The machine that gives Cyborg his powers is evolving! The only problem is that machine is his body and he has no idea what’s causing these changes!
The Good
Cover– The standard cover has Victor in all his ½ man ½ machine glory hooked up to some wires while in the background in monotone green we have the famous physiology portrait from the renaissance; Simple and sleek and quite fitting.
Art– Ivan Reis is the series artist and everything looks great. Victor has a sleek and sexy new redesign which makes him not only look more human but makes him look much more recognizably masculine. Conversely Reis has some creepy designs for the Cyber villains/Technosapians who look like the love children of the X-men’s Phalanx and Star War’s Yuuzan Vong.
Black Hero– So Cyborg has his own ongoing series and we are all very excited at the prospect of a black book from DC Comics in light of the cancellation of Static Shock, Mister Terrific, Voodoo and our beloved Batwing. We hope for the best with this new series and wish Ivan Reis and David Walker nothing but glad tidings on this book.
Action– On the unnamed planet we have an all out war raged between the Tekbreakers and the Technosapians. We get explosions, blood, gore and wanton violence to offset the more laid back Earth bound tale of Victor at Star Labs.
Mystery– How did Victor survive dyeing and where does his new power come from?
Villains- As I mentioned above these techno baddies look like a cross between the X-men’s Phalanx and Star War’s Yuuzan Vong. Not only do they look so creepy they could be in a horror movie they are nasty pieces of work who take over organic life like Star Trek’s Borg. I’m curious to see how Victor deals with this Galactic level threat while holding onto his very fragile humanity.
Characterization– David Walker manages to make Cyborg surprisingly human throughout this entire opening issue. I empathized with Victor; I understood his childhood isolation from his parents I can also relate to his perceived abandonment by them. Lord knows I have quite a few of those issues as well. This made Victor for the first time since (The New 52 Justice League reboot) I’ve been reading the character relatable…human even and for that I must say Kudos to David Walker.
Emotion– Ivan Reis managed to capture the essence of Sarah’s attraction to Victor very well. We also got emotional and expressive bodies and eyes which showcased a host of things which can be examined later on in the series.
Story– Victor visits his dad at Star Labs and gets treated like an experiment the whole time. His childhood friend Sarah is the only one who treats him human. She tries to take him to lunch but he gets distracted by an old NFL rival. On a faraway planet Techno Villains make plans to control the source of some new tech they discovered which belongs to Cyborg.
The Bad
Hero– I’m sorry but Cyborg has never struck me as solo-book material and that perception may prevent many from picking up this book.
The Ugly
I really wanted to hate this book, I did, and I admit that. I have never found Cyborg terribly entertaining or interesting as a character. I enjoyed him on the Teen Titans cartoon network show but was never a fan in the comics. David Walker manages however to make his self consciousness and troubled family history central to who he is as a character and everything else just bells and whistles. The attraction his childhood friend has to him is poignant and his ignorance of it was beautifully handled. Add to that an impending threat on the other side of the galaxy, a mysterious return from death, great art, solid characterization and I must admit Cyborg for DC Comics is off to an awesome start! Cyborg #1 delivers in all the ways comic fans should acre about! 4/5
