Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting from a Cyborg comic. I know this isn’t the first time he has had a series (that was almost two years ago), but most of my knowledge of the character comes from him being a Teen Titan, not a founding member of the Justice League. Even though this is a follow up to Cyborg: Rebirth, it works as a pretty good introductory issue. We get a summation of Cyborg’s origins and a rapid fire meet and greet of his supporting cast. Plus a general idea of the extent of his power level and abilities. It works more often than not. Sometimes there is a little too much explanation going on in the first half.

The issue starts off with a slightly confusing first two pages. Some evil bad guy cyborg has found a giant death robot to reactivate. The identity of either character is left a mystery, although I’m sure if I read Rebirth or the previous Cyborg series I would know. Until then, just obvious bad guys being obviously bad.

We then cut to Cyborg stopping two small time robbers in the obligatory show hero in action while also letting him exhibit/explain some powers. This leads to Cyborg returning home to STAR Labs to be checked on by his father, Silas Stone and his assistants Sarah and Tom. Cyborg is worried his humanity may be lost because he heard a recording of his father wondering if Victor was turned into Cyborg or if a soulless mental copy was created instead.

To help with this major crisis, Sarah takes Cyborg out for ice cream and jazz, the two most humanizing things in the universe. Once Sarah and Victor get off on their own, the book starts to come together. While I don’t want several story arcs focusing on Cyborg wondering if he is human or not, an initial issue or two works. Unlike most superheroes Cyborg can’t have a secret identity, he is always Cyborg with giant metal bits showing. There is a need to humanize him, and since the fun and silly Teen Titans Go! The version isn’t allowed, a story like this works.

Cyborg interacting with a few people in public in non-life and death situations is essential. And those bits work very well even though the story isn’t new. I also like how the story is set in Detroit and not a fictional city, it once again makes Cyborg more real.

My only complaints with the story are the over explanation bits, while understandable are still clunky as ever. I also worry that every villain Cyborg will face will be equally cybernetic or robotic, I hope that isn’t a trend.

But as a whole, this book had some heart and helped give me a better understanding of who Cyborg really is.

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Cyborg #1 Writer: John Semper Jr Artist: Paul Pelletier Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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Nothing like jumping right into life and death battles. Cyborg faces off against quite a formidable opponent with a mysterious plan. This is an “on the edge of your seat” kind of comic, literally something intriguing occurring on each page. The story takes hold of you right from the start and does not let go; it leaves you wanting way more than the creators give but what they give is perfect. No clue what the perfect distribution of background story to current story ratio is but if I had to set a standard, it would be based on this issue. Semper Jr. delivers a jaw-dropping first issue, with a good back story to the character along with internal struggles that the character is going to face in future issues. It is so hard not to be excited about the upcoming work Semper Jr. does with the Cyborg story. Coming from a limited Cyborg history, this is such an exciting new adventure to embark on. Semper Jr. teamed up with Pelletier is going to give top titles a serious run for their money. The talent of Pelletier packing insane amounts of details into each and every panel gives this issue eye-popping visuals to go along with the excellent, fast paced writing style that Semper Jr. delivers. It seems that in future issues not only will Cyborg be battling villains, but also battling some inner demons inside himself. One intriguing aspect of the story that doesn’t spoil much of anything is this conscious awareness Victor’s father has towards him and whether saving his life with alien technology truly saved his son or created a whole other entity. Wouldn’t be surprising if Semper Jr. took this family conflict and turned it on its head to create an internally torn Cyborg.

You would be doing yourself an injustice by not picking up this Rebirth issue of Cyborg. Hell, I had the free preview copy, and I still went out purchased this comic for my collection. Hopefully, this series does not lose traction as it progresses into future issues and future story arcs. With a top-tier creative team and an outstanding first story line, one can expect Cyborg to become even more popular even amongst those that aren’t familiar or previous fans of his pre-rebirth arcs. Do yourself a favor and check this issue out. Keep up the good work Semper Jr. and Pelletier.

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Cyborg: Rebirth #1 Writer: John Semper Jr. Artist: Paul Pelletier Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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