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Main milestones
Early Life and Education
The Turning Point: The Weapons Development Incident
Timeline of John Henry Irons Sr.
The Reign of the Supermen and the Birth of Steel
Steel's Technological Contributions and Inventions
Steel's Conflicts and Adversaries
Steel's Career as a Superhero
Personal Life and Relationships
| Steel | |
|---|---|
.png) John Henry Irons as Steel as he appeared on the cover of Steel (vol. 2) #0 (August 1994). Art by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993) |
| Created by | Louise Simonson Jon Bogdanove |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dr. John Henry Irons II |
| Team affiliations | Steelworks Justice League AmerTek Industries S.T.A.R. Labs Infinity, Inc. Supermen of America Suicide Squad Superman family |
| Notable aliases | The Man of Steel Henry Johnson |
| Abilities | See list
|
Steel is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a genius engineer who builds a mechanized suit of armor that mirrors Superman's powers. Steel initially seeks to replace Superman, who has been killed by Doomsday. After Superman is resurrected, he accepts Steel as an ally. Steel's sledgehammer and real name of John Henry Irons are references to the mythical railroad worker John Henry. He has a niece named Natasha Irons who is also a superhero with similar steel armor.
The character is portrayed by Shaquille O'Neal in the 1997 film adaptation of the same name and Wolé Parks in the television series Superman & Lois. Additionally, Michael Dorn and Zeno Robinson have voiced the character in animation.
First appearing in The Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993), he is the second character known as Steel and was created by Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove.[1] Aspects of the character are inspired by the African American folk hero John Henry, as well as Superman.[2]
John Henry Irons is a weapons engineer for AmerTek Industries who designed the BG-60, a portable energy cannon. After gangsters and criminas obtain the BG-60 and use it for evil, Irons fakes his death and flees to Metropolis.[3] While working on a construction site, Irons falls off a building and is almost killed until Superman catches him.
The story arc "The Death of Superman" sees the rise of four "Supermen" who seek to replace Superman after he is killed by Doomsday: the Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, Superboy, and Irons. The four are differentiated with nicknames previously applied to Superman. Irons is referred to as the "Man of Steel", which is later shortened to "Steel". After Superman is resurrected, he allows Steel and Superboy to continue operating as heroes, expressing pride in what Irons had done with his second chance.
Steel was spun off into a solo series,[4] written by co-creator Louise Simonson and later by Christopher Priest, from 1994 to 1998. The series involves John Henry Irons returning to Washington, D.C. five years after his departure. Steel's family was introduced in this series: his grandparents Butter and Bess, his sister-in-law Blondell, and her five children: Jemahl, Natasha, Paco, Tyke, and Darlene (the latter two being foster children).[5]
Steel's early adventures pit him against AmerTek and against the gangs that were using his weapons. His nephew, Jemahl, is involved in one of the gangs, which he believes offers him protection. Tyke is paralyzed by a bullet meant for Jemahl and Blondell is assaulted. Steel eventually takes down AmerTek and the gangs, and focused on who was helping AmerTek distribute the weapons. This led him to track down a group called Black Ops, led by the villain Hazard.[6]
Tyke, frustrated and angered by his handicap, reveals Irons' secret identity to men working with Hazard. Hazard unleashes a cyborg named Hardwire, who attacks the Irons family and seriously wounds Butter. Child protective services take Tyke and Darlene away, with Tyke ending up in Hazard's custody. During Steel's battle with Hardwire, he is forced to remove his armor to save his life, revealing his identity to the public.[7] Various villains attack the Irons family, during which Irons' grandmother Bess is killed and the family is forced to go into hiding.[8]
The title received a shakeup when Christopher Priest became the lead writer in issue #34. Steel relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey with Natasha and began to work at Garden State Medical Center. He built a new suit of armor that was significantly less powerful than its predecessor. The series was canceled after issue #52, which featured Steel running the hospital after the unmasking of its previous coordinator, Villain.
Around the time the Steel series was cancelled, Steel is recruited into the Justice League due to Batman's concern that the League was already top-heavy in brawn and required more thinkers. During his time in the League, Steel played a crucial role in the defeat of villains such as Prometheus and Queen Bee. He even served as the leader of the reserve team—consisting of Huntress, Big Barda, Plastic Man, and Zauriel—left in the present during the DC One Million event. Following the battle against Mageddon, he ceased to serve as a full-time member of the League, although he stayed on as a supporting member for quite some time. He also became a regular member in the Superman titles, having relocated with Nat to Metropolis to run his own workshop there, called "Steelworks". He also revealed at this time that he had known Superman's identity for some time.
Steel retires from active duty during the "Our Worlds at War" event after he is injured and the Entropy Aegis armor nearly consumes his soul. During his retirement, Irons creates a suit of armor for his niece Natasha, who became the new Steel.
John Henry Irons returns as Steel during the Infinite Crisis event. He is unknowingly subjected to Lex Luthor's metagene therapy, giving him the ability to transform into living steel. John attacks Luthor, but is stopped by Natasha. After investigating Luthor's Everyman Project, John learns that the metagene therapy is temporary and was intended to test the effects of the process.[9]
Steel is one of the main characters of the second volume of Infinity Inc., which debuted in September 2007.[10] Natasha Irons is revealed to have been subjected to the Everyman Project, giving her the ability to transform into living mist. Natasha, Mercy Graves, and several other victims of the Everyman Project found a new incarnation of Infinity, Inc.[11]
In January 2011, Steel featured in a one-shot comic written by Steve Lyons.[12] Sean Chen was initially announced as the artist, but due to scheduling problems, Ed Benes took over the art duties.[13] Steel finds himself the only person who can defend Metropolis from an attack by Doomsday. During the battle, Doomsday inexplicably develops metallic armor and the power of flight, countering Steel's own abilities, and manages to capture him.[14] Steel awakens in a dimensional prison with Superboy, Supergirl, the Eradicator, and Hank Henshaw/Cyborg Superman, all of whom have been captured by Doomsday. The five explore the prison and learn that they were captured by clones of Doomsday created by Lex Luthor to distract Earth's heroes while he sought the power of the Black Lantern Ring, with each Doomsday clone designed to eliminate a specific target.[15]
In The New 52 continuity reboot, John Henry Irons is a scientist working on the government's "Steel Soldier" program. He retaliates and quits his job after seeing Lex Luthor mistreat Superman.[16] When John Corben goes on a rampage after donning the government's "Metal 0" suit, John Henry aids Superman in fighting him off by using his own prototype armor for the first time, uploading a virus into the Metal 0 suit that he designed specifically to shut it down in the event of the user going rogue.[17]
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to The New 52. Steel now protects Metropolis alongside his girlfriend Lana Lang.
The New Golden Age reveals that Steel has a great-uncle who was also named John Henry Irons and operated as a racial freedom fighter called John Henry Jr.[18] After being transported to the present day, John Henry Jr. meets his grandnephew and his great-grandniece Natasha.[19]
John Henry Irons is a master engineer and a natural athlete who frequently displays an impressive degree of strength.[20] In addition, he wears a suit of powered armor which grants him flight, enhanced strength, and endurance. Steel modified his suit many times through his career. The initial "Man of Steel" design was armed with a wrist-mounted rivet gun and the sledgehammer (like the one used by his namesake John Henry) that was ubiquitous for most of his designs. The original design on his breastplate featured a metal version of Superman's "S" insignia, which Irons removed after the return of Superman. Two later armor designs incorporated a similar, but different, "S" symbol. A large hammer is also a key weapon in the suit's arsenal. Irons' current "smart hammer" hits harder the farther it is thrown, is capable of independent flight, and has an on-board computer guidance and analysis system capable of detecting stress points.
When he wore the Entropy Aegis, he had god-like strength and durability and could enlarge himself to giant size. He also had the ability of flight due to energy wings, could travel through time and space at will, and could fire blasts of energy that would reduce a target to its composite elements. However, the Aegis made him very violent and slowly erased his soul.
During the 52 event, John Henry Irons was altered by the Everyman Project and temporarily became a metahuman with the ability to transform into living stainless steel.
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Steel had his own enemies that he fought in his comic series:
A young alternate universe variant of John Henry Irons makes a cameo appearance in DC: The New Frontier #6.[37] Additionally, an African American man inspired by Irons' folk hero namesake named John Wilson appears in DC: The New Frontier #4. He dons a black hood secured by a hangman's noose and starts wielding a sledgehammer to avenge his family, who were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, only to be killed by them.[38]
An alternate universe variant of Steel appears in Kingdom Come #2. This version joined forces with Batman following Superman's self-imposed exile. As such, Irons adopted a darker suit and a bat-shaped axe. He is later killed amidst a war between Batman's army, Superman's Justice League, and a group of metahuman prisoners.[39]
An alternate reality variant of Steel appears in Superboy (vol. 3) #62. This version joined Black Zero in his war for clone rights.
An alternate universe variant of John Henry Irons inspired by his folk hero namesake appears in Steel Annual #1. This version is a slave and blacksmith who builds a suit of armor for his master to fight in the Civil War. However, Henry is forced to wear it himself due to it not fitting his master. Nonetheless, he successfully leads his fellow slaves in revolt. He would go on to continue fighting for other slaves' freedom and travel the expanding United States before fading into folklore.
A possible future variant of Steel appears in Superman vs. the Terminator: Death to the Future. This version comes from a future where he had joined John Connor's resistance against Skynet. Despite his old age, Irons was able to lend his intelligence to Connor's fight and outfitted his hammer a voice-activation and anti-gravity unit.
Steel makes a minor appearance in JLA/Avengers.
The issue also featured four teaser comics that introduced a group of contenders all vying for the Superman name...Construction worker John Henry Irons found a new purpose in life as the future Steel in a story by Louise Simonson, with art by Jon Bogdanove.
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