Smallville Cyborg Gives a New Twist to Hero’s Story

Like many of the characters in the hit TV series on the early life of Clark Kent, the hero we’ll call the Smallville Cyborg is a little different than we remember him from the original comics.

We’ll give a little background to preface everything about the Smallville Cyborg. Victor Stone was a high school student who got into an accident with a creature and was severely injured. As a result, he received experimental prosthetics which give him super-human strength, speed, agility, and the ability to communicate with computers. This is similar to what happens to our Smallville Cyborg, but there are some distinguishable differences. At this point, if you have not watched Smallville through season nine, I would recommend stop reading so I don’t spoil anything for you!

The Smallville Cyborg also goes by the name Victor Stone, but he receives his mechanical implants for a different reason than the comic-book Cyborg. In the episode Cyborg, Stone, played by Lee Thompson Young, dies and is brought back to life by a scientist from a subsidiary of LexCorp through the use of cybernetic technology. But what’s different is that from his outward appearance, you’d have no idea that Stone was made of metal. It was his appearance in the comics that were the basis for part of his character’s story, including his break-up with his girlfriend. Smallville’s creators cleverly fit this relationship into the story of the Smallville Cyborg — his girlfriend couldn’t stand the thought of him being metal on the inside.

To make the Smallville Cyborg look more like the one in the comics, Smallville’s creators gave him a metallic-looking suit. We see Cyborg making use of his super-strength ability more than any other in the show. But he also uses his ability to interface with computers in the episode Justice.

Although the Smallville Cyborg is different that the original Cyborg, he’s a great character for the show and fits in nicely with the group of other portrayals of his character. The other notable TV appearance by this less-popular hero is in the show Teen Titans. In the comics, much of Cyborg’s superhero work took place as part of the Teen Titans. But I think the creators of Smallville made the right choice about including him as part of the Justice League. Lee Thompson Young plays the character perfectly, and despite the difference from the comics, the Smallville Cyborg is right at home with his counterparts in the show.