Cyborg Superman is a persona that has been used by two
supervillain
A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...
s who appear in comic books published by
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
.
Fictional character biographies
Hank Henshaw
Hank Henshaw is an astronaut at
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
until a solar flare hits his space shuttle during an experiment in space, damaging the ship and the crew. Henshaw and the crew, including Henshaw's wife, found that their bodies had begun to mutate and, after returning to Earth, Henshaw's entire crew either perished or eventually committed suicide. After learning that
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
had thrown
the Eradicator into the sun in a battle during the space shuttle experiment, Henshaw blames Superman for the solar flare and the accident. Before his body completely disintegrated due to the radiation exposure, Henshaw is able to save his consciousness. Using NASA communications equipment, Henshaw beamed his mind into the birthing matrix which had carried Superman from
Krypton
Krypton (from 'the hidden one') is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless noble gas that occurs in trace element, trace amounts in the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere and is of ...
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 uses Superman's birthing matrix to create a body identical to Superman's, albeit with cybernetic parts. He returns 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
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
as well. He later becomes a member of the
Sinestro Corps during the
Sinestro Corps War.
Zor-El
Zor-El is the younger brother of
Jor-El
Jor-El is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in the Superman (comic strip), ''Superman'' newspaper comic strip in 1939.
Jor-El is Supe ...
, husband of
Alura, father of
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
, and paternal uncle of
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
. Originally, he escaped from Krypton's destruction along with the other inhabitants of Argo City. In ''
The New 52
The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...
'' reboot, Supergirl discovers an amnesiac Cyborg Superman living on the planet I'noxia.
This turns out to be Zor-El, who was rescued from Krypton's destruction by
Brainiac and reconfigured as a cyborg to serve as his scout.
Powers and abilities
Hank Henshaw
As Cyborg Superman, Hank Henshaw possesses the ability to control and reanimate various machines. From his experience with Superman's birth matrix, Henshaw now has powers and genetic tissue all identical to the Man of Steel. As the Sinestro Corps member, he has access to a power ring fueled by fear that allows him to create any construct at will.
Zor-El
As Cyborg Superman, Zor-El is bionically enhanced with the ability to project electricity from his body. His cybernetic arm can shapeshift into whatever he desires, limited only by the technology available to him at any given moment.
In other media
Television
* A character resembling Cyborg Superman appears in the ''
Legion of Super Heroes'' episode "Message in a Bottle", voiced by
Yuri Lowenthal. This version is the robot caretaker of the
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is a fictional fortress appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. It is the place where Superman first learned about his true identity, heritage, and purpose on Eart ...
in the 31st century.
* The Hank Henshaw incarnation of Cyborg Superman appears in ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
'', portrayed by
David Harewood.
Film
The Hank Henshaw incarnation of Cyborg Superman appears in ''
Reign of the Supermen'', voiced by
Patrick Fabian and
Jerry O'Connell respectively.
Video games
* The Hank Henshaw incarnation of Cyborg Superman appears as a playable character in and the final boss of ''
The Death and Return of Superman
''The Death and Return of Superman'' is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released by Sunsoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES and Sega Genesis, Genesis. It is based on "The Death of Superman" comic book storyline by ...
''.
* The Hank Henshaw incarnation of Cyborg Superman appears as a boss in ''
Superman: The Man of Steel'', voiced by
Jeff Kramer.
* The Hank Henshaw incarnation of Cyborg Superman appears as a downloadable alternate skin for Superman in ''
Injustice: Gods Among Us''.
* The Hank Henshaw incarnation of Cyborg Superman appears in ''
DC Universe Online
''DC Universe Online'' (''DCUO'') is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game set in the fictional universe of DC Comics. Developed by Dimensional Ink Games and co-published by Daybreak Game Company and WB Games, the game was initiall ...
'' via the "War of the Light" DLC.
* The Hank Henshaw incarnation of Cyborg Superman appears as a playable character in ''
Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham'', voiced by
Travis Willingham
Travis Willingham is an American voice actor known for his character portrayals in video games and English anime Dubbing, dubs. His notable roles include Roy Mustang in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' franchise, Cleo in ''Glass Fleet'', Ginko in ''L ...
.
See also
*
List of Green Lantern enemies
*
List of Superman enemies
This is a list of supervillains appearing in DC Comics who are or have been enemies of the superhero Superman. Several of Superman's opponents (most notably Darkseid and Brainiac) are or have been foes of the Justice League as well. Unlike most ...
References
{{Set index article, comics
Cyborg supervillains
DC Comics cyborgs
DC Comics male supervillains
DC Comics aliens
DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
DC Comics hybrids
Fictional extraterrestrial–human hybrids in comics
Kryptonians
Superman characters