Robotics Nightmare: Cybernetic Enhancements to the Future

CYBORG SUPERMAN: THE FUTURE

During The Reign of Supermen following The Death of Superman, DC Comics continued the story of a character that would have a lasting impact on the Superman legacy. Following upon The Death of Superman, four characters arose that would be pretenders to the real Superman: The Eradicator, Superboy, Steel, and of course... the one who would be known as Cyborg Superman.

The story of Cyborg Superman is one that is in reality, a pastiche of The Fantastic Four. It starts with four astronauts in space that end up the victims of a cosmic accident whom Superman is powerless to save. All astronauts mutate, and only Hank Henshaw survives as a technopath, one with the powers to interface with technology. Henshaw soon finds out that he has the memories of Superman as well. He becomes during The Reign of Supermen: Cyborg Superman. Yes! Ladies and gentlemen, a Superman clone in a sense.

Can you imagine being Superman? The greatest superhero of all time, having lost his home world, found a new one, revealed himself to the world, always saving everyone only to die at the hands of a monster who turns out to be from your home planet! What are the odds? Only to come back to realize that there are four copies of you, four pretender Supermen, two of which are direct clones, and one a technopathic copy of the real deal!

Of all the four "Supermen," Cyborg Superman turns out to be the most convincing, and the most powerful! He soon reveals himself as in league with Mongul, the conqueror of War World in Return of Superman.

For a moment, people thought that Cyborg Superman was the future. Chad Nevett from Comic Book Resources seemed to think so:

This was my favourite of the four Supermen when I was a kid. Him and the Last Son of Krypton were the two that I gravitated toward, because they were the only two that had a shot of actually being the real Superman brought back to life. Of course, neither of them turned out to be the real Superman, but each acted a nice '90s version of the character. The Cyborg with the idea of Superman being... well, a cyborg. That's a cool '90s idea for the character, right? It sure as hell made me stand up and take notice when I was ten. Very high concept, very 'modern,' very... stupid.

—The Reread Reviews—Reign of the Supermen (Part One), Comic Book Resources

Cyborg Superman seemed like the perfect replacement for Superman. He had all the powers of a Kryptonian, behaved and believed himself to be Superman, and in addition, had vast technopathic powers such as the ability to create a cannon with his arm or the ability to interface with machines. He seemed like the future! Superman, The Big Blue Boy Scout, has too often been associated with an outdated image of America, an almost puritanical image with his moral code to never kill, black-and-white, where America is only measured by its moral code and its ability to flex its muscles! Here comes Cyborg Superman, a savior of America and the path towards the future where the most advanced men actually have cybernetic enhancements! How cool is that?

CYBORG SUPERMAN: WARWORLD

Welcome to War World! The home of gladiatorial combat and despotic rule by the inter-galactic conqueror Mongul!

In Superman: The Reign of the Supermen, Cyborg Superman is revealed as a true villain. Sorry, Lois! You almost fell for him. Cyborg Superman's motivations become clear. It is revealed that he is actually in league with Mongul. His objective: remake Coast City—the home of Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Sector 2814—in his image. In fact, we find out that his wife Terri who perished in the cosmic accident—a solar flare triggered when Superman sent the Eradicator into the sun—was actually from Coast City.

In Superman #80, an alien ship appears in the skies of Coast City. Cyborg Superman attacks The Eradicator, severely injuring him, and destroys Coast City killing millions. The Eradicator, the guardian of Kryptonian memory, ends up blamed for the attack by Cyborg Superman.

This event changed the life of Green Lantern Hal Jordan forever, eventually driving him mad! Brian Cronin from Comic Book Resources reacts:

A hopeful end for Hal, no?

Well, DC decided that Jones' plan to have Hal Jordan break from the Green Lantern Corps was not dramatic enough (for more details of Jones' original plan, check out this old edition of Comic Book Legends Revealed) so even though they had already solicited the first two parts of Jones' version of Emerald Twilight, they decided to redo the storyline and hire an entirely new writer and start over. So they hired Ron Marz and paired him with a couple of fill-in artists for #48 and #49.

In Marz's first issue, Hal has lost it and is actually trying to recreate Coast City using his ring...

—"Abandoned Love: How Did Hal Jordan ORIGINALLY Take the Destruction of Coast City?", Comic Book Resources

Next in Cyborg Superman's plan? Metropolis!

The timely arrival of the true Superman ultimately saves Metropolis from a warhead that would turn the city into a second Engine City.

Thank God for Superman!

Superman, Supergirl, Steel and Green Lantern Hal Jordan confront Cyborg Superman and Mongul while Superboy stops the missile. Thank God for tactile telekinesis (TK!).

In an attempt to kill Superman with Engine City's Kryptonite power source, The Eradicator actually sacrifices himself, processing the blast so that the Kryptonite blast can restore Superman to full power!

Cyborg Superman is defeated by Superman vibrating Cyborg Superman's body to pieces with his fist.

ON APOKOLIPS!

Oh no! Cyborg Superman survived! During The Reign of the Supermen he harnessed Doomsday's body to an asteroid and sent him hurtling in space. At that time, Hank Henshaw, his real name, actually copied his consciousness on Doomsday's body and programming him: for Apokolips!

In Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey, Superman guided by nightmares sets out to find Doomsday in space—the monster that killed him—and end his threat permanently.

On Apokolips, the Cyborg Superman receives upgrades, a new suit with new cybernetic enhancements capable of withstanding the Omega Beams! Cool, right? He sets out to conquer Apokolips' armies and the planet with Doomsday's help!

Doomsday! This monster of unstoppable power actually beats Darkseid to near death in a couple of blows! Impressive, right? Considering that Darkseid rules a planet and his power is unmatched, even by Superman. He is literally a god!

Cyborg Superman survives Darkseid's initial attack with the "Omega Force."

Cyborg Superman's story concludes here with Darkseid's attack on the usurper, though he saves Cyborg Superman's body for later use.

Cyborg Superman's story continues later in other story arcs, notably in his involvement with the Sinestro Corps.

WHO IS BETTER? WHO IS MORE POWERFUL?

Who is the better Superman? Is Superman, the archetypal American superhero, or Cyborg Superman, the Kryptonian clone with additional technopathic powers and the villainous plots, the better Superman?

Who wins in a fight: Superman or Cyborg Superman?

RECAPITULATION

For a period of time, Cyborg Superman seemed like the future. He was meant to replace Superman and offer a new and modern approach to the character.

Cyborg Superman was actually revealed to be a villain.

In The Reign of the Supermen, Cyborg Superman revealed his intentions to remake Coast City in his image with the help of inter-galactic conqueror Mongul. He actually succeeds! That is unfortunate...

Superman, Supergirl, Steel, and Superboy manage to stop Cyborg Superman and Mongul from turning Metropolis into a second Engine City. The Eradictor sacrifices himself by taking a full Kryptonite blast that restores Superman to full power.

Superman defeats Cyborg Superman by vibrating Cyborg Superman's body to pieces with his fist.

In Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey, Cyborg Superman returns on Apokolips and attempts with the help of Doomsday to conquer Apokolips' armies and Apokolips.

Cyborg Superman has a new suit and new cybernetic enhancements that can withstand the Omega Beams. Darkseid succeeds in defeating Cyborg Superman with the Omega Beams, saving his consciousness for later use.

Who is the better Superman? Superman or Cyborg Superman?

That is it for today guys! Be sure to share on social media and leave a tip in order to show your appreciation!