Comic Review: Cyborg #23

Cyborg #23

DC Comics

Writer: Marv Wolfman

Artist: Tom Derenick

Here’s a fun fact about me, dear readers: I read nearly everything DC publishes each week, with few exceptions. I’ve been reading Cyborg since Rebirth began, so you can trust me when I say that it’s one of the worst things DC has been putting out. The dialogue has been hackneyed, the plot is uninspired, and the supporting cast is hopelessly bloated with unsympathetic and bland side characters. It’s been depressing. So when I looked at the cover of today’s issue, I thought “oh right! This storyline is by Marv Wolfman! Maybe I’m reviewing this mag right as it’s getting good!” I mean, Wolfman? The guy responsible for the most legendary Teen Titans run of all time? The man who invented Cyborg? He’s got to know how to write him. Right?

Kinda.

Don’t misunderstand me, that hurts to write. This review hurts to write, because I am, in general, an extremely hopeful person. I’m always holding out for that unlikely good outcome, always waiting for things to improve. I think Cyborg is a great character with a lot of potential, and I thought if anyone could harness that potential it would be Marv. But that doesn’t seem to be the case at this point.

First up, the art: As it’s been from the start of the series, the art is nothing to write home about. It’s not amazing, it’s not awful. It’s the kind of “realism-lite” that’s been DC’s middle-of-the-road standard since the new 52 began. It has proficient but generic linework and shading, completely standard panel layouts and angles, inexpressive faces, uninspired combat choreography, and coloring that has absolutely no personality. In short, it’s the artistic equivalent of plain oatmeal. It’ll fill you up and it’s nutritious, but it’s hardly a treat for the senses. There is one page that’s slightly visually interesting, and it’s the last one. Aside from that, there’s nothing particularly worth mentioning, though there were several points where I questioned the artist’s grasp of perspective. It’s actually a little worse than it’s been in past issues. Which, considering this is a monthly mag, is kind of sad.

Speaking of kind of sad, let’s talk about the current plot since Wolfman came on board. The bad guy’s a dude named N-Jin who’s been a cyborg since the 1800s and wants to live forever. In order to live forever, he’s after Cyborg’s power source, presumably because it makes Cyborg immortal. There is a quick problem there: N-Jin doesn’t know Cyborg is powered by a Mother Box. There’s no reason why N-Jin should assume Cyborg will live forever. But whatever. So then Cyborg gets involved with these S.T.A.R. Labs dropouts who have a bunch of giant mecha (the designs of which, by the way, are a total ripoff of Pacific Rim). What they do with these mecha is beyond me – having reread the relevant issues, they build them “because S.T.A.R. Labs won’t”, which sounds like “just for fun” to me. But they also fight N-Jin’s army of mini-mechs (the design of which, by the way, is a total ripoff of Sharkticons from Transformers)?

I truly have no clue why they’ve got beef with N-Jin. It’s never explained. Not to mention that the introduction of the dropouts means yet more side characters, none of whom receive any development or personality. If there’s one pet peeve I have in comics, it’s throwing a bunch of new characters at the reader out of nowhere and expecting us to care about them. Not a lot happens in any of the issues in this arc. Issue #21: Cyborg fights some mecha and then gets kidnapped. Issue #22: It turns out his kidnappers are the dropouts and so now we’re all friends! Cyborg gets in a giant mecha playfight. Issue #23: Cyborg has a nightmare, his dad is lying to him, and then N-Jin shows up, fights Cyborg, wins, and then starts the power transfer.

Meh. Solid, solid meh. The characters are pretty weak, the relationships are nonexistent, and the plot moves so slowly and touches the page so lightly that it’s hard to feel as if the story matters much at all. I wanted Cyborg to get better, and believe it or not it did, but I wish I could have written a review that said it was good.