read body language
2. He can learn magical spells to seal his enemy's mouth
3. He can read architectural weakness
4. He can speak robotic language to control machines

[Frobisher]

I preferred when Cypher was just able to understand languages rather than him being able to understand everything because everything is a kind of language.

Magnetism is just the language of universal physics.