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{{Infobox Species
:''This article is an overview of the concept of the Cyberman. You may be looking for [[Cyberman (disambiguation)|more specific versions]], including [[Cyberman (Mondas)|those from Mondas]] and [[Cyberman (Pete's World)|those from Pete's World]]''
|image = 41631814_cybermen3_416bbc.jpg
[[File:Cyber-compare2.jpg|thumb|Two types of Cyberman: [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Mondasian Cybermen]] and [[Cyberman (Pete's World)|Cybermen from Pete's World]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'', ''[[The Age of Steel]]'')]]
|name = Cyberman
'''Cybermen''' were a "race" of [[cyborg|cybernetically]] augmented [[humanoid]]. They varied greatly in design, with different factions throughout [[time]] and [[space]]. The two major groups, from which all other known versions derived, were the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Mondasian Cybermen]], which originated on the planet [[Mondas]] [[Earth]]'s [[twin planet]] in [[the Doctor]]'s [[Universe]] – and the [[Cyberman (Pete's World)|Cybermen]] created by [[Cybus Industries]], which originated on Earth in [[Pete's World|an alternate universe]].
|type = [[Human]]-derived [[cyborg]]
|aka = Human.2
|affiliation = [[Cybus Industries]], [[The Alliance (The Pandorica Opens)|The Alliance]]
|origin = [[Pete's World|Parallel Earth]]
|appearances = [[Cybermen (Pete's World) - List of Appearances|List of Appearances]]
|mentions = [[TV]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Greeks Bearing Gifts]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Mad Woman in the Attic]]''
|individuals = [[CyberKing]]<br />[[Lisa Hallett]]<br />[[Cyber-Control (Pete's World)]]<br />[[Cyber-Lord (The Next Doctor)|Cyber-Lord]]<br />[[Cyber-Leader (Pete's World)]]<br />[[John Lumic]]<br />[[Cybershade]]<br />[[Mercy Hartigan]]}}
:''For a general overview of Cyberman types, see [[Cyberman|here]]. For other uses of Cyberman, see [[Cyberman (disambiguation)|here]].''
One type of '''Cyberman''' originated in [[Pete's World|another universe]], where they were created by [[John Lumic]], the owner of [[Cybus Industries]]. His Cybermen believed that all people must be "upgraded" to Cyber-form, so that information would never be lost and that the humans' physical and emotional weaknesses would be abolished.


== Characteristics ==
Despite the different origins, there were similarities between both groups of Cybermen, and there were groups that shared the characteristics of both. For the most part, they lacked individuality or names. Cybermen had no emotions and viewed them as a weakness. They frequently attempted to physically and mentally re-engineer [[human]]s and other [[humanoid]]s into Cybermen, via a process called "[[cyber-conversion]]" or "[[upgrade|upgrading]]".
=== Conversion ===
Unlike the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cybermen]] of [[the Doctor|the Doctor's]] [[Normal Space|universe]], these Cybermen were created by taking the brains of humans and placing them in robotic bodies. These exo-structures were built from [[High Content Metal]] and were stauncher and more heavily built than the Cybermen of [[Mondas]]. The Mondas Cybermen's weakness for [[gold]] was not present in these alternate Cybermen, though the initial models had indeed suffered from heavy impairment when exposed to gold. This defect was purged from the finished model.{{source}}


[[Cyber-conversion]] involved painfully removing the [[brain]] of the subject and placing it within a suit of armour. The brain was preserved in a cradle of Cybus-copyrighted chemicals and welded to the exo-skeleton, to which cyber-kinetic impulses were bonded. The remaining human body was simply incinerated. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen]]'' / ''[[The Age of Steel]]'') Once complete, the newly developed Cyberman had a special implant placed within them. The implant prevented them from feeling their emotions, but, if the implants were disrupted, the Cybermen entered a traumatic state as they were overloaded by the pain of the conversion. This would make them die in agony or cause their heads to explode from the overload of emotions. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Age of Steel]]'')
== Cybermen of Mondas ==
{{Main|Cyberman (Mondas)}}
These Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of [[near-Human]]s who originated on [[Earth]]'s former twin planet, [[Mondas]]. Mondas drifted into the outer solar system. To survive, the natives of that world adapted by turning themselves into cyborgs. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'') Eventually, all of the Mondasians underwent cyber-conversion. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Spare Parts]]''). Many of them left Mondas and ultimately developed into separate groups without connection to one another.


In times of emergency, cyber-conversion consisted of only constructing a Cyber-suit around a living being with some internal modifications. ([[TV]]: ''[[Cyberwoman]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
[[File:Cybermen Silver Nemesis.jpg|thumb|left|Mondasian Cybermen on [[Earth]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silver Nemesis]]'')]]
Nearly all were silver save for one black variety (for stealth) surviving in the [[London sewers]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]''). They had exposed circuitry and tubing which may have contained hydraulic fluids for motion, covering a rubber or mylar-like outer skin. The [[Mondan]]s which the [[First Doctor]] met on the [[Snowcap]] base in [[December]] [[1986]] had undergone a less radical conversion and still retained biological hands; it is possible these Cybermen were prototypes. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'') They were similar in design to the earliest Mondans which the [[Fifth Doctor]] would later encounter on Mondas. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Spare Parts]]'') All other Cybermen were entirely covered by their metallic suits. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'' onwards)


=== Operation ===
These Cybermen had several major weaknesses. The most notable was the element [[gold]]. Gold, being non-corrosive, choked their respiratory systems. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'') 20th century guns barely fazed Cybermen, though explosives and bazooka shells could take them down. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'', ''[[Silver Nemesis]]'') [[UNIT]] would develop gold-tipped rounds for Cybermen. ([[TV]]: ''[[Battlefield]]'') In later centuries, the Cybermen would take hits from laser guns and energy weapons: at close range, this could destroy them. ([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock]]'')
The Cyber-suit was constructed from bulletproof steel. A chest plate with the Cybus Industries logo housed a "heart of steel", the function of which is unclear, and the emotional inhibitor chip. The brain, along with the skull, remained contained within the suit's head. Artificially grown nervous tissue was threaded throughout the body so the Cyberman responded like a fully biological organism.
[[File:Cyberface2.jpg|thumb|left|Inside the Cyberman's helmet. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')]]


Without a brain inserted, the Cyber-suit was a robot which apparently had sufficient processing capacity to pursue and attack a human target. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Age of Steel]]'') Unless programmed not to, a Cyberman head will seek out a compatible new head to assimilate into its body. Because the victim would obviously fight back, the heads were outfitted with traquilizer darts. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
== Cybermen designed by John Lumic ==
{{Main|Cyberman (Pete's World)}}
[[File:Cybermen_in_France.jpg|thumb|right|Pete's World Cybermen in [[France]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts]]'')]]
These Cybermen originated in [[Pete's World|another universe]], where they were created by [[John Lumic]], the owner of [[Cybus Industries]]. His Cybermen believed that all of humanity must be "upgraded" to cyber-form so that information would never be lost and that the humans' physical and emotional weaknesses were abolished.


Typically, Cybermen were led by a [[Cyber-Leader (Pete's World)|Cyber Leader]] during conversion missions. If the Cyber Leader was terminated then the Cybermen downloaded the shared files and nominated a new Cyber Leader. However, this would take time. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'')
[[Cyber-conversion]] usually involved removing the [[brain]] of the subject painfully and placing it within a suit of armour. Once complete, the new Cybermen had a special implant which prevented them from feeling emotions. If the implants were disrupted, the Cybermen entered into a traumatic state caused by the pain of the conversion. This inevitably resulted in an agonising death from the overload of emotions. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen]]'' / ''[[The Age of Steel]]'').


=== Weapons and technology ===
The cyber-suit was constructed from bulletproof steel. This exo-structure appeared thicker and heavier than that of the Cybermen of Mondas – though a comparison of the strengths of the two body types was never performed. A chest plate with the Cybus Industries logo housed a "heart of steel", the function of which is unclear, and the emotional inhibitor chip. The brain was contained within the head. Artificially grown nervous tissue was threaded throughout the body so the Cyberman responded like a fully biological organism. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Age of Steel]]'') Without a brain inserted, the cyber-suit was a robot. Even when disembodied, the various parts of the suit – arm, head and torso – had sufficient processing capacity to pursue and attack a human target. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
[[File:Cyber-vision.jpg|thumb|A Cyberman's vision through its eyepieces. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')]]


[[File:Cyberman arm blaster.jpg|thumb|left|A Cyberman [[Cyber Wrist Blaster|wrist blaster]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')]]
== Cybermen of Unknown Origin ==
Originally, their only weapons were their [[Electro Attack|electrified hands]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen]]'') but they later gained [[Cyber Wrist Blaster|a small wrist-mounted energy weapon]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts]]'' / ''[[Doomsday]]'') At some point the Cybermen gained the ability to fire tranquilliser darts from their mouths. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
[[File:Cybermen(BloodoftheCybermen).jpg|thumb|left|Cybermen found in ice ([[GAME]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]'')]]
While in the Arctic, the Doctor encountered Cybermen that greatly resembled the Cybus-made Cybermen, and were said to be brains in metal shells like the Cybus creations, but also had certain characteristics common to the Cybermen of Mondas. For instance, they used [[Cybermat]]s, they recognised the [[Eleventh Doctor]] as a [[Time Lord]], and they had advanced spacefaring capabilities.


The Cybermen were capable of wirelessly communicating with each other, and when a Cyber-Leader was killed, their files were transferred to an appointed Cyberman, who would subsequently be upgraded to a new Cyber-Leader. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'') They could wirelessly control electronics, such as John Lumic's wheelchair; this function was associated with a Cyberman bringing its closed fist to its chest. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Age of Steel]]'') They were also capable of using [[infostamp]]s, allowing them to communicate information to other Cybermen when they were low on power. They were also able to steal other technology from the [[Dalek]]s whilst inside [[the Void]], such as a [[Dimension Vault]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'')
This unnamed group of Cybermen was buried under the ice in the [[Arctic Circle]] and had been for tens of thousands of years after being hit by a temporal storm. An excavation began to awaken the army, commanded by a [[Cyber-Lord (Blood of the Cybermen)|Cyber-Lord]], releasing [[Cybermat]]s which in turn created [[Cyberslave]]s. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] arrived on [[4 May]] [[2010]] and stopped their awakening. He blew up their base and returned them to stasis. ([[GAME]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]'') The Doctor acquired a chest plate from one of these Cybermen and kept it in the TARDIS drawing room. ([[GAME]]: ''[[TARDIS (video game)|TARDIS]]'') The Doctor also kept the Cyberman head in the drawing room. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Gunpowder Plot]]'')
 
=== Voice ===
These Cybermen spoke in a electronic voice, far more emotionless and deeper than the Cybermen of the Doctor's universe. Because of their lack of emotions, the Cybermen used technical terms like "compatible" and their battle cry, "DELETE!". ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen]]'') The Cybermen were shown to misunderstand emotional terms. For example, the [[Cyber-Lord (The Next Doctor)|Cyber-Lord]] couldn't understand the word 'best' so [[Mercy Hartigan|Miss Hartigan]] had to say "I will operate at maximum efficiency". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'')
 
=== Hierarchy ===
* [[John Lumic|John Lumic/Cyber Controller]] - founder of [[Cybus Industries]] and creator of the Cybermen.
* [[CyberKing]] - pilot of dreadnought ship
* [[Cyber-Leader (Pete's World)|Cyber Leader]] - Cyber commander.
* [[Cyber-Lord (The Next Doctor)|Cyber Lord]] - Cyber commander, a form of Cyber Leader.
* Cyberman - standard unit.
* [[Cybershade]] - worker unit, made with brain of [[dog]] or [[cat]].
* [[Cyberdog]] - search and guard unit of a converted dog.
* [[Cybermat]] - small rodent creature, used to carry energy or convert humans into cyber slaves.
* [[Cyberdrone]] - partially converted human work unit.
* [[Cyberslave]] - humans converted through the Cyber mat's nano form.
* [[Lisa Hallett]] - a partially converted human who was sustained by a life support system under the torchwood  base in cardif.
* Controlled [[human]]s - humans controlled at the brain which are often only kept for the required purpose, then killed.
 
== History ==
==== [[Rise of the Cybermen|Creation]] & Expansion ====
The Cybermen were created in a [[Pete's World|parallel universe]] by [[John Lumic]], a terminally ill and insane genius. To find a way to survive, by [[2007]] he perfected a method to sustain the human brain indefinitely in a cradle of chemicals, bonding the synaptic impulses to a metal exoskeleton. Lumic began to trick and abduct [[homeless]] people and convert them into Cybermen. He assassinated the [[President of Great Britain|President]] of [[Great Britain]] after the President rejected his plans. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen]]'')
 
Using the [[EarPod]]s he designed and sold, Lumic took mental control of the people of [[London]], marching thousands to be cyber-converted. After his life-support systems were damaged by his assistant, [[Crane (Rise of the Cybermen)|Mr. Crane]], Lumic was converted into the Cyber-Controller. However, the [[Tenth Doctor]] and his companions, having accidentally landed on the parallel Earth, managed to foil his plans. They freed London from mental control and disabled the Cybermen's emotional inhibitors, causing them to go insane and in some cases explode. Lumic himself fell to his apparent death into the burning remains of his factory. A human resistance group, [[the Preachers]], then set about to clean up the remainder of Lumic's factories around the world. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Age of Steel]]'')
 
Following the destruction of the Cybus Factory and the Cyber Controller in [[Great Britain|Britain]], [[the Preachers]] moved around the rest of the [[Pete's World|world]] to carry out assaults on the rest of the Cybus Factories. One of their earliest victories came in [[Paris]], where a stolen Cybus [[airship]] under the command of [[Mickey Smith]] fought its way through the streets, saving civilians and destroying attacking Cybermen along the way with a new weapon attached to the ship. Once the airship reached the factory, it destroyed it using an [[EMP]]. After the Cyber threat in Paris was ended, Mickey sent a video message to those who were sent on the mission, congratulating and thanking them. ([[GAME]]: ''[[Save Paris]]'')
 
Eventually, the Preachers had Cyber resistance and bases set up all over the world, just as the Cybermen had factories. Soon they were ready to begin their assault on what remained of Lumic's legacy. The mission was commanded overall by [[Jake Simmonds]]. The Preachers managed to develop [[Firearm|firearms]] which were effective against the Cybermen and sent troops into other countries, where they recruited others to aid them in their cause. Battles ensued when a squad moved into Cyber territory but successful battles ultimately gained them control of countries where a Cyber Factory was located. From there, the Preachers would surround the factory while a single commando unit entered the factory and fought their way to the emotion inhibitor and taking it out, thus destroying the factory and all the Cyber units converted there.
 
However, the Cybermen also sought to do the same thing: expand, [[Cyber-conversion|"recruit"]], take over, and destroy the Preacher bases. The conflict was fought all over the planet. Ultimately though, the Preachers were victorious as they succeeded in sealing the Cybermen inside their factories. Jake congratulated the resistance, but it was known that the Cybermen were not completely defeated, they had only been delayed, as Jake seemed aware of when he gave his congratulations: "You did it! The Cybermen are sealed up in their factories. We're safe for now." ([[GAME]]: ''[[Cyber Assault]]'')
 
==== [[Battle of Canary Wharf|The Battle of Canary Wharf]] ====
Despite their defeat, at least five million Cybermen survived and were able to infiltrate [[Pete's World|their universe]]'s [[Torchwood Institute]]. They found a crack in the universe, caused by the passage of the [[Void Ship]]. The Cybermen were able to travel from their dimension into the Doctor's, and infiltrated the planet in the guise of benign ghosts of deceased humans. They established a base inside the [[Torchwood Tower]] at [[Canary Wharf]]. While there, they started making new Cybermen, using what materials they could find.
 
[[File:Cybermen_in_France.jpg|thumb|left|The Cybermen in France. ([[TV]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts]]'')]]
After two months (three years in parallel Earth time), the Cybermen suddenly appeared in their true form, occupying every landmass on the planet before breaking into houses and promising to upgrade all humans, commanded by the new Cyber-Leader. ([[TV]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts]]'') Simultaneously, the [[Cult of Skaro]] had exited the Void Ship with the [[Genesis Ark]]. The Cult, led by [[Dalek Sec]] communicated with the Cybermen via [[Dalek Thay]] and declared war, or in Dalek Sec's words, "pest control".
 
After a skirmish between humans, Cybermen and [[Dalek]]s, the Cult travelled to the main room in Torchwood's Canary Wharf, elevated outside above the roof, and opened the Genesis Ark, releasing millions of Daleks who, under Sec's command, started to "exterminate all life-forms below", killing human and Cyberman alike. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'') Towards the end of the Cybermen-Dalek battle, the Cybermen, desperate for more troops, began directly converting people rather than transplanting their brains into Cybershells. One victim of this process was [[Lisa Hallett]], girlfriend of [[Ianto Jones]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Cyberwoman]]'')
 
The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler opened [[the Void]] and anything contaminated with [[void stuff]] was pulled in. This included the Cybermen. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'')
 
However, this was not the last of the Cybermen. The Cybermen that were made on Earth, like Lisa Hallett, had never passed through the Void, therefore they were not sucked in. Ianto took Lisa away from the battle and hid her in the basement of [[Cardiff]]'s [[Torchwood Three]] facility, setting up a life-support system, planning to restore her humanity. He was unsuccessful. She killed Dr. [[Tanizaki]], fought with Torchwood staff and eventually transplanted her brain into the body of a pizza delivery girl. Lisa was finally killed by the Torchwood team. ([[TV]]: ''[[Cyberwoman]]'')
 
After the battle, two children, [[Harry (Going Off the Rails)|Harry]] and [[Sam (Going Off the Rails)|Sam]], were working on a model train set when they found stuff from Harry's dad's previous job. Inside the box was a Cyberman, in all its individual pieces. Not knowing what it was, Sam decided to put it back together so it could watch them play. Eventually, it awoke, threatening to upgrade both Harry and Sam. It forced Sam to help build a "Cyber-Conversion Unit" using the other left-over electronics from the Torchwood Tower in the box. They, however, managed to knock the Cyberman into the Cyber-Conversion unit, causing the latter two to be destroyed. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Going Off the Rails]]'')
 
Other humans, like Lisa Hallett, were converted during [[Battle of Canary Wharf|the battle]], but fully. These survivors stole teleportation technology from Torchwood Institute in order to gather technology to help them re-open the Void and free the trapped Cybermen. They did not know how to do this, however, and so they stole [[the Doctor's TARDIS]], trying to lure the [[Tenth Doctor]] to them for aid. Some Cybermen were destroyed by the army but the [[Cyber-Leader (Pete's World)|Cyber-Leader]] and a few others escaped to the [[Millennium Dome]] and kept the army out with a forcefield. The Doctor and [[Martha Jones|Martha]], however, having recovered the TARDIS, were able to enter. The Doctor was able to trick the Cybermen, allowing them to link up their equipment with the TARDIS and giving them instructions. However, the Cybermen were instead sent back to the time of the [[dinosaur]]s where they were attacked and killed by a ''[[Tyrannosaurus rex]]''. The Cyber-Leader was destroyed after Martha damaged the forcefield and the Doctor used an electrical cord from it to destroy the leader. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Made of Steel]]'')
 
==== [[2009 Dalek invasion of Earth|Escaping the Void]] ====
 
Due to the Daleks' damaging the barriers between realities by using the [[Reality bomb]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End]]''), a small amount of Cybermen were able to escape the Void, assisted by technology stolen from the Void-trapped Daleks while the rest of the Cybermen, along with the Daleks trapped in the Void, perished. Landing accidentally in London, in the year [[1851]], these Cybermen, under the leadership of a [[Cyber-Lord (The Next Doctor)|Cyber-Lord]], made an alliance with the human [[Mercy Hartigan|Miss Hartigan]], created a minion race known as [[Cybershade]]s and began construction of a dreadnought robot called the [[CyberKing]] with which they planned to conquer the Earth. They also came across [[Jackson Lake]] and his family, who in his fugue state absorbed knowledge of [[the Doctor]] from an [[infostamp]]. Lake and his new companion tried to defeat them, but were unsuccessful until the real, Tenth Doctor arrived. When Miss Hartigan was converted into the CyberKing and the ship became mobile, the Doctor showed Hartigan what she had done and in her anguish she destroyed herself and the Cybermen, with the CyberKing sent to be disintegrated in the Time Vortex before it fell on London. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'') This event was then erased from history by the [[Time Field]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Flesh and Stone]]''), resulting in no one but the Doctor remembering it.
 
An army of Cybermen were located in [[Ican Temples]]. ([http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/VG VG]: ''[http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Mazes_of_Time The Mazes of Time]'')
 
Another army of Cybermen invaded medieval England, they began converting the locals by creating large statues of themselves to make the locals gather to see them. When the Doctor and [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Amy_Pond Amy Pond] arrived, they activated the Cybermen's power systems and used electrical currents to disable the Cybermen. ([http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/VG VG]: ''[http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Mazes_of_Time The Mazes of Time]'')
 
Other groups of Cybermen apparently managed to escape the Void, but into a different point in time and space. Eventually these Cybermen would become a space-faring race. One group, during what appeared to be an early period for them in space-travel, possibly around the [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/26th_century 26th century], were attracted towards an artefact they could not identify, which was in fact a Dalek Time Axis. As their technology was incapatible with [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Time_travel time travel], their ship was destroyed. The Cybermen escaped and took over the ship, the ''SS Lucy Grey''. The [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Eleventh_Doctor Eleventh Doctor] and [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Amy_Pond Amy] were also attracted to the ''SS Lucy Grey'' by the singal from the Time Axis. The Doctor was able to overload the ship's systems destroy the Cybermen before the Daleks arrived. ([http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/VG VG]: [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Return_to_Earth ''Return to Earth''])
 
The Doctor later encountered these Cybermen on [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Telos Telos], where the earlier arrival of [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Billy_Jones Billy Jones] had caused the "advanced guard" to awake from the cyber-tombs early to defend the others. The Cybermen tried to convert Billy, but he was saved by the Doctor before they could do so. ([http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/VG VG]: ''[http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Mazes_of_Time The Mazes of Time]'')
 
The Cybermen were among the spiecies that made up the [[the Alliance (The Pandorica Opens)|the Alliance]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'', [[REF]]: ''[[The Brilliant Book 2012]]'') However, the Alliance was never formed after the [[Big Bang Two]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang]]'')
 
The [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Lurman Lurman] [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Vorgenson Vorgenson] used his machine, the Minimiser, to capture several Cybermen to be part of his travelling show dedicated to the [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Eleventh_Doctor Eleventh Doctor]. The Cybermen were one of many many mind-controlled versions of his recently encountered enemies. It was revealed that the New Paradigm Daleks had planted the idea in his head to attract the [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Eleventh_Doctor Eleventh Doctor] to the show with his monsters, and capture him in the Minimiser. This plan worked, although Vorgenson learned the truth. The audience managed to save the Doctor and helped him to release the Cybermen from the Minimiser to destroy the Daleks. ([http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/SP SP]: ''[http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Who:_The_Monsters_Are_Coming! The Monsters Are Coming!]'')
[[File:Cybermen and Borg.jpg|thumb|right|The Cybermen with [[the Borg]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation²]]'')]]
The Cybermen entered into an alliance with another [[cyborg|cybernetic]] species, [[the Borg]], due to their identical goals of assimilating other species. On [[stardate]] 45635.2 ([[2368]]), a joint Borg/Cyberman assault force attacked the [[United Federation of Planets|Federation]] planet [[Delta IV]] and quickly overran it. This attack made the Cybermen known to the Federation. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation²]]'')
 
==== Cybermen on [[Centuria]] ====
[[File:BITCS11.jpg|thumb|left|The Cybermen on Centuria. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Time of the Cybermen]]'')]]
 
During the [[41st century]] an interplanetary info-thief stole Cyberman blueprints from the [[Torchwood Archive]] and used them to build a new Cyber army on [[Centuria]] with the intent of auctioning them of as hi-tech soldiers. However they turned on him and made him a half-converted slave. They started to kidnap hundreds of tourists and convert them. However, the Doctor discovered this while on Centuria for a holiday and the beach he was on was attacked. He and the other beachgoers were thrown into a van. [[Jayne Kadett]], who was tracking down interplanetary Info Theft when the Cybermen caught her, revealed to the Doctor what had happened. The Doctor and Jayne managed to escape the Cybermen and blow the restraint circuits; the Cybermen factory ([[Factory Zero One]]) was destroyed. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Power of the Cybermen]]'')
 
The Doctor and Kadett followed the Cyberman's signal, taking a robot-run airship across the now-deserted [[continent]] of [[Azlon]] on the planet Centuria. Before arriving at the airbus terminal (a Cyber-conversion factory), the conductor/law enforcer became influenced by the Cybermen's hypnotic signal, which was being used to subjugate the arriving humans. The Doctor, Kadett and a reprogrammed robot conductor pretended to be hypnotised and follow the other arrivals. Seizing the right moment, the Doctor disrupted the hypnotic signal and the conductor robot attacked the Cybermen. A stray shot from the conductor ruptured the fuel banks, causing a huge explosion which killed most of the newly converted Cyber-drones (basic work units) as their humanity started to become more dominant. As the Doctor and Kadett fled the explosion, they found a bit of a map in a Cyberman's hand. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Drones of Doom]]'')
 
Using the TARDIS, the Doctor and Kadett followed the Cybermen's map to Centuria's arctic zone where the Cybermen planned to ship upgraded human drones. [[Homaj]], a half human, half Cyber drone, escaped the Cybermen who forced him and others to mine Hargstones. A giant purple [[Ice Snake]] attacked, but Cybermen with [[Cyberdog]]s deleted it. Homaj ran off into the frozen wasteland but the Doctor and Kadett were captured and taken to a huge mine below the ice. Inside the mine, the Doctor created a distraction while Kadett stole some explosives. The distraction caused a Cyberman to split one of the cave walls, disturbing a nest of Ice Snakes which attacked them. Escaping the mine, the Doctor and Kadett saw the Cybership has already departed with its cargo. Homaj waited for them and informed them he had intercepted a message saying that the cargo was going to Centuria Central. He then took the explosives from Kadett and headed back to the mine. In an act of self-sacrifice, he permanently sealed it. The Doctor and Kadett left in the Tardis in pursuit of the Cybership. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Enemy Mine]]'')
 
The TARDIS landed in Centuria Central in a temporal stasis field. Kadett was caught in the frozen moment but the Doctor, being a Time Lord, could resist the field. Cybermen in a patrol aircar spotted him moving around and pursued. The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to bring the aircar crashing down, drawing the attention of other Cybermen, who arrived to salvage parts and take them back to base. The Doctor smuggled himself into the base with the salvage. The base was the Triplanetary base which the Doctor suspected had been robbed of its Hargstone reserves to enable the Cybermen to maintain a stasis machine. The Doctor learned from the Cybermen that they had built the stasis machine from Torchwood files and used the device to subdue opposition. Choosing the most secure place for the machine, the Doctor escaped and headed for the bank's vault, but it was made of titanium and was protected by laser-proof glass and destructor rays. When the Doctor couldn't get in he used the sonic screwdriver to turn the destructor rays inwards, destroying the stasis machine. The Cybermen had a mental link with the machine that enables them to move around inside the stasis field, so when the machine was destroyed the temporal feedback overloaded their circuits. However, a Cyber-helmet in the shadows glowed red, suggesting that the Cybermen presence on Centuria wasn't completely destroyed. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Time of the Cybermen]]'')
 
=== Alternative Timelines ===
* During the war between the Cybermen and [[the Preachers]], the Cybermen recruited a special unit to become the [[Cyber-Leader (Pete's World)|Cyber-Leader]] to command them after the death of the Cyber Controller. The Cyber-Leader, with the help of an advisor Cyberman, coordinated attacks against Preacher territory, sending in Cyber units to battle them for control and eventually infiltrating their bases and destroying their transmittors. Soon the Cybermen were victorious, after which the Cyber-Leader was seen as obsolete and was deleted. ([[GAME]]:'' [[Cyber Assault]]'')
* During the [[Battle of Canary Wharf]], a squad of Cybermen arrived off the [[London]] underground and fought their way through the Torchwood building, fighting Torchwood guards, scientists and defences along the way. They acquired stronger weaponry than that of their own for the final battle between the [[Dalek]]s. In the end, the Cybermen were victorious in destroying [[Dalek Sec]] and brought about the extinction of the Daleks. However, it is unknown if the [[Tenth Doctor]] still opened [[the Void]] and sucked the Cybermen back in or not. ([[GAME]]: ''[[Daleks v Cybermen]]'')
 
== Other Information ==
* The [[Tenth Doctor]] kept one of the [[Cybus Industries|Cybus]] logos from a Cyberman chest plate in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Chelsea 426]]'')
* The [[Cybermen (Mondas)|Mondasian Cybermen]] who were part of the Cyber Legions resembled the Cybus variants, but lacked the 'C' on their logo. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'', ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
 
== Behind the scenes ==
According to [[Tardis:Valid sources|non-narrative]] information in [[DWBIT 17|''DWBIT'' 17]] and the ''[[DWBIT Dalek vs Cybermen Special]]'', during the [[Battle of Canary Wharf]], the weaponry of the Cybermen was mostly ineffective to [[Dalek]] casing, but there were some Dalek casualties as the Cybermen were able to tear the domes of some Daleks right off, some instances as part of an ambush.


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Revision as of 17:24, 8 November 2012

This article is an overview of the concept of the Cyberman. You may be looking for more specific versions, including those from Mondas and those from Pete's World

Cybermen were a "race" of cybernetically augmented humanoid. They varied greatly in design, with different factions throughout time and space. The two major groups, from which all other known versions derived, were the Mondasian Cybermen, which originated on the planet MondasEarth's twin planet in the Doctor's Universe – and the Cybermen created by Cybus Industries, which originated on Earth in an alternate universe.

Despite the different origins, there were similarities between both groups of Cybermen, and there were groups that shared the characteristics of both. For the most part, they lacked individuality or names. Cybermen had no emotions and viewed them as a weakness. They frequently attempted to physically and mentally re-engineer humans and other humanoids into Cybermen, via a process called "cyber-conversion" or "upgrading".

Cybermen of Mondas

Main article: Cyberman (Mondas)

These Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of near-Humans who originated on Earth's former twin planet, Mondas. Mondas drifted into the outer solar system. To survive, the natives of that world adapted by turning themselves into cyborgs. (TV: The Tenth Planet) Eventually, all of the Mondasians underwent cyber-conversion. (AUDIO: Spare Parts). Many of them left Mondas and ultimately developed into separate groups without connection to one another.

Mondasian Cybermen on Earth. (TV: Silver Nemesis)

Nearly all were silver save for one black variety (for stealth) surviving in the London sewers (TV: Attack of the Cybermen). They had exposed circuitry and tubing which may have contained hydraulic fluids for motion, covering a rubber or mylar-like outer skin. The Mondans which the First Doctor met on the Snowcap base in December 1986 had undergone a less radical conversion and still retained biological hands; it is possible these Cybermen were prototypes. (TV: The Tenth Planet) They were similar in design to the earliest Mondans which the Fifth Doctor would later encounter on Mondas. (AUDIO: Spare Parts) All other Cybermen were entirely covered by their metallic suits. (TV: The Moonbase onwards)

These Cybermen had several major weaknesses. The most notable was the element gold. Gold, being non-corrosive, choked their respiratory systems. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen) 20th century guns barely fazed Cybermen, though explosives and bazooka shells could take them down. (TV: The Invasion, Silver Nemesis) UNIT would develop gold-tipped rounds for Cybermen. (TV: Battlefield) In later centuries, the Cybermen would take hits from laser guns and energy weapons: at close range, this could destroy them. (TV: Earthshock)

Cybermen designed by John Lumic

Main article: Cyberman (Pete's World)
Pete's World Cybermen in France. (TV: Army of Ghosts)

These Cybermen originated in another universe, where they were created by John Lumic, the owner of Cybus Industries. His Cybermen believed that all of humanity must be "upgraded" to cyber-form so that information would never be lost and that the humans' physical and emotional weaknesses were abolished.

Cyber-conversion usually involved removing the brain of the subject painfully and placing it within a suit of armour. Once complete, the new Cybermen had a special implant which prevented them from feeling emotions. If the implants were disrupted, the Cybermen entered into a traumatic state caused by the pain of the conversion. This inevitably resulted in an agonising death from the overload of emotions. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel).

The cyber-suit was constructed from bulletproof steel. This exo-structure appeared thicker and heavier than that of the Cybermen of Mondas – though a comparison of the strengths of the two body types was never performed. A chest plate with the Cybus Industries logo housed a "heart of steel", the function of which is unclear, and the emotional inhibitor chip. The brain was contained within the head. Artificially grown nervous tissue was threaded throughout the body so the Cyberman responded like a fully biological organism. (TV: The Age of Steel) Without a brain inserted, the cyber-suit was a robot. Even when disembodied, the various parts of the suit – arm, head and torso – had sufficient processing capacity to pursue and attack a human target. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

Cybermen of Unknown Origin

Cybermen found in ice (GAME: Blood of the Cybermen)

While in the Arctic, the Doctor encountered Cybermen that greatly resembled the Cybus-made Cybermen, and were said to be brains in metal shells like the Cybus creations, but also had certain characteristics common to the Cybermen of Mondas. For instance, they used Cybermats, they recognised the Eleventh Doctor as a Time Lord, and they had advanced spacefaring capabilities.

This unnamed group of Cybermen was buried under the ice in the Arctic Circle and had been for tens of thousands of years after being hit by a temporal storm. An excavation began to awaken the army, commanded by a Cyber-Lord, releasing Cybermats which in turn created Cyberslaves. The Eleventh Doctor arrived on 4 May 2010 and stopped their awakening. He blew up their base and returned them to stasis. (GAME: Blood of the Cybermen) The Doctor acquired a chest plate from one of these Cybermen and kept it in the TARDIS drawing room. (GAME: TARDIS) The Doctor also kept the Cyberman head in the drawing room. (GAME: The Gunpowder Plot)