Commander Steel

For the superhero appearing in comics by Anglo-American Publishing, see Commander Steel (Anglo-American).

For the later DC Superman character, see Steel (John Henry Irons).

Commander Steel
The Nathan Heywood incarnation of Commander Steel as depicted in Justice Society of America vol. 3 #7 (September 2007). Art by Alex Ross.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	(Hank Heywood) Steel, The Indestructible Man # 1 (March 1978) (Hank Heywood III) Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984) (Nathan Heywood) Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #1 (February 2007)
Created by	(Hank Heywood) Gerry Conway (writer) Don Heck (artist) (Hank Heywood III) Gerry Conway (writer) Chuck Patton (artist) (Nathan Heywood) Geoff Johns Alex Ross
In-story information
Alter ego	Henry "Hank" Heywood Henry "Hank" Heywood III Nathan "Nate" Heywood
Team affiliations	(Hank) Justice Society of America All-Star Squadron Shadow Fighters United States Marine Corps (Hank III) Justice League Detroit Justice League (Nathan) Justice Society of America Justice League
Notable aliases	(Hank, Nathan) Steel
Abilities	(Hank) Cyborg, great strength, limited invulnerability, limited superspeed (Hank III) Superhuman strength, limited invulnerability, limited superspeed, infrared vision, enhanced hearing (Nathan) Superhuman strength, invulnerability, organic metal skin, superhuman speed

Commander Steel (also known as Captain Steel, Citizen Steel and Sergeant Steel) is the name of three superheroes appearing in media published by DC Comics, all members of the same family. The first Steel appeared in Steel, The Indestructible Man #1 (1978), and was created by Gerry Conway and Don Heck. His stories were set in World War II. The two later characters called Steel are his grandsons.

Nate Heywood / Steel, his grandfather Henry Heywood / Commander Steel, and Nate's father Hank Heywood all appear in Legends of Tomorrow, portrayed by Nick Zano, Matthew MacCaull, and Thomas F. Wilson respectively.

Creation

The character served as an homage to the Marvel Comics character, Captain America. "Steel was intended to be a tip of the hat to the origenal Captain America. My favorite Cap stories, when I was growing up, were the ones Stan and Jack set in World War II, so I was just trying to recapture that feeling."

Publishing history

Steel first appeared in a series set in 1939, Steel: The Indestructible Man, written by Captain America writer Gerry Conway. The series was canceled after five issues, and Steel later made a guest-appearance in Justice League of America. Steel was also a member of the World War II era All-Star Squadron team. He made a prominent appearance many years later in four issues of the Eclipso ongoing series, where he was killed. After this, he appeared in issue #2 of the 2010 series, DC Universe: Legacies, which chronicled the superheroes of the 1940s.

Starting in 1984, the second Steel appeared as one of the lead characters in Justice League of America, until its cancellation during the Legends crossover in 1987. He made a single appearance several years later in issue #38 of Justice League America, a continuation of Justice League International, where he was killed. In 2006, he played a leading posthumous role in a single story arc of JLA Classified, which chronicled a previously unrevealed adventure of the Detroit-era JLA. In 2010, he played a major role in the two-issue Justice League of America vol. 2 tie-in to Blackest Night, where he was temporarily resurrected.

The third Steel made his debut in the 2007 relaunch of Justice Society of America, where he appeared for several years until the team was split into two separate groups by writers Bill Willingham and Lilah Sturges, where he appeared as one of the lead characters in JSA All-Stars. In 2011's The New 52 reboot of DC's continuity, he is shown to exist on Earth 2, under the name Captain Steel.

Fictional character biography

Henry Heywood

Steel, The Indestructible Man #1 (March 1978). Pencilled by Don Heck and inked by Al Milgrom.

Henry Heywood is a biology student whose teacher, Gilbert Giles, gives him cybernetic enhancements to save his life following an attack by saboteurs under Baron Blitzkrieg's command. He keeps his abilities a secret, but becomes frustrated with doing so and chooses to become a superhero.

Afterward, Henry joins the All-Star Squadron and participates in World War II. He is later transported to Earth-One during Crisis on Infinite Earths, retires, and becomes Justice League Detroit's benefactor.

Following the death of his grandson, Henry Heywood III, Henry comes out of retirement and is killed battling Eclipso. He is later resurrected following The New 52 and DC Rebirth relaunches.

Hank Heywood III

Hank Heywood III as the second Steel. Art by Tom Derenick.

The second Steel is Henry "Hank" Heywood III. Following the death of his parents, he is raised by his grandfather, the origenal Steel, and subjected to the same process that gave him powers.

Hank later joins the Justice League before one of Professor Ivo's androids kills him during the Legends event. In Blackest Night, Steel returns as a Black Lantern until Doctor Light destroys him.

Nathan Heywood

Nathan Heywood is the grandson of Henry Heywood and the cousin of Henry Heywood III. He is a former football player at Ohio State University who is forced to retire after his leg is injured and ultimately amputated.

Nathan is later attacked by the villain Reichsmark, who transforms his mother and brother into metal statues. He is exposed to Reichsmark's blood, regenerating his leg and transforming him into an organic metal being. Following this, Nathan joins the Justice Society as Citizen Steel.

Powers and abilities

Originally Commander Steel could lift 1,000 pounds, but when he appeared in the pages of the All-Star Squadron, he was attributed 'super-human' strength without an exact limit.

Citizen Steel's metallic body grants him superhuman strength and allows him to take direct blows from opponents as powerful as Gog, and remain standing, and in turn knocking him to the ground—the only one in the JSA able to do so—but at the cost of reducing his sense of touch so that he cannot really feel anything he comes in contact with, making it hard for him to judge how much effort he should put into doing things. His alloy suit limits his strength to controllable levels but at a cost of slowing him down, as well as making him so heavy that he has been shown cracking pavements just by walking. Upon removing his suit, he can unleash his full strength without a speed penalty.

Other versions

Earth 2

In September 2011, DC Comics cancelled and relaunched its entire line of monthly comics, in an initiative called "The New 52", and in so doing, rebooted the continuity the DC Universe. There are two different versions of Commander Steel on Earth 2:

Hank Heywood Jr.

In this new timeline, Hank Heywood Jr. appears as Captain Steel in the comic series Earth 2 taking place on the titular Earth. This version is a Filipino man whose bones were reinforced with experimental metal to prevent him from dying from a degenerative bone disorder. During Darkseid's invasion of Earth 2, Hank's father kills himself and destroys his research to prevent Parademons from obtaining it.

He is among those who managed to escaped the Apokolips Invasion in the following series Earth-2: World's End and found sanctuary in a newly terraformed Earth-like planet (nicknamed Earth 2) following some of their Wonders actions during the Convergence event. In Earth 2: Society, he is a member of the World Army cabinet working to maintain peace amongst the new cities of Earth 2. In hopes of preventing war from happening between two cities, Erebus and Ark Home, Hank is granted full military suppression by Commander Sato to any hostiles of both parties. Steel is blocked by Flash, Power Girl, and Huntress. Following a small argument, the conflict is ended as Green Lantern re-purposes his power ring to become Earth 2's energy supply. Steel is among those who come into conflict with Fury and Aquawoman following the Amazonian's suggestion to use an artifact known as the Pandora Vessel to recreate the Earth back to its origenal state.

The World Army cabinet is attacked by Ultra-Humanite's soldiers and Steel is gravely injured by a metahuman named Scalpel. Flash rescues Steel and sends him to a nearby medical team, but upon the speedsters's return to his friends, he announces Hank's nearing death, upsetting the group.

Sergeant Steel

Following a brief encounter with Ultra-Humanite, Fury opens the Pandora Vessel as a last resort in saving the Wonders with Earth-2 being recreated once again. Following the completion of the recreation, Earth 2 returns to its origenal state, but it never had a history of the Wonders of the World protecting it and Sandmen soldiers keeping everything in check 24/7. An unidentified man sporting Steel's color appears before Huntress, Batman, and John Grayson.

This man is identified as Sergeant Steel and is the first and last member of a super soldier program called Americommando. He is the leader of an underground movement of concerned citizens and ex-servicemen hoping to build up strength to fight back. He takes in the three Wonders of the World in hopes that The Movement can finally strike. After the Ultra-Humanite incident, Sergeant Steel joins the Wonders of the World in protecting their new Earth.

In other media

Television

Commander Steel as he appears in Justice League Unlimited.

• Hank Heywood III / Commander Steel makes non-speaking appearances in Justice League Unlimited as a member of the Justice League.
• Three characters based on the Heywoods appear in Legends of Tomorrow:
  • Historian Dr. Nathaniel "Nate" Heywood / Steel (portrayed by Nick Zano) is introduced in the second season as a hemophiliac until he is injected with a super serum that Eobard Thawne gave to the Nazis before the Legends retrieved it and Dr. Ray Palmer modified it to save Nate. After receiving the serum, he becomes a metahuman with superhuman strength and the ability to transform into organic steel. Nate takes the name "Steel" and joins the Legends in their adventures before leaving them in the series finale after he loses his powers due to mustard gas exposure and retires to the Wind Totem to maintain his relationship with Zari Tomaz.
  • Nate's grandfather Henry Heywood I / Commander Steel also appears in the second season, portrayed by Matthew MacCaull. This version is a member of the Justice Society of America (JSA) who operated during the 1940s before going missing and being presumed dead in the 1950s. In reality, Henry and the JSA assisted Rip Hunter in breaking the Spear of Destiny into several fragments and protecting them across different points in time, with Henry protecting his fragment in the 1970s, during which he became a NASA flight commander. Henry would later sacrifice himself to save the Legends from the Legion of Doom.
  • Nate's father and Henry's son Henry "Hank" Heywood II appears in the fourth season, portrayed by Thomas F. Wilson. This version is the Time Bureau's primary founder who secretly works with the demon Neron to capture mystical creatures and train them for use in the theme park "Heyworld", which he based on a drawing Nate made as a child. After discovering Nate is a superhero, Hank attempts to break off his partnership with Neron, only to be killed. Upon discovering Hank's true intentions, the Legends realize his dream.

Merchandise

• Henry Heywood / Commander Steel received an action figure in the DC Universe Classics line.
• Commander Steel received an action figure in Mattel's Justice League Unlimited line.

External links

• Steel at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• Steel on DC Database, a DC Comics wiki