John Lumic
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John Lumic was a business tycoon and CEO, director and co-founder of Cybus Industries and the creator of the Cybermen and High Content Metal. Born in Great Britain of a parallel Earth, he advanced the entire planet through such inventions as the EarPod. Upon his upgrade, he was designated Cyber-Controller.
Biography
Though he publicly denied rumours of ill health, Lumic suffered from an incurable life-threatening disease that made him so frail as to require a powered wheelchair and periodically resort to breathing in a mixture of drugs contained in its built-in life-support system.
He devoted all of his resources to finding a way to extend his own lifespan. To this end, he used Cybus Industries' front organisation, International Electromatics, to abduct homeless people and use them as test subjects. They were transported to Battersea Cyber-factory in London, where they were upgraded into Cybermen. Lumic took strict measures to keep the project secret, even killing his scientist Dr. Kendrick when he threatened to blow the whistle to Geneva, knowing they would condemn his work.
Hoping to gain government approval for his work, Lumic unveiled the Cyberman model to the President of Great Britain. To his dismay, the President rejected the project as "obscene" and told him no country would accept the model, even after Lumic's personal appeals to him that such a decision constituted a death sentence. Lumic therefore decided to proceed without the President's approval, and set in motion a plan to overthrow the government. He sent his right-hand Mr. Crane to go on a "recruitment drive" and procure more bodies for conversion, then mailed a pair of EarPods to the wife of one of his employees, Pete Tyler, ostensibly as a birthday present. In reality, the EarPods scanned Jackie Tyler's brain so that Lumic could find the security arrangements and passwords for her party, knowing the President would be among those in attendance. That night, Lumic dispatched a horde of Cybermen to the Tyler mansion to kill him (along with any other potential dissidents). (TV: Rise of the Cybermen)
From his Battersea headquarters, Lumic transmitted a signal across London which placed the entire EarPod-wearing population under his control. Shepherded by Cybermen, they were directed to the Cyber-factory and upgraded to become part of Lumic's army. Crane, however, removed his EarPods and turned on Lumic, damaging his employer's life-support system in an attempt to kill him. The Cybermen reasoned that keeping their dying creator alive would be redundant, and against his protests, forcibly upgraded him into their new master: the Cyber-Controller. As the Cyber-Controller, Lumic was similar to his subordinate Cybermen, except his brain was visible and his eyes glowed with blue light. He remained seated in a chair made from titanium alloy, connected by tubing, though he did have full mobility.
The Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler and Pete were all captured and brought to Cyber Control after attempting to infiltrate the factory. With outside help from Jake Simmonds and Mickey Smith, the Doctor cut off the EarPod transmission and plugged the deactivation code for the Cybermen's emotional inhibitors into the Cybus mainframe. To Lumic's horror, his creations went insane and destroyed both themselves and the Battersea factory upon realising what they had become.
The upgraded Lumic angrily tried to stop the Doctor and his friends from escaping the exploding factory in his zeppelin. Before Lumic could reach them, however, Pete Tyler used the sonic screwdriver to sever the rope ladder suspending Lumic above his factory. Lumic then fell into the burning wreckage of his factory below, and was destroyed in the explosion. (TV: The Age of Steel)
Legacy
Despite Lumic's death, the Cybermen lived on across the world. The Preachers devoted themselves to dealing with them. The Cybermen crossed through the Void into the Earth of N-Space. Their invasion force of five million Cybermen went and fought the Cult of Skaro but were all defeated when the Doctor opened the breach sucking them all into the Void. (TV: Doomsday) A remnant group fled through time to London, 1851, but were also defeated by the Tenth Doctor, seemingly ending the Cybermen. (TV: The Next Doctor) They somehow lived on, however, and ventured into space. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)
Personality
As a human
Lumic was a sadistic man; he watched in amusement when a Cyberman killed Kendrick, as per his orders. He thought it was wrong to use the word "working" when referring to a machine. Being proud of creating a new form of life, Lumic didn't want them to be known as machines.
To the public, Lumic was described as sharp, but to others, insane: his research on immortality had taken its toll, slowly turning him into a megalomaniac. Despite thinking that the Ultimate Upgrade would ensure global immortality, to political figures it was seen as both obscene and unethical, which no government would approve of. Lumic tried any way possible of getting his own way whilst being one step ahead in case he couldn't; he wasn't granted permission to embark cyber-converting Britain, but nonetheless had Crane, his deputy and right-hand man, capture homeless people and have them turned into Cybermen. Despite searching for immortality, he protested when he was forced to become the Cyber-Controller.
In the end, his own insanity came full-circle when he had to undergo Cyber-conversion. Even the Doctor noted that Lumic's genius would be lost along with his humanity. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen)
As the Cyber-Controller
Curiously, Lumic appeared to have retained several of his worst personality traits even following his upgrade into a Cyberman. His arrogance and megalomania were ever present, if not amplified. He proclaimed the Cybermen as a species of their own and was certain nothing could stop them from taking over the world. Also, he displayed rage and anger, speaking often with a raised voice and even screaming in rage once his plans were thwarted. (TV: The Age of Steel)
Abilities
Following his conversion into a Cyberman, Lumic gained the increased strength and bullet-proof durability granted by the armoured Cyber-suit. He possessed the standard weaponry that all Cybermen models, namely the electrocution via touch though he never got the opportunity to use it. (TV: The Age of Steel)
Behind the scenes
- According to Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia, the "human" John Lumic was both portrayed and voiced by Roger-Lloyd Pack. The "Cyber-Controller" John Lumic was portrayed by Paul Kasey but retained the same voice actor as his human counterpart.
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