Soon, Justice League will finally make its way to the big screen. The trailers and commercials are promising an epic ensemble film that’ll do Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Superman justice. From the sound of things, that’s what happens, but there's one hero who needs this movie to help them more than any other: Cyborg.
Since photos of Justice League began coming out over the past year, there’s been one thing that seems to be agreed on: Namely, that the half-man/half-machine doesn’t look too good, visually speaking. Whenever he’s shown in promotional footage, he always looks off, which has drawn both outright mockery and worry about his portrayal in the film. Across social media impressions and reviews for the film, it feels like everyone’s divided on him, with some thinking that he’s forgettable and others finding him compelling. Because he’s a very CG-heavy character and therefore very expensive, he’s understandably been shown the least out of all the Leaguers (ignoring Superman, for obvious, plot-relevant reasons). But all the same, the other characters in the film have something of a consistent look to them from screenshot to poster to trailer. Cyborg lacks that cohesion, and as a result comes off as forgettable, which isn’t good.
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Like many DC characters that aren’t a part of the Trinity, Cyborg started out largely as a B-list hero. In fact, it was doubtful that many had even heard of him prior to the original Teen Titans cartoon. If you were a kid growing up in the early 2000s, he was the black superhero that you were able to see on television on a regular basis; Static Shock was winding down just as Teen Titans episodes started airing, and Justice League didn’t feature John Stewart in every episode. Smallville didn’t do much with the character after introducing him, and he was just sort of "there" in the comics, leaving the Teen Titans Cyborg as the definitive version of the character for most of his fans.
And then a weird thing happened; in 2011, the tech-based hero got a promotion to the A-squad. As part of DC Comics' line-wide continuity reboot, The New 52, Cyborg got boosted to being a founding member of the new Justice League, which was both good and bad. On one hand, he is the one of most famous black superheroes that that people outside of comics have heard of -- Static was too young for the League in this new continuity, and the addition of a second Green Lantern on the new League would’ve just been weird. But on the other hand, when you step back and think about it for a moment, Cyborg’s inclusion is a little... off.
The story of his fictional life, right?
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As the years went on, it felt more and more like Cyborg was something of a “diversity hire” for the latest incarnation of the Justice League. When it came to the big stories, he didn’t really seem to have any purpose beyond getting hijacked so his tech powers could be used for the bad guys, as was the case with Forever Evil and the creation of his evil counterpart Grid. If he wasn’t experiencing that, he was grousing about whether or not he was a man or a machine, a dilemma that long ago stopped being interesting. Not to mention that he was the last member of the Justice League to get a solo book; Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and Green Lantern (both Hal Jordan and his successor, Simon Baz) had solo comics right out the gate when the reboot began. That’s not a good look, especially considering his first solo comic also didn’t come until the New 52 was pretty close to being done.
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He was a character DC wanted to elevate into the big leagues, but haphazardly. In wiping away the canon of everyone in the New 52, DC also wiped away any real justification for Cyborg being on the Justice League beyond convenience. Cyborg is defined in part by his relationships with those he cares about, as a big brother to the other Titans like Raven and Beast Boy. But in the League, he doesn’t have anyone he can be that big brother to, as they’re all support systems for each other in some way. And since he also lacks a truly defined supporting cast like his fellow Leaguers, he can’t help but feel like walking tech support.
With his solo movie not due for another three years, Justice League and Teen Titans Go will offer the definitive versions of the character for those who don’t read comics. And given how much goodwill the DCEU still has to build with the wider audience, it’s safe to say that TTG Cyborg will continue to win that battle. Say what you will about Teen Titans Go, but the show's interpretation of Cyborg has managed to enthrall fans since his introduction. That version of the character is brimming with personality and has done a lot more for his reputation than comics really have for the last five or six years. If you asked a kid what they know about Cyborg, it would probably involve how he shouts “Booyah!” and loves “The Night Begins to Shine,” traits that are likely going to define him for years to come.
Cyborg is in the precarious position that many comic book characters are these days -- he's been boosted to a higher media presence, but it's one where his resulting level of popularity will depend on how much justice the movie does the character. This isn't a problem other Leaguers such as Flash and Aquaman have -- the Scarlet Speedster has four years worth of a TV show for fans to look to if they're unhappy with Ezra Miller's version, and Jason Momoa is... well, he's Jason Momoa, and no one will really be unhappy with his take. Ray Fisher is another story entirely, as this'll be his first big role. And that's why Justice League needs to get both the actor and character right; their futures depend on this film more than most.