Favourite-looking Cybermen.

[Bones2]

Favourite-looking. Doesn't sound right. Oh well, I've said it now...

So yeah, the Cybermen are my favourite villains. Used to find them quite scary as a child. But there's always been a credibility issue with how obviously they sometimes look like men in suits (not to mention that daft gold allergy). So, which are your favourite-looking versions?

Me personally, I'd probably go for the ones in Revenge. The Tomb-era ones are quite good, but I think the head/face of the versions from Invasion through to Silver Nemesis are quite iconic. Choosing out of them, it's about what looks most convincing. The problem for me with the Earthshock/Attack/Silver Nemesis costumes is that the flexibility looks very much like a suit. That leaves The Invasion and Revenge, and out of those, Revenge is much more convincing. Also, they have the tear-looking duct type thing coming off the eyes that I think some of the later ones lacked. I also like the gun in the forehead arrangement. Makes sense I think.

As for the new Who versions, they're just too chunky for my liking. May as well be completely robot, and that means they lose part of what I think made them threatening; that they seemed a little bit human too.

Here's a speeded up video showing the damn sexy Revenge versions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va7YKI8KN-8&feature=watch_response
I think they stand up pretty well.

Which are you favourites?

 

[Captain Pike]

It's a tossup for me between the ones from The Tenth Planet and The Moonbase/Tomb.. era.

I like the freakyness of them having human hands and just a white balaclava face, though the early Troughton era ones are more imposing and the voices are better.

I agree with you that the Earthshock through to Silver Nemesis ones look crap and too much like a guy in a padded suit. I mean, Moonboots and cricket gloves FFS.

Ugh I can't decide. TP & Moonbase ones are equally as good..

 

[Cutter John]

The Invasion cybers struck the right balance between old and new for me.

Its actually amazing they've made it as far as they have. Between their kludged together costumes and those stupid spotlights on their heads, I've always had a hard time taking the Tenth Planet versions seriously.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

I like the cobbled-together scavenger ones. Which ones are they? Pretty early on, I believe. Certainly not an era I'm very familiar with.

 

[Anachronus]

I agree, the Revenge version is the classic one for me. I would like to see some of the earlier ones to compare. I like the nuWho ones but they are a bit too robotic.

 

[OmahaStar]

I hate the modern series fake cybermen. They're terrible. My favorite are the Invasion through Earthshock era look. The classics, dontchyaknow.

 

[Shatnertage]

I'm not a big fan of the new Cybermen--they make too much noise when they walk and are just too stylized. I guess I'd vote for Troughton era ones, even though I liked the voices from The Tenth Planet the best.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

It's a tossup for me between the ones from The Tenth Planet and The Moonbase/Tomb.. era.

I like the freakyness of them having human hands and just a white balaclava face, though the early Troughton era ones are more imposing and the voices are better.

Good to see I'm not the only who feels this way. I figure it's an unpopular opinion, but the earlies Cybermen are the earliest ones, both in a appearance and the actual stories.

 

[Shatnertage]

The earliest ones were the spookiest, I think, though they weren't necessarily the best realized.

 

[Peacemaker]

The most iconic: for me, definitely the Revenge versions.

The scariest: I'd have to say the Tenth Planet versions. The idea of the being walking near dead, almost mummy-like figures goes a long way with that look.

That said, I'd like to see a completely updated version for the new series now. I'm tired of the Cybusmen.

 

[Captain Pike]

I'm tired of the Cybusmen.

Me too!

I actually didn't mind the design too much when I first saw it, though the original sketches were, I think, a little better, but I'm kinda over it. The *stomp stomp* noise and the dumb catchphrase mixed with the idiotic re-invented back-story just clinches the deal.. Bring back the old Cybes!(redesign/update them though).

 

[Bones2]

I still facepalm to think that they redesigned the pretty much perfect 2005 Daleks into some rainbow recycling bins, but kept the Cybusmen last series.

 

[Captain Pike]

New daleks dont bother me. They look a bit funny from the side, but the colours a fine and they are still daleks. In fact I quite like some aspects of them like the head lights and the eye stalk with it's organic pupil.

Cybermen on the other had have been shafted in new who imo.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Still, these are not "our" Cybermen, but the AU ones.

We can only wonder where the Mondasmen have been lately. No on screen story has put forth any reason why they could have disappeared, right?

I could see a Victory Of The Daleks kind of thing, where some AU Cybusmen get blown away only to reveal the "real" Cybermen, taking back their place in the universe.

Only it would be more of a surprise reveal than what they did in VOTD.

 

[starsuperion]

I am certainly going to be in the minority here..

You see, I love absolutely love the classic 80's cybermen, from the cool ass cyber controller to their sweet looking round guns, with round energy blasts..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/entertainment_doctor_who_monsters/img/11.jpg

there was so much more that could have been done with them..

the suit had some strange flashing on the outside that looked like they had nano growth, and wires feeding into the suit from the sweet looking "V" like chest plate, and armour..

it really looked spot on in my point of view, and had they worked to update that look and combine it with the round balled shoulder and joint look of the earlier cybers, then they could have looked great!

the sleek silver suits look too much like a jumper, and those rounded tubes heading to a massive blocky head made them seem less to be taken seriously.. I was actually scared for peri with the cyberman during the 6th doctor's adventures..

the white ghost faces, and such of the tenth panet were more like prototypes in my view.

I did like the style of the tomb versions, and if there was some sort of combo between them and the 80's versions, I would love to see that...

but as for the newer ones, they do not fit my definition of a cyberman..a machine body and human brain which can not feel.. it is like they are a dalek without the tentacles..a removal from their core as a humanoid which has been augmented..and then emotions removed.. but mostly a humanoid body..

was their really a dark dimension cyberman? from what I see as an image online he looks sweet!

 

[Captain Pike]

..a machine body and human brain which can not feel.. it is like they are a dalek without the tentacles..a removal from their core as a humanoid which has been augmented..and then emotions removed.. but mostly a humanoid body..

This was retconned slightly in The Pandorica Opens when the cyberhead split open to reveal a human skull.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Yeah, those are the type I remember best. I never saw the earlier versions until much later.

I do like the design of the Cybusmen, but not so much their origins. But again, they are alternate universe, so even changing their origins that way shouldn't be such a big deal.

It's only that they kept using the AU ones repeatedly, making excuses for why they kept getting into out universe.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The current version, by far the least cheesy.

 

[Winterwind]

My preference is for the earlier versions, from the Tenth Planet to Tomb-ear Cybermen. It's simply my fondness for older, b&w era sci-fi.

With the new ones, while I'm alright with the costume as a 21st century update, the "stomp-stomp whir-whir" movement is too robotic for my tastes.

 

[Bones2]

The current version, by far the least cheesy.

I'm guessing you only mean in appearance, because there's not much cheesier than robots stomping around in formation with obvious robot voices and a catchphrase like "delete".