Isn't it sad that a more stereotypical Cyborg is more interesting?

[LordTrump]

I was rereading some of the Wolfman/Perez stuff, and say it's stereotypical if you must, but I honestly think Cyborg's original origin and characterization as a somewhat terse and sarcastic angry black man could work and be relevant to modern times.

Basically, a black teen who just wants to enjoy life but is pushed extra hard by his parents, who he might see as uncle toms and trying to impress whites, hoping that he doesn't fall into the street life like others they grew up with. He doesn't completely fit in to the "hood", nor does he fit into the "Oreo" (or Choco?) square peg that his parents want to fit him into. His dad always wanted to control his life and make/build the perfect son, which causes further resentment when he sort of does that literally when his accident happens. Cyborg's cartoon persona of saying "Booyah!" Would be chastised by his dad, whereas his mom would be more sympathetic. This makes it worse when she's the parent that dies and not his dad.

Cyborg's hood friends would also just be relevant and represent a path that several black teens might be tempted to fall down.

It would be a lot more interesting then the stuff we've been given, which is really just pathetic considering the huge push they've failed at giving Cyborg. ALL of his history is in tatters, and he's come out of it looking useless.

[vasir12]

I'm not... you're saying Cyborg should be more Hood?

[Robotman]

This is gonna get ugly real fast. A person with the name LordTrump saying a black character should act "more hood".

[Flash Gordon]

Oh god, this is going to get rough.

Cyborg is 100% fine as is, he just needs more stories/world building.

[vasir12]

This is gonna get ugly real fast. A person with the name LordTrump saying a black character should act "more hood".

Trying to keep things civil.

Oh god, this is going to get rough.

Cyborg is 100% fine as is, he just needs more stories/world building.

This. His character isn't the problem. You don't got to change him into something he's not. I suspect this thread may be trolling.

[Troian]

Only liked Cy when he was a titan. So idk.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

Cyborg doesn't need to act more anything. He just needs his friendships back. Nobody could say that he acted "hood" in Geoff Johns's Teen Titans run, yet he was still 10 times more interesting than he is in Justice League. That's probably because he felt like an integral part of the Titans because he had such an extensive history with them, but doesn't have that with the League.

[HereNThere]

Despite your...suspect username and some terms in your post, that are less than flattering when combined with it, I can see where you are coming from somewhat. You basically want an updated version of the character's initial origin and how it developed, with Vic falling in with the wrong crowd due to his father's strict upbringing.

Some would say the Vic from Wolfman/Perez TT run, despite being stereotypical in some ways, had a more distinguished personality compared to now, which I do agree with depending on who writes him. This is why I enjoy Hitch's take on him. He does have that sarcastic edge that you'd find in Wolfman/Perez era or the Teen Titans Cartoon without the stereotyping. Walker and, when he came back, Wolfman also had that sarcasm as well during his DCYou solo, but I feel he's pretty much lost that in his current solo. He has moments of charm, but I find his personality as plain as it was when Johns wrote him honestly.

Anyway, his initial origin could be updated without looking racist as hell, but I imagine DC didn't want to deal with the fallout in the case they failed, which, during the New52, I imagine they would have had they gone that route. And that wouldn't have been a good look. At all.

[LordTrump]

Despite your...suspect username and some terms in your post, that are less than flattering when combined with it, I can see where you are coming from somewhat. You basically want an updated version of the character's initial origin and how it developed, with Vic falling in with the wrong crowd due to his father's strict upbringing.

Some would say the Vic from Wolfman/Perez TT run, despite being stereotypical in some ways, had a more distinguished personality compared to now, which I do agree with depending on who writes him. This is why I enjoy Hitch's take on him. He does have that sarcastic edge that you'd find in Wolfman/Perez era or the Teen Titans Cartoon without the stereotyping. Walker and, when he came back, Wolfman also had that sarcasm as well during his DCYou solo, but I feel he's pretty much lost that in his current solo. He has moments of charm, but I find his personality as plain as it was when Johns wrote him honestly.

Anyway, his initial origin could be updated without looking racist as hell, but I imagine DC didn't want to deal with the fallout in the case they failed, which, during the New52, I imagine they would have had they gone that route. And that wouldn't have been a good look. At all.

I mean it's basically like "What if Ben Carson and Condolezza Rice had a son that they maybe pushed too hard to where he didn't quite act like Lil Wayne, but was more sympathetic towards him", of sorts. He ends up not fitting in either world, which foreshadows his half man/half Machine theme.

[ed2962]

While some parts of the old comics seems dated now, I think back then Cyborg rose above being a stereotype character. Probably 90% of his old origin could work today. The real problem with the title now is not the character, but just the bland approach in the storytelling and art.

[Ragged Maw]

I'd reinterpret Cy as a more upbeat version of a 40K tech priest.

[John Ossie]

This is gonna get ugly real fast. A person with the name LordTrump saying a black character should act "more hood".

Yep. I'm going to get my triple-sausage tower sandwich ready asap.

[LordTrump]

Yep. I'm going to get my triple-sausage tower sandwich ready asap.

That sounds like something Milo would say.

[John Ossie]

That sounds like something Milo would say.

I've no idea who Milo is LOL.

As for Cyborg, I've got no problem with how he is really, which is basically all I have to say LOL.

[K. Jones]

Buying into this thread as having a serious premise, for a second, I'd say that it's okay for Cyborg stories to acknowledge all kinds of problems that might be representative of an early 20s black youth, ranging from cultural conflicts to urban environment conflicts to institutionalized racism to misplacing his anger the way every 20-something-youth-male ever always does, to the more recent examples of him being a physically handicapped hero with prosthetics. On top of that there's the cyberpunk element, the blurring of humanity and tech stuff, the ghost in the shell/blade runner/and all the rest elements. It's a lot! I don't think when Wolfman came up with the "Cyborg" concept for Victor, the world was anywhere near guessing how "digital" all the cyberpunk stuff would end up. Cyborg was probably originally intended to be a much more "analog" cybernetic hero. He always had some computerized stuff - aim-assist, scanning devices, holo-projectors. But mostly it was mechanical and analog.

Anyway, it depends on what a writer wants to do with it, and hopefully nobody will get lazy and write a stereotypical Cyborg, even if a story acknowledges anger he might have at his situation, his cultural context, the way some of his friends just don't get it, and somebody actually you know, has him actually hang out in Detroit, which is supposed to be his hometown, and show us some real life Detroit.