Welcome back to another edition of Demanded Characters. Thanks to the reinvention of the JSA in recent years we have seen a new group of heroes with familiar names popping up. This week we take a look at another legacy character, he is a man of Steel, but not the Superman one: he is Citizen Steel.
Last week most people agreed that Damage is not at the top of a want list, but the newer costume is cool and if we get one he should be modern.
There have been 3 Steels in the DCU who are not part of the Superman family. The first came out of the same era of the older JSA, fighting against the Nazis and representing the American flag. The common look between all of the Heywood Family Steel’s is the red, white, and blue with a star.
The original Commander Steel was a product of World War II. One of the original cyborgs of the DCU, Henry Heywood was a student when he was experimented on. He realized that his powers could be used to stop people trying to attack military bases in the US. His life was changed, and as he watched other heroes he decided to join the fight as Commander Steel and join the All Star Squadron. As old age and being a super hero don’t mix, the elder Commander Steel was killed in a battle with Eclipso.
Hank Heywood the III was also, like his grandfather, fitted with cybernetic implants to be stronger and faster than the average man. Using his powers to fight evil in the DCU, he took on the name Steel, dropping the “Commander”. He, unlike his grandfather, joined the JLA and fought along the big guns of the day in the Detroit JLA. He was almost a filler character trying to bridge the gap between generations, but never really living up to his grandfather’s status. His life was not as long or heroic, was he was killed at the hand of Dr. Ivo and his body was completely destroyed by Despero.
The new member of the Heywood legacy is Nathan Heywood, who was a hero in his own way. He was a famous athlete until an accident halted his career. He lost a leg and felt out of place in his family of heroes. The new generation of JSA villains decided that they would wipe out the Golden age heroes and their families. With no powers Nathan fought back and was covered in a metallic goo that seeped into his skin. His leg was re-formed and he was given powers of his own. Though his powers made him more of an outcast, the metal in his body deadened his feeling of touch, making him unable to tell how much pressure he was using. To help with his new powers and problems Mr. Terrific created a metal suit that made him really work to move in it, lessening his strength so that he could function in the real world.
The 3 generations of Steels in the DCU are similar but different. While the 1st and 3rd share similar outfits, they have some differences.
Our original outfit is more of a spandex costume in red, white, and blue. It seems very clean and simple. This would be a figure that could borrow body types from other characters and be an easy make. I could see this being a good way for the Golden Age lovers to get their older JSA, and be part of a themed wave.
The second generation went with the hair out look but kept the star in the center of his chest. This costume screams 80’s and 90’s. It seems, like the other costume, very simple; but the head sculpt could share something along the line of Lightray.
Our final look is much like the original but has a very metallic finish. This costume is almost identical to the original one with a few changes to the boots and the over all shine of the figure. I think it would really stand out, along the lines of Captain Atom with the shiny finish.
So what do you want to see a Steel as?
Some Images courtesy of Comic Vine
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