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The Cybermen of the Doctor's universe, sometimes known as Normal Space, were a race of artificially modified near-Humans which originated from the planet Mondas, Earth's twin 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 feared. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen)
Characteristics
Variants
The Cybermen were cybernetically augmented humanoids. Though they varied greatly in design through time, the various versions of the Cybermen had several things in common. Nearly all were silver in colour, with the exception of a black variety which existed in the London sewers. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen, et al.)
Cybermen also exhibited exposed circuitry and tubing, covering a rubber or mylar-like outer skin. (DW: The Tenth Planet) Cybermen frequently attempted to increase their numbers by cyber-conversion.
The CyberMondasians which the First Doctor met on Snowcap Base in December 1986 had undergone a less radical conversion and still retained biological hands. It is possible these Cybermen were prototypes, or at least an early model. (DW: The Tenth Planet)
All other Cybermen were entirely covered up in their metallic suits. (DW: The Moonbase onwards) However, some partial conversions were known to exist that still held human features, for example, Tobias Vaughn. (DW: The Invasion)
Cybermen of the CyberFaction invaded Earth before 1986 and so they co-existed with the CyberMondasians, "MK I" versions. (DW: The Invasion)
Many versions of Cybermen such as those from the CyberFaction and CyberTelosians were slim, but with the CyberNeomorphs in the 26th century the standard was to have bulkier, more imposing forms. (DW: Earthshock) Cybermen like this also existed in the 1980s. (DW: Silver Nemesis)
The CyberMondasians (MK I) had a quavering voice which put certain inflection on certain syllables in a seemingly random, sing-song manner. (DW: The Tenth Planet) Later Cybermen spoke in more of a monotone, emphasizing their lack of emotion. (DW: The Moonbase onwards)
Conversion
Cyber-conversion was the process by which compatible beings were physically and mentally altered into becoming Cybermen. As this was a necessary process for the Cybermen to increase in number, it was carried out at various locations. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen)
Partial conversions did occur and often allowed the host to take on several features of the Cybermen. For example, Tobias Vaughn's torso was immune to gunfire. (DW: The Invasion)
Vulnerabilities
Cybermen had a number of major weaknesses, of which the most notable was the element gold. Gold, having a non-corrosive nature, choked their respiratory systems, a property exploited by the glittergun weapon used during the Cyber-Wars. (DW: Revenge of the Cybermen, Earthshock, Silver Nemesis)
On occasion, the mere touch of gold seemed toxic to them, with gold coins or gold-tipped arrows able to destroy them. (DW: Earthshock, Silver Nemesis) Gold also blocked their sensors and caused the cybermats to malfunction. (DWN: Revenge of the Cybermen)
Other weaknesses of the Cybermen included the combination of solvents known as Polly Cocktail (DW: The Moonbase) and excessive levels of radiation. (DW: The Tenth Planet)
Cybermen affected by the Cerebration Mentor, an emotion enhancing device, went "mad", although this could be because they either put too much fear into it, or simply because the fear caused the robotic parts to malfunction. (DW: The Invasion).
20th century guns could damage Cybermen, but were incapable of killing them with any degree of effect. Explosives and bazooka shells were capable of taking them down easily. (DW: The Invasion, Silver Nemesis) UNIT developed gold-tipped rounds to combat Cybermen. (DW: Battlefield) At close range, attacks with energy and laser weapons were capable of killing Cybermen. (DW: Earthshock)
Raston Warrior Robots counted Cybermen among the many beings they could kill. Although only equipped with javelins and blades, the level of technology encompassed in the robots allowed them to easily destroy a number of Cybermen on their own. (DW: The Five Doctors)
Technology
The Cybermen forces in 2526 employed the use of the Cyberlance, a powerful hand-held cutting weapon. They also made use of the Cyberscope, an observation device that allowed Cyber commanders to both view the battlefield remotely and access a computer database (containing, among other data, information on their race's encounters with the Doctor). (DW: Earthshock)
Should the Cybermen have succeeded in aquiring time travel, they would have been mighty enough to crush the Draconians, the Sontarans, and even the Daleks. (WC: Real Time)
Weapons (Short Range)
During their attack on Earth in 1986, Cybermen carried large hand-held energy weapons. (DW: The Tenth Planet)
On the Moon in 2070, Cybermen possessed the power to generate arcs of electricity from their hands which had the power to stun and disable. (DW: The Moonbase)
In the 21st century, the Cybermen who attacked Space Station W3 had death rays built into their chest units. (DW: The Wheel in Space)
The Cybermen encountered by UNIT in the late 20th century had displayed these same built-in weapons as well as also carrying large rifles for medium distance combat on the streets of London. (DW: 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. (DW: Revenge of the Cybermen)
Over time, the Cybermen came to favour the hand-held cyber-gun over the inbuilt weapon. (DW: The Invasion onwards)
Weapons (Other)
In the 20th century, the Cybermen invasion fleet had a megatron bomb that could destroy all life on Earth. (DW: The Invasion)
In 2070, the Cybermen possessed a cannon which could operate in vacuum. They used this on the surface of the Moon. Due to its apparent weight, two Cybermen were needed to operate it. (DW: 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. (DW: Earthshock, Revenge of the Cybermen, The Five Doctors)
Neurotrope X acted as a means to incapacitate Humans before making an overt move. (DW: The Moonbase). On some occasions they have used Cybermats to spread the virus to the population. (DW: Revenge of the Cybermen)
The Cybermen were strong enough to kill with their hands without any extra weaponry or electric-based attack. (DW: 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. (DW: 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. (DW: Revenge of the Cybermen, Earthshock, Attack of the Cybermen)
Throughout their history, groups of Cybermen sometimes diverged from one another and migrated through their galaxy, resulting in several factions: (REF: Doctor Who: Cybermen)
- CyberMondasians, the original Cybermen on Mondas. (DW: The Tenth Planet)
- CyberFaction, that split off from the CyberMondasians, making Planet 14 their home. (NA: Iceberg)
- CyberTelosians, originating from the CyberFaction's colonisation of Telos. (REF: Doctor Who: Cybermen)
- CyberNomads, groups of Cybermen that split off from the CyberFaction to explore the galaxy. (REF: Doctor Who: Cybermen)
- CyberNeomorphs, the result of a group of CyberNomads discovering frozen CyberTelosians.
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. (DW: The Tenth Planet, et al.)
A few Cybermen had individual names such as Krang (DW: The Tenth Planet) or Kroton. (DWM: 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)
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. (DW: The Wheel in Space, The Invasion) The Cyber-Controllers, who possessed enlarged craniums, had the position of highest possible authority. (DW: 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. (DW: Earthshock)
History
Early history
Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of Near-Humans who originated on Earth's former twin planet, Mondas. Mondas drifted into the outer solar system (and became an orphan planet) and to survive, the natives of that world adapted by turning themselves into cyborgs. (DW: The Tenth Planet) Eventually all of the Mondasians underwent forced cyber-conversion. (BFA: Spare Parts)
- See Creation of the Cybermen for more details
- The novelisation Doctor Who and the Cybermen would claim they originated on Telos
The original CyberMondasians retained more of their organic form and still had personal names. Another group, the CyberFaction, left Mondas in the "First Divergence", possibly around 5000 B.C. (REF: Doctor Who: Cybermen), and headed for Planet 14. These eventually developed into separate groups without connection with one another. (NA: Iceberg)
Mondas developed a drive propulsion system in place of the planet's core to move the entire world. As the original Cybermen were limited in numbers and were continually being depleted, the Cybermen decided to invade Earth. They planned to absorb the Earth's energy, but they took too much and Mondas disintegrated. (DW: The Tenth Planet)
Later history
20th century
The Seventh Doctor and Ace fought Cybermen in London, 1940. (PDA: Illegal Alien) The same team would fight them in 1950s Nevada. (DWM: The Good Soldier)
By 1970 or before, Cybermen, specifically the CyberFaction led by a Cyber-Planner (NA: 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. The Cybermen had him install mind control circuits in electrical appliances manufactured by his company, paving the way for a ground invasion. They had also grafted cybernetic arms onto several of his workers.
Vaughn had a Cyber-Planner installed in his office and communicated with it. The plot was uncovered by the newly formed UNIT and by the Second Doctor who assisted in beating off the invasion both on the ground and from the Cyberman base on the Moon. (DW: The Invasion)
From the mid 1970s through 1985, Cybermen lurked in the sewers below London, awaiting another invasion, which would come in 1986. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen)
At some point a Cyberman's head was taken and was stored in Henry van Statten's Vault, where he collected alien artefacts. According to its label, it was recovered from the London sewers in 1975. (DW: Dalek)
CyberNeomorphs in the future, having captured a time vessel, knew that the First Doctor would destroy Mondas, so planned, instead, to divert Halley's Comet towards Earth. The hoped that the destruction of Earth would change the past so that Mondas survived. The Sixth Doctor was able to prevent such an act. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen)
In December 1986, the First Doctor met an advance force of CyberMondasians that landed near Snowcap Base in Antarctica. This advance force was to prepare for the return of Mondas to the Sol system and the draining of Earth's energy for the use of the Cybermen. Mondas absorbed too much energy and was destroyed, as were the Cybermen on Earth who depended on Mondas for power. (DW: The Tenth Planet) Following the destruction of Mondas, the Cyberman would make Lonsis their new home. (BFA/BBCR: Human Resources)
Sometime post-Mondas was the "Second Divergence", early CyberNomads left the CyberFaction in Sol to explore the galaxy. (REF: Doctor Who: Cybermen)
In November 1988 a fleet of CyberNomads from the future was assembled to turn Earth into New Mondas now that their homeworld had been destroyed. A scouting party was sent to Earth in search of a statue made of validium called Nemesis, a Time Lord weapon. There the met Lady Peinforte, who brought many of their number down with gold-tipped arrows. (DW: Silver Nemesis,REF: Doctor Who: Cybermen)
21st century
Roughly in the mid-2000s, Cybermen from the future would use time travel to return to Earth to announce themselves to the public. They hoped to flood Earth, believing that any survivors willingly undergo cyber-conversion. (DWM: The Flood)
In 2006, Cybermen once more invaded the South Pole of Earth. (NA: Iceberg) In the same year, the Cybermen on Lonsis tried to invade Earth via the portal in the main branch of Hulbert Logistics. Lucie Miller managed to destroy them by using a quantum crystalliser to make the Cybermen and their ship rapidly rust to dust. This would see the last of the original Cybermen. (BFA/BBCR: Human Resources)
In the middle to late 21st century, Space Station W3 was the site of a takeover by the CyberFaction. (DW: The Wheel in Space)
By 2070, the Cybermen were known about and feared in several galaxies (DWN: Doctor Who and the Cybermen) but were considered extinct by Earth. On this year, by which time the Earth's weather was being controlled by the Gravitron installation in the Moonbase, the CyberFaction planned to use the Gravitron to disrupt the planet's weather patterns and destroy all life on the planet. (DW: The Moonbase)
Afterwards, possibly after the 21st century, the CyberFaction abandonded their home in the Sol system and journeyed into the galaxy to colonise a suitable planet. (REF: Doctor Who: Cybermen)
Post-21st century
At somepoint, possibly around 2150, late CyberNomads fought the Vogan war. (DW: Revenge of the Cybermen)
At somepoint, possibly in 2175, the CyberFaction colonised Telos, resulting in the CyberTelosians. (REF: Doctor Who: Cybermen)
The Sixth Doctor encountered Cybermen in 2191. (MA: Killing Ground)
The Cybermen had all but passed into legend when an archaeological expedition to the planet Telos found the CyberTombs, where 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 sealed again (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen) and later re-activated (DW: Attack of the Cybermen).
It was also not the only CyberTomb. There were dozens across the galaxy and more wars were started off. Bernice Summerfield, who spoke of the Telos expedition and other tombs being discovered in the past tense, 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. (BFBS: The Crystal of Cantus) Another tomb was discovered, possibly around the year 2500, a CyberNomad group discovered the CyberTelosians and they united, resulting in the new CyberNeomorphs. (REF: Doctor Who: Cybermen)
Cyber-Wars
In 2526 several planets would unite in war against the Cybermen in an event called the Cyber-Wars. A force of Cybermen tried to devastate Earth using a Cyberbomb and convert the survivors. Failing this, they hoped to crash the freighter into Earth and cause an ecological disaster. Although the attempt failed, the freighter was catapulted back in time to become the "meteor" that wiped out the dinosaurs. (DW: Earthshock)
One of the last acts of the Cybermen during this war was attempt to blow up the planet Voga in order to stop the production of glitterguns. (DWN: Revenge of the Cybermen) In the aftermath of their failure, the Cybermen were reduced to the scattered remnants (DW: Revenge of the Cybermen)
Later history
On Telos, the Cybermen plotted to change history and divert Halley's Comet to Earth in order to destroy it and to save Mondas. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen) At some point, Telos was shattered by an asteroid impact. (BFA: Telos)
During the Orion War between humanity and a race of androids, both sides would attempt to use the long-dormant Cybermen to win the war. This would lead to both races nearly wiped out and the temporary conquest of Earth before the Cybermen resurgence was stopped. (BFA: Sword of Orion, Cyberman)
By 3286, the Cybermen had been thought dead for centuries. The Cybermen eventually developed into cyborgs indistinguishable visually from Humans. (BFA: Real Time)
Later Cybermen would again use time travel and return back in time circa the 2000s to convert it. They used rain that caused extreme emotions (sadness, fear, anger) in an attempt to convince the peoples of the world emotions were bad in order 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 varied alien races; as the Cyber-conversion protocols were keyed to Human or Mondasian biology, the number of available converts dropped 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 at the moment. While the Cybermen agreed, they betrayed him at the last moment (the Doctor was expecting this anyway). Using the fragment of the Time Vortex the future Cybership was using as a power source, the Doctor destroyed the Cyberfleet and dissolved the rain. (DWM: The Flood)
Final evolution
By the 101st century, the Cybermen had nearly died out. Several centuries before that, they choose a new name for their species and became pacifists. (PDA: Synthespians™)
Transcending into pure energy, the Cybermen would ultimately redeem the whole of sentient life and become the most peace loving-species in the whole of creation, becoming purely thought with no biological presence. (DWM: The World Shapers)
Undated historical events
- During the Dark Times on Gallifrey, the Cybermen were excluded from the games held in the Death Zone, due to the fact that the Time Lords believed they possessed an unfair advantage over other victims of the games. Borusa, nevertheless, having found the Game of Rassilon, transported a CyberNeomorph squadron to the Death Zone to threaten and harass the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. (DW: The Five Doctors)
- A Cyberman was among the life-forms exhibited in Vorg's Miniscope. (DW: Carnival of Monsters)
- The Cybermen were part of the Supremo's alliance in the war against Morbius. (PDA: Warmonger)
Other References
- An image of a Cyberman is one of the fears pulled from the Doctor's mind when he faces the Keller machine. (DW: The Mind of Evil)
- During their encounter with the Cybermen of another universe, the Cult of Skaro noted their resemblence to the Cybermen from our universe although it isn't known whether the Cybermen of our world have encountered the Daleks. (DW: Doomsday)
Mysteries and discrepancies
- On Telos, the Second Doctor seemed to have knowledge, if not foreknowledge of the Cyber-Tombs. (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen) The Cyber-Planner's reference to having met the Doctor on Planet 14 also remains obscure (DW: The Invasion), though one account tries to explain this in a way which contradicts previously disclosed information about the creation of the Cybermen (DWM: The World Shapers)
Behind the scenes
Inspiration for the Cybermen
The idea from the Cybermen came from Kit Pedler's interest in new medical advances and his fears as to where they might possibly lead. Earlier conceptions of the Cyberman design would have emphasized the "man" part of the equation, but the proposed design would have cost too much money. Indeed, the televised version of The Tenth Planet featured much more human-like Cybermen, who had human hands.
Prologues to certain Target Books novelisations reflect the earlier ideas about the Cybermen, which state that perfected the science of cybernetics as a means to gain immortality. The Cybermen were the result: immortal, but at the cost of losing 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 rather radically, making them appear much more robot-like in appearance. The Cybermen went through another major re-design in The Invasion, yet another in Earthshock, and one in the comic strips in The Flood. Various 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 and vice versa. This, however can be explained through time travel, though the Cybermen only captured one time ship. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen)
See also