C is for Cybermen

OK, this is one of those posts that could get out of hand.  So please press play above and enjoy the musical accompaniment  ::smiles::

The Cybermen are Doctor Who icons, being the second most popular alien race ever to grace the Who Universe, and even that may be debatable these days. Though the Daleks will always be known as the jump start to the series. The Cybermen give them a run for their money.

So what are the Cybermen?

Well, originally they were like us. Flesh and blood. Human, or humanoid at any rate.  They were a race from the planet Mondas, a planet of very harsh living conditions.  Instead of evolving, this race began deteriorating. Their best minds thought of a solution, and that was to replace dying parts with plastic and metal, to replace withering organs with machines. (Scarily enough, much like we do) 

These mechanized beings rebuilt themselves again and again to the point where the "human" was lost and all that was left was an emotionless pitiless being. One that decided that now that it had cured all the ills and pains of the flesh, everyone deserved and would embrace this upgrade. Thus was born one of the cruelest monsters of the Who Universe. Robots born of flesh with a non-stop mission to convert the masses.

We are used to the new Cybermen, metallic, unstoppable robots. Even for much of the classic series they were very robotic in look and nature.  But, the original Cybermen were very different altogether. In my opinion they resemble futuristic zombies.  In the original Cybermen from the last 1st Doctor story, The Tenth Planet, their hands are bare, yellow necrotic flesh not gauntlet-like gloves. Also the eye holes were not screened over, you actually saw the dead human but inhuman eyes burning out of those holes....

 Amazingly, the first glimpse we get of this race, they actually pilot their home planet to Earth to drain it dry of energy and resources.  Making them a chilling and memorable entry into the long list of Doctor Who baddies.  From here, they only evolve.  Unlike most DW alien races, the Cybermen seem to change every time we see them.  Upgrading themselves to become more efficient killers.

In the Big Finish line of Doctor Who audios, a man who continually blows away Whovians (mostly with his fantastic work on the planet and history of Galiifrey), Marc Platt wrote the story Spare Parts. This story brings the 5th Doctor to the planet Mondas at the onset of Cyber creation.  The story gives a remarkable and in-depth review of the events that led to the birth of these monstrous creatures.  As noted in the illustration below, take note at the left of how much the originals looked like zombies:

Some people believe that Mondas was originally Marinus (from the 1st Doctor story The Keys of Marinus) and that the humanoids there under the machine law of their Conscience machine eventually were caught up in the downward spiral of total mechanization. Their planet was a hodge podge of disastrous climes: brutal winters, nasty jungles, acid seas. Those that had resisted the machine law and wished to control it only were bereft of its influence temporarily. The militant and resistant Voord even bares some uncanny similarities in appearance to a Cyberman:

Another theory are that they evolved from Silurians (the lizard race that ruled Earth before man) who had perfected space travel and colonized Mondas/Marinus (or whatever). A few versions of the Cybermen had a round hole aperture at their forehead, some of which were weaponized. A similarity to the third eye of the Silurian, which also had destructive capabilities.

Whatever you believe, the Cybermen have become such icons, that the idea of them have been copied and improvised to create other races in other series. The most notable and most similar being the Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Though their appearance and attack modes are different, their litany is just the same. The parallels are obvious.

Also, talented fans often create their renditions of what Cybermen could look like, a worthwhile pursuit in a race that changes so often from story to story.

 

The Cybermen are one of few races who have traversed across all forms of Doctor Who fiction, including the comic books.

 

Their impact at the death of the first Doctor rang out, and sealed their longevity through the years of the shows success. They have brought about such destructive events as draining off the Earth's energy, altering the course of Halley's comet in an attempt to rewrite history, keeping a glacier full of frozen reusable human parts, causing the death of one of the Doctor's companions (which very rarely happens) and in their latest plot trying to assimilate the Doctor himself!  

Here they are!  The very latest version of this menace, which I am sure will return again.....