Cyborg Superman Could Still Show Up On 'Supergirl'

Throughout the first season of Supergirl, the CBS superhero drama introduced plenty of characters — both heroes and villains — from the pages of the DC Comics. Before Season 1 began, many viewers thought (or hoped) Cyborg Superman would appear at some point, but now that the season finale has aired we know this particular villain has yet to be introduced. So, will Cyborg Superman appear in Supergirl Season 2?

Now, let's start with why viewers may have suspected Cyborg Superman would be introduced in Season 1. In the DC Comics, Hank Henshaw became the evil cyborg after his space shuttle crashed, destroying his human body — but his consciousness was uploaded to the LexCorp mainframe and survived. Hank's consciousness grew to hate Superman and he eventually became an evil cyborg counterpart to the Man of Steel. As a result of both Hank and Cyborg Superman's lengthy history in the DC Comics, many thought the character of Hank Henshaw on Supergirl would eventually develop into this villain over time. Instead, the Hank we first met was later revealed to be Martian Manhunter, a refugee from Mars after his people were wiped out. Then, when we learned about J'onn J'onzz's history with the human Hank, we found out the real Hank Henshaw had died when Supergirl was a child.

OK, so if Hank Henshaw is out of the picture (more on that later), how could Cyborg Superman appear in Supergirl Season 2? To that I say, "Let's go to the comics!" Many times, the mantle of a comic book hero/villain will be taken up by more than one character, and that's the case with Cyborg Superman. In one version of the villain's story, Cyborg Superman is Zor-El or, as we know him better, Kara Zor-El's father. Now, we may have been led to believe Zor-El died on Krypton, but Supergirl Season 1 ended on the cliffhanger of another Kryptonian pod arriving on Earth — a pod that could contain Zor-El. In the comics, Zor-El was rescued from the destruction of Krypton by the villain Brainiac and reconfigured into Cyborg Superman to be used for his own nefarious purposes.

However, that isn't the only way Supergirl could incorporate Cyborg Superman. If the show wanted to go their own way with the character, but stay true to the heart of the comics, they could have Project Cadmus turn Jeremiah Danvers into Cyborg Superman. I don't have much to back up this theory, but wouldn't it be cool to see Dean Cain (who played Superman in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) portray Cyborg Superman? Plus, considering Maxwell Lord's experimentation on humans with Kryptonian DNA to create Bizarro, Supergirl has dealt with this kind of thing before.

But, if neither of those theories are correct, let's get back to the original Hank Henshaw on Supergirl. Technically, we didn't see him die; we only saw him pushed over a cliff. Depending on what Project Cadmus is capable of, it's possible they have the original Hank in addition to Jeremiah Danvers. So, if Project Cadmus doesn't turn Jeremiah into Cyborg Superman, perhaps they could create the villain out of the original Hank Henshaw, and stick closely to the DC Comics character.

Really, since Supergirl is a comic book show and comics are known for resurrecting characters or introducing new versions of established heroes or villains, there are probably plenty of different ways the show could introduce Cyborg Superman in Season 2. Of course, there may be other factors at play, like whether Supergirl will receive a second season at all. So, we'll have to wait and see if Supergirl does introduce Cyborg Superman.

Images: Darren Michaels (2), Robert Voets/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.