Episode 41: Cyborg The Barbarian
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"Don't do anything. Don't touch anything. Sci-fi rule #1: You start messing with the past and you got monkeys ruling the future. "
- Cyborg
Originally aired: February 12, 2005
Written by Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliot
Directed by Alex Soto


Cyborg is mysteriously thrown into the distant past and lands in the middle of a barbarian village that needs his help. But with the nearest charging station 5,000 years in the future, Cy has no way to recharge, and his power supply is dwindling.


Kimberly Brooks as Sarasim
Michael Clark Duncan as Krall


This episode originally aired out of production order.
Cyborg's love for waffles - as seen in CRASH - is remembered by Raven in the opening scene.
When Cyborg worries about messing with the timeline, we see an image of a 'baby' Warp from the episode HOW LONG IS FOREVER?
Cyborg's comment about "monkeys ruling the future" is a reference to the "Planet of the Apes". In the movie, a human survivor discovers the Statue of Liberty and realizes he is on earth; Cyborg's visual shows the Statue of Liberty in the background as well.
The face on the Statue of Liberty is Irineo Maramba - a storyboard artist for the series.
The face on the sun is a caricature of character designer Derrick Wyatt.
When Cyborg digitally avoids messing with the past, it looks just like the video game, "Frogger."
"It's about time someone went Broze Age on your butt" is a reference to the movie "Pulp Fiction" - albeit a slighly cleaned up quote.


The name Sarasim is a reference to Cyborg's love interest in the comic book series, Sarah Simms. But the similarities end there.

A far cry from a barbarian queen, Sarah Simms was a teacher at West Side School for the Handicapped - where the students coped with prosthetic limbs. The children looked up to Vic, who had his own ‘metal prosthetics,' of a sort. Vic and Sarah Simms remained close friends. Although each of them danced around the idea of a romantic relationship, this would never come to pass. Sarah first appeared in NEW TEEN TITANS #8 [1981] and remained a supporting player in the Titans book until the late 1980s.

For more information on the comic book versions of the characters - including many images - visit titanstower.com's meeting room page.


CYBORG THE BARBARIAN is atypical for a Teen Titans episode. Teen Titans rarely does a straight-ahead action drama story that is not part of a story arc. That's more "Justice League" territory. In this episode, the super-deformed hijinx are relegated to the opening sequence. Also, this episode is 100% Cyborg's tale. The other Titans barely appear at all. Once Cyborg makes his humorous 'messing with timestream' observations, we're into serious straight-forward action heroics. Contrast this episode with the Robin-centric THE QUEST... which balanced serious ninja mojo with the rest of the team playing Robin dress-up!

Cyborg's whole time-tripping journey pulls plots and themes from a Conan-type adventure... the scheming warrior, evil witch and warrior queen as typical fare for such stories. The story works just fine. And the Sarasim name - a reference to his longtime romantic interest Sarah Simms - was cute.

I think many people may be turned off by the fact this episode is NOT a typical Titans tale. It lacks the humor and character interplay that has become associated with the series. On the other hand, I applaud the series for continuing to take chances. I fall somewhere in the middle with this one... it was a decent adventure for Cyborg, but was not as wildly entertaining as DECEPTION or even SUM OF HIS PARTS. Grade: B-

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