Steel #1

History

Steel was conceived by writer Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove during the planning sessions for 'Reign of the Supermen,' where each of DC's four main Superman titles was asked to produce its own replacement hero. According to Bogdanove's own account published in the 2023 anniversary collection Steel: A Celebration of 30 Years, fellow creator Dan Jurgens originally floated the idea of a comedic, working-class 'schlub' who dressed as Superman; Simonson and Bogdanove pivoted toward a more earnest, heroic conception, rooting the character in the African-American folk legend of John Henry and emphasizing Irons's guilt over weapons he had designed for the defense contractor AmerTek. The solo series launched in February 1994 with Bogdanove co-writing alongside Simonson, interior art by Chris Batista and Rich Faber, and a cover by Bogdanove and Dennis Janke; Simonson remained the primary writer until Christopher Priest took over at issue #34, and the series ran 52 issues before concluding in 1998.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First solo ongoing series for John Henry Irons (Steel), cover-dated February 1994, published by DC Comics — John Henry Irons's first in-costume appearance had been in Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993), but this issue launched his own title.
• First appearance of Natasha Irons, John Henry's niece, who would later take up the Steel identity herself beginning in Action Comics #806 (October 2003).
• Written by Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson (Steel's co-creators), with interior art by Chris Batista and Rich Faber, and a cover by Bogdanove and Dennis Janke.
• The story, titled 'Wrought Iron,' establishes the series' Washington, D.C. setting and its street-level focus: Irons returns home to find his nephew Jemahl entangled with a gang armed with AmerTek 'Toastmaster' weapons — the same deadly technology Irons himself once designed.
• The issue simultaneously introduced the extended Irons family — grandparents Butter and Bess, sister-in-law Blondell, and her children Jemahl, Natasha, Paco, Tyke, and Darlene — establishing the series' unusually family-centric approach to superhero storytelling.
• A Dynamic Forces signed limited edition (7,500 copies) was produced, bearing signatures of Louise Simonson, Jon Bogdanove, Chris Batista, and Rich Faber, with a certificate of authenticity.
• The series ran for 52 issues (February 1994 – July 1998); the only collected print edition is the 1997 trade paperback Steel: The Forging of a Hero, though all 52 issues are available digitally.
• Steel received a live-action film adaptation in 1997, directed by Kenneth Johnson and starring Shaquille O'Neal, which stripped the character of his Superman-mythos connections and was critically panned; the film was originally intended as a companion piece to a Death of Superman film that never materialized.

Full credits

Variants (2)