Discussion Question: Who's Your Favorite Cyborg?

so many have taken my love for technology-human interaction and interweaving where it is now: I'm a computational scientist. But my favourite remains Ghost in the Shell's Major. No other piece of fiction got me thinking as much about humanity's ship of theseus question. I do believe this is something we need to sort out before long.

Ax

I've put some more thought into this recently, and I have to go with Karan S'Jet. I was reminded of her when I broke down in a wave of nostalgia and preordered the Homeworld Remastered Collection.

Ross Clatterbuck

Simeon from "The City Who Fought" by Anne McCaffrey is at the top of my list for cyborgs that I'm familiar with. He's a human mind controlling a space station, and projects himself as a rugged cowboy hologram. He develops a programming "gui" where commands are visualized as objects in his mind. This is used to great effect later in the book where he takes a bat and... I probably shouldn't spoil the rest. I enjoyed all the brainship books I had back in high school.

Chris Young

Not sure which is my favourite. But I did want to mention that, as a child, I would often argue with my parents that Inspector Gadget is a cyborg which they repeatedly denied. Thank you for validating me.

Mateusz

My understanding is that skin job Cylons are manufactured humanoids, so they're somewhere between being either a robot or clone in the traditional sense. Their bodies are built out of organic compounds in a largely human configuration according to the design specifications of their series/model, but some of the principles behind their construction, and internal organization in combination with subtle material differences in their makeup give them different abilities and tolerances than the humans their designs emulate. The basic templates don't include a fusion of mechanical and biological components so much as (generally) improved implementation of biological materials. Many depictions of replicants fall into a similar category of being although, as the name implies, they are often just well engineered clones who are treated like machines.

Kim Ross obviously takes top prize. Molly Millions would be second-- gotta love those street samurai. And maybe Vash the Stampede as third? It's always nice when someone can bring a fresh perspective to gun fights.

Animadversion

We can agree on FemShep forever, at least. ;)

Sasha Reid

Cyborg from Teen Titans obviously =)

David Zabner

This one is kinda difficult. Major Motoko Kusanagi or possibly Batou from Ghost in the Shell. were the first to come to mind. Motoko because she's a full body cyborg, and Batou because of his eyes. I've always wondered/considered what'd it'd be like to have more control over how I visually experience the world. Expand my senses to include greater ranges of color or see along different electromagnetic spectrums. As a kid I adored the SIlverhawks. Having re-watched some of it as an adult, they're kinda silly, heavily reliant on cliche, and none of the physics makes any sense . But the idea of cyborgs who can fly in space is still appealing in a way.

Fletcher

No love for Lobot (ya know, from Empire Strikes Back)? (Only half-kidding.) Are replicants or skinjob Cylons cyborgs?

I'm a big fan of Batou, yeah, but in terms of depictions of cybernetics, I think I really like the way the mechanical augmentations of Human Revolution's Adam Jensen were depicted. Not just the appearance, though the black mirrored look was fantastic in the neon-drenched setting, but also the various functions he could be upgraded to achieve. Fun fact: I'm actually a cyborg myself, with an implanted spinal neurostimulator device! It's electrodes implanted in my spinal cord, connected to a wired battery pack and computer below the waist-line, controlled by a remote control. I geek out over it constantly.

Anna Phylaxis

Only a favorite if it is Renegade Fem!Shep.

Ross Clatterbuck

Twelve year old me would give me side-eye if I said anything other than RoboCop. What's great (or, actually, not so much) was having a character like that in a movie that was decades ahead of its time as far as its political awareness went.

Ned Gilmore

Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop, no contest. Spike's cybernetics are minimal, but integral to the story of his character and the symbolism of the show as a whole. The prosthetic eye is the only externally visible change (and a subtle one, at that), but the outstanding reflexes and coordination he displays, along with uncanny recovery from some seriously nasty fights, suggest that the extent of the modifications go much further than even Spike might know. Jet is a close second. Retired cop from Ganymede with a metal arm who just wants to tend his bonsai- what's not to love?

Spav

As of late, Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles. Kid's got a lot of spunk and a built-in lie detector that comes in quite handy. I'm enjoying this series a lot more than I thought I would.

Excluding Kim Ross? Ghost in the Shell's Major Kusanagi. Hands down. Hands up, too.

T. L. Howl

If real people count, Amy Purdy <a href="http://amypurdy.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://amypurdy.com/</a> Fictional? Cassandra Kresnov is a human made from artificial materials.... not a clone or robot, but also lacking mechanical or "organic" parts in the conventional sense of those words... so probably disqualified. So then I'll go with ... Summer Glau's "Cameron" Terminator.

Spike McLarty

Alita from Battle Angel. A cyborg since she was 4, she grows up to master an ancient form of Martian Cyborg combat called Panzer Kunst. She eventually becomes so proficient and powerful that she attracts the attention of the governments of the solar system who attempt to use her to push their political machinations.

Zachary Fenton

Steve Austin. At $6 million, he was a bargain even in 1974 dollars. And the coolest things he had to fight were actual robots.

Jeff Skaistis

After your Tumblr Post, I have to go with Melfina, from Outlaw Star. That show got me into anime, after all.

Kuma

Assuming we self-select Kimiko out, I'm forced to say, Motoko Kusanagi takes it for me just because of her introspection into the concept of self in the post-human condition. Most of the section 9 team score highly. I will admit, though, that Molly Millions and many characters from Gunnm (Alita, especially) made for very tough competition.

Pitchfork Cosplay

Kim Ross. Sorry, just is.

jeff fearnow

Batou or Ishikawa from Stand Alone Complex would be pretty high on the list, as would the Dentons from Deus Ex (does nanotech count as cyborg?). Briareos from Appleseed and Asimov's Bicentennial Man too :)

Matt

Edward Elric - the Fullmetal Alchemist. A cyborg in a fantasy setting is a rare treat, and FMA delivers on it in spades. 1- Edward's origins as a cyborg are deeply rooted in pathos and human emotions. He lost his limbs in a vain attempt to recover his mother's life along with his younger brother. 2 - Alchemy (the magic in FMA) interacts closely with the chemical and physical properties of the world. On several occasions, he is protected from attacks because his opponent anticipates they are targeting an area that is fleshy, but he blocks with his prosthetic arm or leg, greatly weakening or negating the attack. 3 - As his prostheses are non-living, they are more malleable to Alchemy, and he frequently uses his alchemical abilities to shape his prosthetic arm into a weapon that can't be dropped or disarmed, giving him an edge in combat situations.

Ian

Cyborg from Teen Titans Go. He'd be more fun to team up with than most other cyborgs.

Paul Lenoue

Not sure if Edward Elric from Full Metal Alhemist counts as a cyborg but he is able to do some pretty cool stuff with his mechanical components. Otherwise the clear answer for me is Franky from One Piece, a la Kimiko style he constructed his own cyborg body and as a bonus he is powered by Cola.

Teddy

Locutus of Borg! ... jooooking. Invader Zim? Nah, he's possibly the most inept (amusingly so!) villain ever. I'm going to go with Commander Shepard -- undeniably a Cyborg from Mass Effect 2 onward.

Sasha Reid

Prince Corum Jhaelen Irsei , from Michael Moorcock's eternal champion books. He'd only count after his first 3 stories though, after he lost the gods' hand and eye and replaced them with silver ones. By the way, have you thought of drawing any of the eternal champion incarnations?

Jon Barker

Molly Millions, no question. "Appearing at first glance to be wearing mirrored sunglasses, Molly has in fact had her eye sockets sealed with vision-enhancing mirrored lenses, installed by the skilled black-market surgeons of Chiba City. To accommodate the inset lenses her tear ducts have been re-routed to her mouth; on the very rare occasions she cries, she either spits out or swallows the tears"

voidfraction

Tough call, Robocop is pretty high on my list. Major Kusangi from Ghost in the Shell... Actually Batou probably more so. Buuut I will have to go with Victoria Modesta. Because she is a real person and is phenomenal!!

Dragonhide Studios

Gotta go with The Major. Ghost in the Shell is pretty much why I have a Masters degree.

EdZ

You mean other than Kim Ross, right? Since your sample population is likely significantly enriched for Kim Ross fans relative to the general population.

Ryan C. Thompson