DC Films, Movie News

Three Keys To Making A Great Cyborg Film

When I saw Cyborg on the early 2000s Teen Titans show, he wasn’t the full on comic relief but he was serious when needed to be. He was a big brother to everyone and the Teen Titans knew that if Robin wasn’t available to lead, then Cyborg would be the leader to step up. Cyborg (in some people’s eyes) isn’t seen as a “deserving” member of the Justice League ever since the New 52 reboot, and even had his comic cancelled twice because of low sales . A lot of times people see Cyborg as this mother box technology machine or simply find him one-dimensional. If given to the right screenwriter and director, I believe it would showcase a proper representation of Victor Stone, and I believe that if DC decides to do a Cyborg film, then there are three key parts to include.

MOTIVATION

The reason why there aren’t a lot of successful comic stories of Victor Stone or on-screen portrayals is because there is a lack of motivation for Victor. What is the one thing everyone knows about Cyborg? His origin and why he dislikes his father. That usually sums up people describing who Cyborg is. Why does Batman fight crime? Why did Wonder Woman leave Themiscyra? Why is Superman, an alien that has a lot of strength and destructive powers, fight the villains in Metropolis? It is that they have the MOTIVATION that gets them out of bed every morning and keep their city and Earth safe.

The first step to solving Cyborg’s motivation in a film is to copy from Doom Patrol’s version of Cyborg. He is already a Cyborg, and is fighting crime in his city as he is trying to get his invitation to the Justice League. I like this portrayal for the film adaptation because it skips the stuff everyone has knowledge about, but the only thing I would change for the film is to redirect him to something more positive.

People see Cyborg as the guy that doesn’t like his father because of his father’s lack of supporting him in football and the reason he is a machine in the first place, but we have seen that many times to the point where we want to see the part where he becomes the joyful and more positive Cyborg. Now, I am not saying Cyborg should be comic relief. I believe he is someone that should be a balanced character; joyful at times but know when it’s time to be serious.

Cyborg needs a girlfriend or a companion that bring joy into his life. We can use Cyborg dislike in his father as a side story, but introduce someone that brings shine into his world. I believe a female superhero would be a good choice, but someone that isn’t on the status level as say Wonder Woman, Supergirl, or even Hawkgirl. I want Cyborg’s relationship to be as human as possible, such as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, Barry Allen and Iris West, Diana and Steve Trevor, but also have a dynamic that seems fresh and layers of storytelling. So, I would go with Bumblebee.

Cyborg would have someone that gives him the motivation to wake up in the morning, and I believe having someone that is not in the hero life as much as the Justice League members will provide balance of both characters, and provide motivation to defend his loved ones and others from villains. Speaking of villains.

VILLAIN ROSTER

Another problem that holds Cyborg back are the lack of villains that he has that are actually engaging. At first I thought of the idea of gathering some D-list villains from each other heroes rogue gallery and transition them to Cyborg’s, but then it wouldn’t feel as organic and wouldn’t give Cyborg the proper respect. So, I decided that Cyborg needed a good first villain that can help jump start Cyborg’s rogue gallery.

Cyborg’s first villain will be a best friend turned villain. The act of betrayal is a simple but classic tale that can still entertain readers if the execution is done well. I’ll give a condensed sort of events as I don’t want to drag this out for long.

Victor Stone meets this guy named Ron Evers. Ron is seen as a trouble maker around the city. Him and Victor are childhood friends, but two separate paths. Victor grew up in an upper middle class home, and the promising future of a pro athlete while Ron lived in the slums of the city surrounded by an environment that was built on survival. Since this will be based on the DCEU Cyborg, Ron has been released from jail and meets with Victor and eventually becomes interested and creates what-if scenarios if Ron himself had Victor’s gift; essentially thinking of illegal activities.

Ron is unexpectedly captured as part of meta-human trafficking and is found to have meta-human genes, and has environmental powers, or even teleportation powers (very limited though, such as, Ron can only teleport to places that he has physically been at) that allow Ron to surround Cyborg and keep Ron unpredictable. These powers doesn’t create another mecha battle, but instead a battle of wits instead of strength.

CITY LOCATION

The final key to make a Cyborg film successful is he needs to find a home. Cyborg doesn’t exactly have a lot of mythology to explore compared to Gotham, Krypton,Themiscyra,/Greek gods, Shazam’s Magiclands, Atlantis, Green Lantern Corps sector, etc. A lot of the Justice League members have a mythology attached to them that ties to who they are, so a great way to encounter this is to place Cyborg in Silicon Valley, CA. I picked this city since it’s the tech-city of America with the several big companies such as Apple, EA (Electronic Arts), Google, Netflix, Facebook, and Tesla. Potential for scandals, political cover-ups, or even advanced technology can provide Cyborg the place to explore the lore of the city. A great writer would be able to use this environment and create effective storytelling that provides more depth to Victor Stone.

CONCLUSION

Cyborg is a character that I believe is underappreciated, and when given the right team, can be a very dynamic character that fans will enjoy learning about. Cyborg needs motivation that keeps him fighting, a villain that is very close to him and challenges him mentally instead of physically, and a city that will create more depth to who Victor Stone is while underneath that armor.

Thank you to everyone that read my opinion piece on Cyborg. Let me know your thoughts below, and let’s continue to brainstorm ways to elevate Cyborg to the status we know he can be!

Source: IGN