Zack Snyder’s Cyborg (Ray Fisher) has been doing his homework. While speaking at Rhode Island Comic Con about the upcoming Justice League, Fisher told the crowd he’s a fan of previous Cyborg adaptations, specifically name-dropping the original Teen Titans cartoon.
Teen Titans, which aired from 2003 to 2006 on Cartoon Network, presented a bombastic, comedic version of Cyborg, who buddied up with the younger Beast Boy and encouraged his teammates by yelling “Boo-yah!” Cyborg, who goes by Cy in the cartoon, is the only Titan in the group of five not teased as part of a couple — Raven and Beast Boy had their flirtations, and Starfire and Robin remain a fan-beloved pairing.
The Teen Titans cartoon occasionally touched on the sadder, darker nature of Cyborg becoming what he is. “I was in the middle of high school [when Teen Titans debuted], and I was like, ‘This show speaks to me’ because there were all of these characters going through these real teen issues while also saving the world. The extent of my knowledge was just about that,” Fisher says. Although he especially liked the Teen Titans version of Cyborg, Fisher added he was given “a library” of comics to study from when cast in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Assumedly, if he’s reading DC’s current run on Cyborg, Fisher has been introduced to the character as a horror protagonist. When Cyborg debuted in DC Comics in 1980, his story centered around how disturbing it was to a young man to be fitted with strange, monstrous tech.
Cyborg, upon seeing his new form, begs to die.
There’s no telling whether Zack Snyder’s version of Cyborg will adhere more closely to the grim, conflicted comic book version over the amicable, catchphrase-spouting cartoon Fisher says he enjoys, but if Snyder’s previous work in superhero stories is telling, his Cyborg probably won’t be overjoyed to become a metal man.
Watch Ray Fisher and Gal Gadot’s entire Q&A below.
Justice League is due for release November 17, 2017.
