


He forged his Steel costume using hammer and fire, the old school way, and then hit the streets to fight crime. When Superman died in the comics, John Henry Irons took up his mantle after being saved in the past by the Kryptonian. Also, as opposed to trying to get Superboy to become his tool alongside Supergirl, like in the books, in this story Lex simply wants Superboy to impress the United States President so that he can be endorsed as the new Superman, giving Lex even more ins with the government. Here, rather than Westfield at the helm, Dabney Donovan is Lex's cloning expert. Lex Luthor uses Superman's DNA from the battle with Doomsday and splices in his own genetics to create the aspiring hero. Reign of the Supermen pulls an arc from Smallville and, most notably, Young Justice, as Superboy really is a half-human, half-Kryptonian hybrid in the adaptation. RELATED: Reign of the Supermen Redefines the Justice League Westfield's team was able to discover a telekinetic field for a human that would give them the ability to simulate Superman's powers, such as flight, invulnerability and strength, which led to Superboy - their 13th trial - coming to fruition. He was actually genetically engineered to be as Kryptonian as possible, using research Westfield did on Superman's biological makeup. But contrary to what the boy thought, he wasn't a clone at all. In the comics, Superboy was created by CADMUS' head Paul Westfield using his own DNA.

Hank is merely Darkseid's lackey, brainwashed by the Anti-Life Equation. There is no alliance with Mongol and his Warworld, no destruction of Coast City and no plot to frame the other Supermen, like the comics. Hank was nothing more than a conduit to convert humans into a new legion for Darkseid, maroon the Justice League at the edge of the universe and to open a huge portal inviting Apokolips' armies back. In the film, the ruler of Apokolips rebuilds Hank and sends him to infiltrate and win public favor on Earth. This movie, though, changes his background drastically, as it's Darkseid who plucks Hank from the accident. RELATED: Reign of the Supermen's Villain Arrives With a Surprise Twist Isolated in the dark recesses of space, he grew vengeful, blaming his agony on Superman, which led to him co-opt Superman's arrival ship to build a new body and become the Cyborg Superman. Heartbroken about the loss of his crew and wife, Terri, Hank left Earth to explore alien culture. The source material depicted Hank Henshaw, Cyborg Supeman, as an astronaut who merged with LexCorp's technology following a meteorite accident - the only way his consciousness could be preserved.
