So I’ve worked out a little chronology of the Cybermen, taking into account pretty much every relevant story I can find on the wiki. There’s a fair amount of spoilers involved, so read with discretion if spoilers are not your thing. Stuff in italics is my own inferences and assumptions, not really backed up by a story. The blue text is just a weird formatting thing, not intentional.
{Spoiler}
-The Mondasian Lizard Kings augment their ape slaves with technology, creating the first form of Cybermen. Mondas loses its orbit, leading to the decline of the Kings. The Cybermen develop independently, coming into conflict with the remnants of the Kings’ empire and Golgoth. A forty-day war between the Cyberman and Golgoth’s forces results in the total destruction of both sides, though some cyber technology survives to be rediscovered by humans centuries later. [The Dead Heart, The Flesh Unbound, The Black Sea, The Hungry Sky, The Dark Flame, The Future Perfect, The Ugly Underneath]
-The surviving human population of Mondas retreats into underground settlements to survive the deteriorating conditions. [Spare Parts]
-A vast colony ship is constructed to escape Mondas, which becomes trapped in the pull of a black hole. Time dilation caused by the singularity leads to colonists trapped on the lower levels building a small city, turning to cyber conversion to survive the conditions and planning an expedition to the rest of the ship. The Doctor confronts the Cybermen on Floor 507 and detonates the floor, destroying the majority of them and saving the rest of the colonists. [World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls]
-The people of Mondas slowly adopt cyber conversion to survive, though the initial programme is set back when the Central Committee is destroyed by the Doctor. Cyber Commander Zheng oversees the programme’s restarting. [Spare Parts]
-Mondas sends out scout ships, one of which crashes in Austria in 1873 [The Silver Turk],
and discover a planet which they designate Planet 14.
A contingent of Cybermen colonises the world.
-A planetary propulsion unit is finally installed in Mondas and used to pilot it back to its original orbit. [The Tenth Planet] An advance guard of Cybermen are sent ahead of Mondas and arrive on Earth in 1954. US forces assisted by the Doctor and Ace repel their incursion. [The Good Soldier]
-Planet 14 Cybermen conquer the planet Isos II, from which they begin planning an invasion of Earth. [The Isos Network] Using International Electromatics as a front they distribute Cyber technology capable of rendering humans unconscious and infiltrate the sewers of London. Their operations are uncovered by UNIT assisted by the Doctor, and their subsequent attack repelled. [The Invasion] The Doctor follows a surviving cyber ship back to Isos II and assists the natives in overthrowing the Cybermen there. [The Isos Network] Remnants of the invasion persist in London’s sewers [The Piper] and in two crashed cyber ships in London and Antarctica. [The Blue Tooth, Iceberg]
-Mondas is piloted back to its original position in 1986, however begins draining energy from its twin planet which risks its destruction. The Cybermen launch an expedition to Antarctica to destroy the planet and arrange the capture of its human population. Their incursion is held off by human forces in Snowcap Base until Mondas is destroyed by the energy transfer. [The Tenth Planet] A group of Cybermen escape the destruction of Mondas and eventually set up a colony on Lonsis. [Human Resources]
-
A Planet 14 Fleet arrives to liaise with Mondas in 1987,
only to discover its fate. The Fleet makes plans to invade Earth, with a scout group making contact with UNIT operative Daniel Hopkins who agrees to act as an inside agent.
The Fleet splits up,
with a portion setting up orbit behind the Moon to
monitor Earth in preparation for the invasion whilst another half targets Veridia where they invade and convert thousands of its population to boost their numbers. [Hour of the Cybermen] In 1988
the portion of the Fleet in orbit discovers the imminent arrival of the Nemesis Statue and makes plans to capture it. The Cybermen invade and battle Neo-Nazis and Lady Peinforte to control Nemesis. The Doctor pretends to give them control, but instead the Nemesis destroys the Cybermen and their ships in orbit. [Silver Nemesis] The Fleet returns in 1989 and launches its invasion, manipulating UNIT’s network of satellites to dehydrate the UK and issuing an ultimatum to the rest of the Earth. The Doctor defeats them by changing the target liquid of their weapon to attack Cyber ships. [Hour of the Cybermen]
-By 1999 the Planet 14 Faction has been driven from the planet, launching a new invasion of Earth. A scout is sent ahead to gather intelligence, and is discovered and destroyed by the Doctor. [Scientific Adviser]
-In 2006 the Cybermen on Lonsis are attacked by Hulbert Logistics, who had been contracted by the Shinx (concerned at the Cybermen’s presence on Lonsis). The Celestial Intervention Agency secretly assists Hulbert’s efforts, resulting in the Cybermen meeting defeat. The Doctor discovers the war and inadvertently assists the Cybermen in seizing control of Hulbert. He uses the CIA’s technology to trick the Cybermen into destroying themselves. [Human Resources]
-In 2007, Cybermen from a parallel universe uses the gaps in reality caused by the Cult of Skaro’s Void ship and the Torchwood Institute’s experiments to travel to N-Space, seeding themselves across the Earth whilst perceived as ghosts. An advance guard infiltrates Torchwood and uses their equipment to open the breach entirely, enabling the Cybermen to arrive. The Cult emerges from the Void Ship at the same time and launch their own conquest of Earth, beginning the Battle of Canary Wharf. The Doctor reopens the breach and uses it to suck everything exposed to the Void into it. The majority of the Cybermen are pulled in [Army of Ghosts/Doomsday] however those created in the Battle persist on Earth for a short while. [Going Off The Rails, Cyberwoman, Made of Steel]
-The attempted detonation of the Reality Bomb in 2009 causes instability in walls of reality, leading to groups of Cybermen escaping the Void. One contingent falls through the Time Vortex and arrives in London in 1854. Using orphans they construct a Cyber King which is destroyed when the Doctor unprogrammes the human pilot. [The Next Doctor]
-In 2013, another group of Cybermen from another parallel universe seed the Earth with their technology. This leads to UNIT inadvertently opening a gateway for them by experimenting with the technology. The Cybermen invade UNIT’s facility, during which the Master arrives. The Master tricks the Cybermen into destroying themselves after they attempt to convert him. [Cyber-Reality]
-In 2014, Missy uses
stolen Cyber technology from the future to create an advance guard of Cybermen in 3W, obtaining voluntary donors for conversion by spreading a myth about the afterlife. The advance guard releases Cyber rain which converts dead bodies into Cybermen, with Missy having collected every dead human’s consciousness for re-uploading via time travel. Missy gifts control of the Cybermen to the Doctor, who hands it over to a Cyberman who has retained his normal consciousness, Danny Pink. Danny uses the control to detonate all the Cybermen in the atmosphere, destroying the rain. [Dark Water/Death in Heaven]
-In the 2010s, a Cyber ship
from the survivors of Planet 14 crashes in Europe. The damaged Cybermen manipulate the government’s interest in using their technology to have them build new Cybermen secretly loyal to the original Cybermen. The Doctor exposes the scheme. [The Harvest]
-A World Shaper crashes on the planet Marinus, evolving the cybernetic Voord into a new form of Cybermen. The Doctor, Frobisher and Jamie halt the Cybermen’s development by destroying the Shaper but are prevented from doing anything else by the Time Lords. [The World Shapers]
The Cyber-
Voord make contact with survivors of Planet 14 and form a new united faction,
the Cyber-
Nomads.
-The Nomads make numerous small attacks on humanity in the late 21st Century on the Moonbase and the Wheel, each assault being repelled. [The Moonbase, The Wheel In Space] A second assault on the Wheel leads to the Cybermen installing Zoe Heriot as a Cyber-Planner, however she reasserts herself and diverts the Cyberman into the Land of Fiction. She then escapes and reactivates the Land with her as the Master, leading to a long war in the Land until the intervention of the Doctor. [Legend of the Cybermen]
-
With Earth occupied by the Daleks in the mid 22nd Century the Nomads assault
now vulnerable human colonies, including Titan 317 [The Janus Conjunction]. The colonists make an alliance with Voga, having discovered the Cybermen’s weakness to gold, and invent the Glitter Gun. This turns the tide of the conflict, which becomes known as the Vogan War, in humanity’s favour. During the war the Cyberman occupy a human colony on Agora, which they return to every three years for a fresh supply of converts until a successful rebellion in 2191. [Killing Ground]
-In the centuries that follow a series of conflicts between humanity and the Nomads are waged, including wars in the 23rd Century [Theatre of War] and early 24th Century [The Dimension Riders] and colonial incidents in 2387 [Infinite Requiem],
known collectively as the Great Cyber-War [Last of the Cybermen]. Specific incidents include a Cyberman attack on the Dreadnought [Dreadnought] and a incursion into a parallel universe home to the United Federation of Planets. [Assimilation] During this period, one contingent of Cybermen led by a Cyber Controller conquers Telos, usurping the native Cryons [Attack of the Cybermen], and setup a network of tombs in order to ensure the survival of the Cybermen. A logic trap is set to trick explorers into awakening them. [The Tomb of the Cybermen] Other tombs are set up on Tasak [Kingdom of Silver], Tysir IV [Silver Lining] and Cantus. [The Crystal of Cantus] Humanity comes to believe the Cybermen extinct. [The Tomb of the Cybermen]
-In the 25th Century, the Brotherhood of Logicans seeks out the Cybermen for their own designs. Agents of theirs unsuccessfully attempt to claim a troop of Cybermen on Drot. [Junkyard Demon II] The Brotherhood funds an expedition to Telos, which discovered and awakens the tomb. The Doctor manages to help the archaeologists re-seal the tomb and damages the Cyber Controller in the process. [The Tomb of the Cybermen] The Controller survives
and reawakens the tomb. [Attack of the Cybermen]
-
The reawakened Cybermen on Telos build Cyber-
Control and co-
ordinate with other surviving Nomads.
This leads to
a resurgence of the Cybermen,
effectively reigniting the Great Cyber-
War. The Cybermen conquer Mondaran [Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman] and attempt to claim Yama-10, coming into conflict with a survey team of Ice Warriors there. [Deathworld] Eventually the War begins to turn in humanity’s favour again, so the Cybermen turn to time travel after capturing a time ship. They set up a facility on Earth in 1985 to divert Haley’s Comet into the planet to avert Mondas’ destruction the following year. The Doctor, unknowingly guided by the Time Lords, discovers their plot and averts it, killing the Controller. Cyber Control is significantly damaged when a Cryon detonates a load of explosives inside it. [Attack of the Cybermen]
A Super Controller replaces the Controller as co-ordinator of the Cybermen and
Cyber Control is repaired. The Great Cyber-War comes to an end with a final human assault on Telos, bombarding the surface of the planet. The battle saw the destruction of the Super Controller and the final destruction of Cyber Control. [Last of the Cybermen]
This loss leaves the Cybermen split into disparate groups,
unable to coordinate.
-In the decades following the end of the War surviving groups emerge on a planetoid in the Kuiper Belt [Last of the Cybermen], Burnt Salt [The Tyrants of Logic] and the Garazone System. [Sword of Orion] The Master Hibernation Vault remains hidden on Telos, though the planet itself is destroyed by an asteroid impact. [Telos]
-During the Orion War in the early 26th Century, the Earth Empire government turns to Cyber technology to use against the androids. The Cybermen of the Garazone System are disturbed during an expedition to claim their technology. [Sword of Orion] Project Scorpius is setup following the events the in Garazone System [Scorpius], however it eventually falls under the control of a Cyber-Planner. [Conversion] The android forces also take an interest in cyber technology, awakening the tomb on Tasak. [Kingdom of Silver] Scorpius arranges the political rise of Karen Brett to Earth President [Scorpius] and brings her under their control [Conversion]. She is converted and leads an expedition to the Vault in the remains of Telos, where a group of human resistance fighters averts the reawakening of the Vault and kills her. [Telos] Her administration continues under Cyber control and begins converting humans in greater numbers. [Outsiders, Terror, Machines] Six months later, an android spy infiltrates Scorpius’ base and connects to the Cyber Planner, persuading it that it needs to retreat from Earth after its plot was exposed. The Planner agrees and withdraws, however it’s forces are later ambushed in space by android forces. [Extinction] A conference in 2526
sees a peace accord that brings the Orion War to
an end and agrees Earth
and Orion forces will work together against any
future Cyberman activity. [Earthshock]
-
After the Dalek War of the 26th Century leaves them weakened, the Daleks make an alliance with the surviving Cybermen to alter Earth’s history by kidnapping an ambassador ahead of a crucial international conference in 1988. The Daleks in actuality plans to leave the Cybermen as the scapegoats for the plan. The Doctor reveals this to the Cybermen and rescues the ambassador as the Cybermen turn on the Daleks. [The Ultimate Adventure] Hostilities between the Cybermen and Daleks continue for some time. [Heliotrope Bouquet]
-In the early 27th Century expeditions by the Braxiatel Collection disturb tombs on Tysir IV [Silver Lining] and Cantus. [The Crystal of Cantus]
-Circa the 29th Century a single ship of Cybermen, survivors of the Great Cyber-War, targets Voga to begin a new campaign, attacking the Nerva Beacon which is in the planet’s orbit. The Doctor averts their plan. [Revenge of the Cybermen]
-
A few groups of Cybermen manage to come together again to form the Neomorphs and concentrate on developing time travel. One
experimental timeship led by a Cyber-Planner crashes in 500,002. [The Girl Who Never Was]
More reliable Cyber time travel is eventually developed, with one time squad manipulating the Doctor to conquer Krelos. [The Fate of Krelos/Return to Telos] In the 30th Century
the Neomorphs send a force back in time to invade London in 1940. The Doctor prevents their invasion. [Illegal Alien]
The Neormophs establish New Mondas however it is destroyed by the Daleks [Cyber Crisis] sometime prior to 3900. [Legacy]
-
The Neomorphs become embroiled in the Time War. The
War Doctor eventually devastates their forces, forcing the final Cyberman fleet to retreat into the Time Vortex. One surviving Cyber-Leader finds a Time Lord ship on a devastated planet and uses it to travel to 1984 Baltimore. There it uses Cyber records on Peri Brown to set a trap for the Doctor, planning to have him time travel and convert the earliest humans into Cybermen with an advanced conversion unit. The Doctor tricks it and dumps it on 1984 Mondas. [The Reaping]
-
The last fleet of Neomorphs in the Vortex are scattered through time.
One group of ships arrives in 2526 and targets the conference on Earth to change history. Their first attempt via a cyber bomb is discovered by the Doctor and a group of Earth security forces and their second by crashing a freighter is foiled by Adric who messes with the Cyber enhanced flight computer, causing it to fall back in time and crash 65 million years earlier than planned. [Earthshock]
-In the 42nd Century a thief steals the plans for the parallel universe Cybermen from the Torchwood Archive and uses them to rebuild the Cybermen on Centuria as a private army. The Cybermen turn on him and conquer Centuria but are eventually defeated by the Doctor when he meddles with the time stasis machine they attempt to construct. [The Power of the Cybermen/Drones of Doom/Enemy Mine/Time of the Cybermen]
-
Another group of the Neomorph fleet scattered through time arrives in 51st Century where they encounter another temporally scattered group of parallel universe Cybermen.
The factions merge to create the Cyber-
Legions. The
Legions join the Alliance to stop Total Event Collapse [The Pandorica Opens].
One Legion becomes caught in a time storm, scattering ships across Earth’s history in Antarctica [Blood of the Cybermen], Italy [Conversion], England [Closing Time] and Germany [Plague of the Cybermen] and
one ship arrives circa the 30th Century and attempts to claim a Dalek Time Axis aboard the SS Lucy Gray on it’s return approach to Earth. [Return to Earth] The Twelfth Cyber Legion is attacked by the Doctor to force them to give him information on Demons Run.
Another Legion invades a parallel universe and allies itself with the Borg, an alliance which is defeated by the combined efforts of the Doctor and USS Enterprise. [Assimilation] The Ninth Cyber Legion obtains a fragment of the Eternity Clock and utilises it to invade Earth in 2011. The Doctor and River Song steal the fragment and the invasion is later erased from history when the Doctor and River assemble the complete Clock. [The Eternity Clock] The Legions wage the Second Great Cyber-War. During the war the planet that would become Hedgewick’s World of Wonders is converted into a repair base for Cyberman and humanity detonates the entire Tiberian Galaxy to rid it of Cybermen. Humanity prevails and the Cybermen are once again thought extinct. [Nightmare in Silver]
-One group of surviving Legionaries invades London in 2005, after becoming unable to convert humans due to their genetics altering so much from the Mondasian original. The Doctor tricks them into exposing him to the fragment of the Time Vortex used to power their time ship and uses its power to destroy them. [The Flood]
-The repair world on Hedgewick’s World of Wonders is disturbed by the operation of the park, leading to Cyberman (now of a design capable of converting non-humans) kidnapping visitors. The park closes down as a result and the military investigates, discovering the Cyberman presence and destroying the planet. [Nightmare in Silver] Other surviving Cybermen of this design persist, becoming involved in the Siege of Trenzalore [The Time of the Doctor] and the search for the Orbs of Fate. [The Doctor and the Dalek] One group of Legionaries persists far into the future and is discovered by Rassilon after his exile from Gallifrey. He allies with them to take back Gallifrey, giving them advanced time travel technology which the Cybermen use to completely rewrite history in their image. The Doctor is captured on Gallifrey and the Cybermen then turn on Rassilon. The Doctor and Rassilon work together to erase the Cyber conquest of time, with only them able to remember it. [Supremacy of the Cybermen]
-A final group of the temporally scattered last Neomorph fleet arrives in the 82nd Century. This faction reorganises to be led by a Cyber-Emperor and participates in the conflict against the Skeletoids. [Kane’s Story, Frobisher’s Story]
-The Imperial Cybermen develop into the CyberLords. By the 10th Millennium, the CyberLords organise into the CyberLord Hegemony [The Crystal Bucephalus] and are led by an Emperor. [The Quantum Archangel] The CyberLords are peaceful, having not been involved in a conflict for several centuries by the 101st Century. [SynthespiansTM] In time the CyberLords evolve past physical forms altogether, becoming one of the most peaceful races in the universe. In the eyes of the Time Lords, such a fate was well worth centuries of bloodshed and conflict. [The World Shapers]