Cybermat
Cybermats were small cyborgs used as advance guards, plague carriers or energy thieves by the Cybermen.
Physical characteristics
Variants
From early in the Cybermen's history before they froze themselves on Telos, some variants had crystalline eyes and antennae through which they received commands. These Cybermats resembled oversized metallic silverfish and had segmented bodies with cilia-like tactile sensor probes along the base of their heads. Some, though not all, Cybermats of this kind could easily fit in the palm of a humanoid hand. (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen)
When the Eleventh Doctor and Amy arrived in the Arctic Circle, they discovered Cybermats turning people into Cyberslaves to help awaken an army of Cybermen. They repelled the Cybermats with a specific frequency on a sonic amplifier device. (VG: Blood of the Cybermen)
A Cybermat was named Bitey by the Eleventh Doctor due to its organic mouth. The Doctor reprogrammed it to drain power from the Cybership, but a Cyberman stepped on Bitey, destroying it. (DW: Closing Time)
In the 21st century, when the Cybermen attempted to infiltrate Space Station W3, they had photoreceptors for eyes rather than crystalline based eyes. Otherwise they looked similar. (DW: The Wheel in Space)
Also in the 21st Century a group of Cybermen crashed on Earth and a Cybermat was used to drain electrical energy for the crashed Cybership so they could begin full Cyber Conversions. This Cybermat had black, teardrop-eyes like Cybermen and also had an opening mouth with organic teeth. (DW: Closing Time)
When the Cybermen infiltrated Nerva Beacon in a plot to destroy Voga, the Cybermats had segmented, eyeless, flat worm-like bodies without cilia. (DW: Revenge of the Cybermen)
Cybermen from the 30th century who traveled back to 1940 also employed Cybermats and harvested humans to make more of them. (PDA: Illegal Alien)
Another variant were sleeker and more high-tech versions of the Telos version of the Cybermats. Unlike the Telos version, these Cybermats were purposed with biting humans and infecting them with a virus much like the Cybermats in Revenge of the Cybermen. However, instead of being deadly, the virus mutated flesh into metal and the victims became Cyberslaves. (VG Blood of the Cybermen)
Weaknesses
Cybermats shared the Cybermen's weakness for gold. (DW: Revenge of the Cybermen) They could also be disabled with electric charges, (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen) although this weakness seems to be eliminated later; one was used to siphon electricity from power sources instead (DW: Closing Time). They could also be disabled with a sonic pulse, using an amplifier. (VG: Blood of the Cybermen)
History
The Cybermats originated on Mondas during the earliest phases of Cyberman history, when most of the planet had not yet converted. (BFA: Spare Parts) The Cyber-tombs on Telos had tunnels for the Cybermats to move from the tombs into the main control rooms. (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen)
Some accounts showed the Cybermats were created by Cybermen from bodies or body parts of humanoids not suitable for Cyber-conversion: pets, very young children or babies. (BFA: Spare Parts, PDA: Illegal Alien, BFBS: The Crystal of Cantus)
The Cybermats appeard to have something to do with the Conversion process. (RT: Dreadnought)
The Master once forced The Graak to steal a disabled Cybermat. (VG: Destiny of the Doctors)
Behind the scenes
- Wood lice inspired the creation and look of the Cybermats. In their first appearances in The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Wheel in Space, they were realised in the studio by a variety of techniques, including clockwork and radio-controlled models. In some shots they were pulled by wires or simply pushed into view. Shots of the Cybermats leaping onto their victims were achieved by pulling the Cybermat away via wires and playing the film backwards.
- Cybermat effects in Revenge of the Cybermen used a combination of strings, puppetry and CSO, which did not look very convincing. The Cybermats (or rather the single Cybermat which appeared) went through a radical re-design and resembled a cybernetic silverfish.
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