Cyborg #22 – Marv Wolfman, Writer; Tom Derenick, Artist; Wil Quintana, Pete Pantazis, Colorists
Ratings:
Ray – 7/10
Corrina: Not Sure I Understand This Plot
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: Cyborg #22, the second issue of Marv Wolfman’s puzzling revival of Cyborg’s solo title, turns out to be a modest improvement over the first, as it clarifies a bit about who’s the antagonist and what they want. It still suffers from most of the same problems that Cyborg titles have since DC decided at the start of the New 52 that he was a solo hero now – namely, very few people, including his creator, have the big ideas to drive a Cyborg solo title. When Cyborg #21 ended, Cyborg was defeated by an army of giant robots and captured by a mysterious agency. This issue, he wakes up to find a surprisingly friendly group of scientists who make clear that they have no nefarious plans for him – they work in tech design and they want to learn from him. Although he’s skeptical, given how many sinister villains he’s met who want to harvest him for parts, he warms up to them via another giant robot battle. Turns out that Cyborg is a bit of an anime nerd.
I’m not all that sure that this is genuine, though, since they present themselves as a privately owned cyber-think tank, without the red tape of government-run STAR Labs. They don’t seem to be the main villains at first, though, as a shady man with robotic servants is running a compound where he treats the robots under his command with contempt (with one notable exception) while also designing prosthetics for his one-armed grandson. We’re not sure how these two stories intersect yet, but the end of the issue hints at a connection between the two organizations. Tom Derenick’s art is strong, looking more fluid than it usually does, and the plot is mostly compelling. Still, it’s yet another story where someone wants to get their hands on Cyborg or his coding, which seems to be half of his stories. So if you want a Cyborg comic book, you could do far worse than this one. I’m just still not sure why this low-selling book was revived, especially without a relaunch.
Corrina: I had to backtrack to the first part of this story to remember what happened at the end of the last issue. I’d thought perhaps the giant robot builders were introduced with a better explanation but, nah, they’re scientists who just seem to want to build giant robots to make the world better. Which makes me wonder if there isn’t a better use for that kind of technology than giant robots, which inevitably can become weapons but, hey, the giant robots are kinda cool.
Vic thinks the robots are cool too. I liked that he let his inner nerd show while, at the same time, maintaining his skepticism as to the motives of those running this facility. Because “without the government red tape” means “we can do what we want, even if it’s illegal” and Vic knows that, even if he sympathizes with the scientists.
Bottom line, I like Vic’s personality in this issue but remain baffled by the rest of it.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
Cyborg didn’t have a solo book until the end of the new 52. He was just on justice league.