Steel (John Henry Irons)

Steel
John Henry Irons as Steel, as seen in the "Reign of the Supermen" story arc.
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
Team affiliations	Steelworks Justice League AmerTek S.T.A.R. Labs Suicide Squad Infinity, Inc. Supermen of America
Notable aliases	The Man of Steel, Henry Johnson
Abilities	Currently: Genius engineer and inventor Powered armor grants: Superhuman strength, durability, and endurance Flight Various other cybernetic armaments Variety of communication and sensor arrays Wields seemingly indestructible mallet Formerly: Living steel Bulletproof stainless steel skin Ability to generate heat and become fluid molten steel

Steel (John Henry Irons), also known as the Man of Iron, is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. 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. Aspects of the character are clearly inspired by the African American folk hero John Henry, as well as Superman.

Doctor John Henry Irons was a brilliant weapons engineer for AmerTek Industries, who eventually became disgusted when the BG-60, a powerful man-portable energy cannon he had designed, fell into the wrong hands and was used to kill innocent people. As the company would have coerced him to retain his services, John faked his death, and eventually came to Metropolis. While working a construction job high up on a skyscraper, he fell off while saving a friend from the same fate. His own life was saved by none other than Superman. When John Irons asked how he could show his gratitude, Superman told him to "live a life worth saving." During Superman's fatal battle against Doomsday, Irons attempted to help Superman fight the deadly menace by picking up a sledge hammer, but was buried in rubble amidst the devastation. Shortly after Superman's death, he finally awoke and crawled from the wreckage, confused and saying that he "must stop Doomsday."

He recovered, but to discover that the gangs in inner-city Metropolis (now unopposed by Superman) were fighting a devastating gang war using BG-80 Toastmasters, an upgraded version of his earlier AmerTek design. Irons created and donned a suit of powered armor in Superman's memory in order to stop the war, as well as the weapons, which were being distributed by Dr. Angora Lapin (also known as the White Rabbit), a former partner and lover during his time at AmerTek Industries.