Cyberman n.

[Barclay:] But who or what are you? [Krail:] We are called Cybermen…. We were exactly like you once but our cybernetic scientists realized that our race was getting weak…. Our scientists and doctors devised spare parts for our bodies until we could be almost completely replaced.

The Cyberman menace has ended all over the world. Let me have a full report as soon as you can.

The first Cyberman operated a control on his chest unit and pulled out an aerial. He bent his head slightly and spoke into what appeared to be a small built-in mike in his chest unit.

The Cybermen too were destined for more appearances and so far have had encounters with all the Doctors and have proved to be almost as popular enemies as the Daleks themselves!

I have never got over the stress and trauma caused to me by the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, the slitty mouths of the cybermen, the things that live inside Daleks, the idea that Captain Hook’s blood was yellow—I’m still funny about egg yolk—and the subject of my most intense nightmares, Torchy.

What if they weren’t dying; what if the Cybermen, instead of being dirty and greasy, were shiny and lovely.

That seems key to the enduring success of the Cybermen as monsters: many stories include scenes of people being converted into Cybermen where it is a terrifying thing.