John Lumic John Lumic was a business tycoon . He was CEO , director and co - founder of Cybus Industries and the creator of the Cybermen and High Content Metal . Born in Great Britain ( which he called " the homeland " ) , he advanced the entire planet through such inventions as the EarPod . Biography . Creating the Cybermen . Though he publicly denied rumours of ill health , Lumic suffered from an incurable life threatening disease that made him so frail he became wheelchair - bound . Despite this , Lumic was always meticulously presented . He devoted all of his resources to finding a way to extend his own lifespan . To this end , he used Cybus Industries ' front organisation , International Electromatics , to abduct homeless people for test subjects . They were transported to Battersea Power Station , Lumic ' s factory in London , where they were upgraded into Cybermen . John took strict measures to keep the project secret , even killing Kendrick who threatened to blow the whistle to Geneva . Hoping to gain government approval for his work , John unveiled the Cyberman model to the President of Great Britain . To Lumic ' s dismay , the President rejected the project . Viewing the President ' s decision as a death sentence , John set in motion a plan to overthrow the government . He mailed a pair of EarPod s to the wife of one of his employees , Pete Tyler , ostensibly as a birthday present . In reality , the EarPods scanned Jackie Tyler ' s brain so John could find the security arrangements and passwords for that night . Knowing the President would be among those in attendance at Jackie ' s party , John dispatched a horde of Cybermen to kill him ( along with any other potential dissidents ) . ( TV : " Rise of the Cybermen " ) Once his life - support system was damaged by Mr Crane , John realised that he would soon die and pleaded with his Cybermen to help him . The Cybermen reasoned that keeping him alive would be redundant , and against his protests , forcibly upgraded him into their new master : the Cyber - Controller . The Cyber - Controller . This Cyber - Controller was similar to his subordinate Cybermen , except his brain was visible and his eyes glowed with blue light . He remained seated in a chair made from titanium alloy , connected by tubing , though he did have full mobility as long as he disconnected the tubing . His brain housed in a metallic body , Lumic announced that his Cybermen would take control of London before overthrowing the world . Soon afterwards , the Battersea factory was destroyed from the Cybermen exploding due to their emotional inhibitors getting deactivated . This was delaying the Cyberman invasion . Death . The upgraded Lumic angrily tried to stop the Doctor and his friends from escaping in a zeppelin . Before Lumic could reach them , however , Pete Tyler used the sonic screwdriver to cut the rope ladder suspending John above his factory . He promptly fell into the burning wreckage below . ( TV : " The Age of Steel " ) Legacy . Despite Lumic ' s death , the Cybermen lived on across the world . The Preachers devoted themselves to dealing with them . The Cybermen crossed through the Void into the Earth of N - Space . Their invasion force of five million Cybermen was defeated there . ( TV : " Doomsday " ) A remnant group was also defeated by the Tenth Doctor , seemingly ending the Cybermen . ( TV : " The Next Doctor " ) They somehow lived on however , and ventured into space . ( TV : " The Pandorica Opens " ) Personality . As a human . Lumic was a sadistic man ; he watched in amusement when a Cyberman killed Kendrick , as per his orders . He thought it was wrong to use the word " working " when referring to a machine . Being proud of creating a new form of life , Lumic didn ' t want them to be known as machines . To the public , Lumic was described as sharp , but to others , insane : his research on immortality had taken its toll , slowly turning him into a megalomaniac . Despite thinking that the Ultimate Upgrade would ensure global immortality , to political figures it was seen as both obscene and unethical , which no government would approve of . Lumic tried any way possible of getting his own way whilst being one step ahead in case he couldn ' t ; he wasn ' t granted permission to embark cyber - converting Britain , but nonetheless had Crane , his deputy and right - hand man , capture homeless people and have them turned into Cybermen . In the end , his own insanity came full - circle when he had to undergo Cyber - conversion . Even the Doctor noted that Lumic ' s genius would be lost along with his humanity . ( TV : " Rise of the Cybermen " ) As the Cyber - Controller . Curiously , Lumic appeared to have retained several of his worst personality traits even following his upgrade into a Cyberman . His arrogance and megalomania were ever present , if not amplified . He proclaimed the Cybermen as a species of their own and was certain nothing could stop them from taking over the world . Also , he displayed rage and anger , speaking often with a raised voice and even screaming in rage once his plans were thwarted . Abilities . Following his conversion into a Cyberman , Lumic gained the increased strength and bullet - proof durability granted by the armored Cyber - suit . He also presumably possessed the standard weaponry all Cybermen models , namely the Electro attack and the Cyber wrist blaster , though he never got the opportunity to use either . Behind the Scenes . According to " " , the " human " John Lumic was both portrayed and voiced by Roger - Lloyd Pack . The " Cyber - Controller " John Lumic was portrayed by Paul Kasey , but retained the same voice actor as his human counterpart .