[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Writer: John Semper Jr.

Pencils: Paul Pelletier

Summary

Young Exxy Clark is a small time computer hacker and thief who is recruited to break into S.T.A.R. Labs. What’s even more crazy is that it’s Cyborg who has recruited him. Why does Cyborg need the help of a thief? And what could possibly be in S.T.A.R. Labs that’s even beyond Cyborg’s reach that he’d have to ask for outside help?

Positives

Running from the police, a young African American named Exxy Clark soon finds himself cornered. Semper Jr. does a great job for a moment talking about the problem of police brutality here by having the cops mention they were going to “rough him up” for giving them a hard time by running. It isn’t until the arrival of Cyborg that the cops fall back into line. Cyborg then instructs Exxy that he needs something very important to be done in S.T.A.R Labs and only Exxy is qualified enough to do it. Throughout the book Exxy is pretty hesitant about the situation and what ensues is straight comedy between the two. Exxy remarks about how bad of an idea this is and Cyborg is quick to reply that going back to jail is always an option. It’s in that moment that Exxy agrees to help Cyborg achieve his goal–and that turns out to be way more difficult than either of them expected.

Negatives

My only negative about this issue seems so far to be the revealing of the villain. Every since the beginning of the series, almost every adversary Cyborg has faced so far has been orchestrated by someone. Since this person seemed to be so obsessed with Cyborg’s technology and especially his tech with producing boom tubes I figured someone from Apokolips or another type of threat. Instead this person is from Dr. Silas Stone’s past, and that kind of threw me off. I’m sure Semper Jr. will give us a backstory to the cybernetic villain now known as Otac so hopefully the next issue gives me more insight.

Verdict

Cyborg #8 is a good read, and is something can be read separate from the series as well. My only complaint is to the introduction of the villain that Cyborg now faces. I hope that there is more backstory to his hatred of both Silas and Victor and maybe that will better justify his actions so far in the series. Cyborg has actually grown on me as a book because before that I only knew him as a Teen Titan for years, and that was before him being a part of the Justice League. It would be nice to see Cyborg have his own “Luthor” or “Joker” type of villain that forces him to elevate himself as a hero. If this is what Semper Jr. has in mind then I’m definitely all for it!