The DCEU Saved Its Most Fascinating Hero Introduction For Its Most Ignored Justice League Member
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice introduced a great number of DC Universe heroes to live-action, and the most ignored hero that would go on to feature in Justice Leaguewas given one of the most compelling introductions. While there is much to love about the DCEU, the franchise faced pressure to quickly introduce many of its characters, leading to a theatrical cut of Justice League that felt underdeveloped. This has led the new DCU to prioritize even Teen Titans before another Justice League film. However, much of the DCEU worked, especially a few particular hero introductions.
Looking at ranking the heroes in the DCEU, many of the best characters came about early in the franchise. Following the success of Man of Steel, Warner Bros. rushed to put their Justice League cast together, introducing nearly all of them at least briefly in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. All of these introductions were interesting to see and, while the ones for characters like Wonder Woman and Batman were a big part of the film, one notable smaller introduction was actually arguably more exciting.
The DCEU's Cyborg Introduction Is Like Almost Nothing Else
Cyborg's Introduction Is Dark, Disturbing, And Exciting
During a scene in Dawn of Justice where Wonder Woman gains access to some secure files, short introductions are given to the cast of Justice League. The clips give a brief glimpse of Ezra Miller's Flash and Jason Momoa's Aquaman, but it is the introduction of Ray Fisher's Cyborg that is perhaps the most compelling. While the former two are given a short look at the characters in action, Cyborg's footage shows Silas Stone chronicling his attempts to restore his son using the Mother Box.
During his experimentation, Silas Stone, Victor's father, attempts to put his son back together after an accident. Silas seems dejected and downtrodden through the clip, but the upsetting image of Victor Stone in the background, pinned to a board, is both disturbing and compelling. The Cyborg scene quickly becomes dark as the Mother Box is integrated, causing Victor to cry out in agony as he is restored to something much different and more powerful than the boy that he used to be.
The DCEU's Cyborg Introduction Makes His Sidelined Story Even Sadder
Cyborg Was One Of The Most Promising Justice League Characters
In their introductions, Flash is shown using his powers to stop a robbery, while Aquaman is shown swimming in the ocean. Neither of these characters are given introductions that are nearly as sad or as powerful as Victor's introduction, which makes his ultimate appearance in Justice League so much more disappointing. In the theatrical cut of the film, Victor does not have an especially large role. This may be because of the difficulties between Ray Fisher and Joss Whedon, especially after the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League showed how much the film’s original intent focussed heavily on Cyborg.
Fisher played Victor with pathos and anger, crafting a truly powerful hero that could have gone on to play a much larger part in the universe if the story had gone another way.
In the second edit of the film, Cyborg is a much more prominent character, and his emotional story is a great deal more important to the overall story. This makes it so disappointing that so little was done with Cyborg in the DCEU. The character was tragic, but he was also powerful and compelling. Fisher played Victor with pathos and anger, crafting a truly powerful hero that could have gone on to play a much larger part in the universe if the story had gone another way.
Batman V Superman's Cyborg Introduction Foreshadowed The Issue With His DCEU Story
Cyborg's First Scene Is Emblematic Of His Time In The DCEU As A Whole
In Cyborg's debut, he is merely a background character. Rather than Victor speaking, the scene is dictated by Silas, and the moving of Cyborg to the background is emblematic of how the character was used in the DCEU. Granted, Cyborg was the least well-known hero on the team, having to appear alongside Flash, Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. However, the films had a great opportunity to use him as one of the best Justice League members. Instead, they relegated his DCEU story to the background.
Rather than allowing Victor's story to shape Justice League, the theatrical cut of the film placed Cyborg behind the other heroes and made him the least integral member of the team. His connection to the Mother Boxes, an important part of the story, seemed to be minimized in the final edit, and Ray Fisher was given little to do. Following that film, the other members of the team were given more exploration, with Flash, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman all receiving additional films and appearances. Disappointingly, Cyborg was given no further place in the DCEU.
Cyborg is an excellent character with a dark and traumatic past that can be explored in original and exciting ways. There is hope that the character will appear in the DCU, especially as he has historically been linked to the Teen Titans. However, it is disappointing that the Ray Fisher iteration of the hero did not get as much time in the DC Extended Universe as he deserved. His character's compelling journey was minimized, although great scenes like his introduction still stand as some of the best in the franchise.
- Created by
- Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
- First Film
- Man of Steel
- First TV Show
- Peacemaker
- Cast
- Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Zachary Levi, Dwayne Johnson, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor, Idris Elba, John Cena, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Xolo Mariduena
- Movie(s)
- Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Shazam! The Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Superman, The Brave and the Bold
- Character(s)
- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Shazam, Darkseid, Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Black Adam
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
