| Cyber Force | |
|---|---|
 First issue cover | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Top Cow Productions (Image Comics) |
| Publication date | Cyber Force #1 (Oct. 1992) |
| No. of issues | List
|
| Main character(s) | |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Eric Silvestri |
| Artist(s) | Marc Silvestri |
Cyber Force (alsoCyberforce) is a comic book series created byMarc Silvestri in 1992 through his publishing studio,Top Cow Productions, and published byImage Comics.[1][2]
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Cyber Force was first published as a mini-series in October 1992 byImage Comics in association withMalibu Comics.[3] Created by and illustrated by Marc Silvestri, the series was written by his brother, Eric Silvestri: "When the guys at Image and I were starting out, we weren't really sure what the reaction would be to our characters. So, just to play it safe, we decided to put out our projects as mini-series to test out the public reaction".[4]
The first story titled "Tin Men of War", follows Carin Taylor, a mutant otherwise known asVelocity as she attempts to escape the forces of Cyberdata, a corrupt mega-corporation. Her attempts to evade Cyberdata's task force, led by her sister, Cassandra Taylor a.k.a. "Ballistic" bring her into contact with the Cyber Force, a group of cybernetically enhanced mutant escapees from Cyberdata, consisting ofStryker,Cyblade, Heatwave, Impact and Ripclaw. After Velocity is rescued, the team explains to her that they were created by Cyberdata to enhance their mutant abilities, turning them into super-soldiers known as S.H.O.C.s (Special Hazardous Operation Cyborgs), but they escaped and formed Cyber Force, making it their mission to bring down Cyberdata for good.
After high sales for the mini-series, an ongoing series was launched in October 1993 with the Cyber Force #0 one-shot, which contained a script and art byWalter Simonson based on a plot by Marc and Eric Silvestri. The new monthly series was published by Image through Silvestri'sTop Cow Productions beginning in November 1993, running 35 issues. The seriescrossed over withWild C.A.T.s for the "Killer Instinct" storyline spanningWild C.A.T.S #5-7 andCyber Force vol. 2 #1-3.
Silvestri later turned his duties over to other artists, includingDavid Finch.[5] The original comic book focused on a team ofmutants who were captured by Cyberdata, an enormous corporation planning to take over the world. The mutants were experimented on and had their abilities enhanced with cybernetic implants in hopes of making them S.H.O.C.s (Special Hazardous Operations Cyborgs). The mutants subsequently escaped and banded together as Cyber Force, determined to defeat Cyberdata.[citation needed]
The series was revived in a third volume in 2006 (April-September) as a six-issue limited series written byRon Marz and drawn byPat Lee titledRising From the Ashes. This series continues with Ripclaw and Velocity's travel to Antarctica to find a cure against a doomsday virus, which was created as afailsafe by Cyberdata to destroy all mutants. Along with dealing with the virus and greedy sailors, Velocity uncovers the true origin of Cyberdata while being brought to a long-crashed sentient alien ship inside a frozen cave. It is revealed here that Cyberdata was created by an Antarctic explorer by the name of Emil Zadrock, whose mind became corrupted by 1,000-year-old living machinery that he found in the cave over 100 years ago. The process of creating mutants was done by combining human beings with alien DNA. The heroes eventually engage in a confrontation with the ancient alien race that created the living machinery and the crashed sentient spaceship. The team was given an updated look, a new base of operations, and changes to its roster. Important subplots include the death and resurrection of Ripclaw,Stryker being away from the action, Impact wanting to leave the team, and a growing romantic relationship between Ripclaw andVelocity.[citation needed] The story also ties into theJLA/Cyberforce crossover that takes place between issues #0 and #1 of volume 3.
Top Cow debuted the fourth volume of the series in October 2012. This was a rebootedCyber Force as part of the company's "Top Cow Rebirth" initiative. Funded through aKickstarter campaign, the first five issues were released for free.[6][7] Silvestri providedcyberpunk-influenced art for the rebooted series, while Khoi Pham was brought aboard as illustrator after five years of exclusive work forMarvel Comics.[8] The first issue received a positive review from Benjamin Bailey ofIGN, who described the post-apocalyptic setting as both interesting and genuine. Commenting on Pham's art, he cited some inconsistencies, particularly with respect to renderings of technology.[9]
The fifth volume of the series was announced as a 2015 digital-only series written by Matt Hawkins, released on thewebcomic serviceWebtoon.[10][11] It was eventually launched as a printed comic series by Image in 2018.[12]
A half-hourCyber Force animated series was planned for the 1995–96 season onFox Kids as part of an hour-long block that would also have featured aYoungblood series.[13][14] Although completed character designs and amodel sheet were featured in magazines, the series never progressed past the planning stage.[15]