One Of Doctor Who’s Oldest Enemies Explained: Cybermen
Time to get your new silver body inhibitor chip and block those pesky emotions, we’re joining the Cybermen.
If you’re familiar with Doctor Who, there are a few repeat antagonists that you know. Of course there are the iconic Daleks, and everybody is still low-key afraid of statues thanks to the Weeping Angels. But right up there with the rest of the greats are the Cybermen. Are they hokey? Which Doctor Who monster isn’t?! We may not volunteer for an upgrade, but we love to hate them.
Cybermen
Cybermen are a race of space-faring cyborgs. They are known for converting other species into Cybermen- usually humans, but sometimes other, similar species, and often forcibly. New Cybermen are brought into their cyber ranks in part by removing their emotions and personalities as well as as replacing most of their organic material with robotic parts.
First appearing in the 1966 episode, The Tenth Planet, Cybermen have been part of Doctor Who almost since the beginning. And throughout the course of the series , Cybermen have been one of the most steadfast and consistent foes The Doctor has encountered. They have appeared in almost every medium that Doctor Who stories have been told in, and even showed up in the spin-off TV series, Torchwood.
“You will be deleted. Delete, delete delete, DELETE!”
– Cybermen, Rise of the Cybermen, 2006
Cybermen have gone through a few physical changes over the years. But they are known for their humanoid but robot-like appearance, and metallic or chrome bodies. Externally, Cybermen look entirely like robots, but in reality, they retain human braids sans most emotion.
READ MORE: Doctor Who’s Ultimate Enemy – Daleks Explained
Creation
The concept of cyborgs came up with the introduction of surgeries designed to replace injured body parts with machinery. People discussed the possibility of wiring nerve endings directly into machines and the science-fiction concept of what would happen if someone were to replace the majority or even all of their organic parts with prosthetic pieces. They were eventually known as cybernetic organisms, or cyborgs.
This exact thought process spawned a few cyborg beings throughout sci-fi history, including the Cybermen in the 1960s when Kit Pedler was hired to consult and write on Doctor Who. Pedler initially envisioned Cybermen as “space monks,” but was convinced to move away from that and Gerry Davis. Initially, Cybermen were a bit more human, even appearing with human hands and obviously human features under their masks in their first apperance in episode “The Tenth Planet.” But over time, just like the science fiction concept they were based on, they have become more and more robotic.
Abilities, Strengths, and Weaknesses
When Cybermen are made they are decked out with all sorts of high tech weaponry to make them effective members of the Cyber army from day one. Over the years we’ve seen large weapons mounted to their chests, electrical currents that discharged from their hands to stun targets, laser cannons, X-ray laser pistols, rifles, drones, and death rays. They have also had fictional weapons of mass destruction in their cobalt bombs. Sometimes Cybermen will use smaller cybernetic creatures called “cybermats.” These look like large, robotic silverfish who attack by feeding on brain waves and are defeated with electricity.
The biggest weakness of the Cybermen in their earliest day has been gold. Initially, it was said that due to its non-corrodible nature, gold chokes their respiratory systems. But in later seasons, it was described to work almost like an allergy.
Since the series revival they have had no such weakness.
Instead, Cybermen can be made venerable when shot with their own weapons, with electromagnetic pulses, very large explosions, or by Dalek weapons. EMPs have been shown to shut down their emotional inhibitor. Sometimes their armor is resistant to or even bulletproof, but in other cases we’ve seen that they can be penetrated by projectiles made of gold.
How Are Humans Turned into Cybermen?
Humans are generally made into Cybermen by putting their human brains into metallic Cyberman bodies with an artificially grown nervous system. In other instances, cyber components are directly grafted onto the organic victim. In Torchwood episode “Cyberwoman,” we see a partially converted woman without the full outer plating of a Cyberman, leaving parts of her flesh- and most notably her face- visible.
Are There Female Cybermen?
In Doctor Who episode “Age of Steel” Jackie becomes the first woman we see converted into a Cyberman. She doesn’t look or act any different than any other Cyberman aside from being physically female under the metallic exoskeleton.
In Torchwood episode “Cyberwoman” the partially finished female Cyberman does have visible metallic breasts, but this isn’t something that is seen often throughout the Doctor Who canon. In general, female Cybermen aren’t any different and aren’t referred to as Cyberwomen. But there are Women Cybermen.
Are Cybermen More Powerful than Daleks?
Daleks are generally physically more powerful than Cybermen and have a natural viciousness that not many can defeat. Some will claim that Daleks have worse strategy, but I don’t see it. In most instances they are show on screen to be more or less evenly matched and they give the Doctor about the same amount of trouble. Pitted against each other, I would almost always bet on the Daleks.
Why Do Cybermen Have No Emotions?
As part of the process to becoming a Cyberman, emotional inhibitor chips are installed into the victims’ brains. This stops their human consciousness from suffering and overwhelming emotions of processing fully what they have become. This also allows the Cybermen to act as cold, calculating cyborg soldiers.
Happy adventuring!
