Steel (John Henry Irons)

Cosplayer playing the character.

Steel is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a weapons engineer named John Henry Irons, who became a superhero to emulate Superman after his death. Designing an advanced exoskeleton, he wields a number of technological gadgets including a Kinetic Hammer as a member of Team Superman. His niece Natasha Irons has also taken up the identity as a member of the Titans. John Irons has also been a member of the Justice League, S.T.A.R. Labs and the Suicide Squad.

Steel was created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove, first appearing during the Reign of the Supermen! storyline in Adventures of Superman #500 (1993). There is also a hero previously named Steel named Hank Heywood who first appeared in Steel #1 (1978).

Portrayals

The character was portrayed by Shaquille O'Neal in the 1997 movie adaptation of the same name. Wolé Parks portrays the character in the Arrowverse television series Superman & Lois.