Art by Alex Ross.

Steel is a name used by several fictional characters owned and published by DC Comics. Of the five superheroes, four are connected in some way to the Justice League of America or Justice Society of America teams.

The first Steel was Henry "Hank" Heywood, better known as Commander Steel. He first appeared in Steel #1, published in March 1978, though his active superhero career was set during World War II. His series lasted for only five issues. The character returned to comics, becoming a longtime member of the All-Star Squadron. Later in life, he sponsored the so-called "Justice League Detroit" during his grandson's time on the team. Commander Steel died battling the supervillain Eclipso in Eclipso #13 (1993). [1]

The second Steel was the late Henry "Hank" Heywood III, grandson to Commander Steel who, as a wealthy industrialist, incorporated the same mechanized components into his grandson much to his grandson's disapproval. Heywood III was a "Justice League Detroit" team member, and was mortally wounded in battle against one of the team's classic foes, Professor Ivo. His body remained preserved in the JLA Bunker until it was discovered and destroyed by Despero. [2] Although it was originally stated that Heywood performed unnecessary surgeries on his grandson, this was later retconned in Justice League of America #260 to state that if he hadn't made his grandson into Steel, "Hank would have been dead... years ago." This compassion for his grandson was absent for most of Commander Steel's appearances, and gave the tragic life of Heywood III a different perspective

The relaunched Justice Society of America features another member of the Heywood family. During an interview to Newsarama, new series writer Geoff Johns announced him as a brand new character with new powers. [3] He debuted in Justice Society of America #2 with the name of Nathan "Buckeye" Heywood. Nathan is the grandson of Henry Heywood and cousin of Henry Heywood III. Formerly a football star at Ohio State University, Nathan retired after shattering his kneecap and having his leg amputated due to an undiagnosed infection. The incident left Nathan addicted to painkillers. While attending a Heywood family reunion, he is attacked by the Fourth Reich, a team of metahuman Neo-Nazis ordered by Vandal Savage to wipe out the bloodlines of Golden Age heroes. Despite the Fourth Reich's effort, they fail to completely destroy the Heywood bloodline, as both Nathan and a few children manage to survive. Both Nathan's brother and mother are turned to metal statues by the villain Reichsmark. Nathan jams his crutch into Reichsmark's mouth, causing him to spit liquid metal blood onto Nathan. Hawkman takes him to Dr. Mid-Nite, who notes that the metal is being absorbed by Nathan's skin. Later, it is revealed that the metal has grown out from where Nathan's amputated leg once was, forming metallic bone, muscles, and flesh. Waking in his hospital room, Nathan is shown to have superhuman strength. Dr. Mid-Nite informs Nathan that he is now a being of living steel, due to an unknown reaction to Reichsmark's blood. However, the steel tissues do not give Nathan tactile response, meaning he cannot feel textures or temperatures, nor gauge exerted pressures. His costume is a "second skin" of stainless steel alloy, developed by Dr. Mid-Nite and Mr. Terrific specifically to restrict his movements and reduce his strength to a more manageable level. He is christened Citizen Steel by Power Girl, ^[1].

John Henry Irons was created by Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove in Adventures of Superman #500 (June, 1993). Aspects of the character are clearly inspired by the African American folk hero John Henry, as well as Superman. [4] John Henry Irons life was saved by Superman after he fell off a building while working in construction. Irons then said he owed Superman his life, to which Superman replied, "Then make it count for something." Later in Superman's battle with Doomsday, Irons picked up a sledgehammer and attempted to enter the fight himself. During the fight the building Irons was in collapsed under him and he was trapped before he could come to Superman's aid. Irons later created and donned a suit of powered armor in Superman's memory. During the Reign of the Supermen, he was often called the Man of Steel to identify him in contrast to the other Supermen, which was shortened to Steel by Superman himself. John Henry Irons became a member of the Justice League of America in JLA #16 (March, 1998).

John Henry Irons makes two appearances in Superman: The Animated Series, in the episodes "Prototype" and "Heavy Metal", appearing as Steel in the latter. Natasha Irons also makes an appearance in "Heavy Metal" alongside her uncle. Both John Henry Irons and Hank Heywood III were shown in the Justice League Unlimited animated series. Hank Heywood III makes an appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episodes "Initiation" and "Destroyer". In "Destroyer," he fights alongside Hawkgirl and the villain Atomic Skull. During the fight, he picks up a nearby shield and throws it, a clear reference to Captain America. Later, he appears alongside fellow Justice League Detroit members Gypsy and Vibe. A film based on Steel starring Shaquille O'Neal as John Henry Irons was released in 1997. It was a commercial failure.