2017 Geek-A-Long: Cyborg

Three cheers for Cyborg! He’s basically the personification of every teenager’s “Let me live my own life, Mom/Dad!” issues. As someone who was fast tracked to take over the family business and ran away to pursue a writing career and live a life of yarn, I relate to him more than is probably appropriate for a 32 year-old-woman. Victor Stone, the son of two scientists, never feels as if he’s good enough for his parents. Running on the New 52 version and Young Justice, Vic’s parents never come to his football games or support his choices. Generally he has a bad relationship with his father, which only gets worse after an accident at S.T.A.R. Labs that should have killed him. His father injects him with nanites and grafts Promethian skin and robotic parts onto him.

I should probably mention here that while my parents and I have had our disagreements, they never put me in a situation where I almost died in a lab accident or subjected me through prolonged excruciating pain to save my life. It was more like, “Jacquline, don’t be a wack-a-do millennial, chasing your dreams! Stay here in this boring job you hate, because tradition and stability and stuff.”

And I was like, “LOL. No.”

There have been some truly hard times as a result of that choice, but it was the best decision I’ve ever made. It brought me to new friends, my husband, and to all of you. For Cyborg, it was joining the Teen Titans. He was able to turn his tragedy into something positive that could help others, which is pretty dang respectable in my book.

My first introduction to Cyborg was in Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans, which is not the same as Teen Titans Go. Much like Young Justice, which I discussed in the Shazam post, it provided a different take on the DC characters that we’re used to. IE Batman and Superman. While the show caters to young adults, it isn’t alienating or overly simplistic for those older than it’s target audience. The underlying subplot involving Slade in season one is driven and dark, and the series only gets better from there.

Teen Titans Go, which is made by the same people and voice actors, is basically a ten-minute comedy show that gives us a glimpse into what the Titans’ lives were like in between those dark episodes. The situations in TTG are often parody driven and satirical, and the show is littered with in-jokes from the DC Universe.

People who loved the original Teen Titans usually hate TTG, but I think most of that vitriol comes from having their favorite show cancelled. While some of the episodes can be grating, their are some true gems in TTG, most of which are due to Cyborg. Basically, when I watch Teen Titans Go with my nieces, I like to think of it as The Cyborg Comedy Show.

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering. Cyborg and I also share a love of waffles, barbeque, and not being able to function without our special pump-up song. Skip to 0:21. This is me rolling into the dye studio every morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-49I3uDSkQ

“The Night Begins to Shine” is not my special song, but man is it catchy. I’ve been meaning to find a way to make it my ringtone since I saw this episode. The back 4 mins of it is drawn in the style of 80s new wave art with robotic animals and neon galore. After the Titans get Cyborg to stop playing the song all the time, he becomes powerless until he realizes that needing a song to fuel him isn’t so bad. He goes on an epic cyberpunk fantasy quest to save his friends, which you can watch below, because I’m addicted to this song and have no shame.

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the Cyborg pattern here. Instructions and charts for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to Instagram your squares at us @lattesandllamasyarn with the hashtag #geekalong!

If you’re having trouble with double-sided knitting, we have a how-to video here and a tutorial on crochet here. Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~ Jac
If I’m Cyborg, does that make Megan-Anne Beastboy?

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