Cyborg 009 was the title of a one-shot manga feature written and illustrated by Yasushi Hoshino, based off Shotaro Ishinomori's classic Cyborg 009 series and its "Birth" arc.
It ran in Weekly Shonen Magazine #24 in 2008, as part of the magazine's 50th anniversary special issue.
Overview[]
In the 62-page updating of the story, Hoshino chose to center it around Joe, as the original serialization order had. Thus, the other eight 00 cyborgs are brief characters and there is no explanation of their backstories, although their names and locations are shown in photographs.
The minor character of Dr. Crofts from the original "Birth" arc was used, however, the entirely different design and purpose would make this more of an in-name only adaptation of that character. The minor characters of the other Kurihama escapee from "Birth" and 003's brother Jean were also included in the story, with slightly more fleshed-out roles as they wondered what happened to those they knew.
All characters underwent redesigns within Hoshino's style, including the loss of 009's iconic eye-concealing fringe. The uniforms gained a much more realistic yet modernized appearance, though this came with the fact that they now lacked the scarves that were so well known.
Characters[]
Due to the brief length of the story, not all characters receive significant page-time or dialogue and characterization.
- Joe Shimamura/Cyborg 009
- Cyborgs 001 through 008
- Dr. Isaac Gilmore
- Dr. Crofts
- Muramatsu
- Jean Arnoul
Plot[]
At a reformatory in Kurihama, an inmate named Muramatsu is called for questioning as a French man named Jean Arnoul wishes to speak to him. Jean asks what had happened seven days before, when Muramatsu and his cellmate Joe Shimamura attempted to escape.
In a flashback, Muramatsu is nearly punched by a guard for his sarcastic attitude but is protected by Joe, who blocks the guard's punch. This earns Joe a black eye. Later that night, Joe rouses in their cell and discovers Muramatsu attempting to get their door open, as he intends to escape. A guard, hearing the noise, enters their cell and threatens the boys. The guard is punched out by Joe, who grabs his keys and reveals that he intends to escape with Muramatsu.
The two boys decide to go to Tokyo together, as Joe reveals that he's been alone all his life. As they use a blanket to scale a barbed-wire fence, they come face-to-face with a pair of mysterious black-suited men that have arrived in a Hagenbeck Circus truck. The two are shot at with sedatives, and the men grab Joe.
In the present day, Jean Arnoul reveals that eight other people went missing on that same day in different areas around the world, and shows Muramatsu a series of photographs, showing the abducted peoples' names and faces. Muramatsu makes note of the only woman, "Francoise Arnoul", and learns that she's Jean's younger sister.
Elsewhere, on X Island, Joe awakens in the Black Ghost laboratory as "Cyborg 009" and is put through endurance tests by the scientists, lead by a Dr. Crofts. As Joe learns that he's made for war and refuses to continue his tests, Crofts orders the other eight 00 cyborgs to emerge and kill him if he can't finish the test. Joe violently rebels, smashing the glass of the scientists' observation window, and he soon finds that the other cyborgs aren't there to kill him, but assist him.
Crofts and the other scientists flee the island, while a man named Dr. Gilmore stays behind, revealing that he'd planned the 00 cyborgs' rebellion. But as the island is surrounded by Black Ghost fleets designed to take out the cyborgs, 001 orders the others to prepare. Joe makes the decision to go with the other eight and Dr. Gilmore, prepared for whatever lies ahead, and leads the charge into battle.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- While it garnered some reactions upon its release, this version of Cyborg 009 soon slipped into obscurity, possibly due to the lack of popularity and the criticisms over Hoshino's art style. It has never been reprinted after its initial publication.
- Among the photos of the test subjects for 001 through 008, Hilda can also be seen in the photo of Albert Heinrich/004. This incarnation of Albert is shown to have pupils and irises in the photo, hinting that his eyes were replaced or modified after his conversion (compared to how other incarnations show his eyes as always having been blank, as a stylistic choice).
- Pyunma/008 is also shown to be a soldier in his photo, hinting a backstory much like the one in the 2001 "Cyborg Soldier" anime.
- In undated 2008 concept art for a never-produced Western-animated adaptation by Peter Chung, Chung had given his cyborg designs uniforms that appeared somewhat similar to the military suits in this one-shot, down to some team members even lacking scarves. However, these more modern and Westernized hero-type uniforms would also seem to provide the eventual seed for Marcus To's designs in the 2013 graphic novel by Archaia.