Cyborg shows there are other ways to be a hero in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The film sets up the superhero story of Cyborg (aka, Victor Stone), who struggles with who he’s become following a tragic car accident that killed his mother. While superheroes are typically known for taking on bigger, and sometimes world-ending, threats, Cyborg’s storyline revealed that heroism can be a lot more grounded than is often portrayed.
In Justice League, Cyborg is able to fully utilize his powers, which arguably makes him one of the most powerful members of the superhero team. Considering his abilities to tap into any electronic system around the world (sometimes all at once), Cyborg is able to link up with various technologies, including cameras, Wi-Fi, and everything in between, as well as manipulate data. During a particular sequence, Cyborg witnesses a struggling mother who is having a hard time making ends meet financially. She’s a hard working waitress who is close to being evicted from her home. When she’s at an ATM, Cyborg uses his powers to ensure she’s got thousands of dollars in her account and watches as she walks away astounded and happy.
In just one scene, Justice League showcased that Cyborg is an everyday hero and a good man. Saving people is often defined by doing so in a physical sense — rescuing someone from a fall, a plane, from a collapsing building after a throw down with a villain. However, Cyborg using his powers to help a woman facing regular hardships in life is incredibly meaningful. There is more to just fighting bad guys and stopping their diabolical schemes. After all, the world is far more complicated than that and superheroes don’t need to wait around to stop a villain like Darkseid from destroying mankind to finally do some real good in the world.
Cyborg’s act of service in Justice League is him leading by example. It’s also a great and essential way of helping someone that is more impactful on a personal level and will make a bigger difference in the waitress’ life in the long run. Cyborg sees that he has the ability to do something to help her, so he does. He doesn’t need to punch someone in the face or make a show of his abilities in public. By quietly giving the woman money to pay off her debt, Victor Stone knowingly made her life easier and righted a wrong in her life that was made harder by an unfair and unjust system (waitressing is hard and doesn’t necessarily offer a steady pay, either).
What’s more, by facing off with Steppenwolf, attempting to stop Darkseid’s plans, and unburdening the woman from financial strain, Cyborg gets to be a hero on a large and small scale. He’s the only superhero team member to do so in Justice League, whereas Aquaman, The Flash, and Wonder Woman are primarily shown physically saving people from disasters and death. Ultimately, Cyborg’s actions reveal how committed he is to helping individuals on a personal level, redefining what it means to be a superhero in a genre that is often occupied with fighting big bads and action.
