The Flash has all the time been DC’s primary instrument of change. He launched half the solid of the Justice Society in Flash Comics #1, kick-started the Silver Age, popularized the multiverse, ran quick sufficient to trigger the New 52, and so forth and so forth. The purpose being, the Flash has all the time been racing in direction of DC’s future, however he’s hardly ever run alone. Wally West particularly has all the time had mates who helped him develop into the beloved hero he’s in the present day, and the overwhelming majority of these mates got here from his time on the Teen Titans. One simply hero and good friend is the legendary Cyborg, who made his comedian e-book debut in DC Comics Presents #26, with a canopy date of October 1980.
Absolute Flash has a brand-new model of Wally, extra alone than ever, racing by way of a a lot darker world as he tries to search out his place in it. That search kicked into excessive gear final subject as he battled Hunter Zolomon and met none aside from the Atom. The e-book reveals no signal of slowing down, both, as subject #20 has given us our first take a look at the Absolute model of Cyborg. This Vic may simply be the wildest model but, nevertheless, as one thing else resides in his head, and there may not be any man left on this man-machine combo.
The New Cyborg Who May Not Be Cyborg at All
We obtained our first tease of Cyborg in subject #15 when Wally and Linda regarded into the historical past of Star Labs. All of its founders, which included Mirror Grasp, Barry Allen, the aforementioned Atom, and Silas Stone, disappeared beneath mysterious circumstances. Silas’s lab regarded prefer it was raided by some very highly effective authorities officers besides. We’re getting bits and items of what went down, and our largest clue got here after the Atom scooped Wally, Linda, and Grodd into his escape automobile. He let Linda wander whereas Wally recovered, however warned her to not enterprise into the underside layers.
Naturally, Grodd instantly ran for the elevator, saying he sensed one thing that shouldn’t be there. Among the many wreckage of a destroyed robotic and hallway, they discovered Victor Stone trapped in a cage. He begged for Linda to let him out, but in addition appeared possessed by one thing technological inside him and unable to regulate his anger, with Ray warning Linda to by no means let him out as the difficulty ended. This Vic is already a serious departure from the norm, as he seems to have the facility to shift between a standard look and his Cyborg kind, with the technological bits dwelling inside him, doubtlessly as nanobots. After all, the most important concern is that this may not be Vic in any respect, however a machine posing as him.
The largest piece of proof for this, in addition to his apparent anger points, is that Grodd referred to as Victor an it, not an individual. Previously, even with monstrously remodeled folks like Heatwave in subject #5, Grodd noticed the humanity in folks’s minds. Right here, he straight says that Victor isn’t an individual, presumably pointing to the concept Vic has been completely changed by the know-how that now resides inside him, and it’s posing as the person who ought to go on to be certainly one of DC’s biggest heroes.
A Mysterious Experiment or a Prisoner of His Personal Making?
The largest query right here is whether or not the Cyborg we see right here is the Cyborg everyone knows and love, and there’s proof for each side. Clearly, Vic is harmful, or he wouldn’t be locked in a cell within the microverse, and Grodd did say there was one thing there, not somebody. Nevertheless, it’s additionally attainable that Grodd was confused by all of the know-how inside Vic’s head and thus couldn’t learn him as absolutely human, which we all know for positive he isn’t. Apart from, Ray could have saved Crew Flash, however his intentions are actually in query. He appears to be a person who cares about outcomes and science above all else, so though he sees Silas as a brother, he might need seen a chance when Vic was remodeled into Cyborg.
On the finish of the day, I absolutely lean in direction of the concept Vic continues to be in there, however is battling in opposition to a brand new technological a part of himself that he has no thought how one can management. In some ways, his transformation mirrors Wally’s, who struggled to floor himself within the current after getting his powers. Wally will seemingly select to free Cyborg and stand by his facet, seemingly resulting in some type of battle in opposition to the Atom, and serving to Vic to regulate and settle for his new actuality as one thing not solely human or machine. These two, in any case, are made to be mates in each actuality. The Absolute Universe may be darker than what these characters are used to, however they’re the identical heroes at their core, so I see Cyborg firmly staying a hero and dealing with the Flash, simply as quickly as he will get out of this cage.
What do you consider Cyborg and this unusual new tackle the character? Tell us within the feedback beneath!
Absolute Flash #20 is on sale now!