Cyborg Superman
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Real Identity: Captain Hank Henshaw
Affiliations: S.T.A.R. Labs, Human Defense Corps, and Lexcorp
Appearances: More Things in Heaven And Earth, Two Lanes Diverged, Most Eligible Superman, My Adventures With Supergirl, Into the New World, Mobile Suit Toyman, All's Fair in Love and W.O.R.M.S., Guess Who's Slammin' to Dinner?, The Death of Superman, and Party Animals (flashback)
Powers/Skills: Enhanced Physical Attributes, Flight, Technopathy, Energy Projection, and Piloting
Voiced By: Max Mittelman
Hank Henshaw is a former fighter pilot and S.T.A.R. Labs astronaut. Henshaw was anti-alien and sided with Task Force X. During Brainiac's invasion of Earth, Hank Henshaw's plane was shot down. He nearly died of his injuries but he was kept alive with the assistance of machines.
Season Three
At some point, he was remanded to the custody of Lexcorp and became the focal point of Luthor's plans to supplant Superman and Supergirl. Henshaw was turned into a powerful cyborg and dressed in the imagery of Superman. At the Superfest convention, Lois Lane goaded Winslow Schott into revealing he was not so reformed as he claimed to be. Schott activated a giant mech suit. Henshaw knocked it outside onto its back. Luthor presented Henshaw as a homegrown American hero, created with his human ingenuity and Henshaw's iron will, after being shot down in last year's alien invasion. Henshaw repeatedly punched the mech suit into submission well after it was defeated. Luthor stated they no longer needed to reply on the mercy of violent aliens to keep them safe. Henshaw struck the mech suit one last time. Luthor stated they had power then asked Lane if she wanted a blurb for the Daily Planet. She asked Henshaw what this was all about. He stated it was about taking back humanity's future.
Back at Lexcorp, Luthor and Henshaw gloated things went even better than they planned thanks to the unexpected incident caused by Winslow Schott gave them the opportunity to show off the latter's skills. Luthor believed it was another step closer to winning the hearts and minds of Metropolis. Henshaw added it was one step closer to saving the world from Superman. Intergang robbed Lexcorp but Hank Henshaw engaged them outside the building. He found a cloaked Mist and threw him hard into a stone planter then punched Rough House into a hill. Bystanders began recording the fight. Henshaw demanded the stolen technology from Silver Banshee but she blasted him with a sonic scream instead. Part of the skin on his face was blown off, revealing his cyborg body. Henshaw vowed she would regret that and charged. Superman landed between them and blocked Henshaw's punch. Superman advised everyone to calm down. Henshaw reckoned he should get out of his way and punched him. He was displeased to see him protect a criminal.
Jimmy Olsen contacted Superman through his Flamebird Watch to tell him about the matchmaking event at W.O.R.M.S. but Superman reminded him the watch was for emergency calls and asked him to call back. He shoved Henshaw into a hill then kept blocking Silver Banshee's path. Henshaw dove at her. Superman grabbed her out of the way and held her on his shoulders. Superman dodged Henshaw while Banshee tried to get free then Olsen called again to inform him he felt changed. Superman tossed Banshee up into the air and threw Henshaw to the ground. Superman yelled at Olsen to stop. Superman asked Banshee to hand over the stolen technology and her helmet and she complied. He pointed out how no one had to get hurt. Henshaw disagreed and readied a palm blast. The bystanders gasped. Henshaw was suddenly trapped in a laser construct. Slade Wilson ordered him to stand down and Luthor wanted to have a word with him.
Luthor turned off a news flash about the incident and wasn't pleased everyone was afraid of Henshaw. He downplayed it, still calling himself a hero. Luthor emphasized heroes show restraint and with the public against him, they would never be able to replace Superman. Henshaw didn't care what the masses thought since they had the power so he could do what he wanted. He took a step forward but Wilson drew his sword and told him that was close enough. He knocked Wilson away. Wilson donned his armor but was slammed around then thrown into the ceiling. Henshaw was about to punch him but Luthor activated a failsafe that neutralized Henshaw. Luthor stated he had the power and he could take Henshaw's away at anytime. During maintenance on November 15th, Henshaw watched news reports of his fall from grace until he lost his temper and blasted the screens. He went to go see Luthor but was reminded he agreed to stay in his quarters until further notice. Wilson drew his sword. Henshaw apologized for his actions and told Luthor he was right to remind him of who's in charge. He promised to never forget. Luthor added an "again."
Wilson was incensed Luthor bought it. Luthor was confident a firm hand never failed with types like Henshaw. Wilson pointed out he was one of those types and Henshaw tried to kill him. Luthor called it just a blip. Henshaw lingered and scanned the failsafe trigger. He later returned and told Luthor he forgot about the food chain and where Luthor fell in it. Luthor went for the trigger but Henshaw made it implode. He tried to run but Henshaw took control of two Lex drones who grabbed him. Wilson rubbed it in. Luthor promised he could have more autonomy. Henshaw exclaimed he wanted his life back and Luthor turned him into a freak. Luthor tried to spin it and blamed his condition on the aliens while taking credit for saving his life. Luthor then offered to help him. Henshaw declared there was no "we" and flicked him through a glass door while telling him to remember the food chain.
Henshaw attacked the city, notably melting part of the Superman statue. He took over the news feed and addressed Superman. He talked of how he used to be loved and cheered but now his name was shrieked and people ran from him. He urged Superman to come and fight him if he wanted to be the hero of Metropolis. Superboy revealed to Lois Lane he came from the future to save everyone from Henshaw. Henshaw implored Superman to fight like a hero then die like one. Superman tried to reason with him and reminded him how they were on the same side during the Brainiac invasion but Henshaw continued to fixate on Superman robbing him of his future. He bemoaned he worked his whole life to build a future for himself and in an instant Superman appeared and took it all away. He attacked Superman and got punched in the face, revealing his cyborg face. He rammed Superman through several buildings. He became enraged about becoming a monster after all the sacrifices he made. Henshaw threw the Daily Planet globe at the people down below. A boy tripped and would have been killed by the globe if not for Superman.
Cyborg Superman punched at the globe from above, taunting Superman about feeling the weight of the world. Superboy extricated the boy then kicked Cyborg Superman off the globe. He overheard Superboy called Superman "Dad" and became irate "the aliens" were breeding and gut punched Superboy hard. The knowledge Superman had a family when he never could made him angrier. He threw Superboy into Superman, kicked Superboy away, bashed Superman into the street, then electrocuted him. Supergirl decked him into a building. Superman continued to try to reason with Henshaw saying he was better than this. Henshaw took it the wrong way and stated he was better than Superman and the world belonged to him. Using technopathic abilities, he remotely blew up an airplane's turbine, made a subway train speed past the 95th Street stop, and made a helicopter die in mid-air. Superboy and Supergirl left to protect the city. Henshaw animated pieces of drones and had them fire at Superman but they were swiftly taken out with heat vision.
Activating thrusters in his calves, Henshaw punched Superman then struck him with palm blast. He thought it pathetic the people liked him and fired randomly at civilians. Superman pleaded with him to spare them. A drone kneed Superman then held him down with two others. He promised Superman would get what's coming and revealed Kryptonite in his chest. Superman bounced off a building. Henshaw picked Superman up by the jaw, punched him in the chest, elbowed him, and threw him. He wasn't amused and readied a palm blast to kill Superman. Convinced he would be next after Superman, Luthor attempted to shut Henshaw down. He managed to shut down the drones and Henshaw's connection to them but he still had three barriers to clear. Henshaw flew to them and called Luthor a weasel. Luthor ran from his desk and placed Lane in front of him. Lane tried to reason with Henshaw but he refused. From a construction site, Superboy chucked pipes at Henshaw. Henshaw clotheslined him into the street, swatted his heat vision away, and punched him three times.
Supergirl shoved Henshaw into a building. He saw Superman struggling to recover from Kryptonite exposure and resumed beating him over and over until he was tackled by Supergirl and Superboy, both now donning the latter's prototype Kryptonite shielding. They ripped his arms off then alternated hitting him. Henshaw summoned drone parts to him, assimilated them and restored his arms in grotesque form. He realized they were wearing armor and destroyed them with his own heat vision. He was about to execute Supergirl but Superboy charged. Henshaw held him by the face and wondered how much he could take. He prepared a Kryptonite blast but Superman mustered all of his power at once and shattered Henshaw's arms. He declared the future belonged to everyone then ripped the Kryptonite out of Henshaw and crushed it to pieces. Henshaw initiated a self-destruct sequence but realized Superboy was half-human and started to compare his age to Superman's.
Superboy revealed he was sent from the future to stop him. Henshaw lamented Superman and the aliens were chosen by the people to be the future rather than him. Henshaw's power source went dead. The threat of Cyborg Superman was over but at the cost of Superman's powers. In the future, the timeline was altered. Cyborg Superman no longer existed long enough to have destroyed the world, but Lex Luthor came into power and took on the title of High Commander.