Publisher DC Comics Alter ego Henry "Hank" Henshaw Place of origin Earth | Created by Dan Jurgens Species Human Cyborg | |
First appearance As Hank Henshaw:
Adventures of Superman #466 (May 1990)
As Cyborg Superman:
Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993) | ||
Cyborg Superman is a persona that has been used by two fictional characters in the DC Universe, both of which are supervillains that appear in comic books published by DC Comics.
Contents
Hank Henshaw
Hank Henshaw was an astronaut at NASA until a solar flare hit his space shuttle during an experiment in space, damaging the ship and the crew. Henshaw and the crew found that their bodies had begun to mutate and, after returning to Earth, Henshaw's entire crew (including his wife) eventually committed suicide. After learning that Superman had thrown the Eradicator into the sun in a battle during the space shuttle experiment, Henshaw blamed Superman for the solar flare and the accident. Before his body completely disintegrated due to the radiation exposure, Henshaw was able to save his consciousness. Using NASA communications equipment, Henshaw beams his mind into the birthing matrix which had carried Superman from Krypton to Earth as an infant. He creates a small exploration craft from the birthing matrix and departs into outer space alone. Becoming increasingly mentally unstable, Henshaw used Superman's birthing matrix to create a body identical to Superman's, albeit with cybernetic parts. He returned to Earth to kill Superman, only to discover that Superman had already died during Henshaw's absence. Following Superman's eventual resurrection, Henshaw would not only become a recurring adversary of Superman but of Green Lantern as well. Hank Henshaw became a member of the Sinestro Corps during the Blackest Night.
Zor-El
Zor-El was introduced as the new Cyborg Superman following the New 52 relaunch of the DC Universe. Zor-El was rescued from Krypton's destruction by Brainiac and was reconfigured as a cyborg to be his scout for looking for stronger species in the universe.
Hank Henshaw
As Cyborg Superman, Hank Henshaw possesses the ability to control and reanimate various machines. Due to his experience with Superman's birth matrix, Henshaw now has all of Superman's powers and genetic tissue identical to the Man of Steel's. As a member of the Sinestro Corps, Henshaw has access to a power ring fueled by fear energy that allows him to create any construct he can imagine.
Zor-El
As Cyborg Superman, Zor-El is cybernetically enhanced with the ability to fly, fire powerful heat rays from his cybernetic eye, and project electricity from his body. Zor-El's cybernetic arm can shape shift into whatever he desires, limited only by the technology available to him at the given moment that he chooses to use this ability. Zor-El is virtually indestructible, and also has super-speed and super-strength.
Television
Film
DC's direct-to-DVD movie Superman: Doomsday, based on "The Death of Superman" storyline, features a variation on the Cyborg Superman character. One of the many changes is a streamlined cast which cuts the four Superman imposters, including Cyborg Superman. Elements from three of the four impostors (Hank Henshaw, Superboy, and the Eradicator), were combined into the Superman clone created by Lex Luthor in the film.
Video games
Radio
British wunderkind radio producer Dirk Maggs produced a Superman radio series for BBC Radio 5 in the 1990s. When the "Death of Superman" story arc happened in the comics, Maggs presented a very faithful, though much pared down, version of the tale which featured Stuart Milligan as Clark Kent/Superman, Lorelei King as Lois Lane, and William Hootkins as Lex Luthor. Versatile American actor Kerry Shale was cast both as the villainous Hank Henshaw and as Superboy. The story arc was packaged for sale on cassette and CD as Superman: Doomsday and Beyond in the UK and as Superman Lives! in the USA.