Cisco Ramon

Vibe (real name Paco Ramone or Francisco "Cisco" Ramon) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

Carlos Valdes portrayed Cisco Ramon in The CW's Arrowverse, especially ''The Flash'', in which he was one of the Flash's teammates.

Publication history

Vibe's first appearance was in '' Justice League of America Annual'' #2 (October 1984), and he was created by Gerry Conway and Chuck Patton.

Fictional character biography

Cisco Ramon began his career as Vibe shortly after Aquaman disbanded the original Justice League. When young Cisco heard that a new Justice League was forming in his own hometown Detroit, he decided to give up his position as the leader of a local street gang, Los Lobos, to join. What made Cisco a candidate was his metahuman ability to emit powerful vibratory shock waves.

Vibe's presence on the team caused Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter to harbor some strong doubts about the new JLA, particularly after he got the League involved in a rumble with a rival gang. Vibe soon proved his mettle during the League's battles against Cadre, Anton Allegro and Amazo. He stayed with the League through the ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' crossover, when his powers played a vital role in defeating Despero.

During Darkseid's assault on Earth during the ''Legends'' mini-series, the Justice League of America was disbanded and Cisco left his JLA comrades to seek the familiar solace of the streets. Vibe was attacked by one of Professor Ivo's androids, and became the first Justice League member to be killed in the line of duty. The Martian Manhunter brought Vibe's body back to the League's mountain sanctuary, where Vibe was laid to rest in a cryogenic chamber. Cisco's dead form has twice been resurrected by evil-doers.

He has two brothers, Armando and Dante; the former has a similar set of vibratory powers.

In the ''Trinity'' maxi-series, reality is altered, and Cisco is living and shown as a member of The League, an underground version of the Justice League. Soon after Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman return, his head is disintegrated by an energy blast, killing him again.

In a ''Justice League of America'' tie-in to the "Blackest Night" storyline, Vibe was reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps, rising from his coffin in the Hall of Justice. Alongside the Black Lantern Steel, Vibe attacked his former teammates, Gypsy and Vixen, until Doctor Light destroyed him.

The New 52

In DC's Free Comic Book Day 2012 sample during ''The New 52'', a gatefold revealed various characters who would make an appearance in ''Justice League'' over the coming year, one of which was Vibe. Geoff Johns revealed that Vibe's return would be explored in greater detail in the third story arc of ''Justice League''. On August 26, 2012, DC announced a new ''Justice League of America'' title which would feature Vibe. On November 5, 2012, DC announced that Vibe would star in his own ongoing monthly title. It was written by Andrew Kreisberg and drawn by Pete Woods and debuted in February 2013. In new continuity, Vibe's powers derive from being "caught in the event horizon of a Boom Tube", in which "interdimensional forces rewrote his DNA". ''Justice League of America's Vibe'' lasted for ten issues, with the final issue released on December 18, 2013.

Powers and abilities

As his name suggests, Vibe's powers revolve around vibration, frequency, and resonance. His powers enabled him to create shock waves of considerable strength that could shatter concrete or steel as well as affect the physical world as seismic vibrations (and even earth manipulation) or the fabric of spacetime (interdimensional, transdimensional and extradimensional portals).

Vibe's reintroduction in 2013 redefined his powers as having to do with interdimensional physics. Vibe's waves have the power to disrupt the Speed Force, making him one of the few characters who poses a serious threat to the Flash. For this reason, Steve Trevor recruits him into the JLA, which exists to guard against the threat of the main Justice League going rogue.Johns, Geoff. ''Justice League of America'' #1 (2013)

Amanda Waller says that "Cisco Ramon might be one of the most powerful super-humans on the planet. He wields vibrational powers that could in theory shake the Earth apart. And he's the only person we know of who can find and track inter-dimensional breaches."Gates, Sterling. ''Justice League of America's Vibe'' #3 (2013) He is also undetectable by security cameras.

In addition, his agility is above average (and he was a super breakdancer). Under Batman's secret tutelage, Vibe became a more skilled combatant.

In the 2014 series ''The Flash'', Vibe's powers first manifested as precognitive/retrocognitive visions brought-on by touch or by a strong-enough imprint. In time, he developed his powers to the point where he can produce focused waves of concussive, vibrational force and interdimensional breaches.

In other media

Television

Animation

* Vibe made several non-voiced appearances in ''Justice League Unlimited''. This version was often seen next to the Detroit League's other members (but did not get a major role in any episode). His most prominent action is in the episode "Flashpoint" helping rescue New Mexico's civilians in the aftermath of the Cadmus facility's destruction. He is also shown with fellow Detroit-era members Vixen, Steel and Gypsy in the final 'curtain call' of the series finale "Destroyer".
* Vibe made an appearance in his 2-part DC Nation Shorts cartoon short ''Enter Extremo'', voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.
* Vibe has non-voiced appearances in ''Teen Titans Go!''. In the episode "My Name is Jose", Raven casts a spell giving Vibe's powers to Robin. Vibe also appears as a judge in the episode "Justice League's Next Top Talent Idol Star: Dance Crew Edition".
* Cisco Ramon appeared in '' Young Justice: Outsiders'', voiced by Jacob Vargas.
* Vibe made a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''Harley Quinn'' season 2 finale "The Runaway Bridesmaid", where he received a key to the city from the mayor of Gotham for his role in saving the city alongside the Justice League.

Arrowverse

Carlos Valdes portrays Cisco Ramon/Vibe in The CW's ''Arrowverse'', being part of the main cast of ''The Flash''. This version of the character is a mechanical engineering genius at S.T.A.R. Labs within Central City with known metahuman powers to detect anomalies within reality and sonic manipulation. He supports Barry Allen / The Flash saving lives and fighting crime as a part of Team Flash alongside Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost and alternate versions of Harrison Wells. A talented engineer and creative mind, Cisco builds much of the Flash's equipment and is fond of assigning colorful nicknames to criminal metahumans. In season one, he becomes good friends with Barry. Although Cisco initially appears unaffected by S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator blast which was behind the Flash's and many others' powers, he begins having visions of people from other timelines and is eventually revealed to be a metahuman. Cisco's abilities later helps Team Flash discover his mentor is actually the Reverse-Flash. Cisco is also shown to have a rocky relationship with his brother Dante Ramon. In season two, Cisco embraces his metahuman status and takes the "Vibe" nickname. After witnessing the abilities of his evil Earth-2 doppelgänger Reverb, Cisco starts developing his powers to a greater degree; learning to open dimensional portals and emit powerful destructive blasts. In season three, Cisco's relationship with Barry is temporarily strained after finding out that Barry's timeline changes lead to Dante's death. But after he changes history himself during an alien invasion, he understands why Barry did what he did and reconciles with him. He also grows more confident in using his powers offensively, to trigger visions, and to open up portals across Central City and to other worlds. In the season five finale, Cisco chooses to get rid of his powers by taking the metahuman cure he had developed earlier in the season so he can live a normal life. However, the Monitor gives Cisco his powers back in the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event so he can help avert Crisis. His character has also made appearances on other ''Arrowverse'' shows (''Arrow'', ''Legends of Tomorrow'', and ''Supergirl'').

Film

The character's Earth-3 counterpart Breakdance is shown in '' Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths'', voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. He is a member of the Crime Syndicate of America and first appears as part of Owlman's clean-up crew. Breakdance is shown with the Detroit-era Justice League's evil counterparts.

Video games

* Vibe appears as playable character in '' Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham'', voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
* Vibe from ''The Flash'' appears as a playable character in the DC TV Super-Heroes DLC pack in ''Lego DC Super-Villains''.

Web series

* Cisco Ramon appears in the animated web series ''Vixen'', voiced by Carlos Valdes. In episode 3, Cisco has been running a modified facial recognition algorithm created by Felicity Smoak at S.T.A.R. Labs in an attempt to locate Meta-humans outside Central City. The software picks up Mari McCabe's encounter with the thugs from episode 1, and Cisco alerts the distracted Barry Allen attempting to locate a missing USB drive containing crime scene statistics. Cisco gives the Vixen name to Mari, and tells Barry that Vixen's currently in Detroit before asking to check out the situation.
* Cisco Ramon is the main character in ''Chronicles of Cisco'', reprised by Carlos Valdes, which details Cisco Ramon being alone at S.T.A.R. Labs at night, where he encounters the intruder Peek-a-Boo.
* Vibe is one of the background students in ''DC Super Hero Girls''.
* Cisco Ramon and his Earth-X doppelgänger appear in the animated web series '' Freedom Fighters: The Ray'', both voiced by Carlos Valdes.

References

External links

DCU Guide: Vibe (Cisco Ramone)

DCU Guide: Hardline (Armando Ramone)

{{The New 52

Characters created by Chuck Patton
Characters created by Gerry Conway
Comics characters introduced in 1984
DC Comics male superheroes
DC Comics characters who can teleport
DC Comics metahumans
DC Comics orphans
Fictional characters from Detroit
Fictional characters who can manipulate sound
Fictional characters with dimensional travel abilities
Fictional dancers
Fictional Hispanic and Latino American people
Latin American superheroes
Fictional hackers