Vibe (comics)

Vibe (real name Paco Ramone or Francisco "Cisco" Ramon) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

Publication history

Vibe first appearance was in Justice League of America Annual #2 (October 1984),^[1] and he was created by Gerry Conway and Chuck Patton.^[2]

Fictional character biography

Paco Ramone or Cisco Ramon began his career as Vibe shortly after Aquaman disbanded the original Justice League. When young Cisco heard that a new Justice League was forming in his own hometown of Detroit, he decided to give up his position as the leader of a local street gang, Los Lobos, to join.^[1] What made Ramon a candidate was his metahuman ability to emit powerful vibratory shock waves.

Vibe's presence on the team caused Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter to harbor some strong doubts about the new JLA, particularly after he got the League involved in a rumble with a rival gang.^[3] Vibe soon proved his mettle during the League's battles against Cadre,^[4] Anton Allegro^[5] and Amazo.^[6] He stayed with the League through the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, when his powers played a vital role in defeating Despero.^[7]

During Darkseid's assault on Earth during the Legends mini-series, the Justice League of America was disbanded and Paco left his JLA comrades to seek the familiar solace of the streets. Vibe was attacked by one of Professor Ivo's androids, and became the first Justice League member to be killed in the line of duty.^[8] The Martian Manhunter brought Vibe's body back to the League's mountain sanctuary, where Vibe was laid to rest in a cryogenic chamber. Paco's dead form has twice been resurrected by evil-doers.^[9][10]

One of Vibe's brothers, Armando Ramon, developed a similar set of vibratory powers.

In the Trinity maxi-series, reality is altered, and a living Cisco is shown as a member of The League, an underground version of the Justice League.^[11] Soon after Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman return, his head is disintegrated by an energy blast, killing him again.

In a Justice League of America tie-in to the "Blackest Night" storyline, Vibe was reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps, rising from his coffin in the Hall of Justice.^[12] Alongside the Black Lantern Steel, Vibe attacked his former teammates, Gypsy and Vixen, until Doctor Light destroyed him.^[13]

The New 52

In DC's Free Comic Book Day 2012 sample during The New 52, a gatefold revealed various characters who will make an appearance in Justice League over the coming year, one of which is Vibe. Geoff Johns revealed that Vibe's return would be explored in greater detail in the third story arc of Justice League.^[14] On August 26, 2012, DC announced a new Justice League of America title which would feature Vibe.^[15] On November 5, 2012, DC announced that Vibe would star in his own ongoing monthly title.^[16] It was written by Andrew Kreisberg and drawn by Pete Woods and debuted in February 2013.^[17] In new continuity, Vibe's powers derive from being "caught in the event horizon of a Boom Tube", in which "interdimensional forces rewrote his DNA". Justice League of America's Vibe lasted for ten issues, with the final issue released on December 18, 2013.^[18]

Another of Vibe's brothers, Dante Ramon, is seen in The New 52.

Powers and abilities

Vibe's powers revolve around vibration, frequency and resonance; Vibe's powers enabled him to create shock waves of considerable strength that could shatter concrete or steel. His powers can affect the physical world as seismic vibration (and even Terrakinesis), or the fabric of spacetime (interdimensional, transdimensional and extradimensional portals).

Vibe's reintroduction in 2013 redefined his powers as having to do with inter-dimensional physics. Vibe's waves have the power to disrupt the Speed Force, making him one of the few characters who poses a serious threat to the Flash.^[19] For this reason, he is recruited into the JLA by Steve Trevor, which exists to guard against the threat of the main Justice League going rogue.^[20]

Amanda Waller says that "Cisco Ramon might be one of the most powerful super-humans on the planet. He wields vibrational powers that could in theory shake the Earth apart. And he's the only person we know of who can find and track inter-dimensional breaches."^[21] He is also undetectable by security cameras.^[20]

In The Flash 2014 series, Vibe's powers first manifested as precognitive/retrocognitive visions brought-on by touch or by a strong-enough imprint, initially, before the developed further, such as focused waves of concussive, vibrational force, to inter/extradimensional breaches.

In addition, his agility is above average (and he was a super breakdancer). Under Batman's secret tutelage, Vibe became a more skilled combatant.

In other media

Television

• Vibe made several non-voiced appearances in Justice League Unlimited. This version was often seen next to the Detroit League's other members but did not get a major role in any episode. His most prominent action is in the episode "Flashpoint" helping rescue New Mexico's civilians in the aftermath of the Cadmus facility's destruction. He is also shown with fellow Detroit-era members Vixen, Steel and Gypsy in the final 'curtain call' of the series finale "Destroyer".
• Vibe made an appearance in his 2-part DC Nation cartoon short "Enter Extremo", voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.

Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon on the CW series The Flash.

• Carlos Valdes portrays Cisco Ramon / Vibe in The CW's Arrowverse. This version of the character is a mechanical engineering genius at S.T.A.R. Labs with known metahuman abilities to detect anomalies within reality and sonic manipulation.
  • Cisco appears as a recurring character in Arrow, where he helps Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance and the other members of Team Arrow to fight against the criminals, and also offering to them upgrades to their arsenals.
  • Cisco appears as a series regular in The Flash. He is a part of Team Flash alongside Caitlin Snow and Harrison Wells which support Barry Allen saving lives and fighting crime as the Flash. A talented engineer and creative mind, Cisco builds much of the Flash's equipment and is fond of assigning colorful nicknames to criminal metahumans. He has also has a rocky relationship with his brother Dante Ramon. In season one, he becomes good friends with Barry. Although Cisco initially appears unaffected by the particle accelerator blast which was behind the Flash's and many others' powers, he begins having visions of people in other timelines and thus is a metahuman; Cisco's ability is what helps the team to discover that Wells is actually the Reverse-Flash. In season two, Cisco takes the "Vibe" nickname after embracing his metahuman status. He eventually learns to call upon his powers to a greater degree while the team faces off against the Earth-2 supervillain Zoom, and discovers from his own Earth-2 doppelganger Reverb that he has the latent power to open dimensional portals and emit powerful destructive blasts. He develops these abilities himself thanks to Harry Wells but to a limited degree. In season three, his relationship with Barry is temporally strained after Barry's timeline changes lead to Dante's death. But after he changes history during the Dominators invasion, he realizes that Barry made the exact mistake and reconciles. He also grows more confident in using his powers offensively, to trigger visions, and to open up portals across Central City and to other worlds. As Vibe, he used his powers offensively against opponents (such as the Rival to help Barry, Gypsy to save H.R. Wells from execution, and finally Killer Frost due to Savitar).
  • Cisco appears in Legends of Tomorrow. He first made a cameo appearance in the episode "Fail-Safe", as part of Martin Stein's dream. Cisco officially debuted on the show in the episode "Invasion!".
  • Cisco appears in Supergirl. At the end of episode "Medusa",^[22] he and Barry arrive at Kara's apartment via interdimensional portal in order to recruit her to fight against the Dominators.

Film

• Vibe's Earth-3 counterpart Breakdance is shown in the movie Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. He is a member of the Crime Syndicate of America and first appears as part of Owlman's clean-up crew. Breakdance is shown with the other evil counterparts of the Detroit-era Justice League, including Fortuneteller and Vamp.

Video games

• Vibe appears as playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.

Web series

• Cisco Ramon appears in the animated web series Vixen, voiced by Carlos Valdes. In episode 3, Cisco has been running a modified facial recognition algorithm created by Felicity Smoak at S.T.A.R. Labs in an attempt to locate Meta-humans outside Central City. The software picks up Mari McCabe's encounter with the thugs from episode 1, and Cisco alerts a distracted Barry Allen attempting to locate a missing USB drive containing crime scene statistics. Cisco gives Mari the name Vixen, and tells Barry that she's currently in Detroit before asking him to check out the situation.
• Cisco Ramon is the main character in the web series Chronicles of Cisco, reprised by Carlos Valdes, which details Cisco Ramon being alone at S.T.A.R. Labs at night, where he encounters an intruder, Peek-a-Boo.
• Vibe is one of the background students in the web series DC Super Hero Girls.

References

External links

• DCU Guide: Vibe (Cisco Ramone)
• DCU Guide: Hardline (Armando Ramone),