TheCyber-Wars, alternatively stylisedCyber-wars (PROSE:Wanted! Cybermen^[+]Loading...["Wanted! Cybermen (feature)"]) orCyber Wars, (GAME:Attack of the Cybermen^[+]Loading...["Attack of the Cybermen (game)"]) were a series ofgalactic conflicts in which an alliance made a concerted effort to wipe out theCybermen.

The First Cyber Wars and the Vogan war[[edit] |[edit source]]

Main article:Vogan War

By the2150s, asubspecies ofCybermen known as theCyberNomads were involved in theVogan War. (PROSE:Killing Ground)

In the late22nd century, a series ofskirmishes known at the time as "theCyber-conflicts" occurred between humans and Cybermen at the outermost human colony planets. (PROSE:The Janus Conjunction)

There were also reference made to "Cyber-Wars" occurring by the mid-23rd century, having leftEarth financially destroyed in combination with the2150s Dalek invasion of Earth. (PROSE:Theatre of War) One account held that the first Cyber-War began in the2260s, whenhuman colony worlds likeBurnt Salt had their populations ravaged by massconversions. (AUDIO:The Tyrants of Logic)

Another reference was made to Cyberwars in the early24th century, (PROSE:The Dimension Riders) followed by a period of peaceful expansion until colonial incidents in2387. (PROSE:Infinite Requiem)

By another account, theGalactic Cyberwars began in2383 with an attack on theEarth Empire and, following a failedattack on Voga in2483, finally ended in2489 with the defeat of the Cybermen. (PROSE:The Cyber Files)

The Great Cyber War[[edit] |[edit source]]

Main article:Great Cyber War

The most well known of the Cyber-Wars was the one where theglittergun was developed. (TV:Revenge of the Cybermen) It was known as "the Cyberwar", (TV:Revenge of the Cybermen,PROSE:Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen) the "Second Cyberwar", (PROSE:Original Sin) or theGreat Cyber War. (AUDIO:Last of the Cybermen,TV:The Timeless Children)Gold was a major weakness of the Cybermen. The glittergun could fire gold dust at them. According to theFourth Doctor, humans discovered that weakness and invented the gun as a result of that discovery. This invention was the end of Cybermen, which disappeared after their attack on Voga at the end of war. According to aCyber-Leader, if humans had not had the resources of Voga, the Cybermen would have won the war. (TV:Revenge of the Cybermen) According tothe Spy Master, he bore witness to the war and the "atrocities" done to the Cybermen in it. (TV:The Timeless Children)

The war resulted in the near-complete destruction of the Cyber race. Earth forces launched a final assault onTelos, during which theplanet's surface was bombarded. Remnant groups of Cybermen fled acrossthe galaxy. These surviving Cybermen learned from the war thathumans would always resist them and so they thought it better to destroy them rather than to conquer them. The Sixth Doctor estimated that, with the destruction of the Super Controller, these remnants would be less stable and more prone to emotions, such as revenge. (AUDIO:Last of the Cybermen)

A large Cyberman fleet escaped the bombardment of Telos and fled to adwarf planet in theKuiper Belt. They waited 10 years after the war's conclusion, intending totravel back to the time of the bombardment, defeat the enemy and then launch an attack on Earth, changing the outcome of the conflict in their favour. However,Zoe Heriot and thenFindel, managed to take over the mind of theSuper Controller. They were able to control the Cyberfleet and had the thousands of ships crash into the planet. This completed the bombardment and destroyed the foundations of the Cyber Empire, ending the war. (AUDIO:Last of the Cybermen)

One remnant group attempted to retaliate by destroyingVoga, theplanet of gold, but were destroyed when theFourth Doctor instructed theVogans to fire theirrocketSkystriker at theCyber-ship. (TV:Revenge of the Cybermen)

26th century: The Orion War and an alliance against the Cybermen[[edit] |[edit source]]

Main article:Orion War

Main article:Cyber-War (Earthshock)

By2503, the Cyber Wars were long over and the Cybermen were in stasis in their Tombs on Telos. (AUDIO:Sword of Orion)

According to one account, Telos was destroyed by a suspected asteroid impact between five and ten years before their part in the Orion War between the Humans and the Androids in the26th century. (AUDIO:Telos) By3286, the earlierOrion War was viewed as part of the Cyber-Wars byReece Goddard. (WC:Real Time,AUDIO:Real Time)

In2526, the general population had no knowledge of Cybermen, although various governments intended to sign a pact to unite against the Cyber-race. A force of Cybermen attempted to prevent thewar. They tried to destroy the Earth, first with a Cyber-bomb and then by crashing a human-freighter into the Earth to prevent the alliance who planned to fight them from forming, destroying the unity. In the words of theCyber-Leader, it would have been a great psychological victory that was designed to destroy the general morale. Indeed, the Cybermen of this period regularly performed scientific study of human emotion. Both attempts to destroy the Earth were stopped by the Fifth Doctor, who claimed that the Cybermen could not possibly win the coming war. (TV:Earthshock) This event was recorded underOnslaught on Earth, one of theCyber-Documents. (AUDIO:The Ultimate Cybermen) Having failed to destroy Earth while losing their Cyber-Leader, (TV:Earthshock) theCyber-Fleet dispersed. (TV:Time-Flight)

What happened to the fleet afterwards remained a mystery to theCyberHive, an attempt at chronicling thehistory of the Cybermen from the Cyber-Documents.ArcHivistHegelia suggested that an agreement was reached to join forces against the Cybermen, resulting in a Cyber-War beginning in thesolar system with a battle between the main Cyber-Fleet andhuman forces which extended to other parts ofthe galaxy before the Cybermen were ultimately overcome. From the documentDeparture from Telos, Hegelia found an account of the Cybermen's attempt to leaveTelos, which the ArcHivist believed was in anticipation of a significant attack on the planet by galactic forces. (AUDIO:The Ultimate Cybermen)

This attempt occurred concurrently with anill-fated ploy by the Cybermen to reverse their fortunes by destroying Earth in1985 in order to prevent theMondasian invasion and subsequentdestruction of Mondas. Ultimately, both maneuvers ended in failure as Telos'Cyber-Control was destroyed, theCyberTelosian Controller being killed in battle with theSixth Doctor, along with seemingly all Cybermen on theplanet. (TV:Attack of the Cybermen,AUDIO:The Ultimate Cybermen) A number of Neomorphs remained active in Earth'ssolar system during the1980s, modified to become what Hegelia calledCyberIsomorphs, only to be destroyed in anattempt to conquer Earth in1988. (TV:Attack of the Cybermen,AUDIO:The Ultimate Cybermen)

Spacefleet, which came into being during the Cyber-Wars, was used to combat theDaleks in theSecond Dalek War which began later in the26th century. (PROSE:Deceit)

By the40th century, the Cybermen were declared extinct. At some point before this, they colonised another planet, which they namedNew Mondas but both New Mondas and Telos had since been destroyed. (PROSE:Legacy,AUDIO:Telos)

Cyber Wars of the 250th Millennium[[edit] |[edit source]]

The Cyberiad overwhelmed[[edit] |[edit source]]

Main article:Cyber Wars of the 250th Millennium

Around the52nd century, theCyber Legions were a powerful force in the universe. (TV:A Good Man Goes to War,PROSE:The Heist) The Legions, which were connected to theCyberiad, had some activity in theTiberian spiral galaxy. (PROSE:Ghost in the Machine)

In the67th century, avid-briefing series entitledPerils of the Constant Division provided information on, amongst others, Cyberiad-type Cybermen. (TV:The Tsuranga Conundrum)

The Doctor luring the Cybermats. (COMIC:The Scruffy Piper)

During the earlyyears of theThird Cyberwar, Cyberiad-typeCybermen sent hundreds ofCyber LegionCybermats to attackSpace Station Hamlyn. However, the Cybermats were all lured to defeat by theSecond Doctor, usinghis recorder. (COMIC:The Scruffy Piper)

Agrippina was besieged by the Cyber Legions. (PROSE:Ghost in the Machine,A Girl Called Doubt) In one timeline,the Doctor died on Agrippina and billions ofCybermites attempted to convertthe Doctor's TARDIS. A war was fought between the TARDIS systems and the mites, leading to the TARDIS swelling to the size of a planet after itschameleon circuit was shut down. (PROSE:The Paradox Moon)

The Tiberian spiral was a significant location in the Cyber-Wars betweenhumanity and the Cyberiad. These Cyber-Wars had the Cybermen constantly upgrading themselves to overcome any weaknesses that could be exploited. The Tiberian spiral galaxy was sacrificed to destroy all of the Cybermen with a bomb when nothing else appeared to work.

Because of the damage done to one of the planets the war was fought on, Hedgewick bought it cheap and set up his own amusement park there; it was said to be the best ever in all of history. However, unknown to all, the planet had become home to three million damaged Cybermen transported there by aValkyrie during the war. Patrons fromHedgewick's World of Wonders began to be kidnapped to supply spare parts to fix the damaged Cybermen. (TV:Nightmare in Silver) Their model of Cybermen may have been a result of cross pollination of the Cybus Cybermen and the Cybermen ofMondasian evolution. (PROSE:The Whoniverse)

Some of the deactivated Cybersuits also ended up in Webley's collection. They had similar appearances to the variety of Cybermen created by Cybus Industries, including two that had the Cybus logo, and those of the Cyber Legions. (TV:Nightmare in Silver)

Re-emergence[[edit] |[edit source]]

A thousand years after the end of the war in the Tiberian galaxy, the Cybermen were considered extinct once again. However, the very existence of a single Cyberman was such a threat that it had become procedure to blow up any planet where one was discovered. Shortly after theEleventh Doctor arrived onHedgewick's World of Wonders withClara Oswald,Angie Maitland and her brotherArtie, thethree million Cybermen on the planet began to revive, planning to use the Doctor as their newCyber-Planner. At the end ofthe battle,Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick Cord Longstaff XLI set offa bomb to destroy the planet, killing every Cyberman there before they could escape. However, a singleCybermite survived unnoticed, (TV:Nightmare in Silver) and thebattle had not stopped the threat of the Cybermen, only arrested it. (PROSE:The Whoniverse)

In6048,Cole of thehumanmining worldHeritage mentioned that his grandmother fought in the most recent Cyberwar. (PROSE:Heritage)

In the far future[[edit] |[edit source]]

Cyber-Empire has lost on all fronts[[edit] |[edit source]]

ACyber-Controller, one of the few survivors of the Cybermen. (WC:Real Time)

At a point in thefar future where exact measurements of time were no longer meaningful, theCybermen were utterly destroyed in a great war with the universe. (WC:Real Time,AUDIO:Real Time) AllCyber-Fleets were destroyed by a force led bythe Doctor. (AUDIO:The Reaping) Only a handful of Cybermen survived, but they were tracked down bybounty hunters andmercenaries. OneCyber-Controller, who was theSixth Doctor's former companionEvelyn Smythe, hid onChronos and discovered atime portal leading to3286, which he used to create theCyberverse. (WC:Real Time) Another survivor, aCyber-Leader, discovered an abandonedTARDIS on "a planet ruined by fire", travelled back to1980sEarth and set a different trap for the Sixth Doctor. (AUDIO:The Reaping)

A "last great Cyberwar" saw multiple battles fought (COMIC:Vortex Butterflies) against the Cybermen, including a bloody engagement onRyzzenbach that saw losses for both the Cybermen and humanity. (GAME:The Edge of Reality) In the far future there existed "fake Cyberdudes" who performed reenactments of battles from the last great Cyberwar.Gabby Gonzalez, theTenth Doctor,Cindy Wu, andAnubis once encountered these reenactors. (COMIC:Vortex Butterflies)

Cyber-Wars of the Cyberium[[edit] |[edit source]]

In what theThirteenth Doctor described as the "veryfar future", the Cyber-Wars were fought over a period of somedecades, betweenhumanity and a race of Cybermen identical to theCybus Cybermen of theCyber Legions, although by the end of the Wars they had begun to evolve themselves intoCyber-Warriors.

TheFall of the Cyber-Empire came at great cost to humanity and Cybermen alike. (TV:Ascension of the Cybermen)

During the Cyber-Wars, the Cybermen were led by theCyberium, anAI containing the completeknowledge andfuturehistory of the Cybermen. Additionally, a human known asAshad, who developed an intense hatred for humanity, offered himself up forcyber-conversion, but was "denied" partway through, and so he confined himself to isolation out of shame. Late in the Cyber-Wars, a resistance force known asthe Alliance, which opposed the Cybermen, acquired the Cyberium and sent it back throughtime andspace in order to defeat the Cybermen by depriving them of the AI. (TV:Fugitive of the Judoon,The Haunting of Villa Diodati,The Timeless Children)Ko Sharmus was part of the Alliance at this time. (TV:The Timeless Children)

Eventually, theCyber-Empirefell, leaving both humanity and the Cybermen near-extinction. (TV:Ascension of the Cybermen)

Aftermath[[edit] |[edit source]]

Survivors[[edit] |[edit source]]

By the end of these Cyber-Wars, bothhumanity and theCybermen had been brought to the edge ofextinction. The few humans who survived the Wars travelled to thePlanet of the Boundary and crossed throughthe Boundary; as the portal opened to a different location each time someone approached it, the few remaining Cybermen were unable to follow the surviving humans through the Boundary, allowing humanity to start again in different areas ofthe universe. Due to the threat that constantly followed them, the human survivors became pariahs to other races. Unbeknownst to humanity or the few surviving Cybermen, a dormantCybercarrier containing hundreds of thousands ofCyber-Warriors was situated in the ruins of one of the final battles of the Cyber-Wars.

Following the fall of theCyber-Empire,Ashad, still loyal to the Cybermen, believed that his fullconversion was rejected because the Cybermen intended for him to resurrect and "ascend" their species. Ashad's first step in his plan torestore and ascend the Cybermen (TV:Ascension of the Cybermen) was to acquire the Cyberium. (TV:The Haunting of Villa Diodati)

Capture and recovery of the Cyberium[[edit] |[edit source]]

Knowing that the Cyberium was being pursued by Ashad - who was now also known as the "Lone Cyberman",CaptainJack Harkness attempted to make contact with theThirteenth Doctor in2020, but instead contacted hercompanions,Ryan Sinclair,Yasmin Khan andGraham O'Brien, and told them to pass on his warning to the Doctor not give the Lone Cyberman "what it [wanted]," although Jack did not refer to the Cyberium by name. (TV:Fugitive of the Judoon,The Haunting of Villa Diodati)

Viatime hop, Ashad travelled back in time toVilla Diodati onEarth in1816, to recover the Cyberium, which had been discovered byPercy Shelley; the Cyberium inhabited Shelley'sbody and hid itself and Shelley through invisibility and aperception filter that it placed on the Villa. Eventually, Ashad and theThirteenth Doctor found Shelley and the former released the Cyberium from Shelley, before absorbing the Cyberium herself. However, when Ashad threatened to tear the Earth apart by summoninghis ship, the Doctor relinquished the Cyberium to him, knowingly ignoring Jack's warning but deciding she would rather confront the Cybermen in the future than change the course of history by allowingEarth to be destroyed in 1816. After taking the Cyberium, Ashad returned to his own time. (TV:The Haunting of Villa Diodati)

Ashad's "ascension" of the Cybermen[[edit] |[edit source]]

Main article:Restoration of the Cyber-Empire

Years after the brutal Cyber-Wars ended, only seven known human survivors remained in the galaxy, hiding on awasteland planet while they worked to repair theirGravraft. At least one other human,Ko Sharmus, remained on theplanet ofthe Boundary, thegalaxy's last safe place, where he held up camp on the chance that any more human survivors might find their way. The Boundary acted as a gateway to another point in the universe through which other survivors of the war had fled a long time before. (TV:Ascension of the Cybermen)

UsingaCybercarrier retrieved from one of the site of the Cybermen's greatest defeat, a ship which carried hundreds of thousands ofCyber-Warriors, ready to be awakened, (TV:Ascension of the Cybermen) Ashad attempted to bring about a new Cyber-Empire. His initial plan was to effect a "final ascension" for the Cybermen, intorobots, before destroying all organic life in the universe with thedeath particle. Allying himself withthe Spy Master, he landed his carrier onGallifrey. However, the Master betrayed and killed Ashad in order to gain the Cyberium for himself. In the wake of the Master's plot to create and unleash a new race ofCyberMasters, the Doctor's companions and the human survivors of the war destroyed the Cybercarrier and theCyber-Army aboard it, foiling Ashad's plot. Ko Sharmus subsequently sacrificed himself to use the death particle to stop the Master and his army of CyberMasters. (TV:The Timeless Children)

One last remnant[[edit] |[edit source]]

Allied withRassilon, theCybermen converted all ofspace andtime, avenging their earlier defeats through thisnew timeline. (COMIC:Supremacy of the Cybermen)

While most of the Cyberman had been wiped out through their wars with the universe, (TV:Ascension of the Cybermen) at least a single colony of Cybermen, clinging to life on anasteroid, remained active during thefinal days of the universe. Under the leadership of aCyber-Controller, the Cybermen pretended to ally withRassilon after hewas banished fromGallifrey, leading to the Cybermen launching a campaign to conquer all of space and time.

The Cybermen overwhelmed theEarth in the early21st century, converting humanity, creating what was dubbed theCyber-Earth, and defeating theNinth Doctor. With all of history under their power, the Cybermen then plotted to transform thenext universe into theAge of the Cyberiad. However, theTwelfth Doctor and Rassilon were able to avert the entiretimeline the Cybermen had created, leaving the end of universe Cybermen nothing more than a distant asteroid colony once again. (COMIC:Supremacy of the Cybermen)

Behind the scenes[[edit] |[edit source]]

• As related byThe Terrestrial Index, the first series of Cyber Wars were fought byEarth, its colonies and allies in the early23rd century. The First Cyber Wars ended in defeat for the Cybermen who made a partly successfulattack on Voga in their retreat beforeconqueringTelos, where they establishedCyber-tombs to prepare for future assaults. Eventually, the Cybermen re-emerged as a threat in the early26th century, and the Second Cyber Wars were fought following afailed attempt by the Cybermen to destroy Earth. Faced with the gold reserves of Voga, the Cybermen were again defeated and, just before the Alliance's forces made a final attack on Telos, the Cybermen made anill-fated attempt to prevent the destruction ofMondas and destroyEarth in1986.
• The Discontinuity Guide claims that thepursuit of Voga occurred in the late27th century. Later, the Cybermen of Telos seized an alientime vessel with which they made a failed attempt to prevent the destruction of Mondas and destroy Earth in 1986. Following this, 15,000 Cybermen were sent back in anabortive attempt to change the outcome of the Cyber-Wars in the26th century. It is speculated that this was the "last ditch plan" of the Cyber-race.^[1]
• Although not stated in the episode, writerNeil Gaiman revealed that he setNightmare in Silver as taking place "a quarter of a million years into the future."^[2]

Footnotes[[edit] |[edit source]]