CyberNeomorph

The CyberNeomorphs were a Cyber-subspecies, a variant of Cybermen which proliferated throughout the 26th century. (PROSE: Killing Ground, AUDIO: The Ultimate Cybermen) They were believed by ArcHivist Hegelia to have originated from a combination of Cyber-technology when a group of CyberNomads discovered the CyberTelosians in their tomb on the planet Telos. As recorded in her CyberHive history, the Nomads and Telosians had broken apart from the former CyberFaction which itself had broken away from the original CyberMondasians. (AUDIO: The Cyber Nomads)

CyberNeomorphs, (PROSE: Alit in Underland) like all Cybermen, could also arise thanks to parallel evolution. (TV: The Doctor Falls) As such, the Cybermen that "evolved" on a colony ship eventually developed into CyberNeomorphs (PROSE: Alit in Underland) and then into even stronger variants. (TV: The Doctor Falls)

Appearance
In comparison to the earlier Cyber-subspecies, the CyberNeomorphs had bulkier, more imposing Cyber-bodies and deeper voices. (TV: Earthshock)

As observed by ArcHivist Hegelia, the CyberNeomorphs sported an elegant, armoured chest unit which protected the torso, replacing the primitive Cyber-chest packs which the CyberTelosian Controller did not need. The chest units' sleek lines contained all that was necessary for independent functioning. Instead of a mass of flimsy pipes, one sturdy tube lead from the torso unit, feeding and controlling the rest of the Cyber-body. Instead of a framework of rods and tubes, a sophisticated exoshell ensures optimal support and control, making the former exoskeleton seem clumsy by comparison. The faceplate had become more fearsome and cranial capacity was larger. Refined Nomad headblocks support Telosian-type side handle antenna. Finally, new Cyber-guns which emitted lethal blasting rays were carried in Cyber-hands that were powerfully five-fingered. (AUDIO: The Cyber Nomads)

Vulnerabilities
The CyberNeomorphs retained the Cyberman vulnerability to gold. (TV: Earthshock, Silver Nemesis)

CyberNeomorphs were impervious to bullets, (TV: Attack of the Cybermen, Silver Nemesis) however, attacks with energy and laser weapons, including their own Cyber-guns, could kill them at close range. (TV: Earthshock)

Raston Warrior Robots counted Neomorph Cybermen among the many beings they could kill. Although equipped only with javelins and blades, the technology of the robots allowed them to easily destroy several Neomorphs. (TV: The Five Doctors)

The CyberNeomorphs created on the Mondasian colony ship were weak to large-scale electrical discharges, although one Cyber-Leader was shown to be slightly more resilient. Additionally, 's laser screwdriver was powerful enough to kill a Cyber-Lieutenant. (PROSE: Alit in Underland)

Technology
The CyberNeomorph forces in 2526 used the Cyberlance, a powerful, hand-held cutting weapon. They also used the Cyberscope, a device that allowed Cyber commanders to view the battlefield remotely and access a computer database (containing, among other data, information on their race's encounters with the Doctor). (TV: Earthshock)

CyberNeomorphs from Telos had a built-in distress signal in their heads that could be activated manually. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

The CyberNeomorphs wielded handheld Cyber-guns. (TV: Earthshock)

Mondasian colony ship
In an example of parallel evolution, a group of Neomorph Cybermen, led by a Cyber-Leader and a Cyber-Lieutenant, evolved from a handful of the hundreds of Mondasian Cybermen created on Floor 1056 of a Mondasian colony ship. (TV: The Doctor Falls) The patrol of CyberNeomorphs was sent from said floor to Floor 0508 of the ship. Under orders from a Cyber-Planner, they attempted to prime a group of Cybermats to attack Floor 0507, and to capture and  to interrogate them as to how and why the Cybermen's definition of humanity had been altered. The patrol’s Cyber-Leader held the Master hostage after he killed the Cyber-Lieutenant, and ordered two Cybermen to pursue Missy and Alit after they escaped. The Cybermen killed Topknot before being destroyed by a powerful electric shock resulting from the Master firing his laser screwdriver at the steel ground of Floor 0508, after Missy had hacked the floor's weather system to force it to rain. (PROSE: Alit in Underland)

Telos
As recorded in the CyberHive, a history of the Cybermen compiled by the ArcHivist Hegelia using information from the Cyber-Documents, the Cyber-subspecies she designated CyberNeomorph was descended from the CyberMondasians, the cybernetically converted natives of the planet Mondas. Some time before Mondas' destruction, a CyberFaction emerged which fully embraced cyber-conversion as opposed to their fellow Mondasians who only did so out of necessity. This CyberFaction left Mondas and established themselves on the solar system's Planet 14. Remaining active in the solar system well into the late 21st century, the CyberFaction eventually diverged into separate groups of Cybermen. One, designated CyberTelosian, seized control of the planet Telos, whilst the CyberNomads proliferated throughout the galaxy of Mutter's Spiral. (AUDIO: Origins of the Cybermen, The Early Cybermen)

It was the hypothesis of the ArcHivists that a surviving group of CyberNomads eventually discovered Telos. Finding the CyberTelosian Controller, they revived and reconstructed him, developing a new form of exoshell that incorporated the most efficient aspects of Nomad and Telosian design, based on the less encumbered Cyber-technology of the Cyber-Controller. Ultimately, a single, new Cyber-subspecies, which the ArcHivists designated CyberNeomorph. Based from Telos, these Neomorph Cybermen proliferated throughout the 26th century. (AUDIO: The Cyber Nomads, PROSE: Killing Ground, TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

26th century
In the 26th century, the Neomorph Cybermen clashed with the Daleks at a point in time when some humans did not believe in the existence of either species. (PROSE; Heliotrop Bouquet)

In 2526 several planets would unite in war against the Cybermen in an event called the Cyber-Wars. A force of CyberNeomorphs tried to devastate Earth using a Cyber-bomb and convert the survivors. Failing this, they hoped to crash the freighter into Earth and cause an ecological disaster. Although the attempt failed, the freighter was catapulted back in time to become the "meteor" that wiped out the dinosaurs. (TV: Earthshock) Back in 2526, the Cyber-Fleet was dispersed. (TV: Time-Flight)

Whilst its body was destroyed, the Cyber-Leader's core processing was downloaded to another unit. It attempted to recover a partially-converted Marc for use in espionage but was thwarted once again by the Fifth Doctor, whom it called a hypocrite for resorting to violence. Reprogrammed medical nano-drones invaded the Cyber-Leader's body, breaking down its conditioning and causing it to remember its past life, driving it mad. (AUDIO: Conversion)

Incursions into the past
On Telos, the CyberNeomorphs plotted to change history and, as already noted, divert Halley's Comet to Earth in order to destroy it and to save Mondas. They were defeated by the Sixth Doctor. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

The Neomorph Cybermen and a group of mercenaries led by Karl made an alliance with the Daleks in a gambit to sabotage a peace conference on Earth in 1988 and have the planet destroyed. The Cybermen and the mercenaries had a much more active role than the Daleks, as they were tasked with kidnapping an American envoy on whom the success of the conference depended and in capturing the Doctor whom the Dalek Emperor declared a vital part of the plan. The Daleks took a more behind-the-scenes approach as they planned to use the mercenaries and Cybermen as nothing more than scapegoats who could be blamed for the destruction of Earth by the Galactic Council while the Dalek involvement remained a secret. When the Sixth Doctor revealed this information to the Cybermen and the mercenaries, they immediately turned on the Daleks. (AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure)

A Neomorph Cyberman was one of a group of aliens present at a Treen colony in 1991. They initially refused Dan Dare and Digby's appeal to donate money to charity, but were convinced with the assistance of the first seven incarnations of the Doctor. (COMIC: Comic Relief Comic)

In 1992, a Cyber-Force composed of a Cyber-Fleet of at least twenty Cyber-Warships with at least two hundred thousand Neomorph Cybermen attempted to conquer Earth by dehydration, but the Sixth Doctor programmed their weapons to target the methanol that served as the "lifeblood" of cyber-technology. (AUDIO: Hour of the Cybermen)

By 1993, CyberNeomorphs appeared in Earth wanted posters. (TV: Police 5: The Master)

Rassilon Era
During the Dark Times on Gallifrey, the Cybermen were excluded from the games in the Death Zone, because the Time Lords believed they had an unfair advantage over other victims of the games. , having found the Game of Rassilon, transported a squadron of Neomorph Cybermen to the Death Zone to threaten and harass the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. These Cybermen were destroyed by a similarly transported Raston Warrior Robot. A second squadron allied with, intending to stage an invasion of Gallifrey, but he betrayed and destroyed them. A third squadron attempted to destroy the Fifth Doctor's TARDIS, but were foiled when the TARDIS dematerialised at the last second. (TV: The Five Doctors)

During the Doctor's era, the Neomorph Cybermen allied themselves with to become the rulers of Gallifrey. After they kidnapped Susan Foreman, they were stopped by the Fifth Doctor. (PROSE: Birth of a Renegade)

Undated events
A group of Cybermen that looked like CyberNeomorphs but sounded like CyberMondasians were once used by to try and kill the Graak and the first seven incarnations of the Doctor. The were shown to either be coming out of or going into hibernation. (GAME: Destiny of the Doctors)

The severed helmet of a Neomorph Cyberman ended up on a deserted moon. (WC: TARDIS Cam No.1)

Sometime prior to 3985, (PROSE: Legacy, Theatre of War) the CyberNeomorphs, led by a Cyber-Controller, established New Mondas as the centre of a Cyber-Empire. The Daleks destroyed Cyber-Control on the planet by intercepting the Seventh Cyber-Fleet and installing Oblivion Continuums into newly-converted Cybermen, who detonated upon arrival on New Mondas. (COMIC: Cyber Crisis)

Alternate timelines
In an alternate timeline created by the Black Guardian where the First Doctor never left Gallifrey, the Neomorph Cybermen were one of many races which fought over control of Earth. This timeline was destroyed when the Seventh Doctor retrieved the Key to Time. (COMIC: Time & Time Again)

Other references
In the video game Happy Deathday, played by Izzy Sinclair on the Time-Space Visualiser, a CyberNeomorph and Cyber-Leader were among a host of "every single enemy" that the Doctor had ever defeated, who were assembled by the Beige Guardian and pitted against the Doctor's first eight incarnations. (COMIC: Happy Deathday)

Behind the scenes

 * The image of a Neomorph Cyberman is inaccurately used on the 1983 UK VHS release coverof Revenge of the Cybermen, which featured the CyberNomads.
 * Neomorph Cyberman costumes were used to depict Thatchos and Denos in Untitled (The Lenny Henry Show).
 * A Neomorph Cyberman appears as part of the Rani's menagerie in NOTVALID: Dimensions in Time.
 * CyberNeomorphs were the Cybermen used in the shorts Invasion of the Cybermen and A Quiet Day in the Country.
 * A Neomorph Cyberman features in The Harry Hill Show special.