Inspector William Henderson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Inspector Henderson | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | First appeared on Superman radio series c. 1940s Comics: Action Comics #440 (October 1974) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | William Henderson |
| Supporting character of | Superman |
Inspector William Henderson is a supporting character in Superman comics published by DC Comics.
Inspector Henderson first appeared in the 1940s Superman radio series, in which he was Superman's police contact. He was subsequently introduced in a similar role in the 1950s Adventures of Superman television series, where he was played by Robert Shayne.[1] Mainly used as a sounding board in that capacity, the only detail about Henderson's personal life that was revealed was that he had a son named Ray.[1]
It took a while longer for Inspector Henderson to be introduced in the comics, however; his first appearance there was in Action Comics #440 in October 1974, once again as Superman's main police contact. He also appeared in issues of the Black Lightning series.[1]
In the 1980s Superboy comics, Inspector Henderson was introduced in that series as "Detective-Sergeant" Henderson, where he was visiting Smallville in an unsuccessful attempt (for the time being, anyway) to convince Superboy to relocate to Metropolis.
Since John Byrne's 1986 Man of Steel miniseries, Inspector Henderson's role has been reduced somewhat, in favor of newer characters Dan Turpin and Maggie Sawyer. Currently, Henderson is Metropolis' police commissioner.
Supergirl #37 (March 2009) introduces Inspector Mike Henderson, an African-American detective who is the new head of the Metropolis Metacrimes Division, one of two units replacing Sawyer and Turpin's Special Crimes Unit (the other being the Science Police).
[edit] In other media
Inspector Henderson has also appeared in the 1990s live-action television series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. In most of his appearances he was played by Richard Belzer, however the role was played by Mel Winkler (who reprised the role—as Commissioner Henderson—in an episode of the 1990s cartoon Superman: The Animated Series) and Brent Jennings, prior to Belzer's assumption of the role. A recurring character during Lois and Clark's first season, Inspector Henderson did not appear in subsequent seasons.
As noted above, actor Mel Winkler appeared in Superman: The Animated Series as Henderson, appearing briefly in the episode "Feeding Time".
