Hank Henshaw

Hank Henshaw
Hank Henshaw as the original Cyborg Superman on the variant cover artwork of Action Comics #1055 (May 2023, DC Comics), art by Sebastian Fiumara.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	As Hank Henshaw: The Adventures of Superman #465 (May 1990) As Cyborg Superman: The Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993)
Created by	Dan Jurgens
In-story information
Alter ego	Henry "Hank" Henshaw
Species	Human/Kryptonian cyborg
Team affiliations	NASA Sinestro Corps Manhunters Warworld Alpha Lanterns
Notable aliases	Superman Man of Tomorrow Grandmaster The Cyborg Martian Manhunter Metallic Mass Murderer Alpha-Prime
Abilities	Genius-level intellect Technomorphing Qwardian power ring Superhuman strength, stamina, durability, speed, agility, reflexes, and hearing Flight Ice and wind breath Enhanced vision Ultraviolet vision Microscopic vision X-ray vision Telescopic vision Infra-red vision Heat vision

Henry "Hank" Henshaw is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, and normally goes by the name Cyborg Superman . Created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens, the character originally appeared primarily as an enemy of Superman, however in recent years he has also been an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps.

At times, he is also referred to as The Cyborg (not to be confused with Victor Stone a.k.a. Cyborg) ^[1]

In 2011, IGN ranked him #33 of the "Top 100 Comic Book Villains".

Publication history

Hank Henshaw first appeared in The Adventures of Superman #466 (May 1990), and was created by Dan Jurgens. ^{[2] [3] [4]} He first appears as Cyborg Superman in the Reign of the Supermen storyline. ^[5]

Fictional character biography

Left: Hank Henshaw and the Excalibur crew after being exposed to the radiation. Right: Hank Henshaw as his body decays, art by Dan Jurgens.

Hank and the other three members of the Excalibur crew, including his wife Terri, are exposed to radiation from a solar flare during a LexCorp experiment. ^[1] Hank and Terri survive, but suffer adverse effects from the radiation: Hank's body begins to decompose and Terri begins phasing into another dimension before being rescued. ^[6]

After Henshaw's physical body is destroyed, he transfers his consciousness into the LexCorp mainframe. He appears to Terri, but she is driven insane and commits suicide. Using NASA communications equipment, Henshaw possesses the ship that carried Superman from Krypton as an infant and uses it to explore space. ^{[1] [7]}

Henshaw believes that Superman caused the ship accident after throwing the Eradicator into the Sun and plots revenge on him. ^{[8] [9]}

Reign of the Supermen

Main article: The Death of Superman

Cover of Superman (vol. 2) #79, art by Dan Jurgens.

After Doomsday kills Superman, Henshaw poses as him to destroy his reputation and claims to be him resurrected as a cyborg. ^{[9] [10]} He rescues Bill Clinton from an assassination attempt, after which he endorses him as the "true" Superman. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

During this time, rival cults worshiping Henshaw and the Eradicator are established.

Destroying Coast City

When Mongul's spaceship appears over Coast City, Henshaw attacks and severely injures the Eradicator, allowing Mongul to destroy the city. Henshaw also murders a family of vacationers trying to escape the devastated area. ^[13] He then convinces the White House and the public that the Eradicator was responsible. ^[14] After tricking and defeating Superboy, Henshaw prepares to launch a nuclear warhead to convert Metropolis into a second Engine City. ^{[14] [15]}

Superboy escapes and warns Steel, Supergirl, and the resurrected Superman of Henshaw's plans. ^{[9] [16]} The four confront Mongul and Henshaw while Superboy stops the missile from hitting Metropolis. ^[17] Henshaw attempts to kill Superman with kryptonite, but the Eradicator sacrifices himself to save Superman, altering the kryptonite and causing it to restore his powers. Superman kills Henshaw, who claims that he will eventually return. ^{[18] [19]}

Hank Henshaw in Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #1, drawn by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding.

Henshaw returns by transferring his mind into a device he placed on Doomsday. He travels to Apokolips, where he possesses an Apokoliptian trooper. Henshaw and Doomsday take over most of Apokolips before Darkseid imprisons the former. ^[20]

Apokolips and beyond

Darkseid later frees Henshaw, who joins an intergalactic council seeking to bring Superman to trial for the crimes of his ancestors. ^[21] When the council learns of Henshaw's role in the destruction of Coast City, they sentence him to death. As an electronic consciousness, Henshaw cannot be killed by normal means and is transported beyond the event horizon of a black hole.

Henshaw in his later, less Superman-based configuration, art by Doug Mahnke.

Henshaw encounters Hal Jordan / Parallax at the Source Wall. ^[22] Parallax uses his powers to generate representations of the victims of Coast City, which tear the Cyborg's body apart. Jordan then disperses Henshaw's consciousness, and the Cyborg is seemingly destroyed once again. ^[1]

Superman later encounters Henshaw on New Genesis, where he has used the Source Wall's power to create a small world from his memories. After being defeated, Henshaw escapes, constructs a new body, and becomes an art teacher. He eventually returns to villainy and allies with Toyman, creating a machine that splits Superman into Superman Blue and Superman Red.

Henshaw later attempts to take over Kandor, but fails when he is defeated by Superman and sent to the Phantom Zone. He later returns and becomes the leader of the Manhunters before being destroyed and reduced to a disembodied head when the Manhunters' home world of Biot explodes. ^{[23] [24] [25]}

Sinestro Corps

Cover art for Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Cyborg Superman #1, by Ethan Van Sciver.

Henshaw is later rescued by the Sinestro Corps, reconstitutes his body, and joins their ranks. ^{[8] [26] [27] [28] [29]} During this time, he revisits his past and desecrates his wife's corpse. ^[8]

Meanwhile, the Manhunters begin an assault on the JLA satellite. Hawkgirl, Black Lightning, and Red Arrow retaliate; however, all three are neutralized when Henshaw assists in the attack and he successfully tampers with the mechanics of the satellite core. As the satellite is thrown out of orbit, Superman appears and engages Henshaw in battle. Their fight continues on Earth, while Sinestro transports his crew and his ship from the anti-matter universe. At first Superman seems to have the upper hand; however after two punches, Henshaw strikes with great power and rage, punching him through the Statue of Liberty. By the end, Henshaw has Superman in a choke hold, thinking that the victory is near. ^[8]

He is later seen briefly in Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Superman-Prime, having presumably been beaten back by the combined strength of Superman, Supergirl, and Power Girl. ^[30]

Hank Henshaw's body is destroyed when the Green Lantern Corps detonate New Warworld and Sinestro Corps power battery to destroy the Anti-Monitor. However, he is recovered by the Manhunters. ^[31]

Death and retrieval

In Brightest Day crossover, Henshaw allies with the Alpha Lanterns. ^{[32] [33] [34]} He forces Ganthet to work on reversing the augments that turned the Green Lanterns into Alpha Lanterns, hoping that he can use the resulting information to restore his original body. ^[35] Henshaw is killed by Boodikka, but his consciousness survives inside Doomsday and eventually forms a new body. ^[36]

In Reign of Doomsday , Doomsday assimilates Henshaw's technology before being transported to another dimension. ^{[37] [38] [39]}

The New 52 and DC Rebirth

In The New 52 continuity reboot, Hank Henshaw is a human doctor working for the Advanced Prosthetic Research Centre and a colleague of Caitlin Fairchild. ^[40] His role as Cyborg Superman is taken by Zor-El, a cyborg Kryptonian and servant of Brainiac. ^{[41] [42]}

Following the DC Rebirth relaunch, Henshaw's role as Cyborg Superman is restored. ^{[43] [44]}

Powers and abilities

Hank Henshaw is a "technomorph". Unlike a simple technopath which can physically manipulate technology with their mind, Henshaw can extend his consciousness into any machine. ^[45] Through his technomorphic abilities, Henshaw also gained Kryptonian powers similar to Superman, while editing out weaknesses, such as his vulnerability to kryptonite. He could even commandeer complex alien technology, including power rings, ^[36] controlling and assimilating the energy fueling them, as well as their batteries. ^[44]

Other versions

• Hank Henshaw appears in the DC/Marvel crossover Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances. This version was pulled from the DC Comics universe and brought to the Marvel Comics universe by Thanos, who sought to test a multiversal rift created during Oa's destruction. After destroying a planet due to the tidal stresses generated when he tried to convert it into a new Warworld, Henshaw battles the Silver Surfer until they are interrupted by Hal Jordan / Parallax, who seeks revenge on the former for destroying Coast City.
  • Hank Henshaw appears in Superman/Fantastic Four: The Infinite Destruction. He seeks out Galactus in the hopes of becoming his herald, only to be transformed into a metal rod.
• Hank Henshaw appears in JLA: Act of God . ^[46]
• In the crossover story Superman vs. The Terminator: Death to the Future , Henshaw learns of the existence of Skynet in the future and uses a salvaged Terminator skull to provide Skynet with information on Superman's weaknesses, subsequently allying with a T-X unit to eliminate John Connor and the Superman Family. Despite Henshaw merging with the T-X to battle Superman, he is forced to withdraw when Supergirl infects the hybrid with a computer virus developed by Lex Luthor to use against the Terminators that irreparably damages the T-X.

In other media

Television

• Hank Henshaw appears in Supergirl , portrayed by David Harewood. ^[47] This version is the founder of the Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO) who was seemingly killed during an attempt to kill J'onn J'onzz, who subsequently impersonated him. In the second season, Henshaw resurfaces as the self-proclaimed "Cyborg Superman", having received metallic armor from Project Cadmus, and works for Cadmus' leader Lillian Luthor until she is arrested in the third season and he is defeated by Alex Danvers. Discussing his character, Harewood said that "Hank Henshaw ends up becoming Cyborg Superman in the comics, battling Superman. So I'm looking forward to that. He's a bit of a supervillain. He seems pretty indestructible. Which I kind of like because I keep getting blown up in these things. I'm kind of looking forward to being indestructible". ^[48]
• Hank Henshaw appears in My Adventures with Superman , voiced by Max Mittelman. ^[49] This version is a S.T.A.R. Labs employee and college classmate of Lois Lane.

Film

• Elements of Hank Henshaw are incorporated in a Superman clone who appears in Superman: Doomsday . ^[50]
• Hank Henshaw appears in the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) film The Death of Superman , voiced by Patrick Fabian. ^{[51] [49]} This version's shuttle was destroyed by Doomsday, after which Henshaw refused to evacuate under the belief that Superman would save him and his crew, leading to their deaths.
• Hank Henshaw / Cyborg Superman appears in the DCAMU film Reign of the Supermen , voiced by Patrick Fabian and Jerry O'Connell respectively. ^{[52] [49]} Prior to the film, Darkseid transferred his consciousness into a cyborg body and brainwashed Henshaw into serving him, indoctrinating him to resent Superman's failure to save the shuttle. Henshaw tricks Metropolis into letting him create a group of cyborgs loyal to him so he can create a Boom Tube and allow Darkseid's forces to invade Earth, but Steel, Superboy, and the Eradicator join forces to revive Superman, who battles Henshaw and eventually kills him using a crystal containing the Eradicator's consciousness.

Video games

• Cyborg Superman appears as a playable character in and the final boss of The Death and Return of Superman .
• Cyborg Superman appears as a boss in Superman: The Man of Steel , voiced by Jeff Kramer. ^{[53] [49]}
• Cyborg Superman appears as a downloadable alternate skin for Superman in Injustice: Gods Among Us . ^[54]
• Cyborg Superman appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . ^[55]
• Cyborg Superman appears in DC Universe Online via the "War of the Light" DLC. ^[56]
• Cyborg Superman appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham , voiced by Travis Willingham. ^[57]

Miscellaneous

• Hank Henshaw appears in Superman: Doomsday and Beyond , voiced by Kerry Shale.
• Hank Henshaw appears in Smallville Season 11 . ^[58] This version previously piloted Lex Luthor's anti-alien Guardian Defense Platform before being severely burned and paralyzed in a radiation leak that forced him to pilot the shuttle to safety. ^[59] Henshaw nearly kills Luthor, but the former's wife Terri convinces him that Superman is to blame and fight him via his new S.T.A.R. Labs-built robot body until Superman tears the robot's head off. Calming down, Henshaw apologizes before his head is placed in S.T.A.R. Labs' storage. Over the next few months, he befriends Tess Mercer ^[60] before breaking out to battle Eclipso while Superman was away in another universe. Once Eclipso is defeated, Henshaw joins forces with Green Lantern to get the former's diamond into deep space. ^[61]
• Hank Henshaw appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #19. ^[62]

See also

• List of Superman enemies

References

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