Sinestro2828

Vandal Savage & Cyborg duked it out in Justice League Doom, one of DC's many animated films. A number of people on the forum have pondered the idea of Vandal becoming Cyborg's arch-nemesis, a bionic, futuristic hero vs a living fossil of a villain with plans for world domination (it is an interesting sort of comparison, & many great rivalries in DC involve an opposites attract sort of deal, like Batman vs Joker or Superman vs Lex Luthor etc). What do you all think? Would Vandal make an appropriate/perfect arch foe for Cyborg or not? If so, why do ya think so? If not, why not? >;3

great video on Ivo & Amazo, though it seems to me that in his quest for immortality, would it not have been easier/made more sense for a robotics genius like Ivo to turn himself into a cyborg of some sort rather than engineering an immortality formula? Maybe remove his own brain & put it inside an android body like a Cyberman?

@mutant_god: I'd like to see Cyborg hook up with Starfire too (Grayson's loss if he doesn't wise up lol), especially if it will get her away from those punks Jason Todd & Roy Harper XD. Though I will admit that pairing would be more interesting if their histories as Titans were still intact...Way to go DC >_<

@sunman: I agree that Mammoth, Solomon Grundy, & Atlas would all make good arch foes for Cyborg.

1) Mammoth has been a long time foe of Cyborg since his teen titan days, & I like the idea of a mechanical powerhouse having a rivalry with a flesh & blood powerhouse. They may need to give Mammoth more personality to make their rivalry more interesting though.

2) Solomon Grundy is another example of a flesh & blood powerhouse, only with a supernatural edge to boot. Grundy usually isn't very smart, but I suppose they could change that, OR, simply play up his strength so its Cyborg's brains & tech vs Grundy's mindless brutality & brute strength. Supes & Bats have plenty of rogues, so I think they could spare Grundy to Cy.

3) Atlas was AWESOME despite only having one episode to shine, but the idea of Cy being rivals with a living robot who looks down on all organics could be really interesting, especially if they give Atlas a cool origin story, like he's from a future or other dimension where machines have conquered humanity, or he was an experiment gone wrong, perhaps a weapon created to counter metahumans by the govt or simply a villain's creation that became too willful to control, like Red Volcano from Young Justice. Question is, should Atlas have the same weakness as before or be smart enough to maintain himself?

Other villains I could see as arch foes for Cy include....

Livewire: I know she's a Superman foe, but as an electrical based villain who can control & absorb electricity & even become lightning & manipulate machines she'd be a major threat to Cyborg. Plus, even though she was created for & was lots of fun on the Superman animated show, she hasn't gotten as much love in the comics, so if the superman writers aren't using her they may as well pass her on to Cyborg.

Atomic Skull: Like Mammoth & Grundy, I like the idea of Cy having an organic arch foe to contrast his bionic abilities, & Atomic Skull is literally a walking biohazard with all that radiation he gives off. Either version of Skull would work, though the first one was a Star Labs scientist originally, so he could be a more mental match for Cy.

Indigo/Brainiac 8: Another femme fatale like Livewire, as an android of Brainiac lineage she could become an ideal techno rival for Cyborg. She could be from the future like before, or another dimension, or simply be a renegade living android built from Brainiac tech or something.

I pick Teen Titans, I knew Cy as a Titan first & I think he has a stronger team dynamic & bonds of friendship & family with his fellow Titans than the league (the titans always seemed like a more well balanced team to me than the league, & every bit as powerful & heroic despite being younger than them). Cy certainly deserves a spot in the Justice League, but without his rich history as a teen titan he's just not the same hero I used to enjoy, & again, the Titans are just as epic as the League, so its certainly NOT a downgrade for him to return to his original team. On the Titans he's their definitive science guy & a tough fighter to boot, but with the league he has to share the tech wizard/gadget man job with Batman (though of course one could also argue the league wouldn't need Bat's stealth & detective skills at all with Martian Manhunter around given his skill sets...but I'm getting off topic, & of course, Bats is too popular to be replaced even if he's always playing the loner).

I was first introduced to the titans by the cartoon series, & while I don't like the new TTGO series, I still love the original & enjoy all the personality & badass abilities & chances to shine Cyborg was given. I honestly think if the reboot was unavoidable, they should have taken aspects of the comic book titans & combined them with the new material from the cartoon series to update them for modern times while also staying true to Perez's & Wolfman's characters...But of course, DC decided to erase all traces of their history & scatter our fave titans across the DC universe >_<

Besides, Cyborg & many of his friends began their heroic careers as titans rather than as solo heroes, so making a movie about them & how they came together to form a team for the first time would be easier than making a justice league movie.

@avenging_x_bolt: Atlas would make a good foe as well, but how would ya rework him? On the show we don't learn much of his past, ya just have to assume he's a sentient fighting robot gone rogue (all ya really need to know I suppose for that episode, but he'd need a fleshed out origin in the comics...Like an army or gladiator robot with a mind of its own, or possibly a creation of his parents or something built using Cy's own tech...shrugs). Making him a cyborg would kinda take away from the neat comparison between the two, Atlas saw humanity as inferior even though he was dependent on a human to maintain him, & Cy's human spirit is ultimately what beat him.

I suppose the mechanic could be re-imagined too, so as to keep that unhealthy relationship they had going, the powerful but abusive creation & the proud but fearful creator etc. Heck, they could even make the Mechanic female & have a Harley Quin style thing going on, or just stick to the original concept. Fixit at least can repair himself :P

Fixit was one of several one shot original characters from the Teen Titans cartoon who could have gone on to become bigger recurring threats to the Titans, particularly Cyborg, if given a chance in my opinion, whether it had been on the show or in the comics. I mean, he's basically Cy's dark opposite, a man who desires to become less human and more machine & sees organic components as flaws and imperfections, whereas Cy would give anything to be fully organic again and values what little flesh and blood he has left. Granted, those of us who've seen the episode know Fixit wouldn't go on to become an ongoing threat to our heroes, but I think he should have, dude was seriously creepy & managed to leave an impact despite the episode's 30 minute running time.

What do you all think? Could/should Fixit become an arch foe for Cyborg or do ya think his first & only major appearance was all he had to offer the Titans universe & our fave bionic badass Victor Stone?

@black_claw: Yeah, I had the sad feeling that Cy was added to the founding league members roster for the sake of PC as well, only unlike with John Stewart & Shayera Hol, who became super popular because of their amazing characterizations on the Justice League & JLU tv shows, Cy has no chemistry with the rest of the league. He began his career as a Titan & has the strongest bonds possible with the titans, and honestly, I've often thought the Titans were a better balanced group of heroes than the League anyway, each member bringing something unique to the table & no one member being more powerful than the team as a whole. It also doesn't help that Batman is usually the gadget guy of the league, plus Superman & Martian Manhunter have knowledge of alien technology, so Cy's tech expertise isn't as sorely needed on the League as it is with the Titans, HIS BEST FRIENDS >_<

Oh yeah, & his origin has been changed so he was never a titan anyway...So why should we care about this complete stranger baring Cyborg's name but possessing none of the history or experiences that made him Cyborg in the first place? Its not that Cy doesn't deserve League membership, its just that they didn't need to destroy his past or make him a founding member to add him to the team, & again, he was a better fit with the Titans (who are every bit as awesome as the League, they've saved the universe just as often). I suppose he could work as a leaguer if they acknowledged his past exploits as the reason for why he's risen to leadership status in the ranks, & have him act as liaison between titans & leaguers. Heck, he could even replace Batman on the team as the tech guy since Martian Manhunter can cover stealth & wonder woman fighting skills, like in Justice League Doom...Only of course DC would never try something that bold since Batman is so damn popular (even though he could logically carry his own book without the league & is often depicted as a part timer anyway).

If they needed a black man on the league, John Stewart would have been perfect due to his success in the cartoons, and honestly, as much as I like Hal Jordon, I do believe John is a better fit for the league than him. John is a ex-marine & architect, he can build things AND kick ass, he's a team player but takes shit from no one, not even Supes or Batman (& his friendship with Wally West as Flash is priceless). Hal is at his best when he's off having deep space adventures like the reckless cowboy he is, whereas with the league he tends to be overshadowed by the Big Three, John on the other hand lets no one put him in the corner. Also, his romance with Hawkgirl was WAY more natural than the forced love between Superman & Wonderwoman. John is just more responsible than Hal & works better with a team like the league, Cy has none of that history or chemistry with the league, he was poached from the titans roster simply cuz he's popular rather than because he works best as a leaguer.

Diversity is a good thing obviously, but diversity for the sake of diversity without regard for characterization or team dynamic doesn't typically work out too well. Sorry for the wall of text.

P.S. I personally think it would be easier to do a Teen Titans movie than a JL movie since many of the Titans, Cyborg included, began their hero careers as Titans & have always been part of a team rather than going solo, much like how the X-Men go together so well (yes, Wolverine gets alot of solo stories, but most of the X-Men star together in their adventures). You could just do a Titan film all about how they met for the first time & keep the ball rolling from there, especially if Raven is the one who recruits them all again like in the comics or they each respond to Starfire's arrival on earth like in the show.

So...Apparently Blackfire is good rather than evil in the new 52....WHY?! What's the point of her then? Blackfire is Starfire's archnemesis, her own personal big bad, why would ya take that away from her? Especially in the reboot in which most of the foes she shared with the other Titans are no longer in her rogues gallery because the titans as we know them didn't exist. I mean, there had to be alot of storytelling potential with Blackfire as a recurring enemy for Starfire as before, especially if she had command over an alien army that could pose a threat to earth's heroes as a whole as opposed to just Starfire & those two knuckleheads she hangs out with these days, like they have to warn everyone of the trouble coming their way & band together to save the day.

The events that led to them becoming rivals didn't necessarily have to play out exactly as before, like maybe Kory and Kom were actually close when they were young but things changed when Kory was chosen as heir over Kom, or maybe Blackfire took more after her toon counterpart as an out of control evil diva, BUT, Blackfire's role as Starfire's most personal enemy should not have changed. That's like if Loki and Thor never became enemies & were always best buds rather than Loki going bad & the two of them forming one of the biggest sibling rivalries in comics >_<

How do you guys feel about the change? Do ya miss Blackfire as Starfire's big bad as I do? Or do ya not care? How would you like Blackfire to be portrayed in future stories? What would you have liked to have seen done differently with the character?

I want to see Kory and Grayson back together big time, not a fan of her status as an outlaw or pairing with Roy Harper. However, DC has been dropping the ball on just about everything these days, so no idea if & when that'll happen, but I can hope.