Inspector Henderson

Inspector Henderson

Inspector William Henderson is a supporting character in Superman comics published by DC Comics.

Inspector Henderson first appeared in the 1940s radio series The Adventures of Superman, 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 portrayed by Robert Shayne. 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.

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 first Black Lightning series.

In New Adventures of Superboy #6 (June 1980), a younger version of the character was introduced. Detective-Sergeant Henderson visited Smallville in an attempt to convince Superboy to relocate to Metropolis, where the rate and volume of crime was much higher. Henderson was unsuccessful, although the Boy of Steel would relocate to Metropolis upon reaching adulthood and becoming Superman.

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.

In Supergirl (vol. 5) #37 (March 2009) introduces Inspector Mike Henderson, an African-American detective who heads the Metropolis Metacrimes Division, one of two units replacing Sawyer and Turpin's Special Crimes Unit (the other being the Science Police).