Why Victor Isn’t Called Cyborg In Zack Snyder’s Justice League

In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Victor Stone is one of the founding superheroes, but is never referred to by the name Cyborg – despite it being the hero moniker he is known best in the comics by. Ray Fisher’s Victor Stone has been through some significant transformations in the DCEU, largely due to the differences between the two versions of Justice League. Pretty much all of Snyder’s arc for Cyborg was removed as Fisher was part of the reshoots from Joss Whedon. But HBO Max finally allowed Fisher’s material to be shown to the world by releasing the 4-hour product. Many have described Victor as the heart of this version of the Justice League, which garnered a lot of positive reception for Fisher’s portrayal.

Throughout Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Victor is battling with substantial changes in his life, having been through a traumatic incident that almost killed him, narrowly avoiding death as a result of a Mother Box, which made him cybernetic. While Victor has tremendous abilities, his new form causes him to feel severely alienated from humanity. By the end of the Snyder Cut, Victor has made some peace with it. However, at no point does Victor get referred to as Cyborg, which is his superhero moniker in the comics. But there is a good reason for why, as it definitely wouldn’t have been appropriate, given what Victor was going through.

When Zack Snyder’s Justice League picks up Victor’s story, it depicts a man that still is working through the trauma of not only becoming part machine, but having also lost his mother in the car accident that injured him. As Diana tried to recruit Victor, he made it clear that he didn’t see this new form as a gift, as she first put it. At this point in Victor’s journey, it would have been highly insensitive for any of the characters to refer to him as Cyborg, as being referred to by a term that highlights the trauma the DCEU hero is still struggling with would be cruel.

These were people that Victor had also never met before, which is why it would have been even more inappropriate had any of the heroes nicknamed him Cyborg. While Victor comes to terms with his new life at the end of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, he is still not going by the Cyborg name. Had the Snyderverse gone on, perhaps it is a title Victor would have chosen himself as a sign that he has fully embraced his transformation. But it would also be understandable given his character arc if this iteration of Cyborg stuck to just being known as Victor Stone, as his scene with Wonder Woman makes it clear that coming to terms with the changes in his life will be a long and personal process – and thus likely not something that needs to be referenced every time someone refers to him by his superhero name.

Continuing to be referred to as his birth name is likely something particularly important for the DCEU version of the character, as it is one of the last connections from his old life. By the end of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, both of Victor’s parents are dead as Silas sacrificed himself to mark the third Mother Box before Steppenwolf took it. By sacrificing himself, Silas made it possible for the team to track the final Mother Box and Steppenwolf before the unity could happen. Through Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Victor begins to adjust to his new life, but that doesn’t mean he has to be the same hero as he is in other formats – and that may well mean he is never known as Cyborg in the DCEU.

About The Author

Andy Behbakht
(1033 Articles Published)

Andy is a senior writer at Screen Rant as he has covered the world of entertainment journalism since 2010, including superhero/comic book media. In addition to his work as a reporter, Andy co-hosts The Flash Podcast while running and producing the entire DC TV Podcasts network. He is also the founder/editor-in-chief of The Marvel Report since Fall 2015. Andy has previously written for sites such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It’s Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more.

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