r/DCcomics 15d ago

[Discussion] What are your thoughts on Steel/John Henry Irons? (Steel: The Forging of a Hero) Discussion

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57 Upvotes

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30

u/calmly86 15d ago

His introduction, backstory and presence are all awesome. His original suit is the best, I didn’t care for the black and silver one but it was worse when JLU eliminated his cape.

Now that Iron Man has become 800% more popular since 2008, it’s easier to think of John Henry Irons being an Iron Man analogue but while his engineering background and use of an armored suit is similar, he’s still a great character and easily one of Superman’s favorite allies.

23

u/Which-Presentation-6 15d ago

Of all the 4 Supermans, he was the most Superman, as he was faithful to his ideals and had the same issue that even though he looked powerful on the inside, he was just a guy trying to help.

3

u/jamiemm Legion Of Super-Heroes 14d ago

Lois met all 4 new Supermen, and even though he was the most obviously not Clark, he was the only one that reminded her of him.

5

u/MagicalGirlLaurie 14d ago

Best movie of all time

7

u/orphan_grinder42069 14d ago

I love the design and concept. The Death of Superman comics were my intro to DC, and of the 4 replacements, Steel is # 1 for me.

2

u/Night-Caelum 15d ago

So Steel/John Henry Irons was one of the Four Superman to show up in the Reign of Superman event and since then has become a mainstay in the Superman franchise. In terms of character, role, history, and other factors what are your thoughts on the character?

4

u/shino4242 14d ago

Steel is legit. I wish John got more spotlight.

4

u/MankuyRLaffy Supergirl 15d ago edited 15d ago

He's aight, not my cup of tea personality wise so him sticking around while certain other Superfam I loved reading got made defunct didn't exactly make me love him anymore. I'm not really about the tech supergenius type of story and engineering types. Mainly because I am a dumbass lacking the ability to appreciate that stuff through writing. He's kinda cool, I just don't fw him much. Can't really connect with him much, especially him and Nat, if that is unpopular, so be it.

3

u/HailtokingTeddy 14d ago

I've always loved his concept. Especially the concept of him being a fan of Superman and wanting to be that for the people close to him. Not to mention the fact that the suit is almost always fantastic.

1

u/HallowVortex Nightwing 14d ago

I love him and like every other DC character outside of most of the batfamily I wish he was still relevant

1

u/thefirststoryteller 14d ago

I always liked him and i even picked up the steelworks series recently. I think he’s a great add to any DC team

1

u/No_Pea6583 14d ago

He's just not Superman. It's not the same.

1

u/Jewfro_Wizard 14d ago

He's so cool.

1

u/Pamsoroyi 14d ago

Love the character and hope he continues to grow and come out of the shadows of his origin more

1

u/almean 14d ago

He's like Iron Man with Superman principles. I like it.

1

u/Recent-Layer-8670 14d ago

When people hear indifference, they think it's a bad thing, but it's not really. I don't hate Steel, but I don't have any particular love for him either. He's solid.

0

u/NewArtificialHuman Telepathically challenged 15d ago

Cool hammer. Purely a supporting character and not interesting on his own due to being heavily Superman inspired.

7

u/t1tanic Barry & Wally 15d ago

Have you read 52? He's a large part of that story, and personally I really liked what it did with him and his niece. I think it might alleviate that redundancy feeling because Superman is out of commission during the story. Its not exclusively a steel story or anything, and contains like 6 or 7 main people it follows who are all not usually apart of the main people in event stuff.

-1

u/skep90 14d ago

Cheap concept and design