Earlier this season, Supergirl finally introduced Tyler Hoechlin as TV’s latest Superman. And now, the series is poised to introduce the Cyborg Superman, one of the biggest villains to menace the House of El. The CW has confirmed the Cyborg Superman will make his first appearance on the series in the seventh episode of the second season, but it’s been less forthcoming about who will portray Supergirl’s new nemesis.
Via ComicBook.com, the official description for “The Darkest Place” says that “Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) heads out on a solo mission to rescue Mon-El (Chris Wood) who has been captured by CADMUS. While fighting to free Mon-El, Supergirl comes face to face with Cyborg Superman.” Given that no guest actor was listed for Cyborg Superman, we’re guessing that it means he is someone whom the audience has already met on the show.
In DC’s comic book universe, Cyborg Superman was introduced as Hank Henshaw, an astronaut whose body was destroyed after he and his crew went on a doomed space mission. Henshaw’s mind lived on inside of Superman’s birthing matrix, and he took on the Cyborg Superman identity after the real Superman was killed battling Doomsday. For a while, the Cyborg even fooled the general public into believing that he was the real Superman while the other three replacement heroes were impostors. The Cyborg exposed his true nature during an alien invasion that destroyed Green Lantern’s hometown and nearly turned Earth into a new War World. After Superman’s eventual return from the dead, Henshaw continued to use the Cyborg Superman body to battle the Man of Steel.
David Harewood was cast on Supergirl as Hank Henshaw, which teased his turn into the Cyborg Superman last season before revealing that he was secretly the Martian Manhunter. While the real Henshaw’s death would seemingly rule out his being the Cyborg Superman on this show, there’s always the possibility that Henshaw isn’t as dead as we were led to believe. Even in comics, the deceased heroes and villains rarely stay that way. Why should it be any different on TV?
More recently, DC’s New 52 Cyborg Superman was re-envisioned as Zor-El, Supergirl’s father. We suspect that connection may remain with the TV series, simply because it gives Supergirl/Kara Danvers a more personal stake in the battle against him. Robert Gant briefly played Zor-El on Supergirl, and he could potentially return.
But our money is on Dean Cain, the former Superman from the ’90s series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. On this show, Cain has portrayed Jeremiah Danvers, the missing father/adoptive father of Alex and Kara. We already know that Jeremiah has been held by CADMUS for decades, and it would be almost too irresistible to see him wearing the Superman “S” again, even if the Cyborg Superman only uses it as a way to mock the last children of Krypton. Jeremiah’s Cyborg Superman would also be great choice for the main “Big Bad” of this season.
The seventh episode of Supergirl season 2 will air on Monday, November 21.
Who do you think will be the Cyborg Superman on Supergirl? Share your theories below!
Image: DC Comics
