Cyborgs in fiction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of fictional cyborgs. (Discuss)

Cyborgs are a prominent staple in the science fiction genre. This article summarizes notable instances of cyborgs in fiction.

Contents 1 In written fiction 2 In comics and manga 3 In film 4 In television 5 In computer and video games 6 Music 7 Games & Toys 8 Other 9 See also

[edit] In written fiction

• The Tin Woodman from L. Frank Baum's Oz books (at least before he became entirely metal).
• Deirdre, a famous dancer who was burned nearly completely and whose brain was placed in a faceless but beautiful mechanical body, in C. L. Moore's short story of 1944, "No Woman Born". Collected in "The Best of C. L. Moore" in 1975
• Jonas the (star) sailor in Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun novels. His near light speed ship had been gone so long that on its return to Urth, there were no space port facilities any more, and it crashed. Other crew members patched him up from available parts. (However, he started out as fully robotic, and was repaired with human parts, rather than the more usual reverse).
• Molly Millions, Henry Dorsett Case, and Peter Riviera all have some sort of cybernetic augmentation in William Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy.^[1]
• Professor Jameson, a cyborg pulp hero by Neil R. Jones, and his allies and benefactors, the Zoromes.
• Marge Piercy's He, She and It presents a rather feminist view on the cyborg issue with Yod who, however, is provided with some male attributes.
• Anne McCaffrey wrote short stories and novels known as The Ship Series where otherwise crippled humans live on as the brains of starships and large space stations.
• The genetically engineered and prosthetics-ready warriors of the planet Sauron in the CoDominium series of short stories and novels initiated by Jerry Pournelle and also written by guest authors.
• In Martin Caidin's novel, Cyborg, a test pilot is rebuilt after a horrendous crash, given new "bionic" limbs, and becomes a superspy. Followed by several sequel novels and also adapted as the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.
• Angus Thermopylae, The Gap Cycle.
• Haberman and Scanners from Scanners Live in Vain by Cordwainer Smith.
• The Comprise, a computer-mediated hive mind which has taken over Earth, in the novel Vacuum Flowers by Michael Swanwick.
• Rat Things in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. They are attack-programmed guard dogs whose long hairless tails make them look less like dogs and more like rats. They are powered by nuclear engines that will fatally over-heat if they stop. Technology invented by Mr. Ng and, evidently, made exclusively for the defense of the franchise Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong.
• In William C. Dietz's Legion of the Damned the Legion is made up of a combination of humans and heavily armed cyborgs.
• Kage Baker has written a series of novels about The Company in which orphans from various eras (who fit certain physical requirements) are recruited by a time-traveling corporation, augmented and turned into immortal cyborgs, and trained to rescue valuable artifacts from history.

[edit] In comics and manga

• 8 Man, a manga and anime superhero created in 1963 by writer Kazumasa Hirai and artist Jiro Kuwata. He is considered Japan's earliest cyborg superhero, before even Kamen Rider (the same year, Shotaro Ishinomori created Cyborg 009), and was the inspiration for RoboCop.
• The Major in the Hellsing(manga) has recently been discovered to be a cyborg
• The characters Haine Rammsteiner in the manga Dogs and Dogs/ Bullets & Carnage was experimented on as a child, leaving him with augmented regenerative abilities as well as increased reflexes.^[2]
• Many of the members of Section 9 in the Ghost in the Shell universe, specifically the main characters Major Motoko Kusanagi and Batou, are cyborgs dependent on regular maintenance; there are several manga (or graphic novel) and artbooks set in the GitS universe, as well as two feature-length anime, three television series and three video games.
• Masamune Shirow's other major work, Appleseed also contains a multitude of cyborg characters, with one of the main characters, Briareos Hecatonchires, the mercenary Sokaku Tatara and his war buddies, and the Mumna Holy Republic diplomat Kainisu, from the fourth chapter, are just a few.
• Vash the Stampede from Trigun has a prosthetic left arm, which he acquired after his brother Millions Knives shot it off. The arm has an automatic weapon inside.
• Cyborg of the Teen Titans comic book series is a superhero with massive implants and prosthetics. He also appeared in the animated TV series. Not to be confused with Superman supervillain Cyborg Superman, a technopathic entity who prefers cybernetic forms, who is occasionally referred to as merely "The Cyborg."
• Many of the characters of Battle Angel Alita (also known in Japan as GUNNM) are cyborgs, including the lead, Alita (Gally, Yoko). Cyborgs are a major way of life in the GUNNM universe, with sports, such as Motorball (and crimes, such as spine-stealing), contributing to a culture of cyborgs.
• The Metabarons.
• Metallo
• In WE3, a group of animals are turned into sentient living weapons.
• Cyborg 009 features a group of humans unwillingly turned into cyborg weapons by a crime syndicate.
• The Reavers, a group of villains that regularly clashes with the X-Men. They are led by Donald Pierce.
• Deathlok, the Demolisher, a series of military cyborgs in Marvel Comics. The original Deathlok was a former soldier in a dystopian future.
• All members of The Authority have a networking implant that allows for radio-telepathy, head-mail and other communication functions.
• Android 17 and Android 18, along with Android 20 from the anime-manga series Dragon Ball Z. Despite their confusing English dub names, they are indeed cyborgs. In the original Japanese version, these three (along with the rest of Dr. Gero's artificial creations) are referred to as jinzouningen, which is a blanket term in Japanese science fiction applying to robots and androids, as well as cyborgs. Jinzouningen is usually translated by fans to "artificial human". Frieza is also a cyborg after his defeat on Namek and is saved and rebuilt by his Father King Cold.
• Franky (also known as Cutty Flam), of the manga One Piece by Eiichiro Oda, rebuilt most of his body with scrap metal after sustaining serious injuries. Giving him abilities ranging from (but not limited to) air cannons in his hands and rear end, guns in his wrists, and the ability to extend the front part of his lower body outward, making him look like a backwards centaur. However, as Franky did these adjustments to himself, only the front part of his body is cyborg. His backside (which he couldn't reach) is as vulnerable as any human back, rendering this his weak point. His cyborg abilities are powered by cola, stored in a refrigeration unit in Franky's stomach.
• Death's Head II, MINION, Marvel Comics
• Kroenen, from Hellboy
• Supremor, the Kree Supreme Intelligence, of Marvel Comics
• Spartan WildStorm Comics
• Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man injected himself with techno-organic virus "Extremis", which installed a computer interface into his nervous system and an Iron Man armor interface into his body. This allows him greater control of the armor. Stark can also remotely operate his armors (more than one Iron Man active at a time).
• Victor Mancha is an artificial life form with organic parts in Runaways.
• Cable, a mutant from the future in Marvel Comics. Roughly a third of his body is a "techno-organic" mesh.
• The Ultimate Marvel version of Deadpool is a cyborg.
• Bunnie Rabbot in the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning TV series and US comic series.
• Several characters in Spriggan such as the Trident Corporation's agents (except Iwao Akatsuki), including ex-Machiner's Platoon agent Ironarm, have prosthetic limbs. These give them an advantage in combat since the limbs are outfitted with offensive weapons.
• One group of major antagonists in the manga BLAME! are Silicon Creatures, humanoids of a silicon base that are similar to cyborgs.

[edit] In film

• Various characters in Star Wars saga, notably Darth Vader,General Grievous, Dengar and Lobot
• The Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Terminator model, portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger: assassins with robotic endoskeletons overlaid by living tissue.
• Dr. Julius No in the James Bond film Dr. No.
• The wives from the 2004 film version of The Stepford Wives. In the original book and film, they would be closer to androids or gynoids.
• Ria and various characters from Natural City.
• Del Spooner, from the movie I, Robot
• Various characters in The Matrix trilogy of movies
• Gigan from the Godzilla series
• Wang the Perverted from the film Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders (or as he's known for most of the film, "Evil Presence") was brought back from the dead with many cybernetic body parts including a hand that spontaneously flips the bird due to a malfunction
• Robocop
• Zigesfeld, a henchman from the film If Looks Could Kill
• Kiryu, aka Mechagodzilla 3
• Cyborg, a film featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme, tells the story of a post-apocalyptic Earth due to a nuclear disaster, and has a female cyborg as a central character. The sequel, Cyborg 2, stars Angelina Jolie as another cyborg.
• SkekTek the Skeksis scientist in The Dark Crystal
• Dr. Arliss Loveless from Wild Wild West is a steampunk cyborg
• John Silver in Disneys Treasure Planet is an alien cyborg. His robotic parts include an eye with enhanced vision, an arm with tools and weapons stored inside, a leg which stores a mini cannon, and a device where his ear should be. This character is based on Long John Silver from the book Treasure Island. The movie he is in is also based on the book

[edit] In television

• Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man. Originally based on Martin Caidin's novel, Cyborg. The series was very successful, spawning followups The Bionic Woman (Jaime Sommers), and Max, the bionic dog. Another version of the cyborg Jaime Sommers is featured in a remake series, Bionic Woman, broadcast in 2007.
• The Daleks, Cybermen and Toclafane from Doctor Who. NOTE: Daleks are a marginal case, in that the artificial portions are actually vehicles for small and physically degenerate beings.
• Inspector Gadget, who is a cyborg with various "gadgets" built into his anatomy, such as Binoculars, Umbrella, Copter, Cuffs and so on.
• The Borg from Star Trek, including Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager, a human who was assimilated into a drone and later severed from the collective.
• Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation, who was born blind and uses optical implants combined with a removable unit called a VISOR, to see. The VISOR was twice replaced temporarily with biological eyes and, in the films, permanently replaced with ocular implants.
• Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation, whose natural heart was irreparably damaged in a bar fight when he was younger and replaced with an artificial heart, which was later replaced twice due to defect or damage. However, the artificial heart is not a major part of his identity and is seldom mentioned, so that most viewers would not consider him a cyborg. He was also at one point briefly conscripted into the Borg (see above).
• A cyborg secret agent was featured in the "Fumble on the One" episode of The Misfits of Science.
• Adam in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who is part human, part demon and part robot.
• In Neon Genesis Evangelion the Evangelion mecha are not robots but clones of aliens outfitted with cybernetics to allow their human pilots (or a backup computer, as in the Mass Production Eva series) to control them.
• Edward Elric (anime series and manga Fullmetal Alchemist) has two prosthetic limbs - the right arm and the left leg - the technology used to create them is called automail. Frank Archer and Paninya also have automail parts.
• Similar to above mentioned Edward Elric, Folken Fanel from the anime series The Vision of Escaflowne has a prosthetic right arm based on an unnamed technology of the Zaibach Empire.
• Kidou Keiji Jiban, a metal hero show in Japan, was influenced by RoboCop. The main difference is that Naoto Tamura can transform between his detective identity and his Jiban/Perfect Jiban identity on his own.
• The Humanoid Cylons, from the series Battlestar Galactica. Their synthetic brains are nearly indistinguishable from humans, but can transmit their programs to new bodies. The Cylon Raider craft also have organic components.
• Spike Spiegel and Jet Black respectively bearing prosthetic eye and arm, from the Cowboy Bebop anime and manga series.
• Various characters from The King of Braves GaoGaiGar and The King of Braves GaoGaiGar FINAL
• Casshern (formerly known as Tetsuya Azuma) from the Shinzo Ningen Casshern 1973 anime series and the 2004 live action movie.
• Bionic Six.
• Technomages, from the Babylon 5 universe, employing a high degree of "organic technology"
• Alan Gabriel, The Big O.
• Mechanikat, a villain from Krypto the Superdog.
• Antoine, Suspected Cyborg of the Upright Citizens Brigade.
• Bunnie Rabbot, in the Sonic The Hedgehog SatAM TV series and US comic books.
• The Irkens from the Nicktoon Invader Zim.
• Simulants from Red Dwarf, as well as Kryten, whose brain is part-organic.
• "Riders" from the "Ishinomori era" of the Kamen Rider franchise.
• Taurus Bulba in the "Steerminator" episode of Darkwing Duck.
• In the cartoon series Biker Mice from Mars, Modo has a cybernetic arm, Throttle artificial eyes and Stoker a cybernetic tail, all the product of Doctor Karbunkle's experiments. One of the villains, 'Lectromag, was also a Cyborg.
• In the anime series Afro Samurai, Afro's childhood friend Jinno returns years after his "death" as Kuma, a cybernetic samurai with a teddy bear mask.
• Kondoru no Joe (Joe Asakura) in the anime series Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman, who is mortally wounded during the final battle of the first Gatchaman series and rescued by the mysterious Dr. Rafael, and returns to the team as a cyborg in the early episodes of Gatchaman II.
• In Smallville the character Victor Stone is incarnation of the comic book superhero Cyborg, appearing in two episodes.
• Technically, the entire Exofleet personnel in Exosquad were cyborgs, as special cybernetic implants were necessary to pilot combat E-frames. More extensive cybernetic enhancements were also seen in the series (e.g. James Burns in episode 2.18).
• In the Trapper Keeper episode of South Park a cyborg named Bill Cosby is sent back in time to prevent Cartman's Trapper Keeper from taking over the world.
• Cameron Phillips, a new-model of Terminator featured in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a 2008 television series, is explicitly referred to on screen several times as a cyborg, although it has not yet been made explicit that she has living tissue over her robotic endoskeletons like other Terminators.

[edit] In computer and video games

• SHODAN in System Shock builds a small army of cyborgs using human corpses.
• In the video game Quake III: Arena, many of the characters feature 'Cybronic Implants'.
• In Konami's Metal Gear series, 3 characters become a "cyborg ninja". In Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions the ninja is Gray Fox; in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty it is Olga Gurlukovich; and in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the ninja is Raiden.
• Coton from Mirage Media's Rise of the Robots and Rise 2: Resurrection (the only cyborg, while all other characters are robots).
• Cyber-Akuma, final boss from Capcom's Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (actually a variation on Akuma from the Street Fighter series).
• Dr. Brackman and the various Symbionts of the Cybran Nation and United Earth Federation from Supreme Commander.
• Radd (or Ladd) Spencer, lead character from Capcom's Bionic Commando.
• Brocken from ADK's World Heroes series.
• Dr. Crygor from the WarioWare, Inc. series of games.
• The Strogg, a race of cybernetic warriors from the first person shooters Quake II, Quake 4, and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Also, Matthew Kane, lead character from Quake 4.
• Cyrax, Sektor, and Smoke, fighters in the fighting video game series Mortal Kombat.
• Doctor N. Gin of the Crash Bandicoot video game series.
• In Final Fantasy Legend III characters could shift between organic, cybernetic and robotic states by eating meat or installing parts.
• The Combine from Half-Life 2 use transhuman cyborgs and biomechanical "synths" as their main weapons.
• Many characters from Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War, a few of whom are actually modified by nanotechnology.
• Master Chief and the Spartan supersoldiers from Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. [1]
• The player characters as well as some monsters in the System Shock games.
• Grobyc ("Cyborg" spelled backwards), a cybernetic assassin in Chrono Cross. He joins the player's party after being defeated.
• Emerl from Sonic Battle.
• MegaMan.EXE from the Megaman Battle Network series, also known as Hub Hikari (Hikari Saito), brother to Lan. He was born human, but converted into a NetNavi form by Yuiichiro Hikari, due to his human body having the incurable HBD ailment. This would make him a data-based cyborg, as opposed to the standard machine/organic composite.
• Dr. Capek from the Red Faction series.
• Ghor from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
• Weavel from Metroid Prime Hunters.
• The wizard of Wor, the villain from the arcade game of the same name.
• Xenoborg, from the Aliens vs. Predator series.
• Yoshimitsu from the Soul Calibur and Tekken series.
• Bryan Fury from the Tekken games.
• Robo-Manus, Battletoads video game series.
• Cyborg Molotov and Molly Ryan from Empire Earth.
• Ziggurat 8 from Xenosaga.
• A number of enemies in the Doom series feature both organic and cybernetic parts.
• Nod's Cyborg unit, from Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun.
• Xan Kriegor and a number of playable characters, from Unreal Tournament.
• Yuri, from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, appears to have been cybernetically enhanced to enhance his psychic skills.
• Cyber-Errol from Jak 3.
• The Protoss Dragoon from StarCraft.
• Flotsam the Clown, from the later parts of Dark Chronicle.
• Karan S'jet and the Bentusi from the Homeworld universe.
• Virtual Woman, from the various Virtual Woman releases
• Lieutenant Jean Razac, commanding officer of Roughnecks in CGI animated television series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles has a prosthetic arm. A few other minor characters are also shown with mechanized prosthetics.
• Godot in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations.

[edit] Music

• Psychotron, a part human, part computer killing machine from Megadeth's song Psychotron.
• The I-Robots from various songs by Coheed and Cambria

[edit] Games & Toys

• Several characters from the Masters of the universe original line, including Extendar, Man-E-Faces (uncertain), Mekaneck, Rio Blast, Rotar, Sy-Klone, Trap-Jaw, Tri-Klops, and Twistoid.
• The Phyrexians, from Magic: The Gathering.
• The Rifts role-playing game makes extensive use of cybernetics in many Occupational Character Classes. Cybernetics are divided into normal cybernetics, realistic-looking bio-systems, and deadly, combat-oriented bionics. It also organizes Cyborgs into two categories: Partial Conversion, where most of a person's limbs are all that are replaced, and Full Conversion, where the entire body, save for the brain, spinal cord, and a few other organs are replaced by bionics.
• Various individuals from the Warhammer 40,000 universe with bionic body parts, including 'servitors' as more extreme examples
• Almost every character in the Bionicle franchise by Lego
• Doctor Octopus from the Secret Wars toy line.

[edit] Other

• Metro Man, mascot for Metro North Railroad.
• Simmons 2.0 from the Machinima Red vs Blue.

[edit] See also

• Robots in literature
• List of fictional cyborgs