Victor Stone. Half man, half machine. Teen Titan. Justice Leaguer. Cyborg is easily the newest member of the Justice League, becoming a full-time teammate following the reboot of Flashpoint and the introduction of the “New 52” era of the DC Comics Universe. Acting as the “brains” of the Justice League’s operation, Stone links the team together through his master of all technology, what with being a cyborg and all. Unlike the rest of the Justice League, Cyborg has an interesting past in that he was originally a full-fledged member of the Teen Titans and was brought up to the big leagues as a way to link the team further with Darkseid and the “mother box” that play such a prominent role in the upcoming film.

But for the uninitiated, I've broken down the character's origin story, powers and abilities, and other adaptations below!

Cybernetic Origins

Like so many other characters in the DC Universe, Victor Stone’s origins have changed slightly since his original introduction, fitting more with the world created in the movies than that of his debut appearance in the 1980s from creators Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Originally hitting the scene in issue #26 of DC Comics Presents, Victor’s parents were Silas and Elinore Stone, two prominent scientists at STAR Labs who treated their son more like an experiment than as progeny. Performing numerous intelligence experiments on Victor, the pair unfortunately spent little other time with their son and his pursuits, causing a rift between all of them. When Victor was injured as part of an otherworldly visitor destroying his new surroundings on earth, his parents decided to save their son by fusing him with technology and creating the hero we know today. However, all that glimmers isn’t gold as Vic is unable to ever become human once again, permanently fused with the cybernetics and making him feel like a monster.

Throughout the years, Victor Stone has been a Teen Titan first and foremost. Joining the team originally as an outlet to be with other “freaks and monsters”, Vic eventually found his place with the likes of Nightwing, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire to name a few. Eventually, Cyborg was wrapped up into what is considered the most famous of Teen Titans’ storylines in “The Judas Contract” wherein Deathstroke planted a spy in the ranks of the team in the form of the earthbending Terra. Spending years as a member, Vic eventually grew up and became mentor to a new group of Titans in younger versions of Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, and Wonder Girl. Still, Cyborg’s destiny was even bigger than we could have imagined as his road to full-fledged member of the Justice League was on the way.

Flashpoint saw the DC Universe forever changed with Barry Allen running back in time to try to save his mother’s life from the Reverse Flash. In doing so however, the architecture of the DC Universe was changed to a world where Atlantis was at war with the Amazons, Batman was a ruthless killer, and Cyborg was in fact the greatest hero the world had ever known. When the world was put back to “normal”, the past had changed and a Justice League that was originally formed with the likes of Martian Manhunter and Black Canary was now formed with the “big seven” of the universe, along with the newly minted member of Victor Stone. Stone acted as a catalyst for attempting to fill in the League to the coming threat of Darkseid, his new origin linking him to the Mother Boxes of Apokolips, Darkseid’s home planet which he ruled with an iron fist. From then on, Cyborg has been something of the heart of the League, attempting to struggle with his cybernetic side while also acting as the glue that keeps the team in touch with one another.

Skynet Superhero

So as a part-man, part-machine hybrid, what exactly can Victor Stone the Cyborg do? Well he has a ton of tricks up his sleeve but also has your standard powers in the forms of super strength, speed, and stamina thanks to his cybernetic enhancements. He also has the ability to fly by “creating” a rocket pack that protrudes from his back. Vic is also able to use his robotic side to create weapons such as knives, laser guns, and other various tools that can spring from his hands in a pinch. He can also create a large sonic cannon that he uses most regularly against villains and threats. Victor also has the ability to interface with any computer, taking control of most any technology he can “jack into” whether that be a simple mainframe or a giant satellite. Luckily for Cyborg, considering most of his body is cybernetics, he can take a fair amount of damage to himself before being killed. As long as his head is intact, he can lose most of the rest of his body as long as he can get back to a station to allow himself to be rebuilt.

Recently, Victor had been mostly destroyed during a storyline entitled “Forever Evil” wherein he fought a dark version of himself named “Grid.” When he was rebuilt, he received a much more streamlined appearance that, while making him a little weaker on the physical side, made him more easily able to fit in with his surroundings and not make himself so much of a tank. Victor himself was originally a “son of the gridiron” becoming a star in football before turning into a superhero. He also has, most likely, the best sense of humor on the Justice League, always offering a sunny disposition, though he can be serious when he needs to be.

A Cyborg by Any Other Name

Cyborg has actually enjoyed a fair amount of spotlight considering his role as a member of the Teen Titans on the small screen. In the 80s, Victor Stone’s first appearance on television was actually as a member of the Justice League on the Super Powers Team animated series wherein the League mostly fought against Darkseid. The biggest, and really still ongoing, appearance of Cyborg was the long-running Teen Titans cartoon on Cartoon Network which eventually became Teen Titans Go!, still running on the network. Here, we got a much more carefree version of Cyborg who, while still sometimes dealing with his half-human, half-machine appearance, would be more likely to joke around with Beast Boy than bring any grim scenarios to the rest of the team. Following this, Cyborg, still voiced by Teen Titans voice actor Khary Payton, appeared in the animated series, Justice League Action, the latest animated iteration of the team that goes for a much more light-hearted approach to the JLA’s adventures.

Ray Fisher will be portraying Victor Stone on the big screen, who was already shown to have origins closest to his “New 52" appearances and linked strongly to the Apokolips Mother Boxes. First, making a brief appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Cyborg appears to transition into his new form in severe pain, while his father is working desperately to save his life. While a prominent member of the Justice League in the film, originally Victor was announced to eventually be getting his own solo film. Since that time however, the DC Cinematic Universe has gone through some serious restructuring and the fate of the Cyborg movie is still up in the air.

Be sure to check out our character explainer for Aquaman.