Doctor Cyber question

[Gothos]

I posted this mini-review in Classics, and thought I'd get input here as well.

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I picked one out of a pile at random, it turned out to be WONDER WOMAN #287 from 1982. It was a pretty forgettable tale by Marv Wolfman, and its sole purpose seemed to be to hype the New Teen Titans. Story involved Doctor Cyber kidnapping Wonder Girl; to free WG, WW would have to give herself up to trade bodies with Cyber. Denny O'Neil's old stooge Doctor Moon made an appearance. It was a very lame action-opus,in which both WW and her guest-stars were cardboard heroes. The oddest element was that Cyber suddenly had occult powers that gave her control of WW's invisible jet-- though at no other time did Cyber use anything but techological wizardry.

Anyone else see Cyber play in Doctor Strange territory? Maybe the occult bit came out of some writer-artist misunderstanding...

[Outside_85]

I posted this mini-review in Classics, and thought I'd get input here as well.

________________

I picked one out of a pile at random, it turned out to be WONDER WOMAN #287 from 1982. It was a pretty forgettable tale by Marv Wolfman, and its sole purpose seemed to be to hype the New Teen Titans. Story involved Doctor Cyber kidnapping Wonder Girl; to free WG, WW would have to give herself up to trade bodies with Cyber. Denny O'Neil's old stooge Doctor Moon made an appearance. It was a very lame action-opus,in which both WW and her guest-stars were cardboard heroes. The oddest element was that Cyber suddenly had occult powers that gave her control of WW's invisible jet-- though at no other time did Cyber use anything but techological wizardry.

Anyone else see Cyber play in Doctor Strange territory? Maybe the occult bit came out of some writer-artist misunderstanding...

Wasnt her plane technology based back then too?

[Gothos]

Wasnt her plane technology based back then too?

That was a confusing mess, too. Supposedly Cyber wants WW in one piece so that she Cyber can take over WW's body. So why is she taking control of the jet and trying to bash it and its pilot into high-rises????

[Lorendiac]

I just barely remember bits and pieces of that story. A while back I dug out everything in my collection that had Dr. Cyber in it, and reread it. That was after I'd been looking at a list of villains in the JLU cartoons who at least got cameos, and one of them was Dr. Cyber (as part of the Secret Society organized by Grodd in the show's final season -- apparently she got zero lines of dialogue, however), and I muttered to myself: "Huh? Who's Dr. Cyber, again? Which 'face in the crowd' would she have been?"

Anyway, when I read or reread what I could find about her, I noticed the following things:

1. There wasn't all that much to read -- she hasn't been used nearly as often as some WW villains.

2. What I did find about her in my collection generally failed to make a really strong and favorable impression upon me when I looked it over again (which might explain why I'd drawn a blank at first when I ran across her name online).

3. On the other hand, I did end up making some notes for how she might be handled in a way that could show her some respect as "a major villain" in a JLU fanfic I might actually get around to writing . . . one of these days!

[Fate's Faith]

Dr. Cyber was a much better character in her introduction and the story following. Believe she started during Diana's depowered years then her second appearance right after she got her powers back. Liked both. After that point, she lost her sparkle.

[Lorendiac]

Dr. Cyber was a much better character in her introduction and the story following. Believe she started during Diana's depowered years then her second appearance right after she got her powers back. Liked both. After that point, she lost her sparkle.

You're right about the timing -- she popped up in Diana's life during the "Mod Era" which was launched by Denny O'Neil . . . stripping away Diana's powers and having her use martial arts in tight spots. After being used as an "ongoing nemesis" back around the late 60s/early 70s, Dr. Cyber seems to have only turned up once in a blue moon for a long time after that . . . and usually not used very well in those occasional "comebacks," as near as I can tell.

[Outside_85]

What exactly is her motivation? (I seem to have this image in my head that she hated Diana purely because she was beautiful and Cyber was hideous?)

Asides that her lack of impact might have to do with her more technological/science vibe against an opponent is based on myths and magic. (one of my usual complaints)

[Amazon Fan]

What exactly is her motivation? (I seem to have this image in my head that she hated Diana purely because she was beautiful and Cyber was hideous?)

In Hong Kong, Doctor Cyber's plan was to destroy the city and blackmail the world with a series of devices that could create earthquakes. Cyber lured the non-powered Diana Prince to the Asian city hoping to entice her into joining the organization, which she steadfastly refused. Soon afterward, an attack by the rival Tiger Tong gang resulted in an urn of hot coals spilling onto Cyber's face. The villainess was evacuated to a secret hospital outside of Hong Kong, swearing revenge on Diana Prince for her disfigurement. Even since then, she was obsessed with taking Diana's face (and/or body) to replace her own.

[Fate's Faith]

Not unlike Luthor one time hating Superboy purely because he thought it was Superboy's fault he lost his hair. That's what's missing from comics these days, nice simple motivations. And timeless

[Lorendiac]

Not unlike Luthor one time hating Superboy purely because he thought it was Superboy's fault he lost his hair. That's what's missing from comics these days, nice simple motivations. And timeless

Actually, I was thinking of Doctor Doom as a close parallel! I believe he has been known to unfairly blame his heroic rival (Reed Richards) for the lab accident which literally blew up in Victor's face and left him with massive scarring! And he shares other characteristics with Doctor Cyber, including:

1. Usually wears a metal mask.

2. Has demonstrated a tendency to transfer his/her mind into other bodies.

3. Brilliant scientist.

4. Uses very sophisticated robots at the drop of a hat.

5. Rarely (if ever) gets captured alive and locked away in prison.

[Outside_85]

In Hong Kong, Doctor Cyber's plan was to destroy the city and blackmail the world with a series of devices that could create earthquakes. Cyber lured the non-powered Diana Prince to the Asian city hoping to entice her into joining the organization, which she steadfastly refused. Soon afterward, an attack by the rival Tiger Tong gang resulted in an urn of hot coals spilling onto Cyber's face. The villainess was evacuated to a secret hospital outside of Hong Kong, swearing revenge on Diana Prince for her disfigurement. Even since then, she was obsessed with taking Diana's face (and/or body) to replace her own.

Thank you.

Not unlike Luthor one time hating Superboy purely because he thought it was Superboy's fault he lost his hair. That's what's missing from comics these days, nice simple motivations. And timeless

Not to mention petty. :)

[Fate's Faith]

Not to mention petty. :)

If you watch reality television these days, its apparent that if superheroes and villains really existed, pettiness would be a huge motivating factor for many

[Outside_85]

If you watch reality television these days, its apparent that if superheroes and villains really existed, pettiness would be a huge motivating factor for many

Well that probably is true....but I dont watch reality TV out of fear of my IQ dropping...and that my only TV station only does reruns of Friends and Beverly Hills :S (But atleast they dont interrupt movies every 10min with commercials :D )

[Gothos]

In Hong Kong, Doctor Cyber's plan was to destroy the city and blackmail the world with a series of devices that could create earthquakes. Cyber lured the non-powered Diana Prince to the Asian city hoping to entice her into joining the organization, which she steadfastly refused. Soon afterward, an attack by the rival Tiger Tong gang resulted in an urn of hot coals spilling onto Cyber's face. The villainess was evacuated to a secret hospital outside of Hong Kong, swearing revenge on Diana Prince for her disfigurement. Even since then, she was obsessed with taking Diana's face (and/or body) to replace her own.

The problem with this development was that Diana was even distantly responsible for Cyber's injury, as Diana herself points out to Cyber in one of the Sekowsky stories. Without even as much connection as you have with Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom, the vengance-motive gets strained.

IMO the best thing DC could do with Cyber would be to give her a new face (maybe fix her up with the Two-Face surgeon from TDKR) and start her on some new course of villainy. Stick a fork in the Doc Doom routine, it's done.

[Outside_85]

The problem with this development was that Diana was even distantly responsible for Cyber's injury, as Diana herself points out to Cyber in one of the Sekowsky stories. Without even as much connection as you have with Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom, the vengance-motive gets strained.

IMO the best thing DC could do with Cyber would be to give her a new face (maybe fix her up with the Two-Face surgeon from TDKR) and start her on some new course of villainy. Stick a fork in the Doc Doom routine, it's done.

She's probably be a better villain for a science based hero...in the New52 it's against Cyborg, STAR Labs, Steel or the Atom.