WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Doom Patrol episode 2, “Donkey Patrol”.
The origin of Cyborg (Joivan Wade) in the new Doom Patrol series is drastically different than what many comic book readers are familiar with. The cybernetic superhero is one of DC Comics’ most prolific characters, having starred in multiple movies and animated series. Yet his backstory in DC Universe’s new live-action Doom Patrol show is vastly different, which isn’t too surprising since Cyborg himself was never on the Doom Patrol team in the first place, at least in the comics.
Victor Stone first appeared in DC Comics Presents #26, but would not be given a full origin story until New Teen Titans #7. It was here that we learned that young Victor was a star athlete, much to the disappointment of his scientist parents, who had hoped he would follow in their footsteps. Despite their conducting a number of experiments to enhance Victor’s intelligence as an infant, he only truly felt alive outside the lab and rejected his parent’s efforts to choose his destiny for him.
Cyborg’s Comic Book Origin
Tragedy struck when Victor’s mother, Dr. Elinore Stone, successfully opened a portal to another dimension only for a strange creature to attack her and a newly arrived Victor. Elinore was struck dead and Victor fatally wounded before his father, Dr. Silas Stone, was able to close the portal. With no time to lose, and his own lab full of experimental prosthetics he was meant to be testing for STAR Labs, Silas performed a series of revolutionary surgeries to save his son’s life, thus transforming him into Cyborg. This drove a wedge between the two of them, as Victor saw himself as a monster afterward.
Victor’s origins were changed considerably in 2011, when DC Comics reset their universe with the New 52 reality. Here, Dr. Elinore Stone died several years before Victor Stone became Cyborg, causing her husband to throw himself into his work while leaving Victor to care for himself. Victor’s transformation into a half-man, half-machine hybrid was now facilitated by several pieces of alien technology (including a New Gods’ Mother Box) rather than advanced human science. This version of Cyborg’s origin went on to inspire the character’s history in the animated movie Justice League: War, the 2017 live-action Justice League movie, and the recent Young Justice: Outsiders animated series.
Cyborg’s Origin In Doom Patrol
Cyborg’s origin in Doom Patrol harken back to his classic comic book origin, but with a substantial twist. While undergoing a psychic attack in episode 2, “Donkey Patrol”, Victor is thrown back to the night of the accident that saw him fatally injured and his mother killed. The exact details are left to the viewer’s imagination, but the explosion occurred at the Stone family home and Victor came to blame himself for his mother’s death, as she died next to him on their front lawn. Her memory spurred him into trying to save people as Cyborg, much as Uncle Ben’s example inspired Peter Parker to be a hero as Spider-Man.
Dr. Silas Stone is also a changed character, being more involved in his son’s life as Cyborg and protective of his son’s career as a superhero to the point of acting like a cliche stage parent. It remains to be seen what other changes may have been made to Victor Stone’s background in the reality of Doom Patrol. Fans will just have to stay tuned to DC Universe to find out.
