The Death of Superman John Henry Irons is a weapons engineer for
AmerTek Industries who designed the BG-60, a portable energy cannon. After gangsters and criminals obtain the BG-60 and use it for evil, Irons fakes his death and flees to
Metropolis. While working on a construction site, Irons falls off a building and almost dies, but
Superman saves 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 series Steel was spun off into a solo series, 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). 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. 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. Various villains attack the Irons family, during which Irons' grandmother Bess is killed and the family is forced to go into hiding. 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.
JLA and the Men of Steel 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.
52 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.
Infinity, Inc. Steel is one of the main characters of the second volume of
Infinity Inc., which debuted in September 2007. 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.
Reign of Doomsday In January 2011, Steel featured in a one-shot comic written by
Steve Lyons.
Sean Chen was initially announced as the artist, but due to scheduling problems,
Ed Benes took over the art duties. 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. 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.
The New 52 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. 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.
DC Rebirth In 2016, DC Comics implemented a 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. After being transported to the present day, John Henry Jr. meets his grandnephew and his great-grandniece Natasha. ==Powers and abilities==