Cybersix
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Cybersix is the title of an Argentinian comic book created by Carlos Meglia and Carlos Trillo. In 1999, it was made into a 13-episode animated series by TMS, first airing in Canada on Teletoon network and later dubbed for Japanese television. Teletoon has recently begun to rerun the series, weeknights at 7:30pm [1].
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[edit] Story
Dr. Von Reichter is a member of the SS and the Nazi party, and an expert in genetic engineering. He originally began his work in concentration camps during World War II, implanting cybernetic organs in the bodies of dead prisoners in an attempt to bring life to them so that they might serve in the Führer's army. However, the Allied forces intervened to defeat the Nazis, so he fled to South America where he once again continued his sinister experiments.
From one of these emerged the Cyber Series — artificial humanoids possessing superhuman strength and agility. But something was amiss: the Cybers, engineered to be the perfect servant, turned out to mimic human emotions too closely, displaying free will of their own. When they began disobeying their creator, Von Reichter ordered all of the Cyber series to be destroyed. By this time, Cyber-29 had already died in a playtime accident when he fell from a cliff, but Von Reichter managed to transfer the dead child's brain into the body of a panther to be reborn as Data 7 (see below). Thus Cybersix was the only true Cyber to survive the massacre, escaping with the help of a black slave who hid her away at a fishing village. When the slave was interrogated and killed by Von Reichter later on, Cybersix escaped once again and made her way to Meridiana, where she now battles her evil creator and his minions.
[edit] Cybersix
Cybersix's name comes from the tattoo branded on her arm (CYBER 6), marking her as sixth of the original 5000 Cybers. After escaping Von Reichter, she adopted the identity of a boy killed in a car wreck, Adrian Seidelman, subsequently posing as a male in the fictitious city of Meridiana where she lives alone, and eventually became a literature teacher for high school students.
Along with the sound of the background music, several elements of the cartoon's visual design hint that Meridiana is modelled after Buenos Aires, teeming with decorative sculpture throughout the metropolis, numerous outdoor markets and open-air cafes. Some of the more mature story elements, such as Jose and Von Reichter's Nazi background or Cybersix's youth, are not openly revealed in the cartoon but are suggested through dialogue, flashbacks, or visual clues, such as the military-style goose-stepping that both Jose and Von Reichter engage in.
Like all of Von Reichter's creations, Cybersix depends on a mysterious life-giving fluid called "sustenance". When her supply ran out, she was forced to prowl the city in search of other creatures of Von Reichter's making, such as Fixed Ideas or Technos, who have infiltrated the city. She kills them and takes their sustenance to survive. The method by which she obtains the sustenance is different in the TV series compared to the original comic book: in the show, after one of Von Reichter's creations dies, it evaporates in a flash and leaves a glowing vial of sustenance in its place, which Cybersix then opens and consumes. In the comic book, Cybersix sucks the sustenance directly from the neck of the Technos, Fixed Ideas, etc., as if she were a vampire; however, she does not have fangs, instead simply making a wound at the victim's neck with her teeth and then drinking the sustenance that bleeds from the wound.
Almost by accident, she became a superhero by defending the people of her city from Von Reichter's malevolent plans, often carried out by his clone "son" José. Along the way, she meets Data 7, the black panther with the brain of her brother, Cyber 29, and falls in love with a biology teacher/reporter, Lucas Amato. Lucas is also in love with Cybersix and is unaware that his best friend, Adrian Seidelman, is Cybersix's alter ego.
Patrolling the city by night, Cybersix is costumed in a black bodysuit with high heels, a black cape with red lining, a black hat, and cropped black gloves. In the comic, she took her outfit from a Techno prostitute.
[edit] Characters
- Cybersix: The beautiful Cyber created by Dr. Von Reichter, whom she constantly thwarts as he attempts to destroy her. She is extremely strong and cunning.
- Adrian Seidelman: Adrian is an English literature teacher, the alter-ego that Cybersix takes on while living in Meridiana. The real Adrian Seidelman was killed in a car wreck, so Cybersix buried him and took on his identity.
- Data 7: An intelligent panther created in the "Data" series; he is a unique mixture of animal and human with the same acrobatic skills and strength as the "Cyber" series. He was originally Cyber 29, Cybersix's brother.
- Lucas Amato: A biology teacher at Meridiana High School. He fell in love with Cybersix at first sight and is best friends with Adrian.
- Julian: A young boy that Cybersix met who lives on the street. He is skilled with various sleights of hand.
- Lori Anderson (Lori Cadenas in the comics): A teenage girl in Adrian's class who has a crush on him. She often disrupts the lessons with her antics, forcing Adrian to send her to the principal's office. She is unaware of Cybersix until Episode 5, jealously mistaking the costumed woman as Adrian's girlfriend.
- Miao Yashimoto: A Japanese private investigator who was hired by José (Von Reichter in the comics) to track down Cybersix. His little sister, Ikiko, was taken captive (along with Julian in the animation) to ensure his cooperation. While he discovers Cybersix and Adrian's identities, he chooses to keep it a secret after they work together to save Ikiko and Julian.
- Ikiko Yashimoto: The younger sister of a famed detective known only by his surname in the television series (in the comics his full name is Miao Yashimoto). She is a friend of Julian.
- José: Irritable, demented clone son of Dr. Von Reichter. Although childlike in appearance, he is actually an adult in a child's body. (The only clue to this in the animation is in his yelling "I am NOT a child!" when insulted by Lori.) José deals with Cybersix more often than Von Reichter himself and leads the henchmen. Despite the fact that José has thought of many plots to eliminate her, he often messes things up. For these failures, Dr. Von Reichter berates him until he snaps and rebels with deadly consequences in Episode 13, "The Final Confrontation." He is also a skilled scientist and engineer.
- Dr. Von Reichter: Primary villain of the comics, he is a former member of the SS and the Nazi party, and an expert in genetics and biotechnology.
[edit] Minor Characters
- Terra: A creature that is made out of ancient mud fused with sustenance. It has the ability to shock people, and disguise itself in its surroundings. It also has the tendency to inherit personality traits based on the people it is connected with: Von Reichter initially made it evil by bonding it with Jose and the Fixed Ideas, although it developed a good side after contacting Cybersix. Jose later mutated it to make it evil again, although connecting with Cybersix restored its good side. It later sacrificed itself to save Cybersix from a burning tower.
- Giant Shellfish: A giant squid-like creature under Jose's control that he uses to battle Cybersix. Her attacks are initially useless against its rough hide, until Yashimoto weakens it with poison gas. Cybersix presumably destroys the creature by smashing it under a bascule bridge.
- Fixed Idea Bird: A giant humanoid bird-like creature that Jose sends to attack Cybersix, that possesses incredible strength and the ability to fly. Data-7 destroys it by flinging it into an electric sign.
- Flying Goblins: These winged goblins have the ability to fly and emit supersonic blasts from their mouth, being able to fly in formation and combine their sound-blasts for greater effect. Their only vulnerability is sunlight.
- Mutant werewolf: The true form of the teacher Elaine, who has superhuman strength, speed and agility, and the ability to infect others and turn them into werewolves with similar powers. Created by Von Reichter, she is defeated by Cybersix and Data-7, and her victims return to normal.
- Chimp's Eye: An eyeball-like creature with several unusual powers: the ability to fly at will, hypnotize its opponents and turn them into mindless zombies, and fire deadly electrical blasts. While it initially obeys Jose's commands, it later goes berserk when Cybersix uses a mirror to reflect its hypnotizing powers back on itself.
- Grizelda: A mutant creature with the power to turn invisible at will, armed with a retractable claw as her main weapon. She stalks Cybersix through the wilderness and villages of Meridiana, finally battling her on a set of railway tracks suspended above a waterfall.
- The Isle of Doom: Von Reichter's ultimate weapon, it is a colossal monster shaped like an island, that essentially functions as a living bomb. Von Reichter intends to use it to destroy Merdiana, until Jose takes control of it and uses it to rebel against his 'father'.
- Fixed Ideas: These creatures are Jose's main minions, physically resembling very tall, muscular, green-skinned men. As their name implies, they are totally loyal to Jose and Von Reichter, carrying out their commands. The Fixed Ideas are very strong, but not very smart. Smaller, female Fixed Ideas are seen acting as Jose's cooks and maids.
- Technos: Another of Von Reichter's creations, these beings look more like normal humans. Von Reichter has placed them in positions of power throughout Meridiana, using them to infiltrate the city and gain influence. One of them, for example, is chief of police, used by Jose to find policemen skilled enough to hunt down Cybersix.
[edit] Episodes
- Mysterious Shadow: High school teacher Lucas Amato makes a new friend in fellow teacher Adrian Seidelman and encounters the dangerous minions of José and Von Reichter by night, not suspecting that "Adrian" is actually the mysterious and enchanting Cybersix, who comes to his rescue.
- Data-7 and Julian: Von Reichter sends a panther by the name of Data-7 to track down and destroy Cybersix, his failed creation. The cat has the transplanted brain of Cyber-29, the deceased brother of Cybersix, but Data-7 defects and joins Cybersix instead.
- Terra: Von Reichter creates a monster named Terra from ancient mud fused with sustenance. When the creature battles Cybersix, her altruistic essence transforms its malevolent heart to goodness, only to ultimately sacrifice itself on her behalf.
- Yashimoto, Private Eye: José kidnaps a young girl named Ikiko to blackmail Meridiana's most renowned detective, Yashimoto, into hunting down Cybersix. Julian also falls into José's clutches and Cybersix must rescue them.
- Lori is Missing: Lori, a streetwise teen at Meridiana High School, runs into José's gang in a darkened alley and ends up being abducted as José schemes to tunnel his way into the city bank.
- Blue Birds of Horror: Meridiana is beset by swarms of hostile birds controlled by José from a TV broadcast tower, but Cybersix and Lucas figure out the source of the signal and set to foil José's fowl plans.
- Brainwashed: Julian's friend, Detective Henrique (Dostoievski in the comics), and other officers in the Meridiana police force are brainwashed by José's new mind-control device, ordered to patrol the city streets for Cybersix. Julian tries to help but instead becomes bait to lure Cybersix into a trap.
- Gone With The Wings: Von Reichter sends a horde of winged goblin creations to terrorize the city with the shrieking destructive power of their supersonic blasts. With some assistance from Julian and Data-7, Cybersix battles this winged menace.
- Full Moon Fascination: Strange werewolf attacks threaten the citizens of Meridiana when a new teacher named Elaine signs on to work at the high school. She quickly seduces Lucas' interest, much to Adrian's chagrin. When Lucas transforms to a werewolf, Cybersix is reluctant to fight him and tries to get Lucas to remember who he really is and their relationship.
- The Eye: Von Reichter sends a bizarre eyeball creature to José for testing. José exercises its mind-robbing powers of hypnosis to overtake the city, but the Eye soon grows beyond his control.
- The Greatest Show In Meridiana: José captures Data-7 and stages a circus show in Meridiana whose main attraction is an army of deadly mechanical animals pitted against Cybersix.
- Daylight Devil: A cyber creation named Grizelda who has powers of invisibility stalks relentlessly after Cybersix in a deadly chase. As Adrian, he can only run from her, not wishing to reveal his true identity in the light of day. In the end, Grizelda is dangling from a high bridge while Adrian tries to save her, despite being injured earlier by Grizelda. As a train approaches Adrian on the bridge tracks, Grizelda decides to let go of the cable and plunges to her own doom to save Adrian, the first person who showed her kindness.
- The Final Confrontation: Dr. Von Reichter sends a huge living bomb toward Meridiana, planning to destroy the city and Cybersix once and for all. After kissing Lucas in a farewell embrace, Cybersix rushes off to force her evil creator into a final showdown. Meanwhile, feeling cheated by his father's plan, José has reprogrammed the bomb to return to Von Reichter's seaside lab, which is engulfed in explosive flames as Cybersix desperately races for the exit. In the aftermath, Lucas is unsure if she has survived but sees a light in Adrian's apartment window. Meanwhile, in José's office, somebody is listening to a recording of Von Reichter's, turning to reveal it is José.
[edit] External links
There was a live-action TV series made in Argentina (as well as a Japanese-Canadian animated series), which was heavily toned-down from the comics; the violence was much reduced and the sex and drugs were left out completely. Cybersix was played by model Carolina Peleritti and José was played by Rodrigo De la Serna. It aired on Telefe and was cancelled after a few episodes.
Other links:
