General Hardcastle
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Real Identity: General Hardcastle
Appearances (STAS): The Prometheon, Legacy Part One and Part Two
Appearances (JLU): Fearful Symmetry
Powers: None/Human
Voiced By: Charles Napier
General Hardcastle is a veteran military official in the US Defense program. He is renowned among his peers for being able to defuse any situation. Hardcastle's beliefs and loyalties are not clearly defined, he does not trust what can't be controlled, the superhero population, to be exact.
When Superman first appeared, Lex Luthor used his government clientle to start and fund Project Achilles. It was a secret program designed to analyze Superman and keep constant tabs on him. To Hardcastle, and most of the government, Luthor was a ways to their means.
STAR Labs' Professor Hamilton detected a meteor on a collision course with Earth. Superman was occupied with an earthquake in Albania. In his place, Hardcastle eagerly set out to prove the US was capable of handling threats on their own. The explosive charges failed to fully destroy the meteor and activated a giant artificial creation, instead.
When Superman went rogue under Darkseid's manipulation, Hardcastle secured a Kryptonite warhead from Lex Luthor. The unconscious Supergirl and Superman were taken to a secret desert base outside of Metropolis. Hardcastle interrogated Superman about his involvment in the invasion. He was skeptical of Superman's story and sought to execute him. Luthor provided liquid Kryptonite, for lethal injection. Lois Lane managed to infiltrate the base and save Superman's life.
Having failed his orders, Hardcastle was ushered into early retirement. He lived in solitude until the inevitable, when his ex-benefactors decided that the information he was once privy to made him a threat to national security. Following a visit from Green Arrow, the Question and Supergirl, Hardcastle apparently revealed he left before the formation of Project Cadmus and had no solid leads. Soon after, Hardcastle was assassinated by Supergirl's clone, Galatea.