Book Review: Cyborg vol #1 (DC You)

Book: Cyborg volume #1: Unplugged (issues #1-6) by David F. Walker

Illustration by Ivan Reis (#1, 2, 3, layouts for issues #4-6), Eduardo Pansica (#3), Felipe Watanabe (#4-6), Daniel HDR (#5 and 6) and Cliff Richards (#6)

Ink by Joe Prado (#1 and 2), Ray McCarthy (#2), Scott Hanna (#2-4), Albert Oclair (#3, 5 and 6), Ivan Reis (#3), Wayne Faucher (#4), Julio Ferreira (#5 and 6), Andy Owens (#5), Juan Castro (#5) and Cliff Richards (#6)

Color by Adriano Lucas (#1-6) and Pete Pantanzis (#4-6) and Letters by Rob Leigh (#1, 2, 4 and 5), Corey Breen (#3) and Travis Lanham (#6)

Cover Art by Ivan Reis, ink by Joe Prado and color by Adriano Lucas


Edition: Single Print Issues

Description:

Victor Stone has had his share of near-death experiences—it’s part of what made him the cyber-enhanced superhero Cyborg in the first place. But after his latest brush with death, something has changed with Vic’s cybernetics. They’re evolving, and no one can explain why!

But there’s more to Vic’s evolution than a new look and new powers. Something in his technology is calling out between worlds—and the message has been received by invaders who will stop at nothing to possess it. These Technosapiens aim to absorb all of humanity into their collective if it means a chance to get their hands on Cyborg.




Rating: 5 stars

Review:

At one point during the New 52, Cyborg was the only member of the Justice League who didn't have his own comic book series. Many fans including myself kept asking DC Comics when was Cyborg going to get his own series. Well, several years later it finally happened and the end results were not disappointing.

In this first volume, Victor Stone a.k.a. Cyborg goes back home to Detroit to see if his father Dr. Silas Stone and the other scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs could figure out how he survived his most recent battle (from the 8-page preview that was released during Convergence) against a strange group of aliens who believed Cyborg had stolen some technology. The fight should have cost Cyborg his life but somehow he survived and his cybernetics seemed to have evolved.

As Victor reacquaints himself with his father, his hometown and old friends Dr. Sarah Charles and Sebastian Cardona, a powerful and dangerous technologically enhanced group of aliens are being drawn towards Earth in search of Cyborg's cybernetics.

It didn't take long before the aliens attacked and even though there is a leader, the aliens seemed to function in a hive mind state with their main goal of acquiring the cybernetics. With simultaneous attacks going on all over the world that left Cyborg and the small group of scientists and friends to fight the aliens in Detroit. They did receive additional help from the Metal Men and Dr. Will Magnus but it was the unexpected information gained from the aliens who had attacked Cyborg (in the 8-page preview) that gave the hero what he needed to come up with a plan. I was surprised by the second group of aliens because there is a twist that I don't want to spoil but it's very interesting.

The writing for this first volume is very good, I enjoyed reading this because although writer David Walker showed how awesome Cyborg is, he made a point of showing who Victor Stone is as well. With his own series you get to see more of his carefree and fun personality which doesn't get shown as often as it should in the Justice League book. Something I noticed is that his father, the other scientists and to some extent Cyborg himself seemed to see him as this robot with awesome powers unlike Sarah who sees the man and not just the cybernetics.

This was a good read that has a good mixture of sci-fi, action and adventure and the illustrations and colors are fantastic. However, I did have one issue with a minor plot hole that takes place between issues #2 and #3. Because at the end of issue #2 Cyborg got a sort of cybernetic warning that the aliens would be coming after him but then issue #3 opens right in the middle of the alien invasion. It makes you feel like you missed an entire scene but that's my only problem with these six issues.

Before I end this, I just wanted to say that I still find it ridiculous that DC Comics got rid of so much of their characters' history just to reboot for the New 52. And since Cyborg was never a member of the Teen Titans all the superhero skills and experience he's gained are only from being a member of the Justice League. And not to mention he has no connection to the other non-Teen Titans (at the time) such as Nightwing (or Agent 37), Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, Aqualad and others.