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This reminds me about a take I don’t think I’ve tweeted before. I think Cyborg got called up to the League IRL because he’s DC’s highest profile black character who isn’t subordinate to a white dude and doesn’t have “black” in his name. Otherwise, it’s a left field choice https://twitter.com/banthasurprise/status/1304254244070060033
Anyway, remember the sheer hell people raised over Wonder Woman’s pants? It feels like a million years ago
But back to Cyborg—this was part of a big push by DC to modernize the line (and make it more movie-ready), which necessarily meant diversifying the cast and updating the designs. Cyborg suddenly appearing here after being a Titan for so long was a strange choice.
He got a new origin that tied him to Apokolips, which Johns and co were positioning as the ultimate foe of and origin for the League.
Legacy meant Hal Jordan over John Stewart. Choosing Black Lightning invites ancient jokes. Who’s high profile enough to be feasible?
Legacy meant Hal Jordan over John Stewart. Choosing Black Lightning invites ancient jokes. Who’s high profile enough to be feasible?
These kinda decisions are where Art butts up against Commerce. It’s fascinating. McDuffie got a lot of flack for “blackifying” the League, but it turned out that was an editorial decision. Sometimes working within these constraints creates great books. Sometimes not.
What’s fascinating about this to me is that even though these decisions are often made for incredibly basic reasons (five identical white dudes with different hair colors, a black guy, and a white lady is diverse, right?), the creators still have to do good stories!
Sometimes the constraints are like, hey, Spider-Man works at Publix now. Sometimes it’s ludicrous and ever-shifting because the boss is an egomaniac. The fact that corporate comics come off as well as they do is impressive, and speaks well of the creative folk doing the work.
I dunno if this was good for Cyborg, in that he hasn’t had a solo series really stick yet. The new origin makes him less special too. @kennybloggins pointed out it went from injured son/smart dad to “eh...motherboxes?” to me recently, which struck me. But they keep trying 
But even though it’s weird he suddenly became a Leaguer, he’s still a vital part of Teen Titans Go, which is probably the best non-comics thing DC has produced. These characters can work anywhere. You just gotta find the right angle. (Not Just Add Apokolips tho)
