Cybermen
The Cybermen are a cybernetic species that feature in the Doctor Who universe.
Contents |
History
The Cybermen were a race of cyborgs that were native to the Milky Way galaxy to the planet Mondas that was formerly within the Sol system. They were a race of humans that were native to a twin world of Earth that aeons ago had rifted from its orbit to a journey to the edge of space. The inhabitants scientists developed technologically in time and their cybernetic scientists concluded that their race was becoming weak. As a result, scientists and doctors devised spare parts for their bodies until the point that their forms were completely replaced with machines. A result of this time was replacing emotions that were deemed a weakness to them with them becoming a cybernetic race known as the Cybermen. (Episode: The Tenth Planet) A vessel belonging to the Mondasians had been launched into space where it became trapped in the event horizon of a black hole. The crew were trapped leading to time dilation across the various decks of the massive craft. The Master arrived where he aided their scientists in helping the dying population who desired to live on. This involved cybernetics with the earliest forms of Cybermen being formed that attempted a mass conversion of the rest of the human crew. (Episode: World Enough and Time) During their expansion into space, one of the worlds they journeyed to was Telos that contained a native indigenous population named the Cryons. The race were wiped out by the Cybermen who turned Telos into their adopted home planet. (Episode: Attack of the Cybermen) On Telos, they were noted to had created great tombs to house their kind. (Episode: The Tomb of the Cybermen)
In time, Mondas was exhausted of energy forcing the Cybermen to seek its return to Earth in order to gather the power from its Earth twin. (Episode: The Tenth Planet)
In a parallel version of Earth in another universe, the Cybermen were the brainchild of businessman John Lumic, the head of Cybus Industries. The first fully functional Cyberman was created for him by Dr. Kendrick, who subsequently perished at the hands of his own creation. Lumic then went on to begin attempting to transform everyone in London into a Cyberman, including the mother of Rose Tyler.
The Twelfth Cyber Legion was operating around Demon Run when it was attacked by the Eleventh Doctor who was looking to recover Amy Pond from the Silence. (Episode:: A Good Man Goes to War)
Mankind and the Cybermen were noted to had engaged in the Cyber War against one another. A turning point in the conflict occurred when it was discovered that the Cybermen's systems was vulnerable to gold leading to the creation of the glitter gun. A key resource for gold was Voga and as they began to lose the Cybermen sought to eliminate their enemy's advantage. After their attack on Voga, the Cybermen were noted to had vanished with some believing that they had been destroyed. In reality, they had gone into hiding and plotted in secret their re-emergence with plans to build a new Cyber Army to conquer the galaxy. (Episode: Revenge of the Cybermen)
The conflict was noted to had been brutal the point that mankind had been hunted to near extinction though this came at a great cost to the Cyber Empire who themselves were at the brink of destruction. (Episode: Ascension of the Cybermen) After the fall of the Cyber Empire, their enemies managed to capture the Cyberium and sent it back in time to hide it from the Cybermen. A Lone Cyberman was responsible for seeking it out and restoring the Cyber race in the universe. (Episode: The Haunting of Villa Diodati) Returning to his time, Ashad looked to achieve a new vision whereby the Cyber race evolved into pure automatons and use the Death Particle to destroy all organic life in the cosmos. This saw finding a derelict Cybercarrier that he restored to power and did his upgrades to its dormant Cybermen contingent but they faced opposition from a small band of human survivors. The humans had intended to escape the galaxy through a portal called the Boundary that would take them to safety. In reality, this portal led to the ruined world of Gallifrey with the Master already there after being responsible for ravaging it. The Master formed an alliance with Ashad and the Cybermen where he offered them the chance to be rulers of the universe. However, he came to be disappointed in Ashad's goal towards full automation and deposed him whereupon he became host to the Cyberium. The Master then used the Cybermen's resources to convert the bodies of the slain Time Lords thus creating a new race called the CyberMasters who obeyed him. To stop their rampage, the Doctor had the Death Particle detonated on Gallifrey to destroy the CyberMasters before they could escape into the wider universe. (Episode: The Timeless Children)
During the Flux event, the universe itself faced destruction at the hands of an expanding anti-matter wave. With the destruction of reality, the Cybermen were one of a few empires that attempted to survive. They along with the Daleks were contacted by the Sontarans who were in control of the Lupari shield around Earth that protected them from the Flux. The Sontarans offered sanctuary to both races in a bid to stave off universal destruction. Cyber battalions came to arrive on the promise of mutually assured survival but were betrayed by the Sontarans. They came to open the shield letting the Daleks and Cybermen fleets be consumed by the Flux where their fleets helped slow the spread of the anti-matter wave. (Episode: The Vanquishers)
Overview
In appearance, Cybermen were bipedal constructs that were a technologically augmented human being designed to survive in a hostile environment. They were equipped with an emotional inhibitor that prevented the host body from feeling any emotion. (Episode: The Age of Steel) Cybermen possessed a range of features including being able to send electrical bursts through contact or fire powerful energy beams from an emitter on their heads. Advanced models possessed armour and had rocket propulsion systems on their boots allowing them to fly. (Episode: The Doctor Falls) Originally, Cybermen could only convert Humans into their kind but over time they came to upgrade themselves to allow Cyberunits to use almost any living component. (Episode: Nightmare in Silver) Certain versions of Cybermen were shown to be vulnerable to gold that was lethal to them as it was a perfect non-corrodible metal that plated their breathing apparatuses causing them to suffocate to death. (Episode: Revenge of the Cybermen) It was noted that they had in-built distress signals with Cybermen responding to the distress of their own kind. (Episode: Attack of the Cybermen)
Organic beings went through a process known as cyber-conversion whereby compatible individuals were both physically as well as mentally altered into Cybermen. It was said that the conditioning was not always successful and in some cases it produced rejects. (Episode: Attack of the Cybermen)
Emotions were deemed a weakness by their ancestors leading to them being removed. (Episode: The Tenth Planet) Cybermen did not have fear but knew how to use it to their advantage. They considered themselves to be an improvement and an upgrade to the human race (Episode: The Doctor Falls) As total machine creatures, Cybermen were noted for being utterly ruthless. (Episode: Revenge of the Cybermen)
Their society was a whole was referred to as the Cyberiad. (Episode: Nightmare in Silver) It was said that the Cybermen did not promise with such ideas holding no value to their race. (Episode: The Tombs of the Cybermen) They believed that they were destined to rule the cosmos as they believed they operated more efficiently than animal organisms. In fact, they did not subscribe to any theory of morality in war which meant that they were willing to engage in acts that were banned by other civilizations. (Episode: Revenge of the Cybermen)
There were numerous types of Cybermen that included:
- Cyberdrones : a form of drone that resembled a Cybermen head which had the power of flight and were deployed as an advance force that struck suddenly against enemy lines. (Episode: Ascension of the Cybermen)
- Cybershades : these were creatures that went through primitive conversion that retained their animal features and had the brain of a cat or dog that directed their actions. (Episode: The Next Doctor)
- Cyber-Controller : these are high ranking Cybermen who command their operations. (Episode: The Tomb of the Cybermen)
- CyberMasters : Cybermen born from the body of deceased Time Lords thus sharing their host body's Regeneration ability allowing them to revive even after being killed. (Episode: The Timeless Children)
A particularly deadly type of Cybermen were the Warrior-class. (Episode: Ascension of the Cybermen) Individual command posts known as Cyber Control were established to direct localised Cybermen forces. (Episode: Attack of the Cybermen)
Their military was known to be divided into legions such as the Twelfth Cyber Legion. (Episode:: A Good Man Goes to War)
Technology
Cybermen were known to make use of hibernation plants and refrigeration chambers with the cold being used to preserve them. When running out of power, they made use of the cold to preserve them. (Episode: Attack of the Cybermen)
They were able to create purely robotic versions of their race that had no organic material within them and were used as targets for weapons in testing rooms. (Episode: The Tomb of the Cybermen) They produced flying Cyberdrones that were able to hover through the air and were armed with weapons. (Episode: Ascension of the Cybermen) A creation produced by their cybernetic knowledge were constructs known as Cybermats. (Episode: The Tomb of the Cybermen) Another construct was the Cybermites that resembled insects which were controlled by the Cybermen that could view through them and scan targets where they travelled in small swarms as they went directly for a target's head. They were able to partially convert people though an upgrade process was needed for full cyber-conversion. (Episode: Nightmare in Silver)
A command and control construct was the Cyber-Planner that directed operations where it served as a hub for operations. (Episode: The Wheel in Space) The brains of children served as valuable means to create a Cyber-Planner as they had limitless potential. (Episode: Nightmare in Silver) A device used by the Cybermen was the use of small handheld data storage devices known as infostamps. These contained facts and figures with the lots of information being compressed. Typically, Cybermen made use of their wireless networks but utilised Infostamps in order to update themselves when they were lacking power. It was plain technology that beamed an entire set of data into the mind of the recipient. (Episode: The Next Doctor) The entirety of the whole cyber race was contained within an artificial intelligence known as the Cyberium' that held their history and knowledge. It was responsible for controlling data, strategy and handling decision making with it able to infect host bodies. (Episode: The Haunting of Villa Diodati)
One craft was the CyberKing that were dreadnought class vehicles that were used on the front line in an invasion with these skyscraper sized bipedal constructs containing a Cyberfactory in the chest that was used to convert millions. (Episode: The Next Doctor)
Among the most destructive weapons in their arsenal were Cyberbombs that were the most compact and powerful explosive devices ever invented. Their use had been banned under the Armageddon Convention with two such bombs in a proper placement being able to fragment a planet. (Episode: Revenge of the Cybermen)
A further tool created by these cyborgs was Cyber-pollen that were tiny particle of a Cyberman that contained the plans to make another of their kind. It simply needed to make contact with compatible living organic matter. (Episode: Death in Heaven) A doomsday weapon created by the Cyberium was the Death Particle with a lone sample of it able to destroy all organic life on a planetary scale. (Episode: The Timeless Children)
One craft used by their kind were Cyberfighters that utilised a warp drive system which were not designed for use by organic humans. War Carriers were noted to be a kind of battle cruiser and trooper carrier that transported thousands of converted Cybermen to the battlefield. (Episode: Ascension of the Cybermen)
They established cryogenic facilities located underground whereby a large number of them were kept in pods in a honeycombed order. These sleeping Cybermen resided in these in deep hibernation until an activation signal woke them up. (Episode: The Tomb of the Cybermen)
Members
- Krail :
- John Lumic : a male human from a parallel Earth who became a notable scientist and business tycoon that founded Cybus Industries but was stricken by illness that confined to a wheelchair where in an effort to heal himself he created the Cybermen and became their Cyber-Controller until he was killed in a confrontation with the Doctor. (Episode: The Age of Steel)
- Mercy Hartigan :
- Danny Pink :
- Bill Potts :
- Ashad : a partially converted Cyberman who had multiple children before his transformation and he came to be know as the Lone Cyberman. (Episode: The Haunting of Villa Diodati) After gaining the Cyberium, he returned to the Cyber Wars and looked to bring about the resurrection of the Cyber race. (Episode: Ascension of the Cybermen)
Notes
- The Cybermen were created by Dr. Kit Pedler and story editor Gerry Davis in 1966 where they made their first appearance in the episode "The Tenth Planet" (October, 1966).
In other media
Video games
- In Doctor Who: Blood of the Cybermen, the Cybermen appeared as antagonists in the 2010 adventure video game. A ship belonging to them was damaged b a time-storm causing them to crash onto Earth 10,000 years earlier in the Arctic.
- In Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time, the Cybermen appeared as antagonists in the setting of the video game.
Comics
- In Doctor Who Weekly Issues 5-7 (1979), the Cybermen appeared in the setting of the comic storyline. A Junior Cyber-Leader named Kroton was shown where his conversion did not eliminate his capacity for emotional capacity.
Appearances
- Doctor Who: "The Tenth Planet" (1966)
- Doctor Who: "World Enough and Time"
- Doctor Who: "The Doctor Falls"
- Doctor Who: "The Haunting of Villa Diodati" (2020)
External Links
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