Line #39 ComicBook/Steel


1	[[WMG:[[center:[-''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Superman}} Main Character Index]]'''\
2	'''[[Characters/SupermanTheCharacter Title Character]]'''\
3	[[Characters/SupermanClarkKent Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman]]\
4	'''[[Characters/SupermanSupportingCast Supporting Cast]]'''\
5	[[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] \| [[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]] \| ComicBook/AmbushBug \| '''Steel'''\
6	'''[[Characters/SupermanRoguesGallery Villains]]'''\
7	[[Characters/SupermanCentralRoguesGallery Central Rogues Gallery]] ([[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Alexander "Lex" Luthor]], [[Characters/SupermanBizarro Bizarro]], [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Vril Dox/Brainiac]], [[Characters/SupermanCyborgSuperman Cyborg-Superman]], [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]], [[Characters/SupermanDoomsdayCharacter Doomsday]], Characters/{{Lobo}}, [[Characters/SupermanMisterMxyzptlk Mister Mxyzptlk]], [[Characters/DCComicsMongul Mongul]], [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryPhantomZone Phantom Zone Criminals]] [[[Characters/SupermanGeneralZod General Zod]]]) \| [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryAToL A-L]] \| [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryMToZ M-Z]] ([[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]])\
8	'''Spin-Offs'''\
9	''Characters/{{Supergirl}}'' ([[Characters/SupergirlTheCharacter Kara Zor-El/Linda Danvers/Supergirl]]) \| ''Characters/PowerGirl'' \| ''Characters/{{Superboy}}'' ([[Characters/SupermanConnerKent Conner Kent/Kon-El]], [[Characters/SupermanJonathanSamuelKent Jonathan "Jon" Samuel Kent]]) \| ''Characters/LegionOfSuperheroes''-]]]]]
10	----
11	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Steel_(John_Henry_Irons).JPG]]
12	[[caption-width-right:350:Drop the hammer...]]
13
14	->'''Superman:''' Well, Steel, you're gonna be getting this a lot, so you might as well hear it from me first.\
15	'''Steel:''' What?\
16	'''Superman:''' Thanks.
17	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', "Heavy Metal"
18
19	Steel is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by Creator/DCComics created for ''[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} The Man of Steel]]'' series, which normally starred Superman, during ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman storyline. DC had decided to delay bringing Superman back to exploit the success of this event, but that left them without a protagonist for Superman's four titles. Their solution was to create four Superman [[{{Expy}} pretenders]] and make a mystery of which one of them could be the real Superman BackFromTheDead. (It's also possible that DC wanted to make sure they didn't lose the trademark to the name "Steel" from lack of use.)
20
21	In any case the character first appeared in ''[[ComicBook/Superman1939 Adventures of Superman]]'' #500 (June, 1993), created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove. This Steel was John Henry Irons, a construction worker whose life had been saved by Superman once, and who decided to become a hero [[LegacyCharacter to uphold his legacy]]. As it turned out, Irons was actually a former weapons designer hiding from the government; the fact that weapons he had invented were being used by some street gangs was also part of the reason why he created a suit of PowerArmor to fight crime with (along with a really big hammer.) There was also a hint that Superman's not-quite-dead soul had linked to Irons, keeping a hold on this world before returning to life. Of the four beings claiming the title of Superman, Steel was also the only one who freely admitted that he was ''not'' Superman (nor a [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} clone thereof]]), but was working to uphold his legacy in his honor.
22
23	Steel was also obviously partially based on the legend of John Henry, and happens to be the first black character to be a major part of the Superman mythos (though his armor hid this fact from the public).[[note]]It could be argued that honor belongs to Ron Troupe, who debuted in 1991 and took over for Clark Kent at the Planet after his "death".[[/note]] Later on, Steel would join the Justice League of America, and his identity would become public. His niece Natasha, who like him was a GadgeteerGenius, also became a power-armor heroine (and later gained actual powers as part of an EvilPlan by Lex Luthor in the series ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'').
24
25	Steel starred in his own comics series for 52 issues, from February 1994 to July 1998. In 2022 a new book was announced, titled ''Steelworks'' and written by the voice actor for ''S:TAS'''s Steel, Creator/MichaelDorn.
26
27	Adaptations wise, Steel has appeared in:
28	* ''{{Film/Steel}}'' a live-action film starring Shaquille O'Neal that came out in 1997. However, [[InNameOnly it cut out any Superman references]].
29	* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]''. His origin was tweaked here because ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' never happened in ''Superman: The Animated Series''.
30	* In the WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse, Steel made his debut in ''WesternAnimation/ReignOfTheSupermen'' voiced by Creator/CressWilliams.
31	* In the Franchise/{{Arrowverse}} series ''Series/SupermanAndLois'', Steel is played by Creator/WoleParks.
32
33	Not to be confused with the other ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica member known as Steel.
34	----
35	!!Steel provides examples of:
36	* ABNegative: In one story, Steel's niece Natasha Irons is injured and in need of blood. It's stated that she has a rare blood type, and John Henry's is incompatible. This necessitates Natasha's father, who had been thought dead and was acting as a vigilante, to come to the hospital to save her life. Interestingly, in a later story, Natasha is able to provide an emergency blood transfusion to John Henry without issue, apparently meaning the incompatibility is only one-way.
37	* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Steel was first introduced in the aftermath of the ''[[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Death of Superman]]'' storyline that was published in TheNineties, long after Superman had been established both in real life and within the timeline of the ComicBook/DCUniverse. By contrast, the New 52 version of Steel made his debut during [[ComicBook/ActionComics2011 the early months of Superman's career]], showing up to help the young Kryptonian hero during his very first clash with Metallo.
38	* AntiHeroSubstitute: Inverted; the other Superman pretenders trying to replace the Big Blue Boyscout after his death were varying degrees of AntiHero, but Steel is [[TheCape just as heroic as the original]], if not MORE so. Which may be related to why he had the best reception of them all. It also probably helped that unlike the others, Steel never actually claimed to be Superman or his substitute, but was just operating as best he could in Superman's memory and honor.
39	* AffirmativeActionLegacy: He really wasn't trying to be (he only wore the "S" in Superman's honor), but that didn't stop many people from calling him "The Black Superman" during the Reign of the Supermen.
40	* AppropriatedAppellation: He began as "The Man of Steel", a literal version of Superman's famous definition. Superman himself found it too long and called him just "Steel" and it stuck.
41	* ArmCannon: The original armor packed a wrist-mounted rivet gun.
42	* TheBlacksmith: He has many elements of this, including being a weapon engineer and making iron armor.
43	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: John Henry ended up becoming this after taking up the Entropy Aegis armor, a special PowerArmor designed by ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} using the shell of a [[ComicBook/OurWorldsAtWar Imperiex Probe]].
44	* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Played with. When Superman returns, John removes the "S" from the pentagon on his chest. Superman tells him he ''earned'' the "S", and says he's perfectly fine with him wearing it.
45	* TheCape: Out of all four Superman pretenders, he is the only who can be considered unambiguously good. Put this together with the fact that he's simply an ordinary man working a blue-collar job, and you'll see why some consider his heroics to be even more impressive those of the big man himself.
46	* CharacterWitness:
47	** In the Steel movie.
48	** He's kind of this in the comics too. Who knew saving one high-steel worker would pay off so well for Superman?
49	* EarnYourHappyEnding: In his introduction, there is a flashback in which Irons, working high steel, prevents another worker from falling, only to be the one needing rescuing. When he is rescued by Superman, we get the following exchange:
50	-->'''Irons:''' I owe you my '''life'''!
51	-->'''Superman:''' Then make it '''count''' for something!
52	* EmpoweredBadassNormal: He may be most known for his awesome PowerArmor, but he's got an ''astonishing'' natural physique and more than enough combat aptitude to be a BadassNormal even if he lacked it.
53	* {{Expy}}: Gained one in Milestone's ComicBook/{{Hardware\|1993}}, who had a similar background and M.O., but was on the opposite side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism.
54	** CompositeCharacter Expy of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] and ComicBook/IronMan
55	* ForgingScene: Steel usually does this every time he makes a new suit of armor. Especially in Creator/GrantMorrison's ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueofAmerica JLA]]'', since Morrison saw him as the Hephasteus of the League's pantheon, and therefore would rather show him sweating over a forge than adjusting servomotors with a screwdriver.
56	* FromShameHeroism: John Henry Irons first donned his armor when experimental weapons he'd designed somehow made their way into the hands of street gangs, and a young boy from his neighborhood was brutally killed by one of them. Knowing the nature of the weapons, and his responsibility in creating them, Irons becomes The Man of Steel, later simply Steel, to help take those guns off of the streets again.
57	* GeniusBruiser: He's a brilliant scientist, and is more than capable of kicking ass without his armor.
58	* GadgeteerGenius: Half his gadgets in his armor are his own inventions.
59	* GentleGiant: Despite everything he still considers himself a scientist and not a fighter.
60	* GoodCounterpart: In the ComicBook/{{New 52}} continuity, he's envisioned as this to John Corben (Metallo). The two of them start out as colleagues in the US military's "Steel Soldier" project, which was created to neutralize the perceived extraterrestrial threat of Superman. Irons [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight resigns in disgust after the military has Superman tortured, and steals the project's prototype armor to rescue Superman when he's in trouble]]; Corben stays loyal to the military until the end, and is driven insane by his armor's alien technology.
61	* LetsGetDangerous: When a young boy was killed by a Toastmaster gun, a weapon ''he'' designed years ago, enough was enough and it would motivate him to create the first Steel armor.
62	* AMasterMakesTheirOwnTools: Forged his suit of power armor in the very same way as [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark in a cave with a pile of scraps]] - however, he was a techie living in a major city and working out of his basement, and probably could have arranged some better tools than a hammer and anvil.
63	* MeaningfulName: John Henry of legend and the famous song was a "steel-drivin' man", a rock driller[[note]]done by hammering a steel drill into the rock[[/note]] who worked on railroad tunnels and raced against a steam-powered rock drill. He won the race, but "died with his hammer in his hand".
64	* MyGreatestFailure: When John Henry was part of the U.S. Defense, he had designed high-powered weapons, only to have the designs stolen and sold on the BlackMarket. He ran and changed his name to get away from this... only to find out the weapons were being used in ''Metropolis''. When one killed a young boy, that was enough.
65	* NeverBeAHero: Steel to Natasha.
66	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: His physical appearance was originally based on Shaquille O'Neal. So naturally, when [[Film/{{Steel}} the movie]] came out, Shaq got pegged for the role.
67	* NotThatKindOfDoctor:
68	** Has to deal with this off-frame in one issue when he's visiting a friend's hospital during a busy period.
69	** When he was ''employed'' by a hospital in the Creator/{{Christopher Priest\|Comics}} run, he objected to being called "Dr. Irons", because it was misleading. The hospital administrator said it was good publicity.
70	* PaperThinDisguise: His helmet is more or less molded like his face (similar to [[Franchise/GIJoe Destro]]). Thankfully, only his family recognized him.
71	* PayingItForward: Irons was inspired to become a superhero after being rescued by ComicBook/{{Superman}}.
72	* PoweredArmor: His suit is powered armor powered by many sources.
73	* PronouncingMyNameForYou: Dr. Villain. "''Will-hane''. It's French."
74	* ScaryBlackMan: Averted in his out-of-armor hours, he's the most noble of Superman's expies. He does tend to scare the shit out of his enemies, however, and for good reason.
75	* StevenUlyssesPerhero: The "Irons" aside, it's also a shout-out to American folklore hero John Henry.
76	* TakeUpMySword: Inverted when Superman returned, Steel briefly quit wearing the S-Shield. Superman was quick to tell him that he had earned the right to wear it.
77	* ThunderHammer: Steel's hammer has a variety of features revolving around electromagnetism. It can measure electromagnetic energy, generate {{EMP}}s to disrupt machinery and be tuned to the Earth's magnetic field making it impossible to move. When not in use, the hammer can be magnetically attached to Steel's back.

Context ComicBook / Steel