Heroes come in all shapes and forms. From the dawn of the golden age of comics the world was given Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, and the Man of Steel himself, Superman. But there came a day that no one could foresee, the day the last son of Krypton was no more; Superman had been killed. The death of Superman came as a shock to most, and everyone in the Justice League knew that no one could ever take his place in power, integrity, and inspiration. Metropolis fell into peril of massive gang wars. Four men banded together and decided to fill the role of Superman, but one stood out from the rest: Dr. John Henry Irons, better referred to as Steel.
Irons was an expert weapons engineer who worked for a company called AmerTek Industries. During his time at AmerTek, Irons developed a portable energy cannon nicknamed “The Toastmaster”. When the invention was used to kill innocent civilians by a crazed gunman, Irons faked his death, moved to Metropolis, and began to work as a construction worker so he would never be forced to create weapons that could hurt innocents again. One day, one of Irons’ fellow workers was about to fall from a skyscraper, and Irons pulled him back onto the platform. He lost balance and began to fall 40 stories, but he was saved by Superman himself! When he asked Superman what he could do to repay him, Superman simply said, “Be a life worth saving.” Then, the day came where the beast known as Doomsday battled Superman in the streets of Metropolis. Irons took a sledge hammer and tried to protect Superman, who was severely beaten. Irons was backhanded into rubble, only to awake hours later to see the aftermath of the battle, muttering the words, “I have to stop Doomsday.” Upon Superman’s death, four men stood to fill his shoes who became known as the Supermen, consisting of Superboy (eventually became part of the Teen Titans), Cyborg Superman (eventually became a villain and joined the Yellow Lantern Corps), The Eradicator (a reformed Superman villain who uses lethal force) and Steel. Some came to believe that Steel was the true successor to Superman. Even Lois Lane considered that Steel’s armour was embodied by Superman’s soul.
Steel’s abilities and traits rival those of the strongest of heroes. Although all of his gadgets and abilities stem from his own weapons he developed and smuggled out of AmerTek industries, his greatest weapon is still his indomitable willpower and heroic spirit. However, he still packs a wallop of skills and abilities. First, he has a power armour that is nearly indestructible. It can take bullets, knives, bazookas, energy beams, and punches from people as strong as Superman. His strength has been known to rival those of some of the top ranks of the Justice League. He is able to throw around most of Superman’s rouge gallery easily, and lift nearly 100 tons. His suit is also built to defy the laws of physics and actually fly, even though he is incredibly heavy. Although he is not the fastest hero out there, Steel can keep up with the best of them. His armour is outfitted with some of the most sophisticated equipment known to man, with a variety of sensors, radar, and sonar applications, acting almost as a spider-sense (and sometimes as a low-powered X-ray vision). Steel is also known for his many weapons, such as his wrist-mounted rivet gun that he carries into battle with him, but his most iconic is his “Smart Hammer”. It has built-in flight abilities, and is able to hit harder the farther it is thrown. It can find its way back to Steel at any time, and it is as strong as the armour Steel wears. Later on in his Superhero career, Steel’s DNA was altered by Lex Luthor, where he gained the ability to become organic steel, much like Colossus of the X-men universe. He could also heat his body to the point of becoming molten steel.
Steel has had many achievements throughout his years as a Superhero and has found himself working side by side with some of the biggest names in the DC Universe. He has been a part of two major DC Universe teams: the Justice League of America and the Suicide Squad. During the events of 52, Steel assisted the Justice League in defeating the Secret Society of Villains in Metropolis. He watched over Metropolis and defeated most of Superman’s rouge gallery single-handed, stopped major gang wars across the city, and stopped major gangs in Washington, DC. Steel eventually took down all of AmerTek Industries and prevented their illegal weapon trade from continuing. During week 40 of the 52 event, Steel led the Teen Titans on a full assault on Lex Corp to save his niece, Natasha. After battling hoards of Luthor’s robot guards, he was able to defeat Luthor in a final battle, bringing him to justice for his crimes of illegal weapons trades and kidnapping. He has also gone toe-to-toe with Atlas, a time travelling villain who is on par with Superman.
For current comics, Steel has been rebooted slightly and made his first appearance in action comics. He still has the same personality with the same abilities, only instead of fighting off Doomsday, he fights off Metallo. He is currently featured in Animal Man in the cross-over event Rot World, where the world has been consumed by the entity of The Rot. Steel is one of the last remaining heroes along with Black Orchid, Frankenstein, and Swamp-Thing.
To sum up this article, we are taking a look into a new kind of hero that I haven’t really explored before. Instead of being tormented by a dark past or being an orphan to a destroyed home world, he was just a common man who was inspired to make a difference. Steel is the embodiment of the hero that exists in all of us – we just have to let it out. Steel took on the impossible role to become Superman and succeeded. So, when you are thinking of heroes that are god-like, powerful, and all around awe-inspiring, remember that one man stood to make a difference and gave a city – nay, a world – hope in its darkest hour, a hope as real as Steel.
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