Headscratchers / Cyborg 009

• Whoever was in charge of Black Ghost's cybernetic division was clueless about human nature. Did Black Ghost honestly expect the first nine 00 cyborgs to be cooperative, after kidnapping them and altering their bodies without their consent? If Black Ghost had chosen willing subjects for the project, it could have spared itself a lot of trouble.
  • Also, why didn't Black Ghost do psychological tests on its subjects to determine if they would make good cyborg soldiers? By converting random people into cyborgs, Black Ghost was running the risk of weaponizing someone unstable, who could have done a great deal of damage with their cybernetic abilities.
    • IIRC, the first 9 were basically prototypes; a proof of concept. Whether they lived or died was ultimately moot since they were just used to test whether the tech Black Ghost had developed could be joined with a human. I’m also guessing they would’ve been outfitted with explosive collars or something if they hadn’t been freed by Ivan (his psychic powers weren’t predicted).
• In some adaptations, Albert/Cyborg 004 has a nuclear weapon hidden in his torso. Why on earth did Black Ghost think this was a good idea? First, they had no guarantees of 004's loyalty. When he joined the rest of the 00 cyborgs in their rebellion, Black Ghost lost control of its nuclear device. Second, Black Ghost had no guarantees that 004 was or would remain mentally stable, and therefore refrain from detonating the nuclear bomb at an inopportune time and place. It never occurred to Black Ghost that the recent death of his fiancee and the trauma of being converted into a cyborg soldier could have undermined his mental health. Third, cyborg soldiers are constantly being jostled and struck during combat, which could have accidentally set off 004's nuclear device. Why would they risk an accidental nuclear explosion?
  • In real life, nuclear bombs require a very controlled detonation to go off. The slightest flaw in timing (within microseconds) impact force and kinetic energy can ruin the procedure. Indeed, it’s actually been planned (never been put to practice admittedly) to develop lasers to shoot down ICBM’s. Basically, unless Albert plans on using it (which he probably never would), that nuke isn’t in risk of going off by accident. As for risk of exposure; perhaps Black Ghost also had a series of agents that could plant evidence to frame up one of the nuclear superpowers? It’s WMG, but a nuke going off could incite a major war, which Black Ghost could profit off of immensely.
• Didn't Black Ghost ever realize that 004's nuclear device could draw unwanted attention if it was detonated? The world would definitely notice if a nuclear bomb went off, especially if it was detonated in a populated area. Someone would ask uncomfortable questions about where the device came from.
• If Joe is explicitly designed to withstand tremendous air friction to utilize his Acceleration Mode (and can move so fast that he can spend an entire month in the amount of time it takes for someone to blink or have a gas explosion go off on top of generating enough air friction to instantly reduce paper to ash nigh-instantly), how exactly does he burn up in the atmosphere, given that he's moved at ridiculously faster speeds in the past.
  • Perhaps Joe’s resistance to friction might be some form of active shielding (perhaps an energy field of some sort?). He usually doesn’t use his Accelerator for long periods of time, so it’s not an issue, but the re-entry might’ve lasted too long to ride out.
  • The boring answer is simply Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole; originally the manga chapter on which "Frozen time" is based took place more than ten years after the end of the Underground Empire arc. Admittedly, the manga doesn't spell out whether Gilmore rebuilt 002 and 009 with sturdier materials after falling on Earth, if only to avoid anything like that from happening again, but it's generally accepted by the fandom that this was the case.