John Lumic
- For the Cyber-Controller of the main Whoniverse, see here.
John Lumic was a business tycoon and owner of Cybus Industries and the creator of the Cybermen. Born in Great Britain (which he called "the homeland"), he advanced the entire planet through such inventions as the EarPod.
Biography
Though he publicly denied rumours of ill health, Lumic suffered from a terminal illness and used a motorized wheelchair as transport. He devoted all of his resources to discovering a way to extend his own lifespan. To this end, he used Cybus Industries' front organisation, International Electromatics, to abduct homeless people as test subjects. These captives were transported to Lumic's factory in London, Battersea Power Station, where they were upgraded into Cybermen. Lumic took strict measures to keep the project secret, even killing a member of his staff who threatened to blow the whistle.
Hoping to gain government approval for his work, Lumic unveiled the Cyberman model to the President of Great Britain. To Lumic's dismay, the President denied his plea and rejected the project. Viewing the President's decision as a death sentence, Lumic set in motion a plan to overthrow the government. He mailed a pair of EarPods to the wife of one of his employees, Pete Tyler, ostensibly as a birthday present. In reality, the EarPods were meant to scan Jackie Tyler's brain so Lumic could override the security arrangements for that night. Knowing the President would be among those in attendance at Jackie's party, Lumic dispatched a horde of Cybermen to kill him (along with any other potential dissidents).
Once his breathing apparatus was damaged by Mr. Crane, Lumic realized that he would soon die and pleaded with his Cybermen to help him. The Cybermen reasoned that keeping the old man alive would be redundant, and against Lumic's protests, forcibly upgraded him into their new master, the Cyber-Controller.
He remained seated in a chair, connected to it by tubing, though he did have full mobility as long as he disconnected the tubing. This Cyber-Controller was similar to his subordinate Cybermen, except his brain was visible and his eyes glowed with blue light, suggesting more advanced vision circuits. It seemed that part of Lumic's human consciousness remained intact, to the point where it could be argued that there was even some emotion - anger - in his voice when speaking to the Doctor. It is unknown whether or not Lumic was affected by the deactivation of the emotional inhibitors, although this would support Lumic's state of fury afterwards.
His brain housed in a metallic body, Lumic announced that his Cybermen would take control of London before overthrowing the world. Soon afterwards, the Battersea factory was destroyed, temporarily delaying the Cyberman invasion. The upgraded Lumic angrily tried to stop the Doctor and his friends from escaping in a zeppelin. Before Lumic could reach them, however, Pete Tyler used the sonic Screwdriver to cut the rope ladder suspending Lumic above his factory, causing him to fall into the burning wreckage and apparently killing him. (DW: The Age of Steel)
Legacy
Although Lumic died, the Cybermen lived on elsewhere across the world. The Preachers devoted themselves to dealing with them. The Cybermen survived however, and crossed through The Void into the Earth of Normal Space. Their invasion force of five million Cybermen was defeated there. (DW: Doomsday) A remnant group was also defeated by the Tenth Doctor, seemingly ending the Cybermen. (DW: The Next Doctor) They somehow lived on however, and ventured into space. (DW: The Pandorica Opens)
Behind the scenes
Several parallels existed between Lumic and Davros, creator of the Daleks. Both Davros and Lumic relied on life support machines, yet also seemed to have a sense of superiority to others among their species. They both also tried to conquer their respective home planets by converting or mutating their own kind into an emotionlesss and militaristic race. Ultimately, both were also betrayed by their creations.
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