One of Superman’s greatest enemies just tried to get their own version of Krypto — only for things to take a VERY dark turn.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story “S Is For Cyborg” from Superman: Red & Blue #2 by Jason Howard & Tom Napolitano, on sale now
The heart of the Superman Family is a strong sense of empathy and an unspeakable bond that transcends danger. It’s this kind of connection that can lead to even creatures like Krypto the Super-Dog to fly into battle to save his family or even bond with major villains like Superboy-Prime. However, that element doesn’t carry over into his most twisted counterpart yet.
In Superman: Red & Blue #2, the Cyborg-Superman just tried to create his own twisted version of Krypto, only for the creature to have no loyalty to him and immediately turn on him the first chance it gets.
Hank Henshaw — the Cyborg-Superman — is one of the Man of Steel’s most twisted enemies. Fueled by hatred for Superman, Henshaw seeks to destroy and replace Superman thanks to his cybernetic elements. In “S Is For Cyborg,” this includes designing his own loyal companion to help him strike out at the world. Working with a staff of scientists, Cyborg-Superman is revealed to have created a massive new robot that resembles a giant dog. The creature is a fusion of Henshaw’s techno-energy along with Kryptonian cells, with the product hyper-evolved by the scientists that Henshaw had assembled into a fearsome and potentially unstoppable monster that grows more powerful with everything it consumes.
Deciding to test his new robotic companion, Henshaw removed all the containment fields that had been holding it at bay and unleashed it against the staff — resulting in them all dying as it consumed more and more people to empower itself further. The only survivor of the rampage is the base janitor, who Henshaw captures and prepares to feed to the robotic beast. But Superman arrives in time to save the janitor and confront Henshaw. Eventually, Henshaw threatens to unleash the full power of the volcano beneath the lab, giving the robotic hound a pure enough energy source to make it powerful enough to even threaten Superman. Superman ends up choosing to save the janitor instead and watches as the creature is enhanced in terms of raw power — only for the creature to instead turn on its creator.
Seeking to drain him of his energy, the hound promptly attacks Hank Henshaw and forces him to try and destroy his robotic hound while Superman flies away with the janitor. It’s an interesting concept for Henshaw to try and embrace, with the villain trying to create his own version of the classic Superman sidekick Krypto. Incorporating Kryptonian DNA into his creation, Hank Henshaw does more or less create the robotic answer to the Super-Dog. However, like Henshaw and his lack of the moralistic core at the heart of Superman, this robotic version of Krypto has no loyalty for his master. As soon as he grows hungry and can’t find an energy source, it turns on Henshaw, quickly forcing the villain to likely destroy it to protect himself. There’s none of the empathy that defines Krypto as a character.
It’s another reminder that no matter how powerful and twisted he may become, Hank Henshaw doesn’t understand the empathy and love that must be at the center of Superman and his allies, lest they become fearsome and monstrous beings. Even if Henshaw’s Hound is destroyed, it’s still a fun opposite number to Krypto and would make for an engaging fight with the super-powered dog.
