DC Comics’ Dawn of DC initiative has promised some 20 new titles in 2023, and Cyborg is one of them. With the title officially launching May 16 (the FOC is April 23), it’s nice to see the cyber superhero get a solo series again. He’s only had a few in the last decade-ish, and even then he’s largely stayed the same over the years. However, writer Morgan Hampton (alongside artist Tom Raney) hopes to change all that that in the relaunch of Cyborg.
To get an idea of the path ahead, we had the chance to pick Hampton’s brain about Cyborg earlier this week, including his deep love for the character. We also dove into how the project got off the ground, and his approach to Cyborg as a hero, who Hampton says is a good example of how superheroes need help sometimes. We also spoke about Marv Wolfman’s involvement in the project as a mentor future, how it’s important to explore social commentary in superhero stories, and so much more.
Along with the interview, check out the interior pages from Cyborg #1 below, which feature villains Mammoth and Gizmo causing trouble in Detroit, Michigan.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
AIPT: It has been a minute since Cyborg had a solo series. How long have you been working and scripting the series?
Morgan Hampton: I first got the opportunity to write a story for Cyborg last summer when DC editor Marquis Draper reached out and asked if I’d be down to contribute to DC Power: A Celebration. It was an eight-page story, and I guess, in hindsight, it’s what got me the gig to write the series.
I remember seeing the announcement for the Cyborg series back in November and thinking, “Damn, I wish that was me.” But at that point, there was no creative team attached, and about a month later, Marquis reached out to me again and asked if I’d like to write the series. It was a no-brainer. I’ve been an advocate for Cyborg for such a long time. I said yes in an instant.
That’s a very long-winded way of saying I’ve been working on the series since December.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
AIPT: Having read the first issue, I gotta say I love where you’re going here. How invested are you in developing and evolving Cyborg as a character and person?
MH: It’s the No. 1thing for me. Cyborg’s been around for about 40 years, but he hasn’t grown or evolved much. We know Victor is a former athlete who went through a horrific accident that took a lot from him physically, left scars emotionally, but also granted him superhuman abilities.
The question is always “Am I a man, or am I a machine?” I want to move Victor past that. Cyborg is a disabled hero, and I want to explore, through his own exploration of himself, what it looks like to navigate a life you didn’t ask for while also having the burden of people looking up to you.
I have a physical disability myself called hemophilia, so I’m trying to pull a bit from my own mindset as I try to expand and contextualize Victor’s struggles.
If I can do my job right, you’ll come out of this series with a better understanding of who Victor is, as he figures it out for himself.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
AIPT: Artist Tom Raney captures Cyborg’s state of mind so well. Where is Cyborg at mentally at the start of this story?
MH: It’s been such a pleasure to work with Tom. He’s really knocking it out with the art. Michael Atiyeh as well on colors, and Edwin Galmon on the main covers. Every time I get pages back, I can’t help but drop my jaw.
I think Cyborg by nature, has always got a little bit of a somber demeanor. Underneath the “Booyahs” and the often cheesing grin is a young man who is still struggling to find balance in his life.
So he’s very much starting off this story with that mindset. Tom captures that emotion so, so well.
In this series, I put Cyborg in therapy because, one, everyone should go to therapy, and two, I think it’s something that Cyborg needs in order to truly grow and evolve.
I also think it’s important to show that even superheroes need help sometimes.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
AIPT: With the Justice League off the table, is there added pressure on Cyborg and the Titans to deliver superhero-ing?
MH: Absolutely. There’s a lot of pressure for him to be on his A-game. With the Justice League taking a back seat, and the Titans stepping up, he’s feeling a weight on his shoulders that he hasn’t quite felt before.
Even though he was a member of the Justice League, we all know that he, unfortunately, never really got to do much. So yeah, he’s reeling a bit.
There’s something that happens in the first issue that only exacerbates his internal struggle, and it sets Cyborg down a rough internal road unlike any he’s ever had to go down.
AIPT: It was revealed at WonderCon that Marv Wolfman has been mentoring you on the project. What has that been like? Has he imparted a nugget of wisdom you could pass on here?
MH: Marv has been great! Obviously, I was and still am a bit intimidated. That’s the co-creator of Cyborg! But all in all, it’s been a nice experience.
I think the thing that’s stuck with me most so far is the intentionality you need to have as a writer. You can’t assume your artist is going to understand what you want to convey unless you’re super specific. That seems like something that’s obvious, but there are so many moving parts that it’s easy to forget at times.
Another big thing he’s shared with me is that when you’re writing a character like Cyborg, he is the main character. Again, obvious, I know. But for example, in some of my initial drafts, there’d be times where a character is expressing something, and I’d focus on the other character, and Marv would be like, “No, this is Cyborg’s story, even though someone else is talking, center Cyborg’s reaction.”
Courtesy of DC Comics.
AIPT: The first issue feels grounded in a reality that is familiar. For instance, the news plays a big part. Do you think social commentary is integral to a Cyborg series?
MH: Definitely! DC is full of fictional cities like Gotham and Metropolis, but Cyborg is from Detroit, a very real city. With that, I felt like I had a unique experience to really make Detroit feel like a lived-in city and social commentary is a part of that.
Detroit is the city of industry, the birthplace of Motown, and a real blue-collar town. Cyborg is the hometown kid with a promising future that left them behind for bigger and better things. Now he’s back. He’s always gonna have his ride-or-dies, but he’s also gonna have people who hold his feet to the fire as well. Because bro, who do you think you are?
The social commentary aspect of this series also allows me to really update the mythos and mindset of this character and those who surround him. Cyborg in so many ways, represents the 21st century, and as a millennial, I feel obligated to try and represent that authentically.
It also lets me explore all the real-world problems that people have with Cyborg as a character, so I can acknowledge them, work to move past them, and overcome them.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite Cyborg run or story arc that involved Cyborg?
MH: I’m a big fan of the David F. Walker run from 2015. It did a lot of work to build up Cyborg’s world and dealt with disabilities and transhumanist themes. David is also a mentor of sorts, so it’s a real full-circle moment getting to write Cyborg.
One of my other favorite story arcs where Cyborg was featured heavily was the Priest and Pete Woods Justice League run from 2017. It was in between two creative teams, I think Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder, so they had a lot of freedom to tell a pretty self-contained story.
As the rookie on the Justice League, Priest had Cyborg deal with issues with agency and ultimately had Cyborg run the team for a few issues. It was really great and was the first time that I’d seen Cyborg actually have something to do that wasn’t opening a boom tube or getting knocked down. He actually affected the story. It was dope.
AIPT: Heroes are only as strong as their villains. Do you have any bucket list villains you’d like to use in Cyborg?
MH: It’s tough because Cyborg doesn’t have much of a Rogue’s Gallery. There’s the obvious Titan villains who by proxy all have it out for Cyborg, too. You’ll definitely see some of them sprinkled in the book.
I think what’s important to me is building up Cyborg’s roster of villains, because he’s a character that deserves to have a bunch of people who want to beat him up. All the best heroes have that. If you read the series, you’ll get to see some of the seeds I’m planting for new villains to grow.
AIPT: A fun way to learn about an artist like yourself is an age-old question: What six people, living or dead, would you invite for dinner?
MH: Dwayne McDuffie, Lupita Nyong’o, Kid Cudi, Michelle Yeoh, Jordan Peele, Octavia Butler. And we would eat Thai food.
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