Cyberman

The **Cybermen** were a "race" of cybernetically augmented humanoids. They varied greatly in design between numerous different Cyber-subspecies, and originated independently through parallel evolution from various locations across time, space and universes, including Mondas, Telos, Planet 14, Marinus, and the Earths of N-Space.

Although almost all Cybermen lacked emotions, as they considered them to be a weakness and instead embraced pure logic, they were often born out of a human civilisation's, or an individual's, fear for survival, which was often inflicted by threats such as poverty or the degradation of a civilisation's world. Other times, the Cybermen were born out of an extreme desire for immortality.

Due to parallel evolution, there were numerous similarities and differences between groups of Cybermen; most lacked names or individuality beyond a rank, and all sought to fully conquer their respective universes to ensure their survival and "upgrade" all "compatible" life forms to ensure those beings survived as well. Some sought to conquer other universes as well, or even the entire multiverse. Unable to naturally breed themselves, the Cybermen most often attempted to achieve these goals via a process called cyber-conversion, the physical and mental re-engineering of organic lifeforms, often humans and humanoids with similar biologies, into Cybermen.

Throughout their collective history, the Cybermen established many Cyber-Empires and engaged in many different Cyber-Wars, often against humanity, which eventually led to the Cybermen being pushed to the edge of extinction. However, they always found ways to survive and rebuild, ultimately allowing the Cybermen to survive until the end of N-Space.

## Physical Characteristics

### General appearance

The Cyberman form was known as a Cyber-body. (PROSE: *Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet*) Though the Cybermen's designs varied greatly across time, space and universes, the many versions had several things in common. Nearly all were predominantly silver in colour, (TV: *The Tenth Planet* et al.) except for the Cyber-Scouts, who were completely black. (TV: *Attack of the Cybermen*)

Many Cybermen also exhibited exposed circuitry and tubing on a rubber or mylar-textured outer skin. (TV: *The Tenth Planet* et al.)

### Helmet

The head of a Cyberman was known as a Cyber-helmet, and was often characterised with a pair of side handles on the left and right-hand sides of the helmet, which connected together above the Cyberman's helmet. (TV: *The Moonbase* et al.) However, there were notable exceptions to this trait.

The CyberMondans possessed a third side handle connecting from the back of their heads. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*) By contrast, some Cyber-Controllers lacked side handles, instead possessing enlarged craniums. (TV: *The Tomb of the Cybermen*, *Attack of the Cybermen*, *Destiny*)

Some Cybermen also possessed weaponry within their Cyber-helmets. The Cyber-helmets of CyberNomads contained four gun-barrels which fired quick shots. (TV: *Revenge of the Cybermen*)

### Other features

The CyberMondans of Mondas notably retained organic, human hands. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*)

Most other Cybermen were entirely covered by their metallic suits. (TV: *The Moonbase* et al.) Some partial conversions were known to exist that still held human features, among them Tobias Vaughn. (TV: *The Invasion*)

The Cybermen on the Moonbase and those released by Eric Klieg on Telos were slim and spoke in a monotone, buzzing voice, emphasising their lack of emotion. (TV: *The Moonbase*, *The Tomb of the Cybermen*)

The Cybermen who attempted to destroy Earth in 2526 had bulkier, more imposing forms and deeper voices. (TV: *Earthshock*) The Cybermen present during the Blitz retained this deeper voice, but had sleeker, more grotesque-looking forms. (TV: *Illegal Alien*)

Early Mondasian Cybermen had a quavering voice which put inflected syllables in a seemingly random, sing-song manner. Their suits were not entirely metallic, the face and hands being instead covered in a sort of hardened medical gauze. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*)

### Conversion

Cyber-conversion was the process by which compatible beings were physically and mentally altered into Cybermen. This process was necessary for the Cybermen to increase in number and was carried out in many locations. (TV: *Attack of the Cybermen*)

Partial conversions occurred. In a partial conversion, the subject took on several features of the Cybermen. For example, Tobias Vaughn's torso was immune to gunfire. (TV: *The Invasion*)

### Vulnerabilities

Different Cybermen had a variety of weaknesses.

The most notable was the element gold which, being non-corrosive, choked their respiratory systems, a property exploited by the glittergun used during the Cyber-Wars. (TV: *Revenge of the Cybermen*, *Earthshock*, *Silver Nemesis*) On occasion, the mere touch of gold was toxic to them. Gold coins, gold-tipped arrows, or gold particles could destroy (or, in the case of the particles, at *least* weaken) them. (TV: *Earthshock*, *Silver Nemesis*) Gold (and gold particles) also blocked their sensors and caused Cybermats to malfunction. (PROSE: *The Revenge of the Cybermen*)

Other fatal weaknesses of the Cybermen included the combination of solvents known as Polly Cocktail, (TV: *The Moonbase*) and excessive levels of radiation. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*)

Cybermen affected by the Cerebration Mentor, an emotion-enhancing device, went "mad". (TV: *The Invasion*)

Bullets were unable to damage Cybermen. Explosives and bazooka shells took them down easily. (TV: *The Invasion*, *Silver Nemesis*, *Destiny*) UNIT developed gold-tipped rounds to combat Cybermen. (TV: *Battlefield*) At close range, attacks with energy and laser weapons could kill Cybermen. (TV: *Earthshock*, *Destiny*)

Raston Warrior Robots counted Cybermen among the many beings they could kill. Although equipped only with javelins and blades, the technology of the robots allowed them to easily destroy several Cybermen. (TV: *The Five Doctors*)

## Technology

The Cybermen forces in 2526 used the Cyberlance, a powerful, hand-held cutting weapon. They also used the Cyberscope, a device that allowed Cyber commanders to view the battlefield remotely and access a computer database (containing, among other data, information on their race's encounters with the Doctor). (TV: *Earthshock*)

Cybermen in 1986 had a built-in distress signal in their heads that could be activated manually. (TV: *Attack of the Cybermen*)

While the Cybermen were capable of time travel, (TV: *Earthshock*, *Destiny*) it was still primitive, limited and even dangerous as late as the 30th century. (TV: *Illegal Alien*)

### Weaponry

Weapons used by the Cybermen were known as Cyber-weapons. (PROSE: *Doctor Who and the Cybermen*)

When they attacked Earth in 1986, Cybermen carried large, hand-held, energy weapons. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*)

On the Moon in 2070, Cybermen could produce arcs of electricity from their hands to stun, disable and kill. (TV: *The Tomb of the Cybermen*) They also possessed a cannon that could operate in the vacuum of space. The virus Neurotrope X was used by Cybermen to incapacitate humans. (TV: *The Moonbase*) Cybermats were sometimes used to spread this virus amongst a population. (TV: *Revenge of the Cybermen*)

In the 21st century, the Cybermen who attacked Space Station W3 had death rays built into their chest units. (TV: *The Wheel in Space*)

The Cybermen encountered by UNIT in the late 20th century displayed these same built-in death ray weapons. They also carried large rifles that emitted a flame for medium range combat on London's streets. They also possessed a megatron bomb that was capable of destroying all life on Earth. (TV: *The Invasion*)

The Cybermen who attacked the Nerva Beacon had their weapons built into their helmets. They were activated with the touch of a hand. (TV: *Revenge of the Cybermen*) Cybermen in 2526, the invaders of Voga and the Cybermen removed by a Time Scoop to the Death Zone had portable cyber-bombs capable of devastating a planet. (TV: *Earthshock*, *Revenge of the Cybermen*, *The Five Doctors*)

In time, the Cybermen came to favour the hand-held cyber-gun over the built-in weapon. (TV: *The Invasion* onwards)

## Culture

Cybermen made survival their central objective. Since they could not reproduce naturally, they needed to create new members of their population through cyber-conversion. At times they tended to focus on converting the population of Earth, at other times on simply destroying it. (TV: *The Tomb of the Cybermen*)

Cybermen tended toward covert activity, scheming and using human or other agents, cybermats or androids to act as their proxies until they deemed it necessary to appear themselves. (TV: *Revenge of the Cybermen*, *Earthshock*, *Attack of the Cybermen*, *Illegal Alien*)

### Individuality and emotion

Throughout their history, Cybermen, for the most part, lacked individuality or names. This was a result of their emotions being removed during the conversion process. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*, et al.)

A few Cybermen had individual names such as Krang. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*)

Immobile computer-like Cyber-Planners would sometimes make decisions and long-term plans. (TV: *The Wheel in Space*, *The Invasion*) The Cyber-Controllers, who possessed enlarged craniums, had the position of highest possible authority. (TV: *The Tomb of the Cybermen*, *Attack of the Cybermen*, *Destiny*)

Cybermen no longer possessed emotions and viewed them as a weakness. However, several of the Cyber-Leaders, as well as certain Cyber-Controllers, displayed characteristics that could be linked to emotions such as anger, amusement, and, at times, smugness. (TV: *Earthshock*, *Attack of the Cybermen*, *Silver Nemesis*, *Destiny*)

## History

### Points of origin

#### On Mondas

##### Mondas and Marinus

Various sources indicated that Mondas was the birthplace of the Cybermen. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*, *Attack of the Cybermen*; COMIC: *The World Shapers*)

According to one account, the Cybermen were originally an aquatic species known as the Voord, who were fused with bodysuits which telepathically linked the entire race. Through experimentation with a worldshaper, they quick-evolved their bodysuits into full-fledged Cybersuits. With this change, they renamed their home planet Marinus to Mondas. (COMIC: *The World Shapers*)

### On Telos

According to some accounts, the inhabitants of Telos sought to achieve immortality with cybernetics. They gradually replaced parts of their bodies with machinery until they reached the point where they replaced their brains with computers. These first Cybermen became aware of their lack of love and emotion and found a new goal: power. (PROSE: *Doctor Who and the Cybermen*, *Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen*, *The Revenge of the Cybermen*, *Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet*) Something forced many of these Cybermen to leave Telos and take refuge on Mondas, (PROSE: *Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet*) leaving some Cybermen behind in cyber-tombs.

However, another account held the cyber-tombs were only established sometime after the destruction of Mondas, with the Cybermen fleeing to Telos to serve as their new base of operations after losing Mondas. (TV: *Attack of the Cybermen*)

### Spreading into the Universe

#### Spread

While one group of Cybermen stayed on Mondas, another group, the Faction, left Mondas and headed for Planet 14. These developed into groups without connection to one another. (TV: *Iceberg*)

### Activity on Earth

The Cybermen would record their first invasion of Earth as the one involving International Electromatics. (PROSE: *Iceberg*)

The humans on Mondas developed a drive propulsion system. This was placed in the planet's core to move the entire world. As the original Cybermen were limited in numbers and were continually being depleted, they decided to invade Earth. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*) Before Mondas' return to Earth, the Faction attempted a separate invasion of the planet which involved International Electromatics. (TV: *The Invasion*, PROSE: *Iceberg*)

#### International Electromatics

In the late 1970s; (TV: *The Web of Fear*, *The Invasion*) the Faction put into motion what would later be recorded as the first attempted Cyberman invasion of Earth. (PROSE: *Iceberg*)

After several years, (PROSE: *Prelude Iceberg*) the Cybermen had established a base on the dark side of Earth's Moon. The Cyber-Planner had contacted the industrialist Tobias Vaughn, the head of the International Electromatics corporation. Vaughn installed mind control circuits in his company's appliances, paving the way for an invasion. He also grafted cybernetic arms onto several of his workers.

Vaughn had a Cyber-Planner installed in his office. The plot was uncovered by the newly formed UNIT and the Second Doctor, who helped avert the invasion on the Earth and at the Cyberman base on the Moon. The planet was put under cybercontrol by radio waves from IE products, but it was destroyed in a chain reaction started by missiles fired by UNIT. (TV: *The Invasion*)

Some Cybermen survived the destruction of the invasion fleet. Many were propelled into deep space. One Cybership crashed in Antarctica, where it remained frozen and hidden for two decades. (TV: *Iceberg*)

#### Mondas destroyed

The return of Mondas to Earth's solar system saw the second recorded attempted Cybermen invasion of Earth. (PROSE: *Iceberg*) This occurred in December 1986, (TV: *The Tenth Planet*, PROSE: *Iceberg*) the 1990s, (PROSE: *The Power of the Daleks*) or 2000. (PROSE: *Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet*, *Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen*)

The First Doctor met an advance force of Mondans near Snowcap Base in Antarctica. This force was to prepare for Mondas' return to the Sol system and to drain Earth's energy for the Cybermen. Mondas absorbed too much energy and was destroyed, as were the Cybermen on Earth who depended on Mondas for power. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*)

The Cyberships leftover from the invasion were examined and exploited by humans, allowing them to make advances in space travel, leading Sarah Jane Smith to describe the return of Mondas as "both the greatest disaster and most astonishing blessing ever to have happened to the human race." (PROSE: *The Power of the Daleks*)

#### Aftermath of early invasions

Another group of Cyberman attempted to establish a homeplanet away from Earth on Telos. (TV: *The Tomb of the Cybermen*, *Attack of the Cybermen*, et al.)

In December 2006, exactly 20 years after Mondas returned to Earth, Cybermen who had been in hiding in the South Pole since the International Electromatics invasion attempted to sabotage the FLIPback project and take over the Earth in the ensuing chaos. With the help of Ruby Duvall, the Ninth Doctor and Lena Haigh prevented the Cybermen from carrying out their plan and destroyed them. (TV: *Iceberg*)

By 2070, the Cybermen were thought extinct by Earth. At this time the Earth's weather was controlled by the Gravitron installation in the Moonbase. The Faction planned to use the Gravitron to disrupt Earth's weather and destroy all life on the planet. (TV: *The Moonbase*)

The Second Doctor was "known and recorded as an enemy of the Cybermen". In this year, Space Station W3 was the site of a takeover by the Faction, but were defeated by the Second Doctor. (TV: *The Wheel in Space*)

### First Cyber-Wars

The Cybermen eventually managed to destroy most of Voga. (TV: *Revenge of the Cybermen*)

In the 25th century, the Cybermen had all but passed into legend. The Brotherhood of Logicians scoured the universe for Cybermen, believing that they would be receptive to the Brotherhood's cause. (TV: *The Tomb of the Cybermen*)

### Cybermen on Telos

The Brotherhood of Logicians financed Parry's expedition to find the cyber-tombs on Telos. Eric Klieg and Kaftan accompanied the expedition so that they could negotiate an alliance with the Cybermen locked within the tombs. With the help of the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon, and Victoria Waterfield, the expedition found and opened the cyber-tomb. After the hibernating Cybermen were reawakened, the expedition realised the true danger of the cyborgs and the tombs were quickly resealed, despite the Cyber-Controller fighting to reopen the doors, (TV: *The Tomb of the Cybermen*) being damaged in the process. (TV: *Attack of the Cybermen*)

A later Cyber-Leader affirmed the Second Doctor was the one responsible for re-sealing the Cyber-tombs. (TV: *Earthshock*)

After a timeship landed on Telos, the Cybermen, led by the Cyber-Controller, captured it and formulated a plot to save Mondas by diverting Halley's Comet to Earth to destroy it in 1985. A party of Cybermen travelled back in time and established a command centre hidden in the London sewers from which they could affect the comet. When the Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown visited London in 1985, the Cybermen captured the Doctor's TARDIS and forced him to take them back to Telos. Bringing the Doctor and Peri to Telos led to several losses for the Cybermen, including the Cryons gaining help in their revolution against the Cybermen. (TV: *Attack of the Cybermen*) The Cyber-Controller was believed to be dead, but had in fact narrowly survived, with the humiliations suffered on Telos helping to prompt him to try and destroy the Doctor's timeline. (TV: *Destiny*)

### Great Cyber War

At one point the Great Cyber War was waged between humanity and the Cybermen. During this war, the glittergun was invented, and the Cybermen were also involved with the Vogan War. During these conflicts, (TV: *Revenge of the Cybermen*) The Cybermen attempted to blow up the planet Voga to stop the production of glitterguns, in one of their last acts in the war. (PROSE: *The Revenge of the Cybermen*)

One group relentlessly hounded the remaining fragment of Voga. "Centuries" after the Cyber-Wars, the ship pursuing Voga finally caught up to the planet, now in orbit around Jupiter, and infiltrated the nearby *Nerva Beacon* to launch their plans. The Cybermen’s attempt to destroy it was defeated and their craft and themselves destroyed due to the involvement of the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, and Harry Sullivan. (TV: *Revenge of the Cybermen*)

The Cybermen involved in the pursuit of Voga had records of the Doctor and regarded him as "a traditional enemy" of their race from "hundreds of Earth years" prior, but they failed to realise the Fourth Doctor was this foe; as noted by the Cyber-Leader, the Cybermen believed the Doctor to be a human and therefore assumed he had died off centuries prior. (PROSE: *The Revenge of the Cybermen*) Later Cybermen, the CyberNeomorphs, had come to realise the Doctor was a Time Lord and thus realised the Fourth Doctor had been an incarnation of their old foe. (TV: *Earthshock*)

### Great Cyber Wars of the 26th Century

The 26th century saw a re-ignition of conflict between Cybermen and humanity. In 2526, several planets began to unite to oppose the Cybermen in a war. A force of CyberNeomorphs under a Cyber-Leader tried to devastate Earth on the eve of their conference to finalise the alliance, intending to detonate a Cyberbomb and convert the survivors. After the Fifth Doctor thwarted this plan, they hoped to crash a freighter into Earth and cause an ecological disaster. Although the effort failed, the freighter was catapulted back in time to become the "meteor" that wiped out the dinosaurs, (TV: *Earthshock*) and the rest of the Cyber-Fleet retreated. (TV: *Time-Flight*)

### Cyber-Wars survivors

In the 30th century, a group of Cybermen of the "Late" CyberFaction, with limited time travel capabilities, attempted to invade Earth in 1940. They were stopped by the Eighth Doctor and Guinevere. (TV: *Illegal Alien*)

#### Presence in the late 20th Century

In November 1988, a scouting party was sent to Earth in search of a statue made of validium called Nemesis, a Time Lord weapon. The Cybermen met Lady Peinforte, who brought many of their number down with gold-tipped arrows. The Leader apparently forced the Seventh Doctor to surrender the Nemesis. Their force was destroyed by Nemesis as the Doctor had instructed. (TV: *Silver Nemesis*)

In 1993, a squadron of Cybermen based themselves at Old Marley, intending to destroy the Doctor's timeline due to his involvement in their presence during the Blitz (TV: *Illegal Alien*), on Voga, (TV: *Revenge of the Cybermen*) and on Telos (TV: *The Tomb of the Cybermen, Attack of the Cybermen*). They attacked the First Doctor during his visit to Marinus and the Second Doctor on Space Station W3, (PROSE: *Destiny*) as well as the Eighth Doctor, who sent his companion Bernice Summerfield back in time to save his Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh selves. Their attempt to destroy the Doctor backfired when all the incarnations of the Doctor that Benny had saved rendezvoused and turned their time capsules into time bombs, sending the Cybermen into the Time Vortex, (TV: *Destiny*) and erasing any attempt to destroy the Doctor's timeline from existence. (PROSE: *Destiny*)

### Undated events

A Cyberman was among the life-forms exhibited in Vorg's Miniscope. (TV: *Carnival of Monsters*)

Borusa, having found the Game of Rassilon, transported a squadron of CyberNeomorphs to the Death Zone to threaten and harass the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. These Cybermen were destroyed by a similarly transported Raston Warrior Robot. A second squadron under a Cyber-Leader allied with the Master, intending to stage an invasion of Gallifrey, but he betrayed and destroyed them. A third squadron attempted to destroy the Fifth Doctor's TARDIS, but were foiled when the TARDIS dematerialised at the last second. (TV: *The Five Doctors*)

## References

An image of a Cyberman was one of the fears pulled from the Doctor's mind when he faced the Keller Machine. (TV: *The Mind of Evil*)

## Behind the Scenes

### Development

The idea for the Cybermen came from Kit Pedler's interest in new medical advances and his fears of where they might lead. Early concepts of the Cyberman design emphasised the "man" part of the name, but the proposed design would have cost too much money. Indeed, the televised version of *The Tenth Planet* featured much more human-like Cybermen with human hands.

The second appearance of the Cybermen in *The Moonbase* (pre-planned by the production team even before *The Tenth Planet* had aired), re-designed them radically, making them much more robotic in appearance. The Cybermen went through another major re-design in *The Invasion*, yet another in *Earthshock*, and yet another in *Illegal Alien*. Minor re-designs would take place as well.

### The shifting origins of the Cybermen

#### Telos and Mondas

Much as *The Daleks* killed off what appeared to be the entire Dalek population at its climax, *The Tenth Planet* ended with the apparent destruction of the newly-introduced Cybermen and their planet, Mondas. When the Second Doctor, Ben and Polly met Cybermen again in *The Moonbase*, they had a noticeably different appearance. A baffled Ben protested that "the Cybermen were all killed when Mondas blew up, weren't they?", to which the Doctor merely replied "Or so we thought". The story did not weigh in further on how these Cybermen related to the very different cyborgs seen in *The Tenth Planet*.

*The Tomb of the Cybermen*, the third televised Cyberman story, featured Cybermen identical to those of *The Moonbase* and made no mention of Mondas and its destruction. The Cybermen's homeworld was rechristened "Telos" and was now presented as still in existence long after the 20th century. Subsequent Target novelisations of Cybermen stories unfailingly gave Telos as the homeworld of the Cybermen. *Doctor Who and the Cybermen*, the novelisation of *The Moonbase*, included lines suggesting that Mondas had merely been a colony of the Telosian Cybermen.

The matter was confused in 1975 by *Revenge of the Cybermen*, which referred to Mondas once again as the Cybermen's original homeworld while having the band of Cybermen seen in the story also acknowledge the existence of Telos as a planet under their control. This reversal of what had become the accepted explanation for *Tomb of the Cybermen*'s retcon was carried over in 1983 with *Attack of the Cybermen*, which unambiguously presented Telos as a foreign world which the Mondasian Cybermen had colonised following the loss of their original homeworld — an egregious contradiction, indeed an almost complete reversal, of the narrative of events presented by *Doctor Who and the Cybermen*. The reference book *Doctor Who: Cybermen*, by David Banks, featured a similar theory of Cyber-history.

### Information from invalid sources

The non-narrative based work *Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary* revealed much more:

* The Cybermen are powered by thermionic generators, their brain was kept in a patented protein solution at 6 °C, and their armour made from a very, very durable manganese-steel alloy.
* The points of weakness on Cybermen were the ankle joint and the exposed coolant lines on the inner (right) side of their left knee.
* Their fingertips incorporate touch sensitive pads and their voice-box was located in their metal mouth (that doesn't open, obviously, only lights up blue when they talk).
* The coolant lines were Kevlar-lined and were bullet-resistant.
* The particle-beam gun technology is capable of being handheld with an outsized grip (because Cybermen are so big) or being incorporated into their forearm.

## Appearances

### Season 4

* *The Tenth Planet*
* *The Moonbase*

### Season 5

* *The Tomb of the Cybermen*
* *The Wheel in Space*

### Season 6

* *The Invasion*
* *The War Games* (brief cameo)