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"I had faith in you, Nate. And I was right to believe that my boy and all his freaky buddies would see this thing through."
—Hank Heywood's ghost[src]

Henry "Hank" Heywood[1] (1955 - April 8, 2019) was the director of the Time Bureau, briefly filling in for Ava Sharpe. He is also the son of the late Henry Heywood and Bettie Heywood, and the father of Nate Heywood. He grew up without his father due to him vanishing in 1956 and was led to believe he died. As such he became a detached individual and also overprotective of his son especially when he was diagnosed with haemophilia. This resulted in them becoming estranged when his son had grown up. The two finally reconciled after Hank discovered Nate had been saving the world as a Legend.

Hank was later killed by Neron after telling the latter he was not needed anymore. His soul was sent to heaven, though his ghost visited that of his son and used magic to bring the latter back to life.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Hank and Nate Heywood

Hank Heywood meeting his future son Nathaniel in 1970.

Hank was born in 1955[2] to Henry and Bettie Heywood in Hackensack, New Jersey.[3] Hank was raised by his mother after his father was reportedly killed in action when Hank was only a month old. He eventually received his father's dog tags from the war that Rip Hunter delivered to him as a final request from his father. In 1970, he entered into a contest for getting a chance to see the Apollo 13 mission control, not knowing that the competition had been rigged by his father in the hopes that he could meet him. This never occurred as his father died before they could actually meet; he instead unknowingly met his future son. Nate noticed he was wearing the dog tags and Hank told him that they were his dad's though he never got the chance to know him and he mentioned how his own father hadn't really been around for him, but he assured that he believed both were sorry.[4]

At some point in time, Hank married and had a son Nate to whom he later passed down his father's dog tags and also told him bedtime stories of the battles in which his father had fought. Once, at the age of five, Nate scraped his knee causing him and his wife to become very overprotective as it was later discovered that Nate had hemophilia. Nate noted however that his father was emotionally distant which led to their later estrangement in Nate's life.[4]

The Pentagon and the Time Bureau[]

At some point, Hank became the leader of the Time Bureau. He secretly allied with Neron to build Heyworld. Later, Hank helped the Legends in several of their missions.

Death[]

After Hank decided to cancel the partnership with Neron, he was murdered by him. Nora sensed magic and broke out of her cell, knowing something was wrong. She entered the room only to find Hank's lifeless body, and to subsequently be discovered by Nate, leading him to assume that she'd been responsible for his father's death. Before she got a chance to explain, numerous Time Bureau agents filled the room, weapons drawn, forcing Nora to flee.[3]

Legacy[]

It was revealed in a video that he left behind for his son to watch that he was training magical fugitives for a theme park he wanted to open up for him, which he called "Heyworld".[5]

Hank's death was avenged when John Constantine killed Neron.

Personality[]

"I gotta respect you for dreaming big. It was your moonshine, your way of risking it all to make the world a better place. I was so wrong about you. At the end of the day, you were just as wacky and well-intentioned as any Legend. And I wish I had a chance to get to know that side of you"
Nate Heywood to Hank Heywood[src]

Hank appears to be a detached individual. He is shown later to be patriotic noticing the magical creatures can be used in Project Hades.[6] Nate originally thought he was torturing them but in reality he wanted to train creatures for an attraction park based on his son's dreams. Despite his flaws, he deeply cares about his son, Nate, and his wife, Dorothy. Although he was estranged from his son due to his devotion to Project Hades, he still believed he was doing the right thing for his country and most importantly for his son to live in a better world. He was also desperate to reconcile with his son, hence why he agreed to fund the Time Bureau to protect history from the magical fugitives. However, he was using this to gain access to the fugitive creatures for Project Hades. Even though his actions were based on good intentions, he was willing to work with Neron to create the project (knowing that Neron was a demon). Ultimately, it was his son who convinced him to be a better person and not hide secrets. The love for his son was so great, he was convinced by him to trust the Legends after having a falling out with them, and not only that he was willing to sever ties with Neron and his cruel Project Hades, to be a better person and work with his son instead. This decision cost him his life, as Neron absorbed his life essence and killed him in retaliation, framing Nora Darhk for the crime who was trying to save Hank. His death devastated his son Nate (who was planning to forgive his father after finding out about Project Hades) and he immediately regretted trying to cast Hank out of his life. Hank's death was avenged when John Constantine killed Neron.

Powers and abilities[]

Powers[]

Abilities[]

  • Singing: Hank had the impressive ability to sing. He sang to calm a minotaur down.
    • Guitarist: He played a lute to lull the minotaur to sleep.
  • Skilled leader: As the person who provides funding for the Time Bureau, he is the primary decision-maker and others listen to his orders.

Appearances[]

DC's Legends of Tomorrow[]

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 7


Trivia[]

  • It is likely that his birthday is in December as it was said that he was barely a month old when his father left in 1956[4] and it was previously stated that he was born in 1955[2] which would only be possible if Hank was born in December 1955 and Henry left in January 1956.

Behind the scenes[]

  • In the DC comics, Hank Heywood is the name of multiple characters related to the Commander Steel legacy, among them a Hank Heywood III, whose father was reportedly killed during a war mission when he was only a few months old, similar to the DC's Legends of Tomorrow​​ version.
  • Interestingly, Tom Wilson, who portrays the present-day version of Hank Heywood, also portrayed Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future film trilogy. The majority of the first movie in this series is set in 1955, which happens to be the same year that Hank was born.[2]
    • On a related note, in the DC's Legends of Tomorrow​​ episode "Tagumo Attacks!!!", after they've dealt with the mythical creatures running loose in the Time Bureau, Hank says, "Let's make like a tree and leave". Nate then says that he's not sure if that's how it goes. This may be a reference to the Back to the Future trilogy and the numerous mixed metaphors mentioned throughout the series; in Back to the Future Part II, when 2015 Biff travels back to 1955 and interacts with his younger self, 1955 Biff tells 2015 Biff "Now why don't you just make like a tree, and get out of here!" 2015 Biff then corrects his 1955 self, saying it's "Make like a tree and leave".

References[]

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