Steel – Superman’s Super Bionic Counterpart

•August 10, 2020

•Black Superheroes, Blerd Life, Comics Worldwide, Featured, History of Black Superheroes

Published by DC Comics

Character design inspired By African American Folk Hero John Henry, as well as Superman.

Steel is a genius engineer who built a mechanized suit of armor replicating Superman’s powers, down to the S on his chest. An attempt to replace Superman after his death, courtesy of Doomsday.

Superman Gets Resurrected!

Superman accepted Steel as a comrade. His real name is John Henry Irons and he wields a sledgehammer—this is a reference to the mythical railroad worker John Henry. He has a niece named Natasha Irons who is also a superhero in a similar mechanized suit of armor.

Shaquille O’Neal Played The Role In The 1997 Film Superman.

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.

Steel was spun off into a solo series,written by co-creator Louise Simonson and later by Christopher Priest, from 1994–1998.