In addition to being a Multiversity staffer and podcaster, Chris Thompson is the brand manager for Dr. Who’s publisher, Titan Comics.
Just as the Doctor has endured for many decades, so too have the various members of his incredible rogues gallery. While the Daleks were the first to really strike a chord with fans in 1963, they were given a run for their money with the introduction of the mysterious Cybermen as part of The Tenth Planet in 1966.
Created by Dr. Kit Pedler (unofficial scientific advisor on Doctor Who) and screenwriter Gerry Davis, the Cybermen reflected the age-old fear of artificial intelligence and loss of humanity. Originally introduced as the inhabitants of Mondas, Earth’s twin planet; they were re-imagined in the new series as constructs from a parallel universe, created by mad scientist John Lumic.
In both iterations the Cybermen represented a way to prolong life through the use of cybernetic enhancements, gradually removing all trace of humanity or emotion. Although the Doctor has always managed to defeat these cold foes, their initial encounter led to his first regeneration from William Hartnell into Patrick Troughton at the end of The Tenth Planet – as well as the death of the Fifth Doctor’s companion, Adric, at the end of Earthshock.
To celebrate 50 years of the Cybermen, and to coincide with this year’s Doctor Who Comics Day, Titan launched the Supremacy of the Cybermen mini-series – bringing together the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors (along with their companions) to tackle this age-old foe. Over the past five months they have battled on various fronts, and it all comes to a head this month on Gallifrey.
We spoke with writers George Mann and Cavan Scott about what the Cybermen mean to them, and how this story came to be:
Chris Thompson – The Cybermen have appeared in various forms throughout the history of Doctor Who. Do you have a favourite incarnation of these iconic characters?
Cavan Scott – For me it’s a toss up between the Tomb of the Cybermen era Cybermen, with those blank emotionless masks, and the ‘80s variety. The latter were *my* Cybermen, even with all the fist-clenching and over-emotional cries of ‘excellent’. The Cybermen of Earthshock are just brilliant, with that glimpse of a once-human chin through the mask. Spooky.
George Mann – I think for me it’s that very first incarnation of the Cybermen, as we see them in The Tenth Planet. There’s something so truly tragic and terrifying about them. You can almost understand how they’ve ended up as they are, and the fact they’re still only one or two steps removed from their humanity makes them all the more horrific. Those voices, too – it sends a cold shiver down my spine every time!
CT – What makes the Cybermen such compelling villains for you?
CS – Because they could so easily be us. Walk down a road and see how many are staring at their mobile phone screens and have earphones shoved into their lug-holes. We have watches on our wrists that check our heartbeats and social networks that can broadcast our every thought to the entire world. We’ve never been so connected – or indeed addicted – to technology. Plus there are all the advances in prosthetics and plastic surgery. I read a while back about 3D printers that can produce replacement metal jaws for patients from CAT scans. Wonderful, of course, but what if we don’t stop? What if we keep upgrading ourselves until we’re ‘perfect’? Like all the best science-fiction, the Cybermen seem scarily inevitable in a lot of ways.
GM – I think Cav nails it here. That’s exactly it. The Cybermen are relatable, in that they’ve done what they’ve done to survive – at least at first. But the easy way in which we’re allowing technology to takeover our lives – there’s a risk we could become Cybermen of a different sort, if we keep going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole without considering how it’s impacting us as people. It’s an interesting dilemma – I’m as glued to my phone as anyone!
Continued belowCT – In Supremacy of the Cybermen, you’ve created your own fresh takes on them. Was it about creating the coolest mash-ups you could think of, or was there a deliberate logic behind them all?
CS – With the Cyber-Silurians there was definitely a logic to it. The Silurians must have been on Earth when Mondas broke orbit and began its fateful jaunt through space. We figured that the Mondasians would remember their cousins on their planet’s twin, and so decided to head back for a spot of upgrading. Plus the Silurian Arks we saw in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship seemed too good an opportunity to miss. What a great way to seed the universe with Cyber-warriors.
GM – Yeah, I think it was about looking at what the Cybermen would do if they had access to the planet’s history. Where would they focus their attentions? One of the really cool things we got to do, though, was bring in versions of Cybermen from concept art, and give the War Doctor and the Ninth Doctor their own specific variations of Cybermen, as well as having the Fourth Doctor face off against the Dark Dimension Cybermen. Those one-page ‘prequels’ were such good fun to do.
CT – What do Ivan Rodriguez & Walter Geovanni contribute to the book in terms of bringing those ideas to life? Their Cyber-Kings look incredible!
CS – You’ve got to love a Cyber-King. That was one of the first notes I jotted down when we were asked to write Supremacy – CYBER-MECH WARS! I’ve loved seeing how Ivan and Walter have interpreted the epic nature of what we were trying to do, Cyber-horror on a cosmic scale.
GM – Yeah, they’ve really brought the different types of Cybermen to life. The CyberKings are a particular highlight, but I also love how the Cyber-Silurians have turned out.
CT – How do you balance the varying levels of knowledge each Doctor has about the Cybermen? It would make sense that each successive regeneration has a clearer overall picture of their enemy.
CS – The interesting thing about Supremacy is that we were asked to do a multi-Doctor story where the Doctors never meet, so they don’t get to exchange notes. That was certainly handy!
GM – Exactly. We play with this idea quite a bit in the later issues, too – how does the Doctor’s memory work across regenerations? If something changes in the past, does his memory alter to fit? It’s been a really interesting aspect to explore… although I can’t give TOO much away yet!
CT – What prompted you to bring Rassilon into the mix? Aside from his role as one of The Doctor’s biggest foils, was there something that made him a perfect fit for the Cybermen?
CS – Rassilon was in the mix right from the beginning. In fact, the BBC asked for us to include him. He shares a lot of the Cybermen’s traits. With Rassilon, it’s his way or the intergalactic highway. He thinks he knows best for the universe and demands absolute loyalty. Although with Rassilon, it’s less ‘you will be like us’, more ‘you will be like me!’
GM – I think it’s allowed us to explore the Time Lords in a way that we couldn’t have without him; juxtaposing them against the Cybermen and highlighting the similarities, as well as the key differences. It was also fun to create a story that very clearly takes place after the finale of the last season, moving things on a little, and looking at the Doctor and Rassilon’s turbulent relationship. We see a bit more of that in issue #5, too.
CT – Given that we now inhabit so many virtual spaces, how do you reflect the horror and terror of that through the Cybermen when it’s become our reality?
GM – I think for me it comes back to trying to make the Cybermen relatable again. Instead of using them as stomping silver monsters, you give them a purpose, a motivation. In Supremacy, they actually think they’re saving everyone from the collapse of the universe. It’s a similar imperative to the reason they altered themselves in the first instance – they’re trying to survive. What would you do if you thought you had a means to save everybody?
Continued below
CT – Finally, and most importantly, have you forgiven the Cybermen for killing Adric in Earthshock?
CS – Yup, I’m cool with that. Now, if it had been Tegan, that would be a different matter.
GM – I guess it’s time to let bygones be bygones…
Elsewhere in the Who-niverse.
The Third Doctor #3 – Paul Cornell says:
“In #3, we get deeper into the characters of the Third Doctor and Yates, and the Second Doctor goes to visit some friends. Alien invasions can be very distracting!”
The Ninth Doctor #7 – Cavan Scott says:
“It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for as the Ninth Doctor meets Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart. The city of Bristol is being torn apart by terrifying daikaiju and Harry Sullivan’s UNIT team finds itself in deep water. There are giant monsters, ghostly apparitions and futuristic weapons, plus Rose begins to question how much the Doctor really cares about those caught in the crossfire.”
The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #16 – Nick Abadzis says:
“Showdown with Sutekh. Sutekh is dead – isn’t he? When the fourth Doctor met the godlike Osiran, it was one of the gravest threats the universe had ever faced – and on that occasion, Sutekh never even properly escaped the prison his brother Horus had condemned him to.
Now Sutekh is returned, arisen, and this time he is free. He is more than a match for the Doctor. Indeed, he is more than a match for the Eater of Worlds, the Death Lords, the King Nocturne, the Dragon Lords and any other so-called gods, demons and would-be rulers of this dimension.
We know the tenth Doctor’s story and how it ends – or we think we do. But the cost of winning against Sutekh’s total, all-consuming evil might be far higher than even time itself has yet registered…”
The Eleventh Doctor: Year Two #15 – Rob Williams says:
“#15 is – for the second season of the 11th Doctor – where all roads have been leading. It’s co-written by Si Spurrier and I, and it’s the culmination of this rather ambitious novelistic approach to the second season. We decided going in to forego the ‘monster of the week’ approach and that all 15 issues of this season would be one story – all ‘A’ plot. So, The Doctor was accused of war crimes he couldn’t remember committing back in the Time War, and this whole story has been him trying to discover the truth. And here’s where he gets his answers. Abslom Daak, River Song, The War Doctor, The Master have all been part of the tale along the way, along with Alice Obiefune, of course. It’s been a mammoth undertaking, this season, and Simon Fraser sends us off in style with some truly unnerving visuals. Did The Doctor do it and can he prevent new Dalek gods rising?”
The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #12 – Robbie Morrison says:
“The Doctor and Julie d’Aubigny, his new sword-swinging, opera-singing companion, encounter a cadre of gargoyles in the Library of Secrets – and they don’t want him to read them a bedtime story!’”
Finding Your Local Comic Shop.
How can you get your hands on these delightful gems? Well, your friendly local comic shop can help. Most of them do mail order, and you can find your closest store with the Comic Shop Locator.
Looking Further Afield.
Doctor Who Magazine :
I’ve been a long-time fan (and subscriber) of Panini’s Doctor Who Magazine, so their recent Cybermen-themed special was a real treat! It featured four different covers by artist Gavin Rymill, which connected to form one large piece (as seen here).
I sat down with editor Tom Spilsbury to find out why he thinks the Cybermen (and the magazine) continue to be so popular:
Chris Thompson – Aside from the fact they’re ‘built to last’, what do you think makes the Cybermen such enduring characters in the Doctor Who mythos?
Tom Spilsbury – The Cybermen, like all the best monsters, work well because the idea is so good. It turns the idea of a monster on its head. They’re not here to destroy us – they want to help us. In their logical minds, why wouldn’t we all want to be the same as them? They’re better. The Cybermen are humans. When they returned to Doctor Who in 2006, modern-day terminology was used: the Cybermen were an upgrade. But that’s how they’ve always seen themselves. The next step up from humanity, with all our fallible weaknesses stripped away. But it’s also the design that’s so wonderful. Yes, the handlebars on the heads are probably as silly as the sink plungers on the Daleks, but they make the Cybermen unique and instantly recognisable. So much more than just another sci-fi robot.
Continued belowCT – Speaking of endurance, DWM is entering its 38th year of publishing – a feat that’s been recognised by Guinness World Records. What do you attribute its continued success to?
TS – Doctor Who Magazine is really not like any other licensed magazine, in my view. Over four decades, it’s genuinely changed and developed and become a truly separate entity from the TV show itself. That’s not only rare, it’s unique. And the thing that really helped it to become that was losing the TV show for the best part of 16 years. Steven Moffat said to me recently that Doctor Who Magazine is special because it has all the benefits of being ‘the in-house magazine’, as well as all the benefits of NOT being ‘the in-house magazine’. It’s allowed to be playfully critical, and funny – tweaking the nose of the show it loves, but always fondly, and always intelligently. It can do that because that’s exactly how Doctor Who fans feel about the show. Doctor Who fans are among the most loyal in the world, and DWM – when it’s doing it’s job right – is able to make its readers feel like they’re a member of the best, and most fun club in the world.
Big Finish Productions :
Our friends at Big Finish have delved deeper into the mythos with classic stories like Spare Parts and Return to Telos, as well as their own Cyberman series. Producer (and voice of the Cybermen) Nick Briggs agreed to share a little of his experience with these metallic menaces:
Chris Thompson – What is it that makes the Cybermen so frightening and compelling to you? Has that opinion informed the way you approach giving voice to them as characters?
Nicholas Briggs – What’s so frightening about the Cybermen is that they are devoid of all humanity. They walk, talk and seem to be alive — yet they are blank. Blank eyes, blank faces. They seem to be a kind of fiendishly intelligent, metallic zombie. But the way they think totally bypasses everything we hold dear — that is to say, human emotion and compassion. They just think their idea of life — cyber-converted life — is the best way, and they will implacably pursue that goal without any consideration for us. An absence of humanity in creatures that we know were once like us. This really comes home to me when I do the voices. I have to focus on this blank, emotionless determination inside them to create a voice that is both threatening and gives the right cues dramatically, to signal ‘they are bad’, but is also true to the idea of their having no emotions.
CT – In your Cybermen series, you explore questions of politics and power. What is it about these characters that lends itself to that kind of commentary and narrative?
NB – I think it’s because the Cybermen have the potential to apply logical solutions. So they can look at an organised human political system and see a way of how they can influence that, then slowly take over. They have no desire for glorious victory or destruction. To use the analogy of bringing down a building, the Cybermen wouldn’t necessarily blow it up or hit it with a wrecking ball, they would find the smallest structural weakness then remove that bit quietly and efficiently, then step back and watch the whole thing come crashing down. They are intelligent enough to understand how humans organise their power structures, which makes them intelligent enough to inveigle themselves into them to effect the destruction of human society from within, which is what they attempt in our Cyberman series. A Cyberman wouldn’t do anything that would cause unnecessary risk to itself or other Cybermen. That would be inefficient. Other alien foes might charge in, all guns blazing as a matter of course. I think the Cybermen would only do that if there were no other options. It’s all about logical considerations for the Cybermen.
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this look at the history of the Cybermen, and the ever-evolving place they inhabit in Doctor Who lore. Keep your eyes peeled for Supremacy of the Cybermen #5, and all our other exciting releases for November – and feel free to send us your comments and feedback @ComicsTitan on Twitter and Facebook.
