BOOYAH!!!: Cyborg/Victor Stone Appreciation 2023

[Customizer]

The quality of his craft might not be anything to write home about, but he's good and more than capable of stringing a plot together and keeping everyone's voice on point. Most importantly, he seems to have a vision for Vic that goes beyond recycling Wolfman's forty year old greatest hits.

As long as Hampton is writing Cyborg I'll be buying it. Still haven't heard anything about this mini getting extended though, which makes me sad. Still, I'm hoping it happens.

One of the artists on the Cyborg title stated #6 was the final issue so, at least as of this moment, even the artists and writer haven't received news of an extension. Although my wallet is waiting for word of a Cyborg solo series extension i can't help but wonder if the characters inclusion in the Titans ongoing is "good enough" for DC at the moment. I hope not. I'm buying both titles at the moment.

I expect it's mostly the new editorial. These guys seem like they put a lot more value in the Titans roster than the previous owners/administrators did. Dick and Wally have both been handled with a lot of care and effort under Discovery, and Vic is getting treated better by DC than he has in....maybe ever?

I'll look it up later but who is this new DC editorial regime?

Why, if Hampton gets to keep writing the character, in a year or three, Vic might have an actual mythos to call his own, instead of bits and pieces that we, as fans, can stitch together in our heads!

Seriously... this was a concern that began to gnaw at me after finishing issue #5. I enjoyed it but the ending read like ...Hampton was wrapping up the series and wanted to convey to the fans that Cyborg has once again been written as moving forward with regard to his life perspective and is ready to truly begin new adventures and take on new foes.

Like David Walker did.

Like Semper Jr. did.

Before those titles ended (prematurely).

*light cringe*

On the subject of what kind of new character would be good for Cyborg, I would say a new major villain could be good for him.

Everyone loves a good archnemesis, and Cy having a badass rivalry with a cool looking villain is something that helps any hero. If the villain gains popularity and a higher profile, then Cyborg would be benefitting from that.

After issue #5 i'm now sold on the idea of Solace potentially being a worthy nemesis. Primarily because ..... it would be like Cyborg battling the physical manifestation of all of the previous insecurities that writers in the distant past foisted upon him. Who would Solace be if "his" existential turmoil turned him into something ... more sinister? Ultron light? An evil Vision?

I'd like to find out.

[Mutant God]

Mammoth is a great arch nemesis for Cyborg: Man vs Beast/progressive society vs backward society

I would like to see the villain Ultralak (Teen Titans Go - Night begins to shine) be a big villain for Cyborg

[Ascended]

One of the artists on the Cyborg title stated #6 was the final issue

Well f*ck. Not surprising I guess, but I had been hoping.

I'll look it up later but who is this new DC editorial regime?

No idea who's in charge of Vic right now, actually. I don't know if a specific person/s is responsible for Vic's recent treatment or if it's just a matter of the corporate culture being different under the new owners. But it feels intentional to me. Somebody in the chain thinks the Titan roster has value, and it's about gods damn time somebody did.

Like David Walker did.

Like Semper Jr. did.

Yeah. Not cool. I worried about this happening, that the cycle would continue. Still, this was always a mini, it's not like it's being cancelled. Sucks if it isn't being extended, but that's not a mark of failure in my mind. Not the way I wanted things to go, but not a failure either. Here's hoping we get a follow up of some kind; a late-notice extension, a new series picking up where this one left off, something.

After issue #5 i'm now sold on the idea of Solace potentially being a worthy nemesis.

Still an issue behind but I've started to see the potential there as well.

I would like to see the villain Ultralak (Teen Titans Go - Night begins to shine) be a big villain for Cyborg

Gods yes. I've said that too. I want the entire Nightshine dimension, Evil Dragon, all of it. You pile together all of the weird crap Vic has dealt with over the years and you'd have a pretty cool world to play in. Lotta variety, lots of stuff that challenges and hits him in different ways. Good pathos. Rich history.

[skyvolt2000]

Like David Walker did.

Like Semper Jr. did.

Walker left DC and the book because of the editor (who also ruined Static Shock in New 52 and chased that writer off). The book did not end but restarted under the Rebirth banner.

Semper lowered his standards to put up with editor before he like Walker got replaced by Marv Wolfman-who run got axed in the middle of the story and the trade was cancelled.

Hampton stated he asked various folks at DC including Wolfman as he was doing the book.

Right now he does have another book at IDW and finishing up his Masters work in college. So it depends on if he is available to more. Especially since he is doing a Star Trek book at IDW. Depends on how hands on Star Trek is with that book as they do have some restrictions on those titles.

[Customizer]

Walker left DC and the book because of the editor (who also ruined Static Shock in New 52 and chased that writer off). The book did not end but restarted under the Rebirth banner.

Semper lowered his standards to put up with editor before he like Walker got replaced by Marv Wolfman-who run got axed in the middle of the story and the trade was cancelled.

Hampton stated he asked various folks at DC including Wolfman as he was doing the book.

Right now he does have another book at IDW and finishing up his Masters work in college. So it depends on if he is available to more. Especially since he is doing a Star Trek book at IDW. Depends on how hands on Star Trek is with that book as they do have some restrictions on those titles.

You're a a fount of comic book industry knowledge and i enjoy what you post.

I own both Walker and Sempers run. It's interesting that you state "Semper lowered his standards to put up with editor..." because that is precisely the vibe i got at the time and more so now when i look a the works of each. I'm not in any way throwing shade at Semper because i've grown to appreciate his work far more recently but ... yeah...it's easy to see what type growth Walker wanted for the Cyborg character vs Semper in retrospect and why one might come into conflict with editorial at that time.


*thinks about the Bitter Root comic*


Please clarify

Hampton stated he asked various folks at DC including Wolfman as he was doing the book.

HAmpton asked various folks , including Wolfman, about...the Cyborg character or the problematic issues that were going on in years past with the former DC editor ?

[Emperorjones]

Finally sat down and read #4 and this story is coming along nicely. I wasn't sure where Hampton was going at first. I thought he was going to mire Victor back into family drama with his dad, but he's taken Vic's story into more interesting places and I'm glad for that. There's a villain that I hope is recurring, as well as a love interest (that I also comes back). And I like the idea of Vic protecting Detroit and I hope we see more of that with the character.

[Customizer]

What moment comes to mind when you think of Cyborg fully showcasing his abilities in combat?

[Shockingjustice]

So how are we feeling about Cyborgs mini? Unfortunately no one is talking about it both here and on reddit. Do you think this comic has a chance to become an ongoing?

[Customizer]

So how are we feeling about Cyborgs mini? Unfortunately no one is talking about it both here and on reddit. Do you think this comic has a chance to become an ongoing?

I'm glad you mentioned this as i came across something recently on Twitter ( X ) that i found interesting.

I don't come across much active recent discussion regarding Cyborg online. However i do come across Cyborg fan art on a semi regular basis. That suggested to me what i already knew - that there are many Cyborg admirers but they aren't vocal about their appreciation online. I'd fall into that camp up until relatively recently. I suppose i didn't say much about Cyborg as i didn't see many others saying much and thus didn't have anyone to discuss the character with.

So... it was a slight surprise when i came across a post on Twitter where someone asked:

" Cyborg is better on the teen titans than the justice league. True or False?"

It received over 430 comments, 618 retweets and over 6,400 likes and a large number of bookmarks.


Sure it's a loaded question but...that's a lot more interaction than , well, this forums Cyborg thread is receiving.

I bring this up as a few things came to mind upon seeing this:

1. The Teen Titans cartoon fanbase is the group that is going to usher in more prominence for the Cyborg character. They grew up (in most cases) seeing a better representation of the Cyborg character and any step back from what they saw isn't acceptable to them. This strikes me as similar to what happened with John Stewart Green Lantern due to his Justice League representation. Stewart met a lot of resistance prior to that show but now for many Stewart *IS* Green Lantern.

2. Cyborg seems to generate the most fan interaction when the topic of which team he should be on comes up. I used to chalk this up to a certain demographic simply being what they've been regarding Cyborg on the Justice League roster. However seeing the quality of the recent Titans comic and the passion of the Teen Titans cartoon fanbase i can see that it's no longer the usual folks screaming that Cyborg shouldn't change and shouldn't be on the Justice League. I'm seeing (teen) Titans fans vocally claim their guy. They're willing to share him with the Justice League but they want and view him as THEIR Cyborg. Cyborg IS the Titans in their opinion. I must admit...it's nice to see.

3. Most of know that the visual media audience is different from the comic reading and buying audience. That's a double edged sword when it comes to how a character with history is represented in various media forms depending upon which audience the producers are trying to appeal to. One one hand i'm happy that Morgan Hampton is of an age that he likely falls into the Teen Titans Cyborg representation camp. At least through his work we'll receive an evolved Cyborg (as far as DC will let the character evolve). It's definitely better than the character being forced into the background as was done in years past. On the other i fear Cyborg enthusiasm being co opted and used to push a different version of Cyborg (specifically one that can't form boom tubes, doesn't have a Mother Box or advanced nano tech) and reducing him to "strong guy".

I thought that was worth mentioning. People want to discuss Cyborg in a positive way. I think many have been ..."beaten down" by years of divisive and negative talk (ex. people who will not accept anything but 1986 Cyborg).


Regarding whether or not the current title will continue... i haven't seen anything to suggest it will but i'll say this..... if a Cyborg title featuring a Cyborg that more closely resembled the Teen Titans cartoon body design were released.... i suspect you'd see more activity. That group wants that body design or something similar both in style and color combination. And unlike the older generation that likes this character it seems that , at least to a degree, this Cyborg sub group might be listened to.

[skyvolt2000]

So... it was a slight surprise when i came across a post on Twitter where someone asked:

" Cyborg is better on the teen titans than the justice league. True or False?"

It received over 430 comments, 618 retweets and over 6,400 likes and a large number of bookmarks.


Sure it's a loaded question but...that's a lot more interaction than , well, this forums Cyborg thread is receiving.

Cyborg in Teen Titans has WAY MORE development than Cyborg in Justice League.

When you toss out merchandise for either franchise-you KNOW 100% Cyborg will be in Teen Titans.

Unlike with New 52 era Justice League where he (along with Wonder Woman and Aquaman at times) got left out.

Same issue with John Stewart in reverse-John was always in Justice League cartoon era material but left out at times with Green Lantern (especially the movie and animated series).

Yes the outside of comic crowd is more silent than others. Because if they go by the cartoon versions ( along with Doom Patrol one) they saw an interesting character that got his own story lines that were not always man versus machine or I hate my Daddy stuff that the comic side loves to do.

Do you think this comic has a chance to become an ongoing?

If that was going to happen the 2024 books listings would have listed a Cyborg #7 by now.

[Shockingjustice]

What moment comes to mind when you think of Cyborg fully showcasing his abilities in combat?

I would say the idea that most comes to mind are the Injustice video games which displays how good he is. But even then the person I watched play Cyborg online matches spoke about why Cyborg was a boring character.

He brought up that the main focus of Cyborgs abilities in outside media was the sonic canon popularized by the animated Teen Titans show. While not a problem for that show many of the outside media started to copy that cannon and it became his only noticeable feature/power both in comics and other materials. Later they would bring in a boom tube ability, but for a guy who had been retconned into having Apocalypse tech, it was very boring playing as him in the video game.

So the only thing noteworthy of Cyborg is his hacking ability (which feels like almost anyone can do and is not very interesting), his sonic canon which is his number one move, and boom tubing that he only uses has to go from one place to another.

[dkrook]

I'm still not sold on Cyborg really mattering in a TT book so far the talk seems to be about beast boy and building a romantic relationships no discussion about Victor's role or importance. I guess we wait out the arc. It's just when I see TT I see people who want a regressive Cyborg that is teeth, chuckles, and some strength.

[Iconic]

I'm still not sold on Cyborg really mattering in a TT book so far the talk seems to be about beast boy and building a romantic relationships no discussion about Victor's role or importance. I guess we wait out the arc. It's just when I see TT I see people who want a regressive Cyborg that is teeth, chuckles, and some strength.

Ding! Ding! Ding! I feel it’s more some not wanting to see Vic “move on up” and leaving them behind.

[Frontier]

Merry Christmas Cyborg fans .

I'm still not sold on Cyborg really mattering in a TT book so far the talk seems to be about beast boy and building a romantic relationships no discussion about Victor's role or importance. I guess we wait out the arc. It's just when I see TT I see people who want a regressive Cyborg that is teeth, chuckles, and some strength.

A part of that might be because he's the only one of the team with a solo mini right now (other than Nightwing having a solo ongoing).

But I also don't expect a lot from Taylor, his characterization tends to not go far above surface-level.

[dkrook]

Merry Christmas Cyborg fans .

A part of that might be because he's the only one of the team with a solo mini right now (other than Nightwing having a solo ongoing).

But I also don't expect a lot from Taylor, his characterization tends to not go far above surface-level.

Yes! Taylor is a whole beast when writing a very specific theme or a character he's over the moon about. I wish there were Ewing's out there. Guys that get a team book and elevate them as a group giving each development without leaving others kind of just there...Looking at you (Duggan)!