Although Steel’s first origin connected him to the Death of Superman, subsequent versions have removed his element from his story.
Given the larger than life presence that Superman has in the DC Universe and pop culture as a whole, it can be hard for his supporting characters to step out of his shadow and forge their own identities. However, there’s one member of the Superman family who’s been able to forge a memorable persona without of the Man of Steel: John Henry Irons, aka Steel.
John Henry Irons was created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove and first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500, following the Death of Superman event. Steel was one of four people who decided to fill the void left by the iconic hero after his death at the hands of Doomsday. Each of these four individuals was created to embody a different aspect of the original Superman, with John Henry embodying the “Man of Steel” moniker. After Superman returned, this was shortened to Steel.
Originally, John Henry Irons was a weapons developer for AmerTek. When he found out that a weapon he designed had been used to kill innocents, he destroyed the rest of the weapons that had been produced, erased all of the notes he had made about the weapon, and went into hiding in Metropolis. He took the name Henry Johnson and became a construction worker.
Superman entered his life when John Henry tried to save a coworker and ended up in danger himself. The Man of Steel saved him and inspired him to be a better person. When he emerged from the rubble of Doomsday’s rampage, the only thought he had was of stopping the monster himself, unaware that the fight was already over. The reason he became a superhero was a direct result of his contact with Superman and his past at AmerTek.
When a new version of his deadly BG-60 weapon, the “Toastmaster”, was unleashed on the streets of Metropolis, John Henry used his intellect to design a suit of powerful armor capable of stopping the violence and once again eliminating the threat posed by his creations. Once Superman returned, Steel became a part of the larger Superman family.
Not long after the character was introduced in the comics, he was the recipient of his own film. The 1997 movie Steel starring Shaquille O’Neal is of great note for how it reinterprets the character’s origins, even if it did not achieve blockbuster status. Superman does not feature in any way in the film, nor is he mentioned in passing. Furthermore, all of the supporting characters are made for the film, with nothing to connect this version of Steel to Superman or the larger DCU in any way. As for his cinematic origin, the story of John Henry’s misused weapons is enough to spur him into action and turn him into a hero.
When the New 52 completely rebooted the DC Universe, many famous events were written out of continuity. This included the “Death of Superman” which meant that Steel once again required a new origin. Although Superman was still involved in Steel’s New 52 origin, Irons became a hero on his own in much the same way as he did in the film.
Again John Henry Irons designed weapons, this time under General Sam Lane. Lane wanted John Henry to design a weapon capable of repelling alien invasions which led him to design the Metal-Zero combat suit. This would later become his Steel power suit. When Lane got Lex Luthor involved in the Metal-Zero project, John Henry hid his invention. Upon seeing Luthor torture Superman for Lane and the military, he resigned from his position, taking the suit with him.
When Irons eventually donned his super-suit it wasn’t because of Superman, but rather in response to one of the hero’s many enemies. When Brainiac invaded Metropolis, Irons used his suit to fight back and help Superman. Afterward, they worked together a number of times, with the understanding that the crest that Irons wore on his chest had nothing to do with the heroism of the Last Son of Krypton, but rather his own.
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