Where does Cyborg rank?

[DrNewGod]

First up, this is not a "I like" or "I hate" or "they should have" question. I'm genuinely curious about where the character stands in DC's hierarchy: both on a meta-brand equity level and an in-universe public/hero-community stature level.

I bought issue 1 of The New Teen Titans off a convenience store spinner rack ("huh," I thought, looking at the cover, "I like Robin and those other two sidekicks"), and was immediately obsessed on reading it. Of the new crew, Cyborg interested me the most, even if Wolfman and Perez were overdoing the chip on his shoulder.

Still, to my feeble mind, there's caste structure to DC's world, related to, but independent of sales. There's A Big 5 (The Trinity + Flash and Green Lantern). Then the characters that can routinely keep a solo, no matter how intermittently. Then the rest of the JL and JSA. Then The Titans. Then the Doom Patrol, and everybody else after that. Dick Grayson, and Wally West each broke the glass ceiling (and no matter how I feel about it, Harley Quinn has as well). I don't have a clear picture of whether Cyborg had, and, if so, how?

Now, TBF, I haven't followed DC's monthlies all that closely in a decade, so - unquestionably - my opinion is ill-informed. Educate me.

I know Cyborg's had some titles of his own, and he's on the DC media lead-ins for its movies and shows (which is actually what inspired this thread). So, the question: where does Cyborg stand in DC? (recommended reading is welcomed)

[Vordan]

He’s the lowest of the JL, but still one of DC’s most popular and well known black heroes. After the feud between Fisher and WB though, I suspect he will be quietly retired from marketing. Walker’s DC You series is probably the best stuff he’s been in, but it ends poorly thanks to editorial meddling and Vic hasn’t gotten any moments to shine really either on the League or with the Titans recently.

[Lightning63]

He’s the lowest of the JL, but still one of DC’s most popular and well known black heroes. After the feud between Fisher and WB though, I suspect he will be quietly retired from marketing. Walker’s DC You series is probably the best stuff he’s been in, but it ends poorly thanks to editorial meddling and Vic hasn’t gotten any moments to shine really either on the League or with the Titans recently.

They're probably going to switch to pushing Static or Blue Beetle.

[Neo Goblin]

The way I see it, his biggest and most successful claim to fame is as a Teen Titan. DC attempted to make him "more" than that starting about a decade ago, but I think it was largely a spectacular disaster for a lot of reasons, such as lhalf hearted attempts by DC, comic series that could have been better, the character arguably being not well suited for such a role, complications with the actor that played him in film, and more.

I think DC has backed off from attempting to make the character a solo hero.

Where does he stand in universe? I dunno. He's a Titan.

[DrNewGod]

He’s the lowest of the JL, but still one of DC’s most popular and well known black heroes. After the feud between Fisher and WB though, I suspect he will be quietly retired from marketing. Walker’s DC You series is probably the best stuff he’s been in, but it ends poorly thanks to editorial meddling and Vic hasn’t gotten any moments to shine really either on the League or with the Titans recently.

Sooooo... that's what's happened to him. Where does he stand?

[DrNewGod]

The way I see it, his biggest and most successful claim to fame is as a Teen Titan. DC attempted to make him "more" than that starting about a decade ago, but I think it was largely a spectacular disaster for a lot of reasons, such as lhalf hearted attempts by DC, comic series that could have been better, the character arguably being not well suited for such a role, complications with the actor that played him in film, and more.

I think DC has backed off from attempting to make the character a solo hero.

Where does he stand in universe? I dunno. He's a Titan.

Sooooo...A? B? C? Which list is he on?

[sifighter]

I’m not sure about lettering but he’s about a B or whatever category Dr.Fate is in. Because I view Victor a lot like I view Fate, they are a really cool character that are great to have on a roster but unfortunately don’t always get called up and are generally left with their more well teams (JSA and Titans).

Because Victor as Cyborg has New God tech, access to all kinds of information and databases, all kinds of forms and battle modes. So yeah I’d say strong B, up there with like Dr. Fate or Martian Manhunter.

[abetterday]

I would recommend the New teen titans # 7 he had a character defining scene at the end. New Teen titans # 10 versus Deathstroke. new Teen Titans # 22 versus Brother Blood. Modern day my all time favorite run is Cyborg Rebirth by john Semper jr. Cyborg gets a big spotlight in the Flashpoint mini-series. and Tales of the New Teen Titans # 1 mini-series versus Ron Evers along with Cyborg rebirth # 19 and 20 written by kevin grevioux. 2 great stories.




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[Primal Slayer]

Id say he probably is a solid D+/C-list character in the DC hierarchy. He had a major push during New52 but no one has really seem to fully realize him for todays world.

[DrNewGod]

Id say he probably is a solid D+/C-list character in the DC hierarchy. He had a major push during New52 but no one has really seem to fully realize him for todays world.

Thank you for making a call and justifying it.

[Neo Goblin]

Sooooo...A? B? C? Which list is he on?

Well, again, the way I personally see it is...

If Superman, Batman, and, Wonder Woman are A-list, and Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and maybe Green Arrow are B-list...I would also put Cyborg at C-list...maybe.

Thing is, he has quite a bit of recognizability as far as DC heroes go, but he fails at standing as his own character while others like Constantine and even Amethyst have a lot more to offer in that regard. And his recognizability is due to being a part of a popular team. I don't suspect he is terribly popular on his own. It doesn't seem like there is much demand for him.

[Vordan]

Well, again, the way I personally see it is...

If Superman, Batman, and, Wonder Woman are A-list, and Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and maybe Green Arrow are B-list...I would also put Cyborg at C-list...maybe.

Thing is, he has quite a bit of recognizability as far as DC heroes go, but he fails at standing as his own character while others like Constantine and even Amethyst have a lot more to offer in that regard. And his recognizability is due to being a part of a popular team. I don't suspect he is terribly popular on his own. It doesn't seem like there is much demand for him.

This is my own assessment. People know Cyborg mainly due to what teams he’s on: Titans, JL, Young Justice, Doom Patrol, etc. as a solo character? The only “Rogue” he has is Grid, who is also part of an ensemble team in the Crime Syndicate. DC should have built him up as a solo character alongside Aquaman but they didn’t, and now it’s too late given the situation with Fisher.

[9th.]

B list character that's treated more like D list one.

[M L A]

Like in terms of GP recognition? B list (at least with people younger than 40 ). There's a reason why Johns chose him to replace J'onn. John Stewart, Cyborg, and Static were the most prominent black heroes at the time, but Static has rights issues and is perpetually a teenager and Johns wanted to write Hal in the comics and eventual movies, so that left Cyborg.

Comics recognition, still B list. Most can point him out in a crowd, probably know the basics about him, and probably know the main teams he's been on, but he just doesn't have the fanbase tho to back it up as DC has done a pretty poor job trying to sell him.

He's treated like a C lister. They should've pushed him harder every step of the way... look at Carol Danvers over at marvel. It may have annoyed tons of people, but after relaunching her book like 5 times since 2012 and trying to make her as relevant as possible in just about every event, they finally have broken through and she has a book that sells just fine and will probably go on as long as the writer can keep it up. Cyborg sold well for like 3 issues and then Reis left and DC just kinda let the book slowly die.

[Aahz]

Depends on how you define B, C I think.

When it comes to comics, he is not a character that can keep a solo book going or that they would use as lead for a team book, so he is definitely not A.
But he is also well known and has been in popular team books, and appears reactively regularly so he is also not D.