List of Cyborg 009 characters


This is a list of fictional characters appearing in the Cyborg 009 manga by Shotaro Ishinomori and its adaptations.

Protagonists

00 Cyborgs

He is super-humanly strong, resistant to damage, can leap large distances, and can breathe underwater. His most prominent ability is the power to move at a speed so fast that everything else looks like a statue to him, this is triggered by a switch embedded in his teeth. Shimamura is unable to touch any living creatures, such as humans, when he's in this stare, as the high speeds would kill or otherwise seriously maim the creature through air friction. During each of the series, he acts as the field leader and first line attack of the 00 Cyborgs.
Joe is originally from Japan, although he is actually half-Japanese whose unknown father was presumably a soldier in the US Army stationed in Japan after World War II. A delinquent youth who was shunned by his peers because he was a half-breed, he escaped from a juvenile detention facility before being captured by Black Ghost. In the 2001 anime, after his father disappeared and his mother died on the steps at his childbirth, he was an orphan taken in by a Catholic priest from Kanazawa along with their street friends, Mary Onodera, Shin'ichi Ibaraki, and Masaru Oyamada. When he turned 18, his mentor was killed by Black Ghost members after they used a group of children that he raised in the church as guinea pigs for the Cyborg project; Joe was wrongfully blamed, then captured by the priest's killers and made into a cyborg. In the 1960 and 1980 film versions, Joe was a famous racer, nicknamed "Hurricane Joe", who gets into a crash and is recovered by Black Ghost, who then adds several body enhancements during the process of being turned into a cyborg.
Originally from Russia, Ivan was born with a severe illness which his father Gamo, a famous brain surgeon, tried to cure but went mad trying to do so. Gamo performed numerous brain enhancement processes on Ivan in his attempt to cure him which granted the young child a mental capacity far exceeding that of a normal human. However, the implants were inserted against the wishes of Ivan's mother, Erika. Ivan's enhanced brain gives him several psychic powers, including, telepathy, telekinesis, and extrasensory perception. However, he sometimes falls asleep at inopportune times due to still being a baby and his body not being able to handle such powers.
Ivan would later fell into the custody of Black Ghost, who dubbed him the first member of the organization's 00-Cyborg program. He was one of the 00 Cyborgs who were frozen until more advanced technology and procedures were developed. While still a pacifier-sucking infant, he is talented in scientific analysis and can telepathically converse at an adult level. He acts as the 00 Cyborgs central command and emergency psychokinetic defense.
Unmistakable with his swept-back hair, confident smile and longer-than-real-life nose, Jet has thrusters built into his feet, allowing him to fly at speeds of up to Mach 5. Jet is also equipped with an earlier, less powerful acceleration mode, later refined in 009.
In the 2001 anime continuity, Jet was originally 001, but was replaced by Ivan. Jet comes from New York City in the United States and was the leader of the Jets gang on Manhattan's West Side.. He was intercepted by Black Ghost members when he stabbed a Puerto Rican gang member to death, who took him away from the scene to be made into a cyborg later. He has a brash personality which often conflicts with his peers, but he's a loyal, good-hearted member of the team. He provides air support and rescue.
She has enhanced vision and hearing, allowing her to see through walls and sense objects an enormous distance away; and is also an excellent pilot, technician, and a machine whiz.
Françoise was originally a ballet dancer from France. Her brother Jean, a member of the French Air Force returning to Paris on a one-week leave, was to meet Françoise at the train station. However, she was kidnapped by Black Ghost operatives, despite repeated attempts by her brother to save her along the way. In the third anime series, Black Ghost offers a fake professional dancing career so they can kidnap her. She is the only female member of the team, 003 rarely fights though she will when needed and she's often seen either directing the battle under Gilmore's guidance or caring for 001. In the 2001 anime, she was one of the 00 Cyborgs who were frozen until more advanced technology and procedures were developed; she's chronologically in her 50s, being 19 when captured. Her jobs include reconnaissance, advance warning, and caring for 001. She and Joe seem to have a romantic relationship.
Albert was originally from Germany. He and his fiancée, Hilda attempted to escape to West Berlin in the guise of circus performers. When Albert forgot to retrieve his forged identification from a guard, he panicked and sped off. The border guards opened fire on the truck, injuring Albert and killing Hilda in the process. Black Ghost agents arrived on the scene and lied to Albert, telling him they'd take him to a hospital.
004 often has a gruff exterior which belies his friendly personality and disgust with war, and he is also a skilled combat tactician. He was the last of the 00 Cyborgs you were then frozen until more advanced technology and procedures were made and is chronologically the oldest of the group, being already 30 years old when captured. The extent of his injuries also resulted in him receiving the most extensive cyborg modifications: the fingertips on his right hand conceal machine gun barrels, his left hand has razor-sharp edges, and he has missiles hidden in his knees. In the 2001 series, upon waking up as a cyborg, Albert was stricken with despair and developed suicidal tendencies, aggravated by the side effects of his modifications which caused him additional physical pain and strain. This ultimately forced Black Ghost to halt the cyborg program for decades, and put the existing cyborgs in suspended animation until technology developed sufficiently to make future cyborg soldiers more stable. He is most often frontline advance and anti-personnel.
Also called "G-Junior" for short, he was originally from an undisclosed part of the southwest United States. G-Junior is a Native American who was unable to find work because of widespread racism. He was approached to be a Native American chief in a sideshow, but G-Junior simply punched the sideshow owner in the face, refusing to further the stereotypes about his culture. Black Ghost agents overheard the conversation and offered G-Junior a job far from home. G-Junior accepted, admitting that he really had no home anymore. Geronimo was the first created when Black Ghost resumed its cyborg soldier program. His principal job is line defense and artillery, typically using boulders as missiles against aggressors.
Physically, he is the strongest as well as the biggest of the 00 Cyborgs; he also has heavily armored skin. He is a quiet, reserved man with a deep reverence for nature and life, and it's speculated that he may have a sort of sixth sense that allows him to sense changes in the nature and possibly other people's thoughts.
Chang was originally from China. He was an impoverished Chinese farmer who once owned a pig farm; almost all of his pigs ran away and he was starving and suffering under heavy taxes. Hopeless, Chang decided to end his misery by hanging himself, but was "saved" by a bullet from Black Ghost which cut the noose. Chang fainted and was later delivered to the Black Ghost laboratory. He's a jovial fellow who is well-versed in the ways of cooking; his refined cuisine and happy personality always manage to bring his teammates back to good spirits. His role, aside from food preparation, is anti-personnel and line advance.
Chang's power allows him to breathe huge flames which he uses to create tunnels in the earth and attack enemies with underground explosions.
007 has the incredible ability to reshape his cellular structure at will, allowing him to take the form of any object, creature, or person he wishes. With his superb acting skills, he can also blend in with the enemy to use sneaky maneuvers and attacks. His powers make 007 a master of infiltration/espionage; by morphing into a dangerous animal or gigantic form he can also be very useful in field combat.
Great Britain, whose real name is unknown, was originally from the United Kingdom. He was once a famous and talented stage actor with a broad knowledge of famous shows but a weakness for Alcohol caused his downfall. In the 2001 TV series, Great Britain was in love with an actress named Sophie, who worked with him. Later he became more famous and gradually ignored his past love. One financial problem after another arose, and the once great thespian was reduced over time to a penniless nobody who would do anything for a drink or a smoke. Black Ghost agents, noticing his plight, easily lured Great Britain into their vehicle with an alcoholic beverage. Later when he escapes with the other cyborgs he returns to the United Kingdom and finds out that his ex-girlfriend had a daughter, Rosa. With the possibility that she might be his child, Great Britain tries to talk to her but is unfortunately rejected and scorned for his past actions, to be redeemed only in the end when he replaces a main actor in Rosa's theatrical play and manages to befriend her. Great Britain is very lighthearted and is a very amiable guy to boot. Giving credence to his personality as a comic relief, there is a running gag where Great Britain often takes the form of a precocious, almost super deformed, spoiled child fearing for his own life.
In the 1960s anime versions, he is a child rather than an adult, in an attempt by the producers to appeal to a younger audience. Though Ishinomori initially disapproved of this, he later temporarily mirrored it in the manga version by having Gilmore alter 007's body to make the child form his standard form in a one-shot titled "The Man in the High Castle".
Pyunma, the only member of the team with real combat training, has mechanical lungs that allow him to survive for very long periods of time underwater.
Pyunma was originally from an undisclosed part of Africa. Originally, Pyunma was to have been made a slave along with the people of his tribe, but he escaped from his chains and ran off. Cornered by the slave drivers, all seemed lost until the slave drivers were shot dead by Black Ghost agents from out of nowhere. Holding Pyunma at gunpoint, they led him to their plane so he could be taken to the cybernetics laboratory. In the 2001 series, Pyunma was a guerilla fighter who fought against the tyrant ruling his land along with his friends Kabore and Mamado, but was caught in the crossfire during a nocturnal fight, and then Black Ghost people kidnapped him. Pyunma is a serious fighter and decision-maker when the situation demands it. His talents include guerrilla-style land maneuvers plus undersea recon and demolition. Near the end of the 2001 series, he is given an unwanted rebuild that leaves him with a silver-scaled fishlike body; he is initially horrified by it, but after a talk with 004 he accepts it and even gives his new parts an effective and ingenious use in a fight. In the original 1960s and 1970's incarnations, Pyuma's body design was inspired in the darky iconography of older American cartoons. This is in contrast to the seriousness of the character's no-nonsense, battle-trained personality. In the 80s movie Chou Ginga Densetsu, Pyunma was redesigned as less caricatured and more naturalistic; this same revamped design was updated for the 2001 series.

Humans

The lead scientist in the 00 Cyborg program, Gilmore was a dutiful worker who hid a deep distrust for Black Ghost's plans. After the cybernetic enhancements for the first nine 00 Cyborgs were complete, he intentionally let himself be "taken hostage" by the cyborgs. Since then, he has been the team's advisor and father figure, not only helping to formulate the team's plans but also assisting them with the nuances of their newfound mechanical bodies.
In the 1979 series it is revealed that he and fellow scientist Reinhardt was captured and forced to work on Operation Superman for the Nazi regime during the 1940s. Gilmore, when he learned that he was working on Hitler's secret project, was disgusted by this fact and decided to escape. He was aided by the chaos created by an Allied strike on the laboratory he was working in and managed to escape in the confusion.
Calm and perceptive Kozumi is Gilmore's old friend from before he joined Black Ghost, and is also a doctor specialized in biochemistry. His mansion in the outskirts of Tokyo became the cyborg's HQ during the first episodes; Kozumi not only helped develop the antidote for a poison that affected the cyborgs, but also aided 004 when he was starting to doubt himself again, and was the first person to notice how Gilmore and the cyborgs were becoming more of a family than merely a group of fighters. He was kidnapped by Black Ghost, and the cyborgs had to rescue him by fighting and defeating 0012 and 0013; after that, he remained a good friend of the team.

Voice casts

Antagonists

Skull/Black Ghost

Skull - called Black Ghost in certain versions, is the tyrannical leader of an evil organization called the Black Ghost Organization. His true identity is not known because he wears a helmet, which looks like a skull, and an all-black suit followed by a red cape. His given name is, according to some sources, Skull. A possible origin for him exists in the 2007 anime adaptation of The Skull Man in which main character Hayato is revived and takes up an appearance almost exactly like that of Skull.
Skull was almost killed when the 00 cyborgs entered Black Ghost's Base and set explosives leaving 009 and Skull to fight one-on-one. It is revealed that Skull is not only a cyborg, but a highly advanced cyborg, soundly defeating 009 using his superior acceleration mode. Only a last-ditch effort managed to save the nine cyborgs.
It is not known how Skull survived the explosion. In addition to Skull apparently being a cyborg himself, the true leaders of the Black Ghost Organization turn out to be three brains. Although the 3 brains were destroyed in the end, they claim to be only one "cell" of the Black Ghost organization and that Black Ghost will exist as long there's evil in men's heart.

00 Cyborg Assassins

A group of mass-produced cyborg men who help try to spark a war in 008's home country. They wear black suits, which also cover their face with red goggles and an air tube which they appear to need for survival. They usually ride in black tanks. Their leader is Number 1, who is 008's old friend, Mamado. He rides a black saucer with laser shooting tentacles which can detach as robotic snakes. He appears to have lost his good heart after the brainwashing he was put through, so he is defeated by a very reluctant 008 after he fails to convince him.

Mythos Cyborgs

Cyborgs who claim to be the gods who have come to Earth to destroy it, so they may end war and rebuild the world. They are unaware of them being cyborgs due to their brainwashing. Most of them dress in white Greek clothes with capes and live on a far away island just off the coast of Greece. They were created by Dr. Gaia who erased their memories and led them to believe they were gods so they would cause destruction and confusion instead of peace.
In the 2001 anime, there's an alternate universe where Black Ghost has won the war against the cyborgs, and the world is in perpetual war. Humans have developed psychic powers of a different variety for self-defense, and even then they live in constant fear.
A young man named Nichol, his girlfriend Rina, Rina's younger brother Phil and their friends Cain and Mii learn that there was peace, and decide to time-travel to search for help. But during their time-jump, they lose sight of Nicholas and arrive, with their life energy completely drained, to the doorstep of Gamo Whisky, Ivan/001's estranged father. Hiding his connections with Black Ghost, he erases the kids' memories and pits them against the cyborgs to retrieve his child, prove his theories about psychic powers right, and defeat his old rival Gilmore's team. After the Warriors turn against a non-brainwashed Nichol and one of them kills him, they fight the cyborgs.
Slowly after each regains their memory, they join the Cyborgs after they rescue 009 and Rina from the future, to fight against Gamo and a treacherous Cain. Gamo is fatally wounded and 001 forgives his father before he dies, since he remembers that Gamo's madness started after he failed to cure Ivan's old birth disease. They each have telepathic abilities, telekinesis, psychic barriers and can teleport at will.
Deep buried in the Earth's grounds, the Yomi kingdom and its inhabitants, the Pu'Awak, have been enslaved by the dinosaur race known as the Zattan, who treat them as slaves and use their natural fertility to keep them as living food supplies. Black Ghost, or more specifically Skull and his underling Van Vogt, suddenly appear to trick the Pu'Awaks into following them to fight for freedom, and they choose 5 Pu'Awak noble-born sisters as their subordinates. The girls are soon disenchanted, and decide to join the Cyborgs instead to reach for true freedom.