Ghost in the Shell, a live-action adaptation of the manga and subsequent anime of thesame name,is currently making the rounds in theaters. The film follows the metaphysical exploits of Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg law enforcement operative in the high-tech, low-life fictional future prefecture of Niihama, Japan. The Major, as played by Scarlett Johansson, is the latest in a rich canon of films featuring cybernetic beings. Let us take a moment today to look back at a few great moments in cyborg cinema, as we pay tribute to a few semi-mechanical heroes

To clarify, a cyborg is any combination of a human being and a machine. They can take many forms, from a person with a single robotic part such as the villainous Donald Pierce and his robotic arm in the recent Logan to full robotic bodies with human brains and minimal other parts.

Regardless of their level of humanity, storytellers and audiences alike are fascinated with cyborgs. The earliest fictional cyborg can be found in Edgar Allen Poes short story The Man Who Was Used Up. Written in 1843, the story follows a man injured so extensively in battle that most of his body is made up of elaborate mechanical parts.

Films did not receive their first cyborg until almost a hundred years later in the beloved 1939 film the Wizard of Oz, featuring the Tin Man. While not generally thought of as a cyborg, the Tin Man as detailed in the various Oz books and plays was once a normal man, named Nick Chopper. He was chopped to pieces by an enchanted axe and his damaged body was forced to reside in a heartless metal suit. The Tin Man and his quest to find a heart was the precursor to countless other cyborgs in search of heart and humanity.

One of the most popular settings for cyborg characters is the cold reaches of outer space. Out among the stars, cyborgs have filled every role imaginable, from feckless heroes to remorseless villains. On the side of good we have the likes of Geordi La Forge, from Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran from 1987-1994. La Forge and the crew of the Enterprise-D often faced off against a cybernetic hive mind called the Borg, an army of brainwashed cyborgs that think and act as one.

The most famous spacefaring cyborg is unquestionably Darth Vader. Sith lord, estranged father and pop-culture icon. A combination of a robotic suit and fallen hero, Darth Vader is both awe-inspiring and terrifying whenever and wherever he appears. His iconic mask, raspy machine-assisted breath and his booming voice provided by the great James Earl Jones all cement his status as one of the greatest cyborgs in all of fiction.

Arguably the best part of any story in which he appears, the Sith lord has been iconic from the second he strode on screen in 1977. A recent cameo appearances in Rouge One: A Star Wars Story put him squarely back in the limelight after decades of appearances in novels, comics, and more parodies than can be counted. He uttered one of the most famous (and most misquoted) lines in cinematic history, occupies the roles of both villain and tragic hero, and is instantly recognizable to anyone that has had access to a television in the last three decades.

Vader is the last word in cybernetic villainy. Despite his evil appearance and actions, however, Vader still struggles with his lost humanity not unlike the Tin Man.

The protagonist of Ghost in the Shell, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is part of a long-standing tradition of cybernetic law enforcement in science fiction. There are countless cyborg cops, but a few manage to rise above the rest. Detective Spooner, from the 2004 I-Robot, is one such officer. Portrayed by Will Smith, Spooner is a robot-hating detective living in a distant future, where robots are common. He also happens to have a robotic arm. Aside from being a spectacular source of irony, the arm comes in handy during many of the films outrageous action scenes.

Of the many cybernetic law enforcers in popular culture, none are more iconic than RoboCop. Formerly a police officer named Alex Murphy who was killed on the job, RoboCop is the man-made-machine that combines equal parts ultraviolence, emotion and comedic effect for a cyborg that is more than the sum of his parts.

Aside from the original 1987 film by Paul Verhoeven that bears his name (a masterpiece) and its two sequels (not masterpieces), RoboCop has appeared in a number of television shows, both live action and animated, as well as a forgettable remake released a few years ago. Complete with killer catchphrases and an iconic look, RoboCop is ultimately brought to life by an all-time great performance by character actor Peter Weller. The original RoboCop movie remains relevant as a study in both pitch-black satire and over-the-top violence, but its the character of Alex Murphy/RoboCop that retains instant recognition.

Superhero stories have a long history with cyborgs, from villains like Doctor Octopus with his robotic arms to heroes like Iron Man, who walks around wearing a small arc-reactor on his chest. Filmgoers have also recently been introduced to the Winter Soldier, a brainwashed super-soldier with a robotic arm.

November will see the release of Justice League, a super-team extravaganza featuring a cyborg imaginatively named Cyborg. Cyborg has been an important part of the DC Comics universe since he was introduced in 1980. After a horrific interdimensional accident left teenager Victor Stone mutilated, his father outfits his broken body with experimental robotic parts to save his life. When Victor realizes that he cant return to his old life, he takes the name Cyborg and joins the Teen Titans, a team of young heroes and fellow outcasts. In recent years, Cyborg has been upgraded to the Justice League, DCs premier team of super heroes.

Outside of comics, Cyborg appeared in the well-received animated show Teen Titans, as well as its comically-focused successor Teen Titans Go! He is set to make his big-screen debut this fall in Justice League.

Decades after the Tin Man first pined for a heart, Hollywood is still putting out movies featuring part-human, part-robot characters searching for love, acceptance and the occasional criminal/rebel/alien to battle. From television and comics to video games and podcasts, cyborgs are everywhere. They remain relevant for a simple reason: theyre fascinating. They are fascinating because as we march further into the future and cybernetics become more reality than science fiction, cyborgs and their stories force us to ask where the robot ends, where the person begins, and whether the tin men of the future will have hearts.

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A Brief Look at Cyborgs in Film - Chapelboro.com