Steel

John Henry Irons

user rating
2.05
shdb class

Biography

Aliases
Man of Steel, Henry Johnson
Nicknames
Place of birth
Washington, D.C.
First appearance
Adventures of Superman #500 (1993)
Alignment
good

Appearance

Gender
male
Race
Height
6'7 // 201 cm
Weight
290 lb // 131 kg
Eye color
Brown
Hair color
None

Work

Occupation
Weapons designer, former steelworker
Base
Steelworks, Metropolis; formerly Jersey City and Washington D.C.

Relations

Relatives
Mrs. Irons (mother, deceased), Mr. Irons (father, deceased), Maternal Grandmother (deceased), maternal grandfather (deceased), Butter (grandfather), Bess (grandmother, deceased), Clay Irons (brother), Jemahl Irons (nephew), Blondell Irons (sister-in-law), Natasha Irons (Starlight, niece), Paco (nephew), Tyke (former foster nephew)
Group Affiliation
Reserve member of the Justice League of America
Friends
Enemies

Powergrid

intelligence
strength
speed
durability
power
combat

Strength

140+ tons (308,000 lb)
Steel

History

John Henry Irons is a hero forged from his own making. When Superman saved Irons from a fatal fall off a Metropolis skyscraper, he challenged the construction worker to make his life count for something. A former weapons engineer for the ruthless AmerTek Company, Irons longed to atone for the deaths his designs had caused. For the purpose, he built a suit of exoskeleton armor for himself and assumed the primary alias of Steel. As Steel, he

crusaded to dismantle AmerTek's weapons programs, including the destruction of every last production model of the BG-60 " Toastmaster", the deadly assault rifle he had designed. Superman is proud to call Steel his partner. Irons even helped Superman rebuild his Fortress of Solitude and gave it a computer linkage to Irons' headquarters, called "The Steelworks", an abandoned arms factory in Suicide Slums. After the Death of Superman by Doomsday, Steel took his place, soaring over Metropolis in high-tech armor and smashing crime with a sledgehammer.

Team Superman

In Superman's absence, or if the Man of Steel needs assistance, Steel often coordinates and leads " Team Superman", a cadre of S-shield-wearing heroes including himself, Supergirl, and Superboy. Steel provided this Super-Squad with stealthy combat-garb meant to protect them from the necrotic touch of Kancer as they aided Superman in battle with General Zod and the armies of Pokolistan.

The Death of Steel

Irons suffered mortal wounds releasing Doomsday from the JLA Watchtower to battle Imperiex. Superman was unable to turn away the Black Racer, a being that gathers souls and ushers them into the afterlife. This time, however, the Black Racer delivered Irons to Apokolips, where the evil Darkseid restored life to Iron's body. But the cost at which Steel was brought back to life has still not been determined.

The Deal with the Devil

Darkseid placed Irons in the Entropy Aegis, a burned out Imperiex-probe altered by Apokoliptic science. This new armor was far superior to his old, but Apokoliptic upgrades made it more of a curse than a blessing. Steel led the short lived 2nd incarnation of Infinity Inc. It is unknown how was was able to escape the Entropy Aegis. He had his more known costume on during the Infinity Inc. incarnation.

John Henry Irons's known relatives include a niece, named Natasha Irons, who later became the fourth user of the alias of Steel. The identities of the second and third users of the alias of Steel are not known.

Reign of Doomsday

Steel resurfaces for a fight with Doomsday. With no other heroes around, Steel is left to fight Doomsday by himself. Natasha Irons tries to persuade her uncle not to fight Doomsday, but John insist and heads off into battle.

John gave the fight all he had. John even managed to hit Doomsday with a direct hit from his hammer. Steel had hurled his hammer from a thousand feet away. During the fight Doomsday evolves growing armor out his body and also possess the ability to fly. John manages to break away a piece of Doomsday's chest armor which allowed John to introduce nanonytes into Doomsday's body.

The nanonytes were suppose to paralyze Doomsday for an hour until help arrived, but the effects only lasted a few seconds. John then gets pounded by Doomsday until he is knocked unconscious. We last see John being carried off by a flying Doomsday.

Powers & Abilities

None of his own. He uses his Steel Power Armor to become 'super'.

Weakness

Equipment

Steel Power Armor

Steel's powers vary in accordance with what hardware is currently available to him. He has modified the original weapons systems and suit several times since its debut and continues to refine its abilities. With his engineering, physics and ballistics knowledge, it is conceivable that the suit may potentially possess even greater power in the future.

Jet Boots

With what are probably his greatest creations, the flight protocols for his armor are every engineers dream. The distance that can be traveled before refueling is unknown but Steel has made a documented trip of at least 1,500 miles before touching down again. It has been determined, by observation, that Steel can reach speeds just short of the speed of sound, which is 700+ miles per hour.

Weapons

Kinetic Hammer

His current hammer has the ability to increase it's kinetic energy the farther away it is thrown. At a distance up to 20 yards, it can stop a car, 30 yards, a truck, 60 yards, a tank, at distances greater than 60 yards, its destructive capacity rivals that of Superman for damage dealing capabilities.

Rivet Cannon

This short range weapon has fired red-hot rivets similar to those used in construction.

Gallery

No gallery items

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Comments

jason
jason commented on - 2011-09-14 17:59:30
a 10?! i just don't think that a powersuit alone merits such a high rating,suited characters get little respect or notice from me though

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last update: 2011-01-22 20:13:06 | character copyright: DC Comics
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