Cyberman: Difference between revisions

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:''This article is an overview of the concept of the Cybermen. 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]].''
{{dab page|Cyberman (disambiguation)}}{{Infobox Species
[[File:Cyber-compare2.jpg|thumb|Two types of Cybermen: [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Mondasian Cybermen]] and [[Cyberman (Pete's World)|Cybermen from Pete's World]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'', ''[[The Age of Steel]]'')]]
|image= Cybermen Nightmare2.jpg
'''Cybermen''' were a "race" of [[cyborg|cybernetically]] augmented [[humanoid]]s. 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]] known by the Doctor as [[Pete's World]].
|name = Cyberman
|aka=
|type= [[Cyborg]]s (originally [[humanoid]])
|affiliation= The [[Cyber-Force]]
|origin= [[Mondas]]
|first= The Tenth Planet (TV story)
|appearances= [[Cybermen (Mondas) - list of appearances|'''''see list''''']]
|individuals= {{il|[[Zheng|Cyber-Commander Zheng]]|[[Cyber-Controller]]|[[Cyber-Planner]]|[[Cyber-Leader (Mondas)|Cyber-Leader]]|[[Cyber-Lieutenant]]|[[Regos Krang]]|[[Kroton (Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman)|Kroton]]|[[Mr Clever]]|[[Handles]]}}
|clip = Cybermen Ambush The Doctor & Master - Doctor Who Classic - The 5 Doctors - BBC
|clip2 = The End Game - Doctor Who - Nightmare in Silver - Series 7 - BBC
|bts = Special Feature - Origin of the Cybermen - Doctor Who - Tomb of the Cybermen - BBC
}}
The '''Cybermen''' of [[the Doctor]]'s [[universe]], sometimes known as [[N-Space]], were a race of artificially modified [[human]]s who originated from the [[planet]] [[Mondas]], [[Earth]]'s [[twin planet]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'')


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]]".
The Cybermen took it as their primary aim to conquer the universe, converting where possible to boost their numbers. Fear of such conversion was prevalent on many worlds and so the Cybermen came to be objects of terror. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')


== Cybermen of Mondas ==
== Characteristics ==
{{Main|Cyberman (Mondas)}}
These Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of [[humanoid]]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.


[[File:Cybermen Silver Nemesis.jpg|thumb|left|Mondasian Cybermen on [[Earth]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silver Nemesis]]'')]]
=== Variants ===
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)
The Cybermen were [[cyborg|cybernetically]] augmented [[humanoid]]s. Though they varied greatly in design over time (most likely due to the technology available to them), the many versions had several things in common. Nearly all were silver in colour, except for a black variety in the [[London sewers]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'', et. al)


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 also exhibited exposed circuitry and tubing covering a rubbery or mylar-like outer skin. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'') Cybermen frequently attempted to increase their numbers by [[cyber-conversion]].


== Cybermen designed by John Lumic ==
[[File:Tenth_Planet_2_001.jpg|thumb|left|A Mondan. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'')]]
{{Main|Cyberman (Pete's World)}}
The [[Mondasian]]s which the [[First Doctor]] met on [[Snowcap Base]] in [[December]] [[1986]] had undergone a less radical conversion and still retained biological hands. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'')
[[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.


[[Cyber-conversion]] usually involved removing the [[brain]] of the subject painfully and placing it within a suit of armour. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)|Rise of the Cybermen]]'') Once complete, the new Cybermen had a special implant that 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 emotional overload. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Age of Steel (TV story)|The Age of Steel]]'')
All other Cybermen were entirely covered by their metallic suits. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'' onwards) Some partial conversions were known to exist that still held human features, among them [[Tobias Vaughn]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'')


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" 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 (TV story)|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]])''
The Cybermen on the [[Moonbase]] and those released by [[Eric Klieg]] on [[Telos]] were slim. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase (TV story)|The Moonbase]]'', ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen (TV story)|The Tomb of the Cybermen]]'') The ones which infiltrated [[Briggs' freighter]] in [[2526]] had bulkier, more imposing forms. ([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock]]'') Cybermen like these also existed in the [[1980s]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silver Nemesis]]'')


== Cybermen created by the Master (Missy) ==
[[File:Black_Cyberman.jpg|thumb|A black Cyberman. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')]]
After [[3W]] discovered that the dead survived as a form of consciousness still connected to their old bodies, [[the Master]], in his new incarnation of [[The Master#Missy|Missy]] took over the institute which preserved 91 bodies of the rich in tanks filled with dark water which only showed the organic material. Missy took advantage of this to surround them in Cybermen shells, supposedly exoskeletons to protect the bodies while uploading their minds to the [[Nethersphere]], a [[Matrix data slice]]. There, she removed their emotions to download them back into their bodies and create a Cyber army of the dead. When [[Danny Pink]] died, the [[Twelfth Doctor]] and [[Clara Oswald]] found 3W and Missy activated the Cybermen and released them from their tanks in [[St Paul's Cathedral]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dark Water (TV story)|Dark Water]]'')
Mondasian Cybermen had a quavering voice which put inflected syllables in a seemingly random, sing-song manner. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'') Later Cybermen spoke in more of a monotone, emphasising their lack of emotion. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'')


The Cybermen marched into the streets where they were greeted by curious on-lookers before [[UNIT]] arrived to confront them. The Cybermen flew off until one was over each major city of the world and then self-destructed, creating a rainstorm of [[Cyber-pollen]] that went into the ground and Cyber-converted all of the world's dead. The Doctor teamed with UNIT to try to stop them, despite the human race being outnumbered, while Clara was saved by Danny who was Cyber-converted but retained his emotions as he chose not to delete them and his emotional inhibitor was thus never activated. When Missy broke free, she had the Cybermen attack the UNIT presidential plane [[Boat One]]. The Doctor got sucked out of the plane in the attack, but managed to get into his TARDIS. Missy gave control of the Cyberman army to the Doctor, who then gave control to Danny. Danny, who retained control even with his inhibitor, ordered the Cybermen to fly into the rain clouds and self-destruct, burning up the clouds and stopping the conversion of humanity. A few minutes later, a surviving rogue Cyberman made out of [[the Brigadier]] killed Missy after having saved Kate from the attack on Boat One and flies off. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'')
=== 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. It was carried out at many locations. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')
[[File:Cyber-conversion_A.jpg|thumb|left|Cyber-conversion. ([[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]]'')


== Cybermen of unknown origin ==
=== Vulnerabilities ===
[[File:Cyberleader_2.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Fifth Doctor]] uses [[Adric]]'s gold badge against the Cyber-Leader. ([[TV]]: [[Earthshock]]) ]]
Cybermen had major 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 or gold-tipped arrows might destroy them. ([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock]]'', ''[[Silver Nemesis]]'') Gold also blocked their sensors and caused the [[cybermat]]s to malfunction. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (novelisation)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]'')


===Cybermen in the Arctic===
Other weaknesses of the Cybermen included the combination of solvents known as [[Cocktail Polly]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'') and excessive levels of [[radiation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'')


[[File:Cybermen(BloodoftheCybermen).jpg|thumb|The inactive Cybermen. ([[GAME]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen (video game)|Blood of the Cybermen]]'')]]
Cybermen affected by the [[Cerebration Mentor]], an emotion-enhancing device, went "mad". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'')
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 space-faring capabilities.
[[File:Damaged_by_gunfire.jpg|thumb|Some Cybermen could be damaged (but not killed) by ordinary gunfire. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silver Nemesis]]'')]]
20th century guns could damage Cybermen, but did not kill them. Explosives and bazooka shells took them down easily. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'', ''[[Silver Nemesis]]'') [[UNIT]] developed gold-tipped rounds to combat Cybermen. ([[TV]]: ''[[Battlefield]]'') At close range, attacks with energy and laser weapons could kill Cybermen. ([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock]]'')


This group of Cybermen had been buried under the ice in the [[Arctic Circle]] 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 ship and returned them to stasis. ([[GAME]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]'')
[[Raston Warrior Robot]]s 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 (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')


The Doctor kept a chest plate and head of one of these Cybermen in the [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] drawing room. ([[GAME]]: ''[[TARDIS (video game)|TARDIS]]'', [[GAME]]: ''[[The Gunpowder Plot]]'')
== 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 of the Cyber Legions===
[[File:Cyber-distress.jpg|thumb|left|The Cyberman's distress signal is activated. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')]]
Cybermen in [[1986]] had a built-in distress signal in their heads that could be activated manually. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')


====Overview====
The chest unit of a Cyberman was vital to the operation of its life support system. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Telos (audio story)|Telos]]'')
The [[Cyber Legion]]s were a major power in space, possessing at least twelve fleets in the [[52nd century]]. Outwardly, these Cybermen resembled the [[Cyberman (Pete's World)|Cybermen]] of [[Cybus Industries]], but their chest logo featured a simple circle instead of the Cybus logo. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'') They were known to use [[Cyber wrist blaster|blasters on their wrists]], were all linked by the [[Cyber-network]], and used terms such as "Delete" and [[Cyber-conversion|"Upgrade"]] like the Cybus Industries Cybermen ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Plague of the Cybermen (novel)|Plague of the Cybermen]]'', [[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'', [[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation² (comic story)|Assimilation²]]'') as well as [[Cybermat]]s and [[Cyber-Planner]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'', [[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'') Their arsenal also consisted of [[Energy blaster|large handheld weapons]] which were sometimes used in place of wrist blasters. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'', [[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'')


==== History ====
While the Cybermen were capable of [[time travel]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock (TV story)|Earthshock]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Reaping (audio story)|The Reaping]]'') it was still primitive, limited and even dangerous as late as the [[30th century]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Illegal Alien (novel)|Illegal Alien]]'') Should the Cybermen have mastered time travel, they would have become strong enough to crush the [[Draconian]]s, the [[Sontaran]]s and even the [[Dalek]]s. ([[WC]]: ''[[Real Time (webcast)|Real Time]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Real Time (audio story)|Real Time]]'')  
A [[Cyber Ship]] full of these Cybermen, either on a mission for colonisation or a military purposes, crash landed in [[Klimtenburg]] at some point prior to the [[19th century]]. The survivors began capturing humans, using body parts to replace their own damaged parts, and they created their own thunderstorms so they could revive themselves using power from the lightning. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] arrived in Klimtenburg during the 19th century and began to investigate an illness the villagers were catching which he identified as Hapthoid Radiation poisoning from a Cyber Ship's generator. As more and more Cybermen began to revive, the Doctor rallied the villagers to fend off the oncoming attack. When battle began, the Doctor infiltrated the Cybermen's base of operations and, with the help of the mostly converted [[Victor Ernhardt]], overloaded the [[Cyber-network]] with excess power. All the Cybermen exploded. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Plague of the Cybermen (novel)|Plague of the Cybermen]]'')


[[File:Closing time cyberman nt 01v.jpg|thumb|left|A Cyberman under [[Sanderson & Grainger]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')]]
=== Weapons (short range) ===
In [[2011]], a group of these Cybermen were encountered by the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Craig Owens]] in [[Colchester]]. They were based in another crashed ship which the Doctor claimed had been crashed in the future site of the [[Sanderson & Grainger]] department store, "centuries" before the survivors were revived by the council laying down cabled on top of it, which activated the ship's [[Cybermat]]s. The Cybermen attempted to rebuild their numbers and upgraded store employees [[Shona]] and [[George (Closing Time)|George]] but they were eventually defeated when Craig's love for his son [[Alfie Owens|Alfie]] allowed him to resist [[Cyber-conversion]] and created a surge of emotion which destroyed the Cybermen. ([[TV]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
[[File:Cyb_gun1.jpg|thumb|A Cyberman with a gun. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'')]]
When they attacked Earth in [[1986]], Cybermen carried large, hand-held, energy weapons. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'')


[[File:Cyber-Planner 2.jpg|thumb|The [[Ninth Cyber Legion|Ninth Cyber Legion's]] [[Cyber-Planner]]. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'')]]
On the [[Moon]] in [[2070]], Cybermen could produce [[Electro Attack|arcs of electricity]] from their hands to stun and disable. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'')
The [[Ninth Cyber Legion]] invaded [[London]] in [[2012]] commanded by a Cyber-Leader and a [[Cyber-Planner]] using a piece of the [[Eternity Clock]]. They made a Cyber factory that was full of Cyberman storage units, guarded by [[Cybermat]]s. The Legion was destroyed by the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[River Song]] by shutting down their thermionic core. The shells of dead Cybermen remained in London as far as [[2106]] when the [[Dalek]]s of the [[New Dalek Paradigm]] invaded. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock]]'')  


In a daring attempt at conquest, the Cybermen prepared an armada of [[Cyber Ship]]s and attempted to take over [[Parallel universe|other universes]] as well as their own. Led by a [[Cyber-Controller (Assimilation²)|Cyber-Controller]], the armada crossed from their universe into the [[24th century]] of [[Federation universe|another]] and entered into an alliance with a species similar to their own known as [[the Borg]] and together they attacked the [[planet]] [[Delta IV]]. The [[Deltan Prime Minister]] escaped the attack and warned [[Starfleet]] of the newly assembled war force. The Doctor, [[Amy Pond|Amy]] and [[Rory]] accidentally found themselves on the bridge of the ''[[USS Enterprise]]'' just as it was attacked by a massive fleet of Cyber Ships and [[Borg cube]]s. Joining forces with [[Captain]] [[Jean-Luc Picard]], the Doctor intended to help Starfleet end the Cyber threat. He then began to remember an encounter with the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|original Cybermen]] during his [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]] which took place in the same universe - which he also remembered ''not'' remembering - and concluded that the Cybermen were rewriting history.
In the [[21st century]], the Cybermen who attacked [[Space Station W3]] had death rays built into their chest units. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wheel in Space]]'')


Meanwhile, the Cybermen betrayed the Borg and the two sides fought a devastating battle on [[Cogen V]]. The Cybermen were victorious and the Borg collective was at risk of falling completely under Cyber control. The ''Enterprise'' arrived at the planet to find only the remnants of numerous Borg ships in its orbit and the bodies of Cybermen and Borg on the planet's surface. The Borg contacted the ''Enterprise'' and offered Picard an alliance. Picard refused, having painful memories of a previous encounter with the Borg, but the Doctor, Amy and [[Guinan]] realised the alliance was necessary. Picard realised this too after the Doctor took him in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] and showed him a future in which the Cybermen had succeeded. The Borg accepted the temporary alliance and they and Starfleet organised a raid on the Cyber-Controller's command ship and they weakened the Cybermen by filling the air with [[gold]] dust. After a struggle with the Cyber-Controller, [[Marcus Bertrand|one of the Borg]] set all ships linked to the Cyber-web to self-destruct, much to the Doctor's disgust as he considered this [[genocide]], despite what the Cybermen had done. With the complete destruction of the Cybermen from the Federation universe, the Doctor guessed that any changes they had made had unwound themselves, although all involved would retain their memories of the event. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation² (comic story)|Assimilation²]]'')
The Cybermen encountered by [[UNIT]] in the late 20th century displayed these same built-in weapons. They also carried large rifles for medium range combat on [[London]]'s streets. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'')


[[File:Cybermen-series-6.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Cyber Legion]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')]]
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]]'')
In the [[52nd century]], the [[Twelfth Cyber Legion]] was positioned 20,000 [[Light-year|light years]] away from [[Demons Run]] when it was largely obliterated by the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Rory Williams]], who were planning to [[Battle of Demons Run|assault]] the [[asteroid]] [[Space station|station]] to rescue [[Amy Pond|Amy]] and [[River Song|Melody Pond]]. This gave the [[Cyber-Leader (A Good Man Goes to War)|Cyber-Leader]] little choice but to give the Doctor and Rory the information they needed regarding Demons Run. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')


The dead suit of one of these Cybermen was recovered after the [[Cyber-Wars]] and used as a [[chess]]-playing robot at [[Hedgewick's World of Wonders]], where it was referred to as one of the 699 [[Wonders of the Universe]]. Some [[Cybermite]]s waited inside the suit for a chance to wake three million other Cybermen, left over from the Cyber-Wars, from their [[Cyber-tomb|tombs]]. The Cyber-suit was destroyed when [[Ludens Nimrod Kendrick Cord Longstaff XLI|Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick Cord Longstaff XLI]] set off a bomb to kill the Cybermen emerging from hibernation, destroying the planet as well. ([[TV]]: ''[[Nightmare in Silver (TV story)|Nightmare in Silver]]'')
In time, the Cybermen came to favour the hand-held [[cyber-gun]] over the built-in weapon. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'' onwards)


==== Alternative timeline ====
=== Weapons (other) ===
In the future shown to Picard by the Doctor in which the Cybermen had succeeded in their conquest of multiple universes, the Cybermen made use of the technology they had acquired from the Borg and they were able to convert more species. Amoung these species were as follows:
In the 20th century, the Cybermen invasion fleet had a [[megatron bomb]] that could destroy all life on Earth. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'')
* The [[Klingon]] homeworld of [[Qo'noS]] fell to the Cybermen in under 50 years. These Cybermen bore the Klingon insignia and used Klingon [[Sword|swords]].
 
* [[Raxacoricofallapatorius]] was taken 30 years after Qo'nos. The [[Raxacoricofallapatorian]]s were more bulbous Cybermen with large claws for hands.
In [[2070]], the Cybermen had a cannon which could operate in the vacuum of [[Space]]. They used it on the surface of [[the Moon]]. Due to its mass, it required two Cybermen to operate it. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'')
* The [[Vulcan (species)|Vulcan]] homeworld was taken another 20 years later and all the Vulcan culture and wisdom was lost.
 
* The [[Judoon]] were conquered in another 25 years and they became the Cybermen's shock troopers, identified by their metal [[Rhinoceros]] horns.
Cybermen in [[2526]], the invaders of [[Voga]], and the Cybermen removed by [[Time Scoop]] to the [[Death Zone]] had portable [[cyber-bomb]]s that could devastate planets. ([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock]]'', ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'', ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')
* Humanity fought back for almost 40 more years but the Cybermen eventually triumphed. [[San Francisco]] became another nexus from which the Cybermen could strike. Starfleet Academy held the last survivors in the galaxy before they were overrun. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation² (comic story)|Assimilation²]]'')
 
[[Neurotrope X]] incapacitated humans before the Cybermen made an overt move. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'')  Cybermen sometimes used [[Cybermat]]s to spread the virus to the population. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'')
 
The Cybermen were strong enough to kill with their hands without any extra weaponry or electric-based attack. ([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock]]'')
 
== Culture ==
 
Cybermen made survival their central objective. Since they could not reproduce naturally, they needed to create new members of their population by other means, via [[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 from hiding and using human or other agents, cybermats or [[android]]s to act as their proxies until they appeared. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'', ''[[Earthshock]]'', ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')
=== 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]]'') or [[Kroton (Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman)|Kroton]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman (comic story)|Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman]]'')
 
:''In the script and cast listings for [[The Tenth Planet]] the individual Cybermen had names. They were [[Krail]], [[Talon]], [[Shav]], [[Krang]], [[Jarl]] and [[Gern]].'' ([[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia]]'')
 
[[File:Cyber-Leader7.jpg|thumb|left|A Cyber-Leader. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')]]
Cybermen in positions of authority included the ground level [[Cyber-Leader (Mondas)|Cyber-Leader]] who commanded a group of ordinary Cybermen. Cyber-Leaders were sometimes aided by a [[Cyber-Lieutenant]]. Immobile [[computer]]-like [[Cyber-Planner]]s would sometimes make decisions and long term plans. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wheel in Space]]'', ''[[The Invasion]]'') The [[Cyber-Controller]]s, who possessed enlarged craniums, had the position of highest possible authority. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen]]'', ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')
 
Cybermen no longer possessed emotions and viewed them as a weakness. However, several of the Cyber-Leaders displayed characteristics that could be linked to emotions such as anger, amusement, and, at times, smugness. ([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock]]'')
 
== History ==
=== Early history ===
Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of [[humanoid]]s who arose on [[Earth]]'s former [[twin planet]], [[Mondas]]. Mondas drifted into the outer solar system to become an orphan planet. The Mondasians adapted by turning themselves into cyborgs. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'') Eventually all of the [[Mondasian]]s underwent forced [[cyber-conversion]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Spare Parts]]'')
 
:''See [[Creation of the Cybermen]] for more details.''
 
The original Mondasians retained more of their organic form. They had personal names. Another group, [[the Faction]], left Mondas and headed for [[Planet 14]]. These developed into groups without connection to one another. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Iceberg (novel)|Iceberg]]'')
 
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]]'')
 
=== Middle history ===
==== 20th century ====
[[File:Cybermen The Good Solider1.jpg|thumb|left|Cybermen in 1954. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Good Soldier (comic story)|The Good Soldier]]'')]]
In [[1903]], after receiving a wealth of information from the future, [[Grigori Rasputin]] saw people made of metal. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Wanderer (audio story)|The Wanderer]]'')
 
The [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Ace]] fought Cybermen in [[London]] in [[1940]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Illegal Alien]]'') They would later fight them in [[Nevada]] in [[1954]]. These Cybermen were from Mondas, trying to invade. Their attack was delayed until [[1986]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Good Soldier (comic story)|The Good Soldier]]'')
 
[[File:CybermanRisesFromSewer.jpg|thumb|A Cyberman rises from a London sewer. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'')]]
By [[1970]], Cybermen, specifically the Faction led by a [[Cyber-Planner]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Iceberg (novel)|Iceberg]]''), had established a base on the dark side of [[the Moon|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 [[United Nations Intelligence Taskforce|UNIT]] and the [[Second Doctor]], who helped avert the invasion on the Earth and at the Cyberman base on the Moon. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'')
 
From the mid [[1970s]] through [[1985]], Cybermen lurked in the [[London sewers|sewers below London]], awaiting another invasion. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'') This would happen in [[December]] [[1986]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'') At some point a Cyberman's head was taken and was stored in [[Henry van Statten]]'s [[The Vault (Dalek)|Vault]], where he held alien artefacts. According to its label, it was recovered from the London sewers in [[1975]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]'')
[[File:Cyberman_original_attack_5.jpg|thumb|A Cyberman in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')]]
Having captured a [[time vessel]], the Cybermen knew that the [[First Doctor]] would eventually destroy Mondas. They planned to divert [[Halley's Comet]] towards Earth in [[1985]]. They hoped the destruction of Earth would change the past so Mondas would survive. The [[Sixth Doctor]] foiled them. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')
 
[[File:Tenth planet.jpg|thumb|left||A Cyberman encounters the Doctor. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'')]]
In [[December]] [[1986]], 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]]'') Following the destruction of Mondas, the Cyberman would make [[Lonsis]] their new home. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Human Resources]]'') One account also claims that the Cyberships were examined and exploited by humans, allowing them to make advances in space travel. [[Sarah Jane Smith]] described the invasion as "both the greatest disaster and most
astonishing blessing ever to have happened to the human
race." ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (novelisation)|The Power of the Daleks]]'')
 
The Cybermen and a group of [[Mercenary|mercenaries]] led by [[Karl (The Ultimate Adventure)|Karl]] made an alliance with the [[Dalek]]s in a gambit to sabotage a peace conference on Earth in [[1988]] and have the planet destroyed. The Cybermen and the mercenaries had a much more active role than the Daleks, as they were tasked with kidnapping an [[United States of America|American]] envoy on whom the success of the conference depended and in capturing [[the Doctor]] whom the [[Dalek Emperor]] declared a vital part of the plan. The Daleks took a more behind-the-scenes approach as they planned to use the mercenaries and Cybermen as nothing more than scapegoats who could be blamed for the destruction of Earth by the [[Galactic Council]] while the Dalek involvement remained a secret. When the [[Sixth Doctor]] revealed this information to the Cybermen and the mercenaries, they immediately turned on the Daleks. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Ultimate Adventure (audio story)|The Ultimate Adventure]]'')
[[File:Cybermen Silver Nemesis.jpg|thumb|Cybermen on Earth. ([[TV]]: [[Silver Nemesis (TV story)|''Silver Nemesis'']])]]
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 [[Peinforte|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]]'')
 
==== 21st century ====
In [[2000]], the Cybermen infected the Earth computers with a virus that removed all vowels. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Vrs]]'')
[[File:Bowed.jpg|thumb|Cybermen in [[2005]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'')]]
In [[2005]], ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Hunters of the Burning Stone (comic story)|Hunters of the Burning Stone]]'') Cybermen from the future [[time travel]]led to Earth to announce themselves to the public. They hoped to flood Earth, using a powerful water-like nerve agent to make humans willingly participate in cyber-conversion. The Eighth Doctor, having absorbed a segment of the Time Vortex for a brief period of time, turned their entire army to dust, and decomposed their ship slowly, causing it to explode soon after. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'')
 
In [[2006]], Cybermen again invaded Earth's [[South Pole]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Iceberg (novel)|Iceberg]]'') In the same year, the Cybermen on [[Lonsis]] tried to invade Earth via the [[portal]] in the main branch of [[Hulbert Logistics]].The [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]] destroyed them. They used a [[quantum crystalliser]] to make the Cybermen and their ship rapidly rust into dust. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Human Resources]]'')
 
In [[2008]] several Cybermen and a [[Cyber-Planner]] who were allergic to gold attempted to gain [[Time travel]]. They converted [[Byron (The Girl Who Never Was)|Bryon]] but their ship was destroyed by [[Charlotte Pollard]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Girl Who Never Was (audio story)|The Girl Who Never Was]]'')
 
In [[2021]] a group of Cybermen pretended to want to become organic again. A space program used this to their advantage. However the [[Subject One|Cyberleader]] lied, in fact having tricked the agency into creating a conversion chamber. The [[Seventh Doctor]], [[Ace]] and [[Hex]] foiled this scheme. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Harvest (audio story)|The Harvest]]'')
[[File:Cybermen in Land of Fiction.jpg|thumb|left|Cybermen in the Land of Fiction. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Legend of the Cybermen (audio story)|Legend of the Cybermen]]'')]]
In the middle to late [[21st century]], [[Space Station W3]] was the site of a takeover by the Faction, but were defeated by the Second Doctor. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wheel in Space]]'') In a second attack on the wheel, the Cybermen were sent into the [[Land of Fiction]] by [[Zoe Heriot]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Legend of the Cybermen]]'')
 
By [[2070]], the Cybermen were known and feared in several galaxies ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Cybermen]]'') but 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]]'')
 
==== Post-21st century ====
The [[Space Marines]] fought the Cybermen on [[Titan 317]] in the latter half of the [[22nd century]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Janus Conjunction]]'')
[[File:ClassicCybermen.jpg|thumb|The Cybermen on [[Aprilia III]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation² (comic story)|Assimilation²]]'')]]
The [[Sixth Doctor]] encountered Cybermen in [[2191]]. By using a [[Selachian]] ship the Cybermen had conquered [[Agora]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Killing Ground]]'')
 
[[File:Tomb of the cybermen tv.jpg|thumb|left|The Cybermen released from their tombs. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen]]'')]]
The Cybermen had all but passed into legend when an archaeological expedition on the planet [[Telos]] found the [[Cyber-tomb]]s. Hordes of Cybermen waited in [[cryogenic suspension]]. Earth's [[Brotherhood of Logicians]] intended to awaken them, believing the Cybermen would be receptive to their cause. The tomb would be sealed again ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen]]'') and later re-activated. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')
 
==== Cyber-Wars ====
{{main|Cyber-Wars}}
During the [[Orion War]] of the early [[26th century]], humans tried to salvage [[Cyber-Technology]] from derelict ships to defeat the androids. This led to both sides nearly wiped out and the temporary conquest of Earth before the Cybermen resurgence was stopped. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Sword of Orion]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Cyberman (audio series)|Cyberman]]'')
 
[[File:Earthshock.jpg|thumb|right|Cybermen and a [[Cyber-Leader (Mondas)|Cyber-Leader]].([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock]]'')]]
In [[2526]], several planets united to oppose the Cybermen in an event called the [[Cyber-Wars]]. A force of Cybermen tried to devastate Earth with a [[Cyberbomb]] and convert the survivors. Failing this, they hoped to crash the 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 [[dinosaur]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock (TV story)|Earthshock]]'')
 
One of the last acts of the Cybermen in this war the attempt to blow up the planet [[Voga]] to stop the production of [[glittergun]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (novelisation)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]'') In the aftermath of their failure, the Cybermen were reduced to scattered remnants. One group relentlessly hounded the remaining fragment of Voga. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'')
 
The war ultimately ended when the [[Tiberian spiral galaxy]] was blown up, destroying apparently all of the Cybermen. ([[TV]]: ''[[Nightmare in Silver]]'')
 
=== Later history ===
[[File:Attack 3.jpg|thumb|The Cybermen on Telos, planning to change history. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')]]
On Telos, the Cybermen plotted to change history and divert Halley's Comet to Earth to destroy it and to save Mondas. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'') At some point, Telos was shattered by an [[asteroid]] impact. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Telos (audio story)|Telos]]'')
 
Telos was not the only site of Cyber-Tombs. There were dozens across the galaxy and more wars were started. [[Bernice Summerfield]] spoke of the Telos expedition and other tombs being discovered in the past tense. She was sent to one by [[Irving Braxiatel]] in the early [[27th century]]. Braxiatel intended to use the Cybermen as a private army but was thwarted. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Crystal of Cantus (audio story)|The Crystal of Cantus]]'')
 
{{Ainley|c}} sent [[The Graak]] to a Cyber-Tomb populated by Cybermen to steal a [[Cybermat]]. These Cybermen were either going in- or coming out of the tombs. ([[GAME]]: ''[[Destiny of the Doctors]]'')
[[File:Original_Cyberman_with_cyber-lider_Revengecybermen.jpg|thumb|left|Post wars Cybermen and a [[Cyber-Leader (Mondas)|Cyber-Leader]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'')]]
Around [[2875]], the remaining Cybermen from the Cyber-Wars ship finally caught up to Voga, now in orbit around [[Jupiter]]. Their attempt to destroy it would be defeated and their craft and themselves detroyed due to the involvement of the [[Fourth Doctor]], [[Sarah Jane Smith]], and [[Harry Sullivan]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'')
 
[[File:Doctor in Real Time.jpg|thumb|A Cyberman with the [[Sixth Doctor]]. ([[WC]]: ''[[Real Time (webcast)|Real Time]]'')]]
By [[3286]], the Cybermen had been thought dead for centuries. A group of these Cybermen led by a [[Cyber-controller]] attempted to gain time travel. Around this time, Goddard arrived. Goddard was a super developed Cybermen,from an [[Alternate timeline|alternate]] [[1930s]] where the human race had become cyborgs indistinguishable visually from humans thanks to a Cyber virus. The Cybermen manged to reverse-engineer the virus Goddard brought but were defeated by the [[Sixth Doctor]]. ([[WC]]: ''[[Real Time (webcast)|Real Time]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Real Time (audio story)|Real Time]]'')
 
[[File:The Flood.jpg|thumb|left|A number of Cybermen crowd around a beaten [[Destrii]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'')]]Cybermen from the far future would use time travel to return in time to the [[2000s]] to convert Earth. They used rain that caused extreme emotions (sadness, fear, anger) to convince the humans that emotions were bad and to accept conversion willingly. The reason they needed humans from a past era was clear to the Doctor; in the future of the Cybermen, the human genetic template had been corrupted and augmented by their interactions with many alien races. The Cyber-conversion protocols were keyed to human or Mondasian biology; the number of available converts would drop dramatically.
 
The Doctor offered to regenerate for them so they could gather the data of his regeneration and upgrade their conversion protocols to include other races, in exchange for leaving the Earth alone. The Cybermen agreed, but betrayed him at the last moment (the Doctor was expecting this). Using the fragment of the Time Vortex the future Cybership used as a power source, the Doctor destroyed the Cyberfleet and dissolved them into rain. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'')
 
The Cybermen were notable customers of the information regarding [[the Doctor]] held by the [[Inforarium]]. When the Eleventh Doctor discovered the Cybermen, as well as the [[Dalek|Daleks]] and [[Sontaran|Sontarans]], had been purchasing this information, he infiltrated the Inforarium and memory-proofed their database using methods he learned from [[Silent|the Silence]]. The information sold was thus instantly forgotten. ([[HOMEVID]]: [[The Inforarium (TV story)|''The Inforarium'']]) This led to the Cybermen losing data on the Doctor.([[TV]]: ''[[Nightmare in Silver (TV story)|Nightmare in Silver]]'')
[[File:Cyberman_Nightmare.jpg|thumb|A Cyberman on [[Hedgewick's World of Wonders]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Nightmare in Silver (TV story)|Nightmare in Silver]]'')]]
A thousand years after the destruction of the [[Tiberian spiral galaxy]] and the end of the Cyber-Wars, the Cybermen were thought to be extinct. Yet surviving Cybermen lay beneath the future site of [[Hedgewick's World of Wonders]]. When the theme park was built, the Cybermen began using [[Cybermite]]s to kidnap people as "spare parts". [[Angie Maitland|Angie]] and [[Artie Maitland]] arrived on Hedgewick's World with the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and their nanny, [[Clara Oswald|Clara]], and were taken by the Cybermen. With enough components to reawaken them, after being presumed extinct for a thousand years, the Cybermen awoke from their tombs.
[[File:Cybermen Nightmare2.jpg|thumb|left|Cybermen attacking [[Natty Longshoe's Comical Castle]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Nightmare in Silver (TV story)|Nightmare in Silver]]'')]]
The Cybermen began attacking [[Natty Longshoe's Comical Castle]] to convert the humans there, but the Doctor, in a battle for his mind with the [[Cyber-Planner]], [[Mr Clever]], had them stop in place to bring in the local resources to win the [[chess]] game. The Doctor used a [[hand pulse]] to redistribute Clever among the rest of the Cybermen. Angie and Artie were also released. Emperor [[Ludens Nimrod Kendrick Cord Longstaff XLI]] gave the verbal command to start the countdown of a planet-imploding bomb. This drew the attention of his ship, which [[transmat]]ted the Doctor and the humans on the planet while the Cybermen were left behind. The planet and the Cybermen were destroyed; however, one Cybermite survived the destruction. ([[TV]]: ''[[Nightmare in Silver]]'')
 
=== Final evolution ===
By the [[101st century]], the Cybermen had nearly died out. Several centuries earlier, they had chosen a [[Cyberlord|new name]] for their species and become pacifists. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Synthespians™]]'')
 
The Cybermen would ultimately transcend into pure energy. They would redeem the whole of sentient life and become the most peace loving-species in the whole of creation, purely thought with no physical presence. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The World Shapers (comic story)|The World Shapers]]'')
 
=== Undated events ===
[[File:Miniscope.jpg|thumb|A Cyberman inside [[Vorg]]'s [[Miniscope]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Carnival of Monsters]]'')]]
During the [[Gallifreyan history#The Dark Time|Dark Times on Gallifrey]], the Cybermen were excluded from the games in the [[Death Zone]], because the Time Lords believed they had an unfair advantage over other victims of the games. [[Borusa]], having found the [[Game of Rassilon]], transported a squadron of Cybermen to the Death Zone to threaten and harass the [[Third Doctor]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith]]. These Cybermen were mostly destroyed by a similarly transported [[Raston Warrior Robot]]. The survivors allied with {{Ainley}}, but he betrayed and destroyed them. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')
 
The [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Catherine Broome]] battled a squad of Cybermen in the Prenadene asteroid belt.([[PROSE]]: ''[[Companion Piece (novel)|Companion Piece]]'')
 
A Cyberman was among the life-forms exhibited in [[Vorg]]'s [[Miniscope]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Carnival of Monsters]]'')
 
The Cybermen were part of the [[Fifth Doctor|Supremo]]'s alliance in the war against [[Morbius]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger]]'')
 
The remains of one Cyberman were put on sale at [[the Maldovarium]] market. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] purchased the Cyberman's head and called him "[[Handles]]". ([[TV]]:'' [[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'')
 
The Cybermen were involved in the [[Siege of Trenzalore]]. After being summoned to [[Trenzalore]] by [[the First Question]], the Cybermen attempted to pass through the [[Papal Mainframe]]'s [[force field]]. One attempt involved a [[Wooden Cyberman]] as it was low-tech and would not trigger any alarm system but the Doctor tricked the Cyberman into destroying itself. Later, the Daleks attacked the Mainframe and learned how to break the [[force field]]. The Cybermen followed them and fought the Doctor and the [[Silent]]s until all the Cybermen, like many other species involved in the battle, were either killed or saw fit to retreat. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'')
 
=== Alternate timeline ===
{{Section stub|it's difficult to tell, given its lack of a proper resolution after ten years, but ''[[Real Time (webcast)|Real Time]]'' seems to involve some sort of divergent timeline}}
In an [[Alternate timeline (Time & Time Again)|alternate timeline]] created by the [[Black Guardian]], the [[First Doctor]] never left [[Gallifrey]]. He became [[Lord President]]. The Cybermen were one of many aliens which invaded [[Earth]], and fought over the planet with other races. This timeline was destroyed when the [[Seventh Doctor]] retrieved the [[Key to Time]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Time & Time Again (comic story)|Time & Time Again]]'')
 
If the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Jean-Luc Picard]] did not defeat the Cybermen and [[the Borg]], the Cybermen would eventually defeat the Borg, and invade both the Doctor's universe and the [[Federation universe]], with planets invaded incluing; [[Raxacoricofallapatorius]], [[Qo'noS]], the [[Judoon]] homeworld, and finally Starfleet Academy in [[San Francisco]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation²]]'')
 
===Parallel universe===
In the [[Federation universe]], the Cybermen invaded an Archaeological site on [[Aprilia III]] and began to convert the people onboard into Cybermen. They encountered the [[Fourth Doctor]], [[James T. Kirk|Captain James T. Kirk]], [[Spock]], [[Leonard McCoy|McCoy]] and [[Montgomery Scott|Scotty]]. The Fourth Doctor stopped them by using the gold on Kirk's [[communicator]] to clog the Cybermen's respiration. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation² (comic story)|Assimilation²]]'')
 
[[File:Cybermen and Borg.jpg|thumb|left|The Cybermen with [[the Borg]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation²]]'')]]
The Cybermen entered into an alliance with another [[cyborg|cybernetic]] species, [[the Borg]], from a [[Federation universe|Federation]] due to their identical goals of assimilating other species. On [[Stardate]] 45635.2 in [[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]]'')
 
=== Other 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]]'')
 
In their war with the [[Cybermen (Pete's World)|Cybermen of another universe]], the [[Cult of Skaro]] noted their resemblance to the Cybermen from our universe. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'')
 
=== Mysteries and discrepancies ===
[[File:Voord Cybermen.jpg|thumb|left|The Sixth Doctor with the [[Voord]], some partially turned into Cybermen. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The World Shapers]]'')]]
 
On [[Telos]], the [[Second Doctor]] seemed to have knowledge, if not foreknowledge, of the Cyber-Tombs. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen]]'') The [[Cyber-Planner]]'s reference to having met the Doctor on [[Planet 14]] also remains obscure, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'') though one account tries to explain this in a way which contradicts previously disclosed information about the [[creation of the Cybermen]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The World Shapers (comic story)|The World Shapers]]'') By the time the Cybermen invaded [[Space Station W3]], the [[Second Doctor]] was "known and recorded as an enemy of the Cybermen". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wheel in Space (TV story)|The Wheel in Space]]'')


== Behind the scenes ==
== Behind the scenes ==
=== Inspiration for the Cybermen ===
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.
Prologues to certain [[Target Books]] novelisations reflect the earlier ideas about the Cybermen and state they perfected the science of cybernetics to gain immortality. The Cybermen were the result: immortal, but at the price of loss of their humanity.


=== Cybermen of unspecified origin ===
=== Development of the characters ===


==== Clarification ====
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 [[robot]]ic in appearance. The Cybermen went through another major re-design in ''[[The Invasion]]'', yet another in ''[[Earthshock]]'', one in the comic strips in ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'' and one more in ''[[Nightmare in Silver]]''. Minor re-designs would take place as well. As the Cybermen stories do not appear in a chronological order, this makes their evolution rather confusing; more 'advanced' Cybermen are around at the same time as more 'primitive' ones. This can be explained by time travel, though the Cybermen only captured one time ship. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')
According to comments made in ''[[The Brilliant Book 2012]]'', the Cybermen of the Cyber Legions were the original [[Mondasian]] versions because, despite having the Cybus-style suits, they lacked the "C" logo on their chest. If so, the Cybus Industries Cybermen joined [[The Alliance (The Pandorica Opens)|the Alliance]] and the Cybermen that have appeared since then (without the "C" logos) are the Mondasian models.


No fictional source has given a clarification, and the matter is made all the more complicated by the fact that the Cyber Legions Cybermen have displayed characteristics of both the Mondasian and Cybus Cybermen, as stated in the overview above.
=== The Brilliant Books ===
The [[Tardis:Valid sources|non-narrative]] sources ''[[The Brilliant Book 2011]]'' and ''[[The Brilliant Book 2012]]'' had further information about Cybermen.


The story which comes closest to giving any clarification is ''[[Assimilation² (comic story)|Assimilation²]]'', which initially features Cybermen with the Cybus logo but these are later changed to the logo displayed by those of the Cyber Legions and remains for the rest of the story. The use of the Cybus logo was likely an error. However, the comic also details an encounter between the Fourth Doctor and the original Cybermen which is said to be directly related to the comic's main Cyber Legion threat, but at the same time the Cybus terms "Delete" and "Upgrade" are still used in the final issue, and [[Guinan]] also states that "different versions of [Cybermen] can be found in [[Parallel universe|alternate universes]]." Thus, the complete background of these Cybermen remains a mystery.
* According to ''[[The Brilliant Book 2011]]'', at Blenheim Palace, the [[Fourth Doctor]] was hunting [[Cybermat]]s, suggesting Cybermen activity.
* According to ''[[The Brilliant Book 2012]]'', at one point, [[Vastra]] and [[Jenny Flint|Jenny]] battled the Cybermen.


[[Neil Gaiman]], writer of ''[[The Doctor's Wife (TV story)|The Doctor's Wife]]'' in [[Series 6 (Doctor Who)|Series 6]] and ''[[Nightmare in Silver (TV story)|Nightmare in Silver]]'' in [[Series 7 (Doctor Who)|Series 7]], has stated in an interview<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2013/05/07/exclusive-neil-gaiman-talks-doctor-who-and-cybermen/|title=EXCLUSIVE – Neil Gaiman Talks Doctor Who And Cybermen|date of source=May 7th, 2013|website name=SFX|accessdate=January 5th, 2014}}</ref> that he believed the Cybermen in the "'[[Tom Baker]]' universe" had all but died out. That left the Cybus Cybermen who had escaped [[the Void]] and ended up in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[London]], and were sent into the [[Time Vortex]] at the end of ''[[The Next Doctor (TV story)|The Next Doctor]]''. Rather than be disintegrated as [[Jackson Lake]] predicted, they were scattered through time and space and eventually encountered the remnants of the Mondasian Cybermen, "and there was some cross-breeding and interchange of technology, which is why you then get the ones that look like, but actually aren't, the Cybus Cybermen." This is despite the fact that all of the Cybermen in ''The Next Doctor'' were seen to be blown to bits by [[Mercy Hartigan]], unless there were more deeper within the [[CyberKing]]. However, Gaiman includes no reference to this theory in ''Nightmare in Silver''.
=== ''Cybermen'' ===
The non-narrative source ''[[Doctor Who: Cybermen]]'', by [[David Banks]], went into further detail about Cybermen and Cyberman factions. Banks created a number of terms — CyberFaction, CyberNomad, CyberTelosian, CyberMondasian, and others — to explain the differences in the Cybermen's costumes on television. Some of the terms, in adapted forms, appear in his later novel, [[PROSE]]: ''[[Iceberg (novel)|Iceberg]]''. It is these forms — [[Mondan]] and [[the Faction]], which this wiki prefers, according to our [[T:CAN|canon policy]].


==== Other appearances ====
The history Banks presented as "non-fiction" was largely ignored by other authors and so can't be considered in the writing of most of our articles.  Here are some of the points that Banks made which never made it beyond ''[[Doctor Who: Cybermen]]'':
* The chess-playing Cyberman from ''Nightmare in Silver'' appears in [[She Said, He Said: A Prequel (webcast)|''She Said, He Said'']], the [[prequel]] to [[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|''The Name of the Doctor'']]. However, the story's unusual style of narrative makes it difficult to determine where, when and under what circumstances the story takes place in-universe.
* The departure of the CyberFaction (that is, [[the Faction]]) from Mondas was thought to have occurred around 5000 BC in what Banks called the "First Divergence".
* It is not known if the Cyberman head from [[The Gunpowder Plot (video game)|''The Gunpowder Plot'']] belonged to a Cyberman from Cybus Industries, the Cyber Legions or ''Blood of the Cybermen'', although the appearance of the ''Blood''-style chestplate from [[TARDIS (video game)|''TARDIS'']] suggests it to be the third option.
* Similar to the above point, a [[2006]]-style Cyberman head is seen in the [[Black Archive]] in [[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|''The Day of the Doctor'']] but it is unknown which of the three possible variants it belonged to, as all three kinds of Cybermen had taken part in activities on [[Earth]] that [[UNIT]] likely investigated.
* A 2006-style Cyberman is also depicted in the front cover of the [[2014]] re-release of [[Illegal Alien (novel)|''Illegal Alien'']] as part of ''The Monster Collection''.
* The Cyberman in the video game [[Whodle (video game)|''Whodle'']]'' ''resembles the classic Doctor Who Cybermen a lot, but when The Doctor is killed, they shout "YOU WILL BE DELETED", which is what the Cybus Cybermen say.


== Footnotes ==
* In the "Second Divergence", a group which author [[David Banks]] called "CyberNomads"<!--REF term; do not link--> diverged from the Faction. These so-called "Nomads" searched for the [[validium]] statue [[Nemesis]] and tried and failed to destroy [[Voga]].
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* Possibly after the 21st century, the Faction abandoned their home in the Sol system and journeyed into the galaxy to colonise a suitable planet. The Cybermen which colonised Telos, possibly in 2175, split from the Faction and were called the CyberTelosians<!--REF term; do not link-->. This group united with the CyberNomads after they discovered the frozen CyberTelosians, and became CyberNeomorphs<!--REF term; do not link-->. These Cybermen planned to use Halley's Comet against Earth and were taken to the Death Zone on Gallifrey.
{{Cyberman variants}}
 
In other words, what Banks was trying to do was create terms for each of the different costumes he and his fellow performers had worn throughout the years.  In effect he was saying that the costumes in ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'' were of CyberNeomorphs, the ones worn in ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen]]'' were of CyberTelosians, and so forth. 
 
The idea has not been widely ignored by other works.  Even he did not in his book,  ''Iceberg'', which mentioned none of his terms precisely.  It did not reference the CyberNeomorphs and CyberTelosians, and called the CyberFaction, "[[the Faction]]", and CyberMondasians, "[[Mondan]]s".
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Revision as of 17:51, 29 November 2014

You may wish to consult Cyberman (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

The Cybermen of the Doctor's universe, sometimes known as N-Space, were a race of artificially modified humans who originated from the planet Mondas, Earth's twin planet. (TV: The Tenth Planet)

The Cybermen took it as their primary aim to conquer the universe, converting where possible to boost their numbers. Fear of such conversion was prevalent on many worlds and so the Cybermen came to be objects of terror. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

Characteristics

Variants

The Cybermen were cybernetically augmented humanoids. Though they varied greatly in design over time (most likely due to the technology available to them), the many versions had several things in common. Nearly all were silver in colour, except for a black variety in the London sewers. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen, et. al)

Cybermen also exhibited exposed circuitry and tubing covering a rubbery or mylar-like outer skin. (TV: The Tenth Planet) Cybermen frequently attempted to increase their numbers by cyber-conversion.

A Mondan. (TV: The Tenth Planet)

The Mondasians which the First Doctor met on Snowcap Base in December 1986 had undergone a less radical conversion and still retained biological hands. (TV: The Tenth Planet)

All other Cybermen were entirely covered by their metallic suits. (TV: The Moonbase onwards) 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. (TV: The Moonbase, The Tomb of the Cybermen) The ones which infiltrated Briggs' freighter in 2526 had bulkier, more imposing forms. (TV: Earthshock) Cybermen like these also existed in the 1980s. (TV: Silver Nemesis)

A black Cyberman. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

Mondasian Cybermen had a quavering voice which put inflected syllables in a seemingly random, sing-song manner. (TV: The Tenth Planet) Later Cybermen spoke in more of a monotone, emphasising their lack of emotion. (TV: The Moonbase)

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. It was carried out at many locations. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

Cyber-conversion. (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

The Fifth Doctor uses Adric's gold badge against the Cyber-Leader. (TV: Earthshock)

Cybermen had major 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 or gold-tipped arrows might destroy them. (TV: Earthshock, Silver Nemesis) Gold also blocked their sensors and caused the cybermats to malfunction. (PROSE: Revenge of the Cybermen)

Other weaknesses of the Cybermen included the combination of solvents known as Cocktail Polly (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)

Some Cybermen could be damaged (but not killed) by ordinary gunfire. (TV: Silver Nemesis)

20th century guns could damage Cybermen, but did not kill them. Explosives and bazooka shells took them down easily. (TV: The Invasion, Silver Nemesis) UNIT developed gold-tipped rounds to combat Cybermen. (TV: Battlefield) At close range, attacks with energy and laser weapons could kill Cybermen. (TV: Earthshock)

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)

The Cyberman's distress signal is activated. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

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

The chest unit of a Cyberman was vital to the operation of its life support system. (AUDIO: Telos)

While the Cybermen were capable of time travel, (TV: Earthshock, AUDIO: The Reaping) it was still primitive, limited and even dangerous as late as the 30th century. (PROSE: Illegal Alien) Should the Cybermen have mastered time travel, they would have become strong enough to crush the Draconians, the Sontarans and even the Daleks. (WC: Real Time, AUDIO: Real Time)

Weapons (short range)

A Cyberman with a gun. (TV: The Invasion)

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 and disable. (TV: The Moonbase)

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 weapons. They also carried large rifles for medium range combat on London's streets. (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)

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

Weapons (other)

In the 20th century, the Cybermen invasion fleet had a megatron bomb that could destroy all life on Earth. (TV: The Invasion)

In 2070, the Cybermen had a cannon which could operate in the vacuum of Space. They used it on the surface of the Moon. Due to its mass, it required two Cybermen to operate it. (TV: The Moonbase)

Cybermen in 2526, the invaders of Voga, and the Cybermen removed by Time Scoop to the Death Zone had portable cyber-bombs that could devastate planets. (TV: Earthshock, Revenge of the Cybermen, The Five Doctors)

Neurotrope X incapacitated humans before the Cybermen made an overt move. (TV: The Moonbase) Cybermen sometimes used Cybermats to spread the virus to the population. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen)

The Cybermen were strong enough to kill with their hands without any extra weaponry or electric-based attack. (TV: Earthshock)

Culture

Cybermen made survival their central objective. Since they could not reproduce naturally, they needed to create new members of their population by other means, via 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 from hiding and using human or other agents, cybermats or androids to act as their proxies until they appeared. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen, Earthshock, Attack of the Cybermen)

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) or Kroton. (COMIC: Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman)

In the script and cast listings for The Tenth Planet the individual Cybermen had names. They were Krail, Talon, Shav, Krang, Jarl and Gern. (REF: Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia)
A Cyber-Leader. (TV: The Five Doctors)

Cybermen in positions of authority included the ground level Cyber-Leader who commanded a group of ordinary Cybermen. Cyber-Leaders were sometimes aided by a Cyber-Lieutenant. 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)

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

History

Early history

Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids who arose on Earth's former twin planet, Mondas. Mondas drifted into the outer solar system to become an orphan planet. The Mondasians adapted by turning themselves into cyborgs. (TV: The Tenth Planet) Eventually all of the Mondasians underwent forced cyber-conversion. (AUDIO: Spare Parts)

See Creation of the Cybermen for more details.

The original Mondasians retained more of their organic form. They had personal names. Another group, the Faction, left Mondas and headed for Planet 14. These developed into groups without connection to one another. (PROSE: Iceberg)

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)

Middle history

20th century

Cybermen in 1954. (COMIC: The Good Soldier)

In 1903, after receiving a wealth of information from the future, Grigori Rasputin saw people made of metal. (AUDIO: The Wanderer)

The Seventh Doctor and Ace fought Cybermen in London in 1940. (PROSE: Illegal Alien) They would later fight them in Nevada in 1954. These Cybermen were from Mondas, trying to invade. Their attack was delayed until 1986. (COMIC: The Good Soldier)

A Cyberman rises from a London sewer. (TV: The Invasion)

By 1970, Cybermen, specifically the Faction led by a Cyber-Planner (PROSE: Iceberg), 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. (TV: The Invasion)

From the mid 1970s through 1985, Cybermen lurked in the sewers below London, awaiting another invasion. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen) This would happen in December 1986. (TV: The Tenth Planet) At some point a Cyberman's head was taken and was stored in Henry van Statten's Vault, where he held alien artefacts. According to its label, it was recovered from the London sewers in 1975. (TV: Dalek)

A Cyberman in the TARDIS. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

Having captured a time vessel, the Cybermen knew that the First Doctor would eventually destroy Mondas. They planned to divert Halley's Comet towards Earth in 1985. They hoped the destruction of Earth would change the past so Mondas would survive. The Sixth Doctor foiled them. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

A Cyberman encounters the Doctor. (TV: The Tenth Planet)

In December 1986, 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) Following the destruction of Mondas, the Cyberman would make Lonsis their new home. (AUDIO: Human Resources) One account also claims that the Cyberships were examined and exploited by humans, allowing them to make advances in space travel. Sarah Jane Smith described the invasion as "both the greatest disaster and most astonishing blessing ever to have happened to the human race." (PROSE: The Power of the Daleks)

The Cybermen and a group of mercenaries led by Karl made an alliance with the Daleks in a gambit to sabotage a peace conference on Earth in 1988 and have the planet destroyed. The Cybermen and the mercenaries had a much more active role than the Daleks, as they were tasked with kidnapping an American envoy on whom the success of the conference depended and in capturing the Doctor whom the Dalek Emperor declared a vital part of the plan. The Daleks took a more behind-the-scenes approach as they planned to use the mercenaries and Cybermen as nothing more than scapegoats who could be blamed for the destruction of Earth by the Galactic Council while the Dalek involvement remained a secret. When the Sixth Doctor revealed this information to the Cybermen and the mercenaries, they immediately turned on the Daleks. (AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure)

Cybermen on Earth. (TV: Silver Nemesis)

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)

21st century

In 2000, the Cybermen infected the Earth computers with a virus that removed all vowels. (PROSE: Vrs)

Cybermen in 2005. (COMIC: The Flood)

In 2005, (COMIC: Hunters of the Burning Stone) Cybermen from the future time travelled to Earth to announce themselves to the public. They hoped to flood Earth, using a powerful water-like nerve agent to make humans willingly participate in cyber-conversion. The Eighth Doctor, having absorbed a segment of the Time Vortex for a brief period of time, turned their entire army to dust, and decomposed their ship slowly, causing it to explode soon after. (COMIC: The Flood)

In 2006, Cybermen again invaded Earth's South Pole. (PROSE: Iceberg) In the same year, the Cybermen on Lonsis tried to invade Earth via the portal in the main branch of Hulbert Logistics.The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller destroyed them. They used a quantum crystalliser to make the Cybermen and their ship rapidly rust into dust. (AUDIO: Human Resources)

In 2008 several Cybermen and a Cyber-Planner who were allergic to gold attempted to gain Time travel. They converted Bryon but their ship was destroyed by Charlotte Pollard (AUDIO: The Girl Who Never Was)

In 2021 a group of Cybermen pretended to want to become organic again. A space program used this to their advantage. However the Cyberleader lied, in fact having tricked the agency into creating a conversion chamber. The Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex foiled this scheme. (AUDIO: The Harvest)

Cybermen in the Land of Fiction. (AUDIO: Legend of the Cybermen)

In the middle to late 21st century, Space Station W3 was the site of a takeover by the Faction, but were defeated by the Second Doctor. (TV: The Wheel in Space) In a second attack on the wheel, the Cybermen were sent into the Land of Fiction by Zoe Heriot. (AUDIO: Legend of the Cybermen)

By 2070, the Cybermen were known and feared in several galaxies (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Cybermen) but 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)

Post-21st century

The Space Marines fought the Cybermen on Titan 317 in the latter half of the 22nd century. (PROSE: The Janus Conjunction)

The Cybermen on Aprilia III. (COMIC: Assimilation²)

The Sixth Doctor encountered Cybermen in 2191. By using a Selachian ship the Cybermen had conquered Agora. (PROSE: Killing Ground)

File:Tomb of the cybermen tv.jpg
The Cybermen released from their tombs. (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen)

The Cybermen had all but passed into legend when an archaeological expedition on the planet Telos found the Cyber-tombs. Hordes of Cybermen waited in cryogenic suspension. Earth's Brotherhood of Logicians intended to awaken them, believing the Cybermen would be receptive to their cause. The tomb would be sealed again (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen) and later re-activated. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

Cyber-Wars

Main article: Cyber-Wars

During the Orion War of the early 26th century, humans tried to salvage Cyber-Technology from derelict ships to defeat the androids. This led to both sides nearly wiped out and the temporary conquest of Earth before the Cybermen resurgence was stopped. (AUDIO: Sword of Orion, AUDIO: Cyberman)

Cybermen and a Cyber-Leader.(TV: Earthshock)

In 2526, several planets united to oppose the Cybermen in an event called the Cyber-Wars. A force of Cybermen tried to devastate Earth with a Cyberbomb and convert the survivors. Failing this, they hoped to crash the 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)

One of the last acts of the Cybermen in this war the attempt to blow up the planet Voga to stop the production of glitterguns. (PROSE: Revenge of the Cybermen) In the aftermath of their failure, the Cybermen were reduced to scattered remnants. One group relentlessly hounded the remaining fragment of Voga. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen)

The war ultimately ended when the Tiberian spiral galaxy was blown up, destroying apparently all of the Cybermen. (TV: Nightmare in Silver)

Later history

The Cybermen on Telos, planning to change history. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

On Telos, the Cybermen plotted to change history and divert Halley's Comet to Earth to destroy it and to save Mondas. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen) At some point, Telos was shattered by an asteroid impact. (AUDIO: Telos)

Telos was not the only site of Cyber-Tombs. There were dozens across the galaxy and more wars were started. Bernice Summerfield spoke of the Telos expedition and other tombs being discovered in the past tense. She was sent to one by Irving Braxiatel in the early 27th century. Braxiatel intended to use the Cybermen as a private army but was thwarted. (AUDIO: The Crystal of Cantus)

The Tremas Master sent The Graak to a Cyber-Tomb populated by Cybermen to steal a Cybermat. These Cybermen were either going in- or coming out of the tombs. (GAME: Destiny of the Doctors)

Post wars Cybermen and a Cyber-Leader. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen)

Around 2875, the remaining Cybermen from the Cyber-Wars ship finally caught up to Voga, now in orbit around Jupiter. Their attempt to destroy it would be defeated and their craft and themselves detroyed due to the involvement of the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, and Harry Sullivan. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen)

A Cyberman with the Sixth Doctor. (WC: Real Time)

By 3286, the Cybermen had been thought dead for centuries. A group of these Cybermen led by a Cyber-controller attempted to gain time travel. Around this time, Goddard arrived. Goddard was a super developed Cybermen,from an alternate 1930s where the human race had become cyborgs indistinguishable visually from humans thanks to a Cyber virus. The Cybermen manged to reverse-engineer the virus Goddard brought but were defeated by the Sixth Doctor. (WC: Real Time, AUDIO: Real Time)

A number of Cybermen crowd around a beaten Destrii. (COMIC: The Flood)

Cybermen from the far future would use time travel to return in time to the 2000s to convert Earth. They used rain that caused extreme emotions (sadness, fear, anger) to convince the humans that emotions were bad and to accept conversion willingly. The reason they needed humans from a past era was clear to the Doctor; in the future of the Cybermen, the human genetic template had been corrupted and augmented by their interactions with many alien races. The Cyber-conversion protocols were keyed to human or Mondasian biology; the number of available converts would drop dramatically.

The Doctor offered to regenerate for them so they could gather the data of his regeneration and upgrade their conversion protocols to include other races, in exchange for leaving the Earth alone. The Cybermen agreed, but betrayed him at the last moment (the Doctor was expecting this). Using the fragment of the Time Vortex the future Cybership used as a power source, the Doctor destroyed the Cyberfleet and dissolved them into rain. (COMIC: The Flood)

The Cybermen were notable customers of the information regarding the Doctor held by the Inforarium. When the Eleventh Doctor discovered the Cybermen, as well as the Daleks and Sontarans, had been purchasing this information, he infiltrated the Inforarium and memory-proofed their database using methods he learned from the Silence. The information sold was thus instantly forgotten. (HOMEVID: The Inforarium) This led to the Cybermen losing data on the Doctor.(TV: Nightmare in Silver)

A Cyberman on Hedgewick's World of Wonders. (TV: Nightmare in Silver)

A thousand years after the destruction of the Tiberian spiral galaxy and the end of the Cyber-Wars, the Cybermen were thought to be extinct. Yet surviving Cybermen lay beneath the future site of Hedgewick's World of Wonders. When the theme park was built, the Cybermen began using Cybermites to kidnap people as "spare parts". Angie and Artie Maitland arrived on Hedgewick's World with the Eleventh Doctor and their nanny, Clara, and were taken by the Cybermen. With enough components to reawaken them, after being presumed extinct for a thousand years, the Cybermen awoke from their tombs.

Cybermen attacking Natty Longshoe's Comical Castle (TV: Nightmare in Silver)

The Cybermen began attacking Natty Longshoe's Comical Castle to convert the humans there, but the Doctor, in a battle for his mind with the Cyber-Planner, Mr Clever, had them stop in place to bring in the local resources to win the chess game. The Doctor used a hand pulse to redistribute Clever among the rest of the Cybermen. Angie and Artie were also released. Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick Cord Longstaff XLI gave the verbal command to start the countdown of a planet-imploding bomb. This drew the attention of his ship, which transmatted the Doctor and the humans on the planet while the Cybermen were left behind. The planet and the Cybermen were destroyed; however, one Cybermite survived the destruction. (TV: Nightmare in Silver)

Final evolution

By the 101st century, the Cybermen had nearly died out. Several centuries earlier, they had chosen a new name for their species and become pacifists. (PROSE: Synthespians™)

The Cybermen would ultimately transcend into pure energy. They would redeem the whole of sentient life and become the most peace loving-species in the whole of creation, purely thought with no physical presence. (COMIC: The World Shapers)

Undated events

A Cyberman inside Vorg's Miniscope (TV: Carnival of Monsters)

During the Dark Times on Gallifrey, the Cybermen were excluded from the games in the Death Zone, because the Time Lords believed they had an unfair advantage over other victims of the games. Borusa, having found the Game of Rassilon, transported a squadron of Cybermen to the Death Zone to threaten and harass the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. These Cybermen were mostly destroyed by a similarly transported Raston Warrior Robot. The survivors allied with the Tremas Master, but he betrayed and destroyed them. (TV: The Five Doctors)

The Seventh Doctor and Catherine Broome battled a squad of Cybermen in the Prenadene asteroid belt.(PROSE: Companion Piece)

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

The Cybermen were part of the Supremo's alliance in the war against Morbius. (PROSE: Warmonger)

The remains of one Cyberman were put on sale at the Maldovarium market. The Eleventh Doctor purchased the Cyberman's head and called him "Handles". (TV: The Time of the Doctor)

The Cybermen were involved in the Siege of Trenzalore. After being summoned to Trenzalore by the First Question, the Cybermen attempted to pass through the Papal Mainframe's force field. One attempt involved a Wooden Cyberman as it was low-tech and would not trigger any alarm system but the Doctor tricked the Cyberman into destroying itself. Later, the Daleks attacked the Mainframe and learned how to break the force field. The Cybermen followed them and fought the Doctor and the Silents until all the Cybermen, like many other species involved in the battle, were either killed or saw fit to retreat. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)

Alternate timeline

This section's awfully stubby.

it's difficult to tell, given its lack of a proper resolution after ten years, but Real Time seems to involve some sort of divergent timeline

In an alternate timeline created by the Black Guardian, the First Doctor never left Gallifrey. He became Lord President. The Cybermen were one of many aliens which invaded Earth, and fought over the planet with other races. This timeline was destroyed when the Seventh Doctor retrieved the Key to Time. (COMIC: Time & Time Again)

If the Eleventh Doctor and Jean-Luc Picard did not defeat the Cybermen and the Borg, the Cybermen would eventually defeat the Borg, and invade both the Doctor's universe and the Federation universe, with planets invaded incluing; Raxacoricofallapatorius, Qo'noS, the Judoon homeworld, and finally Starfleet Academy in San Francisco. (COMIC: Assimilation²)

Parallel universe

In the Federation universe, the Cybermen invaded an Archaeological site on Aprilia III and began to convert the people onboard into Cybermen. They encountered the Fourth Doctor, Captain James T. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty. The Fourth Doctor stopped them by using the gold on Kirk's communicator to clog the Cybermen's respiration. (COMIC: Assimilation²)

The Cybermen with the Borg. (COMIC: Assimilation²)

The Cybermen entered into an alliance with another cybernetic species, the Borg, from a Federation due to their identical goals of assimilating other species. On Stardate 45635.2 in 2368, a joint Borg/Cyberman assault force attacked the Federation planet Delta IV and quickly overran it. This attack made the Cybermen known to the Federation. (COMIC: Assimilation²)

Other 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)

In their war with the Cybermen of another universe, the Cult of Skaro noted their resemblance to the Cybermen from our universe. (TV: Doomsday)

Mysteries and discrepancies

The Sixth Doctor with the Voord, some partially turned into Cybermen. (COMIC: The World Shapers)

On Telos, the Second Doctor seemed to have knowledge, if not foreknowledge, of the Cyber-Tombs. (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen) The Cyber-Planner's reference to having met the Doctor on Planet 14 also remains obscure, (TV: The Invasion) though one account tries to explain this in a way which contradicts previously disclosed information about the creation of the Cybermen. (COMIC: The World Shapers) By the time the Cybermen invaded Space Station W3, the Second Doctor was "known and recorded as an enemy of the Cybermen". (TV: The Wheel in Space)

Behind the scenes

Inspiration for the Cybermen

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.

Prologues to certain Target Books novelisations reflect the earlier ideas about the Cybermen and state they perfected the science of cybernetics to gain immortality. The Cybermen were the result: immortal, but at the price of loss of their humanity.

Development of the characters

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, one in the comic strips in The Flood and one more in Nightmare in Silver. Minor re-designs would take place as well. As the Cybermen stories do not appear in a chronological order, this makes their evolution rather confusing; more 'advanced' Cybermen are around at the same time as more 'primitive' ones. This can be explained by time travel, though the Cybermen only captured one time ship. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

The Brilliant Books

The non-narrative sources The Brilliant Book 2011 and The Brilliant Book 2012 had further information about Cybermen.

Cybermen

The non-narrative source Doctor Who: Cybermen, by David Banks, went into further detail about Cybermen and Cyberman factions. Banks created a number of terms — CyberFaction, CyberNomad, CyberTelosian, CyberMondasian, and others — to explain the differences in the Cybermen's costumes on television. Some of the terms, in adapted forms, appear in his later novel, PROSE: Iceberg. It is these forms — Mondan and the Faction, which this wiki prefers, according to our canon policy.

The history Banks presented as "non-fiction" was largely ignored by other authors and so can't be considered in the writing of most of our articles. Here are some of the points that Banks made which never made it beyond Doctor Who: Cybermen:

  • The departure of the CyberFaction (that is, the Faction) from Mondas was thought to have occurred around 5000 BC in what Banks called the "First Divergence".
  • In the "Second Divergence", a group which author David Banks called "CyberNomads" diverged from the Faction. These so-called "Nomads" searched for the validium statue Nemesis and tried and failed to destroy Voga.
  • Possibly after the 21st century, the Faction abandoned their home in the Sol system and journeyed into the galaxy to colonise a suitable planet. The Cybermen which colonised Telos, possibly in 2175, split from the Faction and were called the CyberTelosians. This group united with the CyberNomads after they discovered the frozen CyberTelosians, and became CyberNeomorphs. These Cybermen planned to use Halley's Comet against Earth and were taken to the Death Zone on Gallifrey.

In other words, what Banks was trying to do was create terms for each of the different costumes he and his fellow performers had worn throughout the years. In effect he was saying that the costumes in Attack of the Cybermen were of CyberNeomorphs, the ones worn in The Tomb of the Cybermen were of CyberTelosians, and so forth.

The idea has not been widely ignored by other works. Even he did not in his book, Iceberg, which mentioned none of his terms precisely. It did not reference the CyberNeomorphs and CyberTelosians, and called the CyberFaction, "the Faction", and CyberMondasians, "Mondans".

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Cyberman stories
For the purposes of this list, a "Cyberman story" is one in which one living, authentic Cyberman plays a part within the confines of the story, outside of flashbacks to previous stories and cliffhangers that lead into the following story. For this reason, stories such as Dalek are absent due to only featuring deceased Cybermen on display. Stories like Carnival of Monsters, A Good Man Goes to War and The Vanquishers are also not included due to the Cybermen's appearance being of little consequence to the plot of the story.
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Sword of Orion • Spare Parts • Real Time • The Harvest • Silver Lining • Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Crystal of Cantus • The Reaping • The Gathering • The Blue Tooth • Human Resources • The Girl Who Never Was • The Ultimate Adventure • Kingdom of Silver • Legend of the Cybermen • The Silver Turk • Last of the Cybermen • Return to Telos • The Isos Network • The Tyrants of Logic • Code Silver / Master of Worlds • Hour of the Cybermen • Conversion • Return of the Cybermen • The Gates of Hell • Scourge of the Cybermen • Altered Status • Monsters in Metropolis • Secrets of Telos • Way of the Burryman / The Forth Generation • Bad Day in Tinseltown • Willkommen • Wulf • Übermensch • Auf Wiedersehen • The Great Cyber-War • Sins of the Flesh

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