| “ | Cyborg Superman: That's enough. We may see it differently, but in the eyes of the law, Lex Luthor is not a criminal. The rule of law is a rule you never break. And real justice is everyone's right. Even the worst among us. Lex Luthor: Now, who the hell are you? Cyborg Superman: I'm Superman. |
„ |
| ~ Cyborg Superman to Lex Luthor |
| “ | Superman turned me into this! Darkseid only rebuilt me and taught me how to wield my hatred as a weapon. Just like he did with... (Superman: Doomsday.) That beast was only a mindless assassin. While I was set to a singular purpose. Destroy what remains of Superman. His good name. It was the best revenge I could hope for. Until now. | „ |
| ~ Cyborg Superman explaining his hatred and plan to destroy Superman |
Hank Henshaw, also known as Cyborg Superman, is a major antagonist in the DC Animated Movie Universe. He is a minor character in The Death of Superman, the main antagonist in Reign of the Supermen, and a mentioned/posthumous antagonist in Batman: Hush.
Hank Henshaw was originally an astronaut who was killed by an asteroid containing Doomsday in space along with his crew and wife, Terri, but was then resurrected and transformed by Darkseid to help take revenge on Superman and conquer the Earth.
He is voiced by Patrick Fabian as Hank Henshaw and Jerry O'Connell as Cyborg Superman.
Contents
Biography
The Death of Superman
Hank Henshaw was an astronaut aboard the Excalibur space shuttle with his wife, Terri Henshaw. Henshaw's crew then received a transmission saying that an asteroid containing Doomsday was going to hit the Excalibur space shuttle unless Henshaw and the crew escaped. Henshaw believed that Superman would come to rescue him and his crew from the asteroid, but meteorites from the asteroid begin to hit the shuttle, killing the crew and Terri, leaving only Henshaw left. The asteroid then crashed against the ship, destroying the shuttle and killing Henshaw. Following Superman's death, Cyborg Superman is then seen flying through space towards Earth.
Reign of the Supermen
After recovering his remains, Henshaw is later resurrected by Darkseid, and his consciousnesses are transferred into a cyborg body resembling Superman to a degree. Darkseid then brainwashed Henshaw, making him believe that it was Superman's fault that he, Terri, and his crew were killed.
Six months following Superman's death after defeating Doomsday, four new versions of Superman appear; Superboy, Steel, Cyborg Superman, and the Eradicator. During an attack on Lex Luthor by the Eradicator, Cyborg Superman arrives after Steel and Superboy were defeated, and then fights and drives away the Eradicator. Many people then begin to see Cyborg Superman as the real Superman, which angers Luthor. Lois then begins to write an expose revealing Superboy to be a clone and asking if all of the Supermen are fakes. This leads to a meeting between her and Cyborg Superman, telling him she knows he isn't the Superman she knew and loved. Cyborg Superman understands her, but only asks that she tells people that he is the real Superman and to let him protect Earth.
During a press conference to launch the new Justice League Watchtower, a boom tube opens and Parademons terrorize the event, while Cyborg Superman watches. Superboy is defeated, but the Justice League hold their own while Cyborg Superman saves the President of the United States. The boom tube then collapses and falls onto the League, appearing to have killed all of them and Cyborg Superman declared the "real" Superman. While Cyborg Superman visits the grave of Terri Henshaw, he gets a message from Darkseid to begin his invasion plan. Lois and Irons then soon learn of the visit and that after the Excalibur destruction, Hank Henshaw's remains were never found. After the discovery, Lois and Irons begin to realize that Cyborg Superman is Hank Henshaw.
Henshaw then announces to the world during a press conference in the Justice League's honor, his plans for a new Justice League: a Cyber Corps, an organization composed of regular people that are granted superpowers from unknown technology. Lois recognizes the technology as Apokoliptian and questions Luthor's involvement, as he has stolen the technology before. Lois and Luthor see a broadcast from inside Cyborg Superman's mind, revealing Darkseid and his plans to invade, and that he orchestrated the deaths of Henshaw, Superman, and the League in response to the failure of his previous attempt, by using the Justice League Watchtower.
As the Cyber Corps begins to circle the watchtower, Lois heads inside the Watchtower and reveals to Henshaw that she knows who he really is and Henshaw then begins to choke her saying that he must have realized she knew all along after realizing that she and Superman were close. When the Watchtower reveals the real Superman heading towards him, Darkseid takes over Henshaw and begins the invasion by using the Cyber Corps to open a giant boom tube over Metropolis. Henshaw then betrays Darkseid and closes the boom tube, stopping the invasion so he can personally kill Superman. He orders the Cyber Corps to attack Metropolis just as Superman arrives. Superman struggles to fight Henshaw as he isn't at full strength while the latter reveals he blames Superman for not saving his wife from the Excalibur destruction caused by Doomsday. Henshaw then launches the Watchtower into orbit to prevent the returned Justice League from aiding Superman and Lois. With Superman nearly defeated, Lois opens the Watchtower's window shutters so the sun's yellow rays shine on Superman while getting blasted at by Henshaw. Superman then returns to full power and blasts off Henshaw's Cybernetic arm but regenerates it. Superman is then forced to stab Henshaw in the head with a crystal containing the Eradicator, which destroys Henshaw's consciousness and kills Henshaw for good. With Henshaw dead, the battle ends when the drones of the Cyber Corps are deactivated, although all of the people who were turned into drones die in the process.
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Trivia
- In the comics, Hank Henshaw was an astronaut at NASA until a solar flare hit his space shuttle and the crew. After returning to Earth; Henshaw, his wife, and the crew had begun to mutate and the entire crew eventually perished or committed suicide. After learning that Superman had thrown the Eradicator into the sun causing the solar flare, Henshaw blamed Superman for the accident. Before his body completely disintegrated due to radiation exposure, Henshaw was able to save his consciousness by beaming his mind into the birthing matrix which had carried Superman from Krypton to Earth as an infant. Using the birthing matrix, he created a spacecraft and a body identical to Superman's, before departing into outer space. He then returned to Earth as Cyborg Superman in an attempt to get revenge on Superman.
- Even though Henshaw blamed Superman for the death of his wife and crew, it was Darkseid's fault, because he sent Doomsday, who crashed through the space station he, his wife, and his crew were on.
- Since Darkseid sent Doomsday to kill Superman, Superman can be viewed as indirectly responsible for the Henshaw's deaths as they were among the many victims in Darkseid's vendetta and Doomsday's onslaught.
- Despite being misled by Darkseid, Henshaw only took part in Darkseid's plan to invade Earth, to destroy everything that Superman loved and protected. He then abandoned that plan when he betrayed Darkseid, becoming the central threat.
