Steel, the Indestructible Man #1

History

The series launched in March 1978 (on-sale December 22, 1977) as part of DC's aggressive title-expansion push known internally as the 'DC Explosion,' with writer Gerry Conway and artist Don Heck as its creative team; Conway has publicly stated the character was designed as a deliberate homage to the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby World War II Captain America stories he loved growing up. The interior story was penciled by Heck and inked by Joe Giella, with a cover by Heck inked by Al Milgrom, who also served as the book's editor; Anthony Tollin colored the issue and Ben Oda lettered it. The series ran only five issues before DC announced staff layoffs and cancelled roughly 40% of its line on June 22, 1978 — the event fans call the DC Implosion — ending Steel alongside titles such as Firestorm, Black Lightning, and Aquaman; the already-completed artwork for the unpublished sixth issue was later salvaged by Roy Thomas and reworked into All-Star Squadron #8–9 (April–May 1982), giving Heywood his new 'Commander Steel' rank and a permanent home in DC's WWII team book.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance and complete origin of Henry 'Hank' Heywood Sr. (Steel the Indestructible Man), the character who later becomes Commander Steel — grandfather of Steel II (Hank Heywood III) and the progenitor of the entire Heywood super-hero dynasty in DC Comics.
• First appearance of supporting characters Dr. Gilbert Giles and Gloria Giles, and of the series' primary villain Baron Death.
• Created by writer Gerry Conway and penciler/cover artist Don Heck; interior inks by Joe Giella, cover inks by Al Milgrom, colors by Anthony Tollin, letters by Ben Oda, edited by Al Milgrom.
• Cover-dated March 1978; actual on-sale date was December 22, 1977, confirmed by house ads in Justice League of America #152.
• The story is set in 1939, framing Heywood as a pre-Pearl Harbor WWII-era hero — a biology student who enlists in the U.S. Marines after witnessing Nazi atrocities abroad, is critically wounded by saboteurs, and is rebuilt with a steel-alloy skeletal framework by Dr. Giles.
• Throughout the five-issue series, Heywood is referred to only as 'Steel'; he does not receive the 'Commander Steel' designation until All-Star Squadron #9 (May 1982), when he is field-promoted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• The series ran exactly five issues (March–November 1978) before being cancelled as part of the DC Implosion — DC's industry-shaking mass-cancellation of approximately 30 titles in 1978. The unpublished Steel #6 script was reworked into All-Star Squadron #8–9 (April–May 1982).
• The character was adapted for live-action television in DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016–2022), where the Heywood family legacy — grandfather, father, and grandson — all appear as major characters.

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Variants (1)