WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Zack Snyder's Justice League, now streaming on HBO Max.
After the tumultuous circumstances surrounding its production and initial release, the story of Zack Snyder's Justice League can be viewed as a triumphant underdog story in which a mass movement of fans fought for the version of a movie they wanted. As is par the course with superhero movies, there are many perspectives on the film that prove controversial, but perhaps the biggest triumph of its underdog story is one element everyone can agree on: Ray Fisher's Cyborg finally got his due, and he absolutely deserved it.
In the theatrical cut of Justice League, Cyborg's character was an overall weak point. While potentially a massively important part of the plot, with his Mother Box-grounded origins primarily positioning him to be central to the main narrative of the film, he came across as tacked on, poorly thought out and only there as an expositional device. Even when it came to the action sequences, he had little that was memorable.
Citing the cruelty of a racist and antagonist environment cultivated by director Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. at large, Fisher has been particularly vocal about the injustice with which he was treated on the set of Justice League. His discomfort encompassed the treatment of his fellow cast members, as he alleges that other actors of color had their skin tones lightened by Whedon in post-production and referred to the director's behavior in general as "gross" and "abusive." While the investigations into those claims are still ongoing, it's hard to view the theatrical release of the film without feeling that its treatment of Cyborg was almost disdainful.
Fortunately, Zack Snyder's Justice League begins to make things right by giving Cyborg his due. Now prominently featured as an equal contributor to the titular team, the character undergoes a fully-fleshed character arc amidst the film's four-hour runtime in which he establishes relationships with the other characters, cracks the occasional joke, gets his own flashy action sequences and even fully unleashes Fisher's abilities as an actor in extended scenes.
In an interview at the IGN Fan Fest, Snyder referred to Cyborg as the heart of the film, and it really shows. For whatever other faults the film may retain or even gain in comparison to the theatrical release, there are few, if any, voices ringing out saying that Cyborg's enhanced role is one of the aspects that should have been diminished. Those critical of the film's dark tone and heavy cynicism are held at bay by Cyborg's discovery of his own self-worth and newfound desire to bring salvation to a world he was ready to spurn.
Many of Snyder's previous ventures in the DC Extended Universe get caught up in the mythological aspect of superheroes and will outright draw their comparison to gods and prophets. But Cyborg's story helps ground that in the human element of a young man seemingly with every reason to feel on top of the world crying in a car because his father missed his big game. Victor's struggles feel real and relatable, which is rarely said about massive superhero blockbusters.
Zack Snyder's Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ray Porter as Darkseid, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film is now streaming on HBO Max.
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