Few DC heroes were more radically altered by the New 52 relaunch than Cyborg. That has less to do with the alterations to his origin story and powers than the fact that Vic Stone was elevated from Teen Titan to founding member of the Justice League . It was a big promotion for a fan-favorite character. But even with the debut of his latest solo comic, DC has yet to prove that Cyborg is actually better off because of that promotion.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Cyborg Rebirth #1!

Art by Jim Lee. DC Entertainment.

Art by Will Conrad. DC Entertainment.

Honestly, the comics could do with a little more of this.

DC had several motivations for elevating Cyborg to A-List status, but above all Cyborg's promotion was an attempt to address the fact that there's not a lot of diversity in the Justice League's "Big Seven" lineup. Five white, American men, an Amazon and a Martian do not a diverse super-team make. But why specifically add Cyborg to the mix? Why choose Vic Stone rather than, say, John Stewart or Black Lightning or Vixen? All three of those characters have a strong connection to the Justice League that Cyborg lacked at the time. Given how much mainstream exposure and popularity John Stewart earned from his starring role in the Justice League cartoon, you could argue that DC should have made him a founding member anyway.At the time, writer Geoff Johns indicated he had big plans for Cyborg. He had already positioned Vic as a major player in the Flashpoint mini-series, which basically paved the way for his role in the New 52. Johns said at the time , "He represents all of us in a lot of ways. If we have a cellphone and we're texting on it, we are a cyborg — that's what a cyborg is, using technology as an extension of ourselves."Clearly, the goal was twofold - to explore what it means to be human in a digital age and to make Cyborg a sort of everyman character whom readers could connect with on a level they can't with icons like Batman or Wonder Woman. These were noble goals, but I don't think Johns or other writers ever achieved them during the course of the New 52. Rather than serving as the linchpin of the new Justice League, Cyborg became a background figure. He basically became the team's IT department. Vic is always there to parse through data streams or teleport other characters where they need to go, but how often is he a vital, central player in the various Justice League adventures? Worse, he seems to be relegated to the same, thankless role in all media, whether it's the Injustice: Gods Among Us franchise or DC's various direct-to-DVD animated movies.It's frankly a little bizarre that DC waited nearly four years from the start of the New 52 to finally give Cyborg his own solo comic. And while the DC You Cyborg series started off strong, the book quickly lost all its momentum with the sudden departure of artist Ivan Reis and then writer David F. Walker. Even bringing Cyborg's co-creator Marv Wolfman into the fold did little to recapture that initial momentum. If the first issue of the new Cyborg comic is any indication, that lost momentum isn't going to be recaptured in DC Rebirth. Five years after the New 52 relaunch, DC seems no closer to cementing Cyborg's importance in the modern DCU. What's his driving purpose as a character? What notable villains can he call his own?Despite DC's best efforts to revamp the character, Cyborg's best moments hail from his days as a Teen Titan. Even the goofy version of Cyborg seen on the Teen Titans Go cartoon often feels more true to the character than the lonely sentinel we see in the various DC comics. His relationships to those characters are so crucial to who Vic is as a person and his evolution as a hero. He arguably lost as much as any character from Doctor Manhattan's meddling with the DC timeline. And isn't the whole point of DC Rebirth to restore relationships that were lost in the New 52? We've seen the original Wally West get the band back together in the pages of Titans. Maybe it's time to bring Vic's pre-Flashpoint history back into play and rebuild his ties to the Teen Titans.At the very least, Cyborg could use an extra dose of joy and optimism in his life. Even as so many heroes have benefited from the more hopeful air of DC Rebirth, Vic seems to be moving in the exact opposite direction. (One morefor you. Here they come!) Cyborg Rebirth #1 delivered a crushing blow to the character with the reveal that he may be nothing more than a soulless robot implanted with the memories of the late Vic Stone. It's possible that this plot twist will be what the character needs to finally come into his own as a solo character. But I can't help but notice that those moments where Cyborg has stood out in the New 52 era have tended to be those that celebrate his youthful, fun-loving personality. Case in point - his brotherly bond with Shazam. Sending Vic down a RoboCop-esque path to prove his own humanity runs very counter to that joyful exuberance.To be fair, the new Cyborg comic is only one issue deep, and there's plenty of room for the series to grow and improve. Cyborg wouldn't be the first DC Rebirth series where the first issue is a poor indicator of future quality. But I do hope DC is able to finally sort out the character's direction sooner rather than later. Cyborg is poised for a major profile boost next year when he appears in the Justice League movie (with more cinematic adventures to follow). The DC Extended Universe is about to face its own battle when it comes to establishing Cyborg as a founding Justice Leaguer and a solo player rather than a Teen Titan. What source material should the movies be drawing inspiration from, exactly? The comics have set a poor example over the past five years.It's not that Cyborg didn't deserve the promotion DC gave him in 2011. He's a great character with plenty of untapped potential. And as a major African American hero who's completely original and not tied to another character's legacy, he's crucial in the push for greater diversity in superhero comics. But DC hasn't done enough to prove that Cyborg is better off in his present status quo than he was as a Teen Titan.

"Between the Panels" is a bi-weekly column from Jesse Schedeen that focuses on the world of comics. You can see more of his thoughts on comics and pop culture by following @jschedeen on Twitter , or Kicksplode on MyIGN