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This is a fan website devoted to DC Comics armored hero Steel, 

a.k.a. John Henry Irons.



                 Right here is where you can learn more about DC's #1 metal head. Everything from pages on details of his origin and his supporting cast. Lists containing all the comics that he has appeared in as well as significant dates in his history. There is a podcast page where you can listen to detailed coverage on Steel's solo series and on the links page you can track down those books. There are also updates on Steel's current guest appearances in the pages of DC Comics. So take a look around and find out what makes Steel the great hero that he is. 




Steel Related News


Complete Film Collection Arrived On Ultra HD Blu-Ray In October





            DC has successfully crafted an animated version of DC's critically-acclaimed comic series, The Death of Superman, Funeral for a Friend and Reign of the Supermen with Warner Bros. Animations two movie releases of The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen. Now the studio has packaged both animated films together into one limited edition colleciton.

            The Death and Return of Superman Complete Film Collection Gift Set was released on October 1 as an Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack ($54.97) and Blu-ray Combo Pack ($44.98 SRP). It combines both The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen into one 166-minute film that serves as the most faithful adaptation of the acclaimed 1992 comic series.

            In addition to the film, The Death and Return of Superman Complete Film Collection Gift Set Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack also features 45 minutes of new enhanced content, an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of Superman: Doomsday in 4K, and a four-inch figurine of Steel. Also included in the Combo Pack are the featurettes "Long Live Superman," "The Death of Superman: The Brawl That Topped Them All," and "Lex Luthor: The Greatest Nemesis," just to name a few. This is a fine addition to any Steel fans collection.


Midnight Strikes


                   After an absence of a couple of issues, Steel has returned to the Superwoman title in issue #15. In the book we learn that a new villian called "Midnight" is hunting down friends of Lana Lang, including Steel. We also get to see how John Henry Irons changes into his Post Reborn armor as he protects Lois Lane from Midnight. Who is this new villian and how does Steel fair against her. To find out get your copy of Superwoman #15 available now at your local comic shop.


Amertek appears in another season of Arrow


                   With DCTV on hiatus until next year it's good to know that while we wait there is always something to fill the gap, we can always go back and watch our favorite Superheroes on DVD/Blu-Ray. The series I was most looking forward to re-watching (of course) was season five of Arrow because of the reappearance of John Henry's old employer Amertek. 

                   The company played a part in three episodes of season five but none bigger than episode two, The Recruits. In the episode Mayor Oliver Queen meets with Amertek CEO Janet Carroll (played by Suki Kaiser) hoping Amertek will help fund a free clinic. During the episode we learn that Janet is planning to sell weapons to the drug lord Tobias Church. 

                   It's great to see Arrow showing Amertek as not only an oil company but as a weapons company as that is what it was in Steel's comic. Hopefully, since Amertek has turned up in the show a few times now and because he is the kind of hero that would work well on Arrow, they will one day debut John Henry Irons/Steel on Arrow.



Fan Made Trailer for "Reign of the Supermen"


              Recently while looking on Youtube for Superman/Justice League trailers I came across something I wasn't expecting. It was a fan made trailer by Darth Blender, a youtuber who has created several different fan trailers. The trailer is of course for "The Reign of the Supermen" and uses elements from movies like Man Of Steel, Dawn of Justice, Superman/Doomsday and  Steel to create an exciting and  action packed trailer. In fact, it makes me hope that the Superman that returns in "Justice League" is either the Eradicator or Cyborg Superman so that they make a live action "Reign" movie next. Anyone interested in watching this excellent fan made trailer     right click here.



Year One of Steel in Superwoman


        It's been an interesting and informative year for the character of Steel as a supporting for Lana Lang's ongoing series of Superwoman. Even though it isn't John Henry title we have learn alot about his past and lots of it inspired by his original run back in the 90's and beyond. 

               We got to see Natasha in her own suit of armour (like in the B13 and original 52 stories). Clay Irons debuted in the book as the villian Crash (inspired by the final story of Steel's comic). We even got to meet Natasha's younger brother Zeke (she had a brother in John Henry's series but the writer tweeked the character by changing him. He was originally Jemahl her older brother). All this as well as seeing Steel doing everything in his power to save Lana but then their relationship become strained to the point where John Henry moves out. 

                With Steel not appearing in Superwoman #13 the question "Will they get back together again?" and if not "Will Steel return to the ongoing series?". But with Skyhook confessing to knowing Zeke's whereabouts (weather he is alive or not is yet to be revealed), it's a safe bet that the Irons family will return to the book. 



18 Failed Superhero Films That Deserve A Second Chance!




            It can't be denied that Superhero movies are doing exceptionally well right now. This doesn't mean that every Superhero to be adapted to the Silver Screen was as successful as it should have been. There lack of success can be for several reasons (Actors, Writer, Director, Costume design, etc....) but this doesn't mean that they don't deserve a second chance to shine and I'm not the only one to think this. Comicbookl.com recently posted a list of eighteen superhero movies that deserves a second chance. Shaq's Steel movie of course is on the list (sadly this is really no surprise) but where does he rank on it.

 To find out go to Comicbookl.com to find out




Death and Return Superman Two-Part Animated Movie Announced

 

             Back in 2007 DC Entertainment released the animated movie Superman: Doomsday which told the story of Superman's death and return. As good as the movie was, it had to condense the story from the comics to fit it into a 75 minute feature. This meant that many omissions and alterations were made to the story, one of which was the removal of John Henry Irons/Steel from the movie.
            
            But for fans of the complete adventure great news was released this year at San Diego Comic-Con International. DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced plans to adapt the popular "Death, Reign and Return of Superman" storyline as two animated movies in 2018 and 2019.

            In 2018, "Death of Superman" will retell Superman's famous final battle against the unstoppable force known as Doomsday. Then in 2019, the story of Superman's fate will be continued in "Reign of the Supermen". While the official synopsis for "Reign" hasn't been released yet, fans will remember that the comic book storyline saw four would-be Supermen stepping up to replace the fallen Kal-El. Those characters were Superboy, the Last Son of Krypton (later revealed as the Eradicator), Cyborg Superman and of course The Man of Steel (later known simply as Steel).

            While the Spirit of the "Reign of the Supermen" story was present in Superman: Doomsday,  the details were greatly simplified. Instead of four different Supermen, Supeman: Doomsday included a single clone who was created and controlled by Lex Luthor. The movie also saw the true Superman return in his fan favourite black and silver costume. As good as the movie was I've always been disappointed that Steel wasn't in it and am now looking forward to a more faithful adaption.

            Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment didn't reveal the voice cast for either "Death of Superman" or "Reign of the Supermen" but fans should keep an eye on some of the other upcoming DC Aimatin film releases for future developments.

 
Steel Reborn
 
 
 

                The recent Reborn storyline amalgamated the best aspects of the Rebirth storyline and the best aspects of the Post Crisis era into a brand new era of  DC Comics. This has given us a new history that makes the post crisis Superman the only Superman to exist in this version of DC history. It also gives us a Lana Lang that grew up with that Clark Kent/Superman, all of which is revealed in they're own comic books.

                Since all the other characters changed you would expect the John Henry Irons/Steel character to be changed as well. But without his own comic series would there be enough time and space within a book to re-establish his history. Well how other would it be done than in his parent series, a Superman book.

                In Action comics #978 while Superman checks his own history to see if Mr Mxyzplk has changed it, we learn that "The Reign of the Supermen" has now been re-established as having happened. It has slightly changed from the original "Reign", removing Superboy since the only Superboy is now Jonathan Samuel Kent, but it essentially returns Steels history back to what is was while keeping the John Henry/Lana romance intact. So even though they couldn't fully flesh out the "Reborn" Steel it's great to see that DC Comic hasn't excluded John Henry from the "Reborn" reboot.
 
 
 

Special Episode of The Armored Hero Steel



              After a long hiatus I'm releasing another episode of The Armored Hero Steel: A John Henry Irons Podcast. In the show I go into why I've been gone for so long and to make up for my absence I've made this a very special episode. While at Sydney Supanova in June I recorded the panel of Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher, fittingly called "The New New Adventures of Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. So if you enjoyed the show "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman", you'll love listening to these two stars reminisce and talk about what they are up to now.



Steel a Main Character in a New DC Comic

     It's been many years since Steel has been an ongoing supporting character in a DC comic. Now I'm not saying that he hasn't made appearances in any comics but he hasn't been one of the main characters in a book for many years. That has now changed with the release of the second issue of Superwoman.

     In the book Steel helps Lana Lang with affects her new found superpowers are having on her as well as taking on a major supervillian. It's during this encounter that Steel learns that a member of his family may be in danger. This kind of character development is just the thing I've been looking forward to since John Henry and Lana started dating. I hope that it continues for many years to come.

    If you want to see exactly what happens to Steel and Lana in this story then go to your local comic book shop and get a copy of Superwoman #2, on sale now.



Steel appearance in....Marvel's Deadpool?

Now, before anyone asks, the appearance Steel makes in Deadpool is not in the new hit movie. What I'm talking about here is John Henry turning up in the pages of the Marvel comic book back in November 1999. Even though this is an old comic (relatively speaking), I only recently learnt of this occurrence as I'm a fan of DC Comics and not all comics in general. Still, I was surprised when I learnt that a DC character had crossed over company lines to turn up in Marvel, that is until I learnt who was the writer of the issue.

You see, this is the first issue that Christopher Priest (writer for Steel from issue #34 to the end of the series, issue #52) wrote of Deadpool. Joe Kelly’s run on Deadpool had ended at #33 with Deadpool seemingly being killed, but in #34, Deadpool is in limbo, along with a familiar group of characters. All the characters featured had starred in books that Priest had written the final issues of their respective series (well, in the case of characters with more than one series, at least ONE of their series), including characters like Xero that Priest created himself and (of course) Steel.

Even though John Henry doesn't talk, it is clearly him (all three times). But don't take my word for it, take a look below and judge for yourself.




John Henry appears in Two Justice League Movies

     In the animated Justice League: Throne of Atlantis movie John Henry makes a brief (and by brief I mean really brief) appearance. He saves a fellow construction worker from an Atlantean Warrior and then is, in turn, saved himself. How does John Henry save his friend and who then saves him? To find out either get a copy of the animated movie or use the link to the youtube link below. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X28BOY9lgdQ



    Also, in the recently released Justice League: Gods and Monsters, John Henry makes two appearances (one of which is shown above) as well as being referred to a couple of times too. John Henry is voiced by Khary Payton (who also voiced him in Throne of Atlantis). Khary is best known in DC animated circles as the voice of Cyborg in both Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go.

What is John Henry's role in Gods and Monsters? To find out get a copy of the animated movie, which is out now where all great DVD's are sold.


Steel #1 Comic Book Name

    I was made aware that The Weeklings website put out a top 50 list for the names of Superheroes and Villians. This list takes into account not only alter-egos but also secret identities. When I checked out the list myself I was happy to see that Steel (or John Henry) was the first name on it. What reasons do they give for Steel being put in the number one position? Who else made the list? To find out go to

 http://www.theweeklings.com/ssattin/2013/03/04/the-50-greatest-superhero-and-villain-names-of-all-time/




This website is Dedicated to Steel's creators, Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.