The standout character of Warner Bros.’ just-released is likely Cyborg, who makes his live-action debut and is immediately thrust to center stage not just in one of the biggest superhero films of all time but also in a story that sees him play a key role.
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This is actually an old comic book trick: writers know that you are already on board for Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. You know them, you care about them, and you get how they work. Introducing a “new” character is hard, and so one good way to do it is to make them the hero of the story.
Cyborg’s role in Justice League closely mirrors the one he played in “Justice League: Origin,” the first arc of The New 52’s DC Universe relaunch, which was written by DC Entertainment chief creative officer Geoff Johns and drawn by the company’s co-publisher, Jim Lee.
For another example, look no further than Zero Hour, the 1994 event miniseries that saw the universe saved in large part by a relatively unknown new character named Damage.
For Cyborg, he is the Ben Grimm of the Justice League: throughout the film, he grouses about how his life has been negatively impacted by powers that make him feel less-than-human, but at the end of the day, he has both the power and the disposition to step up when it is needed.
Where did he come from, in the text of the film? Well, that is a little more murky.
What we know is that there was an accident — an explosion, so likely not just a car crash or something — in which Victor Stone’s mother died. His father experimented on him, keeping him alive and eventually using one of Apokolips’s Mother Boxes to make an attempt at rebuilding his son’s damaged body.
It did more than that, giving him a mostly-robotic body and a mind and body that are constantly upgrading, giving him new powers and abilities whether he wants them or not.
That is…really all we know about the situation, although certainly it gave him the ability to do some incredible things…!
Justice League is in theaters now.
