Ray Fisher a.k.a. Cyborg visits Manila, Philippines for Asiapop Comicon 2017
Ray Fisher, who plays Victor Stone and Cyborg in the Justice League movie, recently visited Manila, Philippines for Asiapop Comicon 2017. He met with some of his fans on August 26 to talk about the most anticipated comicbook movie of the year.
Ray was welcomed by his fans with loud cheers as he enters the room. He was quick to thank the crowd for supporting the ‘Borg Life’ movement as numerous fans wore the statement shirt.
“Best convention I have ever been to! I love the love. Support is great! I see ‘Borg Life’ shirts in the audience right now. Represent! Thank you, thank you! You guys, you guys have been awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome!”
He further explains the Borg Life movement shirts in the video below.
“Taking the negative situations in your life and turning them into something positive to help other people. That is what Borg Life is.”
Ray reciprocated the love he felt from his Filipino fans by sharing with them a few exclusive details about the upcoming Justice League movie. One of which was his character's involvement in the DC Extended Universe. He spoke of Cyborg’s evolution not just in the Justice League movie, but also in future films and, hopefully, in his stand-alone movie.
“Cyborg is a character that will grow over course of, not only in this film, but over the next continuity. To that end, he recently only become Cyborg so he’s dealing with a lot of very new issues for himself. And dealing with the trauma of that and having a new and losing his body, losing his mother, dealing with the relationship between him and his father. He’s got a lot on his plate for sure, but if you stick with him, if you stick with me, the character will grow and keep on growing in an organic way.”
He also addressed some concerns from long time DC Comics fans who were appalled with the announcement that Cyborg is a founding member of the League instead of Martian Manhunter. Ray was gracious in saying that Martian Manhunter is a founding member of the League but he also emphasized that the DC Extended Universe is a separate and distinct universe from that of the realm of the comics. The decision of including Cyborg as a core member of the League is based from the New 52 continuity and the importance of technology in our everyday life. Ray mentioned that Cyborg's inclusion in the League does not exclude the membership of other characters from the comics.
“It is not to say that there is no room for more members of the league to join in the future. While it may not be everyone’s expectation, I do believe that because of his ability, because of our reliance to technology, it makes him so relevant—you know, cyber security is one of the biggest issues of our time. Because we are so reliant on technology, the idea is that Cyborg is a pivotal part and will have a relevant part in the superhero world. So I would say to the fans of Martian Manhunter, ‘do not fear, hopefully we’ll be able to keep going and there will be more and more members that will be added to the league”
In addition, Ray discussed that Cyborg in the Extended Universe is a different version from that of the Teen Titans version and the New 52 version. While his character was inspired from the New 52 Cyborg, Ray emphasized that the characters in the Extended Universe has in itself their own universe of things.
Ray lay stress on this distinction when he was requested to shout “Booyah,” a famous expression of Cyborg in the animated series Teen Titans.
“You know, I could. I could. Its possible to do but how ‘bout we shout something else just for right now? You may get a little bit of that later on in the future, you never know, you never know. What I want to make sure is that we do is to make sure we separate the kind of Cyborg from the film also from the Cyborg from the Teen Titans because they are two different iterations of the character.”
Ray’s goofy self also made an appearance during the meet & greet program. While answering a question from the fans, he was abruptly interrupted by the PA system. He was cool enough to laugh about it.
Cyborg’s visit in the Philippines has not only made a strong impression, but also added to the excitement for the Justice League. His Filipino fans never grew tired of thanking him for his visit but from Ray’s perspective, the pleasure was his. Watch and listen to his message to every Filipino fans who supported him and the Justice League.
Justice League comes to theaters on November 17, 2017. Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes-Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash-it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Paolo Ollero, 27, working law student, a comicbook enthusiast and a Batman historian, is one of the co-founder of The Dark Knight Philippines -- the premier Batman group in the country. He also contributes reviews and write-ups in Geekend Gladiator and Flipgeeks.
