Creating a female version of heroes is all the rage in comics these days — and now Cyborg gets its very own Lady Cyborg. She became super powered last issue, but will she be worthy of our attention? Is it good?
Cyborg #6 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? The full summary reads:
“SHE-BORG!” With a fearsome high-tech terror cell threatening to invade the country, Cyborg participates in the creation of an experimental cybernetic female counterpart—code name She-Borg—whose abilities might exceed his own! But when the process ravages her memories, Cyborg must retrieve crucial national security secrets from her mind before it’s too late.
Why does this book matter?
Cyborg is the type of character that has a fleeting good run, but typically tails off or loses its luster once things progress past the big ideas. John Semper, Jr. has managed to keep the character interesting with a longer story focused on a villain ruining Cyborg by proving he isn’t human. That’s made the character arc emotional and meaningful. A round of artists thrown in to keep the cybernetic powers looking cool certainly hasn’t hurt either.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Dang, that arm looks cool.
The last two issues of this series have left me wanting more and I’m glad to say this issue kicks everything up a notch. This in part starts with Will Conrad’s exceptional pencils as they make Cyborg look cool, realistic, and truly awe-inspiring (just look at the weapon above). The “She-Borg” character is roughly the same as Cyborg (though she gets some rad purples instead of red) though not overly sexualized. There’s also some solid work down to showcase a computer realm only they can interact with.
Enter agent Taylor, a CIA agent who was killed in Iraq, but brought back to life as a Cyborg-like creation. Semper Jr. fills this issue with interesting scenes, from Taylor freaking out with her newfound powers (who wouldn’t), to the arch-nemesis plotting further, to Cyborg sharing secrets of his powers only he knows about. Semper Jr. uses this new character to bring us into Cyborg’s world and ultimately gets Cyborg to open up emotionally in new ways.
These new vulnerabilities are obviously building towards higher stakes for Cyborg emotionally and they track well with the big bad’s goal of breaking him. A lot happens in this issue as it’s paced very briskly which keeps the issue entertaining.
It can’t be perfect can it?
The pace moves so briskly it does make some of the events that transpire less authentic however. It’s hard to buy into Cyborg falling for Taylor so quickly, for instance, though it’s understandable on some level since she’s the first person just like him.
Aside from that, two moments made me do a double take in the dialogue department. One involves a CIA authority saying, “Doctor what’s wrong with her?” as if she can’t hear him and she didn’t just freak out and almost kill people. Another has Cyborg saying, “I just didn’t realize how beautiful you are” which is more of an insult given she’s still suffering from trauma since losing her mostly organic body. Speaking of organic body, can someone explain to me how Cyborg can have sex?
Everybody back up!
Is It Good?
Cyborg #6 offers fast paced storytelling with strong characters in gorgeous detail. The pace might be a bit too fast for its own good, but you can’t deny it’s a lot of fun.
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