Cyborg Superman

Cyborg Superman is a comic book character that first appeared in Adventures of Superman #466



With his organic parts genetically identical to Superman's, many believed that the Cyborg truly was the Last Son of Krypton restored to life after dying in a battle with Doomsday.

ORIGIN


Hank Henshaw, a brilliant scientist at the time, and three of his friends were returning from space when they encountered a freak radiation storm. The radiation affected the machinery of the vessel and the shuttle crash landed somewhere far away from its intended target. When the four explorers had freed themselves from the wreckage, Hank discovered that his friends Steve and Jim had been horribly transformed. Steve had become living radiation and Jim's body had been destroyed and reformed out of debris from the ship and the surrounding area. Hank's wife Terri seemed to be fine, but Hank himself could feel radiation sickness beginning to eat away at him.

The group went to Metropolis in search of a LexCorp facility that they could use to fix their mutations but ran into Superman and were subesequently involved in a time consuming fight. Things were worked out but by then the radiation's affects on Hank had begun to show. His flesh was falling off his bones and he was obviously close to death. Terri also started exhibiting symptoms, beginning to fade from existence. Hank tried his hardest to work on a cure for her but he was going fast. While he worked, Steve flew into the sun and Jim killed himself. Hank came up with a plan to fix Terri, but died before he could use it. Thankfully, Superman was still there and he was able to save Terri before she completely disappeared.

Some time later, Hank returned in a new form. When his physical body had died, his consciousness had been turned to energy and sent into the machine on which he had been working. Somehow he had gained control over the machinery and was able to form it into a robotic body he could use as transport. His first thoughts once reconstituted were of his wife Terri who had been institutionalized after the traumatic events which he had witnessed. Henshaw found Terri but after appearing as a robot and leaving suddenly when security came, Terri was left even more disturbed than before. When Henshaw heard how his visit had made Terri feel, he decided it would be best for him to leave Earth and continue his hunt for knowledge on his own.

Reign of the Supermen
Reign of the Supermen

Henshaw found his way to Superman's birthing matrix and made it his new body so he could travel space again, absorbing the knowledge of the universe in the process. Superman found him and tried to stop him, but Hank flew away.

Cyborg Superman's origin has been retold a number of times with slight changes each time (often showing Superman doing things he hadn't originally done) , but usually with the Cyborg himself narrating. Since Cyborg Superman is obviously insane and hates Superman, some things are clearly false, but with other changes, like the cause of the radiation storm and what happened with Terri, it's hard to tell if these re-tellings are just the result of a crazy man telling his story or official retcons. For that reason, any changes in the origin are in the following paragraph.

When the Cyborg met Mongul, it is revealed that for some reason Henshaw believes that Superman was responsible for his loss of humanity and that he had banished Hank from Earth. When the Cyborg battled Blue Superman at the Source Wall, he explained that Superman had caused the deaths of his friends because he was jealous and afraid of their abilities. While attacking Earth as a part of the Sinestro Corps, the Cyborg said that Superman had indirectly caused the radiation storm when he threw Eradicator into the sun. He also said that Terri had been near death when he went to see her as a machine and that he was trying to save her life but she jumped out of a window when she saw him and, as a result,Superman tried to kill him.
 

After Earth
Death of Superman
Reign of the Supermen

Apocalypse and Doomsday


No one hates Superman more than Hank Henshaw. Exposure to lethal cosmic radiation during a routine space flight destroyed Henshaw's body,forcing the astronaut's consciousness to seek refuge in computer circuitry. Henshaw returned to physical life after downloading himself into Superman's birthing matrix. He was reborn as a power-mad Cyborg with equal parts of Kal-El's own DNA and the matrix's unbreakable Kryptonian alloys.
Driven to madness by the loss of his humanity, the Cyborg has slaughtered millions in his fury.

CYBORG SUPERMAN VS. THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS.


Hank later began to lead the Manhunters and spent a lot of time and effort battling the Green Lantern Corps, before joining forces with the Anti-Monitor and his Sinestro Corps. It is here we discover that Hank Henshaw's one wish is to die and the Anti-Monitor promised to grant Hank's wish of death once their goal is reached.

A never-ending feud
A never-ending feud

SINESTRO CORPS

Henshaw was positioned to watch over the construction of the new Warworld. As the Sinestro Corps approached Earth, their primary target, Sinestro ordered Hank to deal with the Justice League and control the Anti-Monitor's landing zone personally. He attacked the Justice League, along with his army of Manhunters, and they appeared to be victorious before Superman arrived and battled his cyborg counterpart. Using the power of the yellow rings, Henshaw was able to push Superman back but was beaten senseless once Supergirl and Powergirl arrived to aid their cousin. Henshaw is thrown into Superman-Prime who was in the middle of a battle with the rest of Earth's heroes. After landing on top of Prime, Henshaw states "He almost did it."

Henshaw returned to the action and continued to fight Green Lanterns and the heroes of Earth. He mocked the Green Lanterns for their lack of skills, saying that since they are able to use lethal force they should use it. In the middle of the battle, Henshaw lit Hawkman's wings on fire but the fire was quickly put out by John Stewart. Henshaw was caught in the explosion when Warworld exploded. He survived and was rescued by his Manhunters.

Henshaw is also credited for the prior destruction of Coast CIty where Hal Jordan grew up because it was also where his wife, Terri, was raised and thus served as a another reminder of what he himself had lost.

Powers

As a result of the cosmic radiation, Hank Henshaw underwent a rapid degeneration but at the moment of his death, his consciousness jumped into a nearby computer. From that point on, his consciousness became tied to machines. He can posses machines and anything even remotely electronically mechanical and is able to control them completely with an ability he calls "technomorphing". Unlike most technopaths, he doesn't just command them, he incorporates them into himself and any nearby technology becomes an extension of himself. He can take any machine and, once it's a part of him, he can transform it into anything his mind can imagine, and thanks to his time spent traveling across the universe, he can imagine a lot. And, even before becoming a machine, Hank Henshaw was a genius, so this only adds to what he can come up with.

The Cyborg is not limited by the uses or parts in the original machine, which makes this ability all the more dangerous. Due to the fact that parts of the Cyborg are cloned from Superman's DNA, he has many of the Man of Steel's powers. He has exhibited heat vision (and other kinds of vision), super strength, super speed, invulnerability, and flight. It is assumed that if he created biological lungs for himself he could duplicate Superman's freeze breath, but he has not done so at this time. As with machines though, Cyborg Superman can modify his Superman parts beyond their original limits and weaknesses. He has already removed his Kryptonite weakness and his understanding of biology seems so complete that he can create more living Kryptonian parts from machinery. Cyborg Superman is also immortal, being able to live no matter what happens to his physical body.

Currently, Cyborg Superman possess several Green Lantern Rings and a number of Qwardian Power Rings. These weapons are not just for show either. He doesn't use them much, usually relying on his Superman powers, but he can when necessary. Other weapons at his disposal include willhunters, nanites which he uses to enslave a person's mind and make them loyal to the Manhunters, as well as hundreds of Manhunter robots which he has upgraded and started mass producing and obey his every command.


#7462 in Power Rank Rank Game
Super Name: Cyborg Superman
Real Name: Hank Henshaw
Aliases: Hank Henshaw
The Inventor
The Cyborg
Highmaster
Grandmaster
Publisher: DC Comics
Gender: Male
Character Type: Cyborg
1st Appearance: Adventures of Superman #466
Appears in: 44 issues
Birthday:
Died:
Add a new death issue...
DC Comics Enyclopedia Updated and Expanded
Lil' Leaguers, Part 2 of 2
13: Abandon All Hope
The Sinestro Corps War Part 11: Birth of the Black Lantern
The Sinestro Corps War Part 8: Home Invasion
Into the Sun
Death of a Cyborg
23:  The Bottled Imp

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