WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Freedom Fighters #6 by Robert Venditti, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Scott Hanna, Adriano Lucas and Andworld Design, in stores now.
Overman is the Nazi version of Superman from Earth-X. He was a central character in 2015's Grant Morrison and Jim Lee's The Multiversity: Mastermen #1, a book that is, essentially, the precursor to Venditti and Barrows' Freedom Fighters maxiseries. On Earth-X, when the Last Son of Krypton landed on Earth as a baby, he was not found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, but rather Adolf Hitler. In this alternate world where the Nazis reign supreme, Overman became the Reich's greatest weapon.
In the Freedom Fighters series, the resurgent American super team poses such a threat to the Nazis' hold on the populace that they have no choice but to unleash their ultimate enforcer yet again. Now, in the series' sixth issue, Overman is set loose... but here's the real truth: He isn't Overman at all. He's Cyborg Overman.
Right off the bat, something appears to be off about Overman. His handler talks about his conditioning, and we can see that he is listening to the same automated messages while in confinement. When he finally gets his orders, he simply smiles and goes right to work. Here, it becomes clear that the character is different from the tormented, reflective character from Morrison and Lee's Mastermen #1.
When he goes to war with the Freedom Fighters, he is an unstoppable menace that forces them to retreat. In fact, he even manages to defeat the Human Bomb -- but not before the explosive superhero deals a massive, destructive punch right in Overman's face. The ensuing blast reveals the villain's true face. Underneath a coat of skin, he is a machine -- a cyborg.
And that is when we learn the truth about Overman. Sometime after the events of Mastermen #1, which saw the Justice League satellite fall to Earth and destroy Metropolis, Overman left the Earth behind. To cover up the truth, the Nazis created a duplicate of their greatest weapon. After many failed experiments, they created Heinrich H. Henshaw, the Cyborg Overman.
This character is a twist on the classic Superman villain Cyborg Superman, Henry "Hank" Henshaw. On Earth-X, however, his origin is different. He is not an astronaut with a grudge against Superman, he was the result of extensive experiments by the Reich. There are still some details left to be revealed about how Cyborg Overman came to be, but for now it's clear that the Freedom Fighters have an entirely different fight on their hands.
They might have known how to fight and defeat Overman, but Cyborg Overman is a different opponent. He doesn't have the same weaknesses, nor does he seem to have a shred of humanity in him. He is simply programmed to destroy. He is much more of a dangerous weapon than Overman ever was. And that means that the fight for freedom is about to get a lot messier.