ERADICATOR versus STEEL

Impact! (DC)
Where: Superman: The Man of Steel #24 When: August 1993 Why: Louise Simonson How: Jon Bogdanove

The Story So Far...
When Superman apparently died defeating the rampaging behemoth known as Doomsday -- four men were inspired to fill the void under the guise of a new Superman!

When the visor-wearing Superman known as "The Last Son of Krypton" comes to confront the "Man of Steel", they're interrupted by representatives of businessman Rex Leech, who claims to own trademark rights to the name "Superman". Attempts to issue a cease & desist draws a violent reaction from The Last Son, who ignites the papers with his mastery of energy!

To protect the innocent, Steel carries his challenger away from the server with hopes of reasoning with him -- but Eradicator takes them into a deadly nosedive towards Coast City! The impact crater will be their battleground as two of the reigning Supermen battle it out for ultimate supremacy!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Eradicator 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Eradicator 5 (Professor)
Speed: Eradicator 6 (Mach-Speed)
Stamina: Draw 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Eradicator 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Eradicator 33 (Super)

During Reign of the Supermen there were four heroes who claimed to fulfill the legacy of the thought-dead Superman. The veracity of each claim varied, with some more effectively passing themselves off as the genuine article.

Eradicator was dubbed "The Last Son of Krypton", and had the benefit of creating an artificially engineered body with direct genetic likeness and partial psychic memories of Superman. So convincing was this doppelganger that The Eradicator even came to briefly believe he was indeed the genuine article!

Despite sharing many characteristics with Superman himself; Eradicator's unique make-up processes and perceives energy to a far greater degree than ordinary Kryptonians. This required him to wear a visor to filter light, and meant he frequently projected energy blasts through his hands. Eradicator used these powers when an unconvinced Guy Gardner attacked him in Action Comics #688!

Steel was a literal "Man of Steel", wearing a gleaming suit of armor of his own design. John Henry Irons had been a construction worker when he was rescued by Superman from a potentially fatal fall. In another life, he used his gift for engineering to create deadly new weapons. Inspired to make amends, he forged his armor to bring an end to the gangs using his guns on the streets.

Eradicator is clearly more powerful than Steel, but the armor has been seen to withstand significant offensive attacks over the years! He endured the searing heat of Plasmus in Steel #28, and munitions fired by Metallo in Steel #21! Even stripped of his armor, John Henry Irons showed true grit when standing against a super-powered Lex Luthor, withstanding brutal punishment to win in 52 #42!

Steel will have to endure if he's going to have any hope of overcoming Eradicator's natural power advantage. We've seen Eradicator go toe-to-toe with a yellow power ring, and a shock & awe onslaught could put Steel down!

The Tape: Eradicator Ranking: Steel (#30)

What Went Down...
Steel and Eradicator glare intensely at one another, hunched to one knee in a crater freshly made of their impact. The self-proclaimed "Last Son of Krypton" makes his intensions clear: he will kill Steel if that's what it takes to remain unchallenged as the one true Superman.

The Eradicator follows-up on his promise with a powerful blast of energy!

The raw power overwhelms the armored chest of the Man of Steel -- launching him wildly across the crater! Tumbling to the ground offers no reprieve as Eradicator pours on the power, coldly walking toward his prey with arm outstretched.

Remarkably: Steel endures - absorbing the brutal onslaught long enough to be within reach of his unflinching adversary. He defiantly shouts "NO!" and grabs Eradicator by the wrist! If this man wishes to claim the mantle of Superman -- he will have to embody it!

With righteous anger Steel rises to smash his metallic fist across the Eradicator's face! He will not suffer the indignity of a pretender who would silence his adversaries by resorting to murder!

The Man of Steel continues his lesson - dishing out a four-hit combination of left to right punches as he recaps the ills of Eradicator's malice. Steel questions his next move -- shattering the visor that filters intense lightwaves from his eyes.

Even as pain assaults his sensitive vision, Eradicator contemplates the ease with which he could utterly destroy his mortal opponent. With every blow that twists and contorts his face, he wonders why Steel would so intently pursue a fight he cannot win. With this line of internal questioning - the verge of epiphany!

Steel holds his silent opponent by the cape, keeping Eradicator on his knees, as he defends the legacy of Superman, and the shield they've both chosen to adopt. Suddenly: sirens - as police surround the crater with squad cars and a helicopter to order the dueling super-powers to put their hands up.

Contemplating a need for human compassion in his actions; the Eradicator leaps into the air, bequeathing Metropolis to the "good hands" of Steel. He will instead pursue a distress call from Coast City, overheard on the police radio band.

The Hammer...
Over the past few years I've been reflecting upon the legacy of Death of Superman, and pondering its impact through the context of where comics are a couple of decades later. As time goes by, the criticisms that seemed excessive in the '90s and early 2000s now seem to take on greater prescience.

The "Death of Superman" was always easy to be conceptually opposed to, but even as the model for the pointless circus of death we now routinely endure in modern comics -- I find it difficult to look back with the same vitriol, or alarm.

Don't get me wrong. It disappoints me that the Death of Superman is becoming a recurring staple of the Superman mythology. It's not a story I feel should be revisited with any regularity at all. It was absurd to see Henry Cavill's live-action Superman die in only his second big screen outing. A second animated version of the Death of Superman, released last year, addresses weaknesses in the shallow 2007 version (Superman: Doomsday), but is otherwise unnecessary and counter-productive, lionizing the death of superheroes to the masses.

As Warner Bros releases Reign of the Supermen in follow-up, I find myself revisiting issues of the original 1993 crossover, and I think I'm starting to form a better understanding for why I don't regard that period with the same disdain of its many subsequent echoes. In short: it created more than it destroyed.

Superman: Man of Steel #24 makes a wonderful case for what makes Steel a great legacy character. Of the four heroes who attempted to fill the void left by Superman, he arguably had the least convincing claim. Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, and Superboy all had strong visual, genetic, and super-powered ties to the genuine article. Steel was just a guy in a suit of armor with a hammer.

Yet, as Eradicator learns through our featured fight: Steel better embodied the heroic spirit and determination of Superman than any of the others! His actions were innately heroic, selfless. He was everything Superman should inspire.

In other mediums and casual reference it's all too easy to think death was what was important about Death of Superman. It wasn't. In truth, Superman was only "dead" for around six or seven months. Just long enough to explore the ideas and world through four new facets of Superman's legacy. Characters that embellished, contributed to, and examined that world, for good and bad.

Superhero universes are at their best when they're alive and vibrant with all kinds of weird and wonderful characters poking around the corners. The four that came out of Reign of the Supermen have continued to be strong additions to the tapestry of the universe. A universe that should always have Superman, evergreen and true in spirit, at its pinnacle.

Long time readers will know all about my Steel fandom. That's certainly reflected in the rankings, which will now see Steel break into the Top 20! Yes, Eradicator presumed he could wipe Steel out, but in the end he left under duress, suffering the consequences of Steel's beat down. That's a win!

Want to judge the result for yourself? You can find this issue collected in various editions. Use the purchase links provided to pick yourself up a copy and Amazon will help support Secret Wars on Infinite Earths at no extra charge to you!

Discover more battles and musings about these characters by following links throughout this post, tags at the bottom, or by diving into the Secret Archive! Every featured fight is indexed by publisher, series, and issue number! You can also get daily links inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing on Twitter and Facebook! A like, share, or retweet would be much appreciated!

Winner: Steel
#20 (+10) Steel
#551 (-126) Eradicator

GREEN LANTERN CORPS/JUSTICE LEAGUE versus SINESTRO CORPS
Birth of the Black Lantern (DC)
Where: Green Lantern #25 When: January 2008
Why: Geoff Johns How: Ivan Reis

The Story So Far...
The Anti-Monitor - a creature of immense power that once sought to destroy the multiverse - joins Sinestro in creating a new Corps of agents, with the intent to use them as heralds of his conquest over the positive realm. Harnessing the yellow power rings of Qward, the Sinestro Corps operate on a design of fear, using it to control their yellow energy the same way the Lanterns us willpower.

Tricked into believing the Sinestro Corps were to attack Oa, the designates of Sector 2814 soon find themselves four against an army, as the Anti-Monitor and his heralds emerge in the Milky Way. They launch their attack on Earth, but the rest of the Green Lanterns, along with heroes native to the planet, soon join the war. The Justice League, Justice Society, Titans, and more, rally to join the Green Lantern Corps in a stand against a force determined to seek the destruction of all.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Wonder Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: The Sentry 6 (Mach-Speeds)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Ares 7 (Warrior)
Energy Power: The Sentry 7 (Cosmic)


- The Green Lantern Corps is: John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kilowog, Arisia, Breeon, Adam, Soranik Naru, Princess Iolande, Bzzd, Green Man, Torquemada, Voz, Apros, Brik, Tahr, Kraken, Chaselon, Sir Deeter, Leezle Pon, Lok Neboora, Raker Qarrigat, Salaak, Stel, Isamot Kol, Larvox, & Vath Sarn.
With: Superman, Powergirl, Hawkman, Alan Scott, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Metamorpho, Firestorm, Wonder Girl, Raven, Red Tornado, Captain Marvel, Batman, Starman, Supergirl, Hawkgirl, Plastic Man, Starfire, Bulleteer, STRIPE, Black Lightning, Red Arrow, Firehawk, Miss Martian, Jay Garrick, Nightwing, Creeper, Cyborg, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Robin, & Steel.

Having succumbed to the effects of the Parallax entity; Earth's most famous Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, would lead a grief stricken rampage against his fellows in a bid to gain power enough to resurrect his obliterated city.
At the cost of the few survivors, the Guardians of the Universe would pool their energies to create one final, immensly powerful ring, which would be sent out into the universe with the last surviving Guardian from Oa; Ganthet.

The ring would come to be the inhereted by Kyle Rayner.
The young graphic artist's imagination would make him an ideal recipient, his creative mind opening up a realm of possibilities to the ring's powers of solid manifestation. These iconic Green Lantern powers would come to Rayner with the added responsibility of being the last of the Corpsman - a footnote that would continue to be a part of his education right until the return of the Corps.

- The Sinestro Corps is: Anti-Monitor, Cyborg Superman, Superboy-Prime, Karu-Sil, Haasp the Hunter, Snap Trap, Despotellis, & Yellow Lantern.

While imprisoned in the Central Battery of Oa; former Green Lantern, Sinestro, came in contact with a creature as old as time itself. Parallax, an entity born of fear, had been imprisoned by the Guardians of the Galaxy and consequently instilled in the rings of the Lanterns an impurity that left them vulnerable to objects of yellow -- the colour of fear in the cosmic emotional spectrum.

When Hal Jordan was able to excise the corruption of Parallax from his soul, a freed Sinestro opts to form a new army in the anti-matter universe of Qward. Armed with yellow rings inspired by fear, he summons the most frightening villains from across the universe, joining together to form the Sinestro Corps.

Among Sinestro's most famous early recruits: Superboy-Prime, Cyborg Superman, Amon Sur, Mongul, Fatality, Parallax, and the Anti-Monitor.

Math: Green Lantern Corps Ranking: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...
The Earth plays host to three cosmic armies as the Justice League and other heroes combine with the Green Lantern Corps to resist their fear-wielding counterparts, the Sinestro Corps. At the centre of the melee, the armored giant of destruction - the Anti-Monitor!

From a distance the war is abstracted, appearing as a mass of wills colliding, but on the frontlines the personal struggles make-up the bigger picture. Among the heralds of the Anti-Monitor is Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman that welcomes the lethal force initiated by the Guardians that oversee the Lantern Corps. He provokes their action, crushing the will of Lanterns beneath his cybernetic hand, while burning the wings of the courageous Hawkman.

John Stewart uses his ring to douse the flames as he and Guy Gardner arrive to join their comrades. They are immediately greeted by the venom of Karu-Sil, one of Sinestro's fear mongers. Gardner retaliates against her parallax constructs, generating a swarm of glowing green wolverines.

In the skies above, the Anti-Monitor looms over a city in chaos, plunging his fist into the street with the aim of sucking the planet dry. A wave of energy expands, positive matter turning to anti-matter, threatening to incinerate anything unable to flee it's path. The destruction forces Lanterns to redirect their attention to the innocents of New York City, to whom the wave is the most immediate threat.
Heroes such as Wonder Woman and Plastic Man join Lanterns, such as Arisia and Kilowog, in the desperate rescue.

Two brands of Manhunter collide as Hank Henshaw's cyborg meets the fist of the last lawman of Mars - J'onn J'onnz! His intervention aids John Stewart, who carries the ailing body of Guy Gardner. Yellow blood spits from the sickened Lantern -- a sign of Despotellis, the viral Sinestro, attacking him from within.

Meanwhile, heroes such as the Red Tornado, Starfire, Red Arrow, Black Lightning, and Firehawk do their bit to battle the swarming Sinestro Corps. They buzz and battle around the Anti-Monitor like insects, but each of their blows decides the fate of not only this Earth, but every parallel world that stems from it!

The Anti-Monitor's destructive conversion of energies goes unchallenged, until voices from the void recall the crisis incurred by his last attack on reality. A crisis of infinite Earths that went unchallenged by Oan Guardians in bondage.
Oan Guardians who will not stand idly by as he threatens existence anew!

The Guardians funnel their green energies at the impossible beast, confident in the knowledge that this Anti-Monitor is not yet fully developed beneath the armor that connects him to the old. Their will slams against the Anti-Monitor's shell and tears and shreds at the metal of his robotic heralds, the newest Manhunters. Their captain, Hank Henshaw, remains unphased by the Guardians' power.

Baring a grudge for their role in imprisoning him during Alexander Luthor's attempts to affect reality; Superboy-Prime blasts at the Guardians with his Kryptonian heat vision, while fighting off the advances of Alan Scott, Wonder Girl, and the Lanterns. Anti-Monitor lashes at the immortal Guardians also, trapping one in a giant fist that singes blue flesh with raw anti-power.

On the ground, John Stewart fends off the bizarre advances of the Yellow Lantern, while the increasingly weak Guy Gardner turns his attentions skyward. There, looming above the Earth, is the construct called "Warworld" affixed to the yellow central battery of the Sinestro Fear Corps. A power source big enough to destroy the Earth, or, if contained, one giant Anti-Monitor.

Even as his insides are plundered by the microscopic Despotellis; Guy Gardner pledges himself to the cause, flying into the sky with his ring blazing, forming chains with his fellow to drag the Warworld battery into position.

Other Lanterns rush to aid their brothers, fending off the opposition of Sinestro's agents. With the Guardians doing their part to rupture the Anti-Monitor's armor, the Lanterns toss Warworld toward the New York City streets below, and prepare themselves for the mammoth task of containing the explosion.

Kilowog, Apros, Brik, Salaak, Bzzd, Isamot Kol, Arisia, Torquemada, Sir Deeter, and many other Green Lanterns, all focus their energy into a giant dome over Warworld and the Anti-Monitor. Hank Henshaw is also encased within. With a cold metallic hand pressed to the edge of the translucent green dome, he whisper thanks to the Lanterns, poetically anticipating his long overdue death.

While the heroes of Earth fend off the advances of the Sinestro Corps; the City trembles as Warworld explodes, obliterating Hank Henshaw, and massive portions of New York, with it. The Anti-Monitor emerges, however, with his armor in tatters, but his resolve in tact. He lashes out at the unsuspecting Lanterns, but finally his undoing comes from an unlikely source, one of his allies, Superboy-Prime!

The impetuous youth pierces Anti-Monitor's armor and body with a torpedo-like dive. No longer interested in the Anti-Monitor's attempts at conquest, he puts an end to the creature's rampage, dragging the tattered armor into space, before tossing the smouldering corpse of the Anti-Monitor toward a dark destiny beyond the stars.

Spattered with blood, Superboy-Prime prepares a renewed assault against the heroes of the universe. His tantrum is but a precursor to the true end of the Sinestro Corps War...

The Hammer...
In the interest of clarity, this is technically part one of a two-part scenario. The battle strings out to include the suggested fight against Superboy-Prime, but to save time and my sanity, I've broken it up.

For defeating Anti-Monitor (and Hank Henshaw) we declare Superboy-Prime, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Green Lanterns mentioned who affected and contained Warworld's destruction. For their involvement in repelling the other Sinestro Corps forces, and contributing to varying degrees in the specifics of this fight, we also award a victory statistic to the Earth heroes identified in "the tape". Their involvement, while non-specific, is clearly vital to the victory of the Green Lantern Corps.

For a final piece of house keeping, we also acknowledge confirmed kill stats to Superboy-Prime and Anti-Monitor, who both claimed two lives. Other instances prove too uncertain to confirm a death. Whew.

As you might have noticed, we might be a few weeks behind, but we've assembled some epic battles for the last month of 2008! Following on from last week's symbiote bomb [New Avengers #36], we give you yet another early 2008 major battle you might have been unaware of! True to the name of the site, these epic secret wars involved the heavy hitters of both universes, but neither expanded line-wide like the lynchpin events - Secret Invasion and Final Crisis.

Despite occupying only GL-related titles, it's fair to say Sinestro Corps War went quite a bit larger than the brief symbiote plague in our other example. In fact, reflecting on the year that was 2008 is almost impossible to do without mentioning spillover from the Sinestro event. Even now, looking forward, we anticipate the event forecasted at the end of this issue - Blackest Night!

The upcoming Green Lantern event is but one of several key pieces making up the connective tissue that is the DC Universe. The heavy editorial direction cast across the company has earned criticism from fans and commentators alike, but has also ushered in an undisputed era of cohesion for the DCU. While the heady excitement of the 52-era seems to have passed, DC still manage a tight ship of concept and causality. Reading DC comics has become describable as an experience, distancing them from the hit-and-miss disconnection of Marvel's high selling, headlining events.

What this overly verbose assessment leads to is, Geoff Johns.
At first glance the writer appears to possess few special powers, but anyone reading DC comics knows how deceptive his approach can be. The Sinestro Corps War encapsulates the growth that the Green Lantern comics have experienced under the writer, benefitting not only from brand new contributions, but also the expert inclusion of ideas pulled from all the eras. It's a balance of ideals that has made DC the creative powerhouse -- competent in the face of adversity, creative while traditional.

The simplicity of the spectrum of emotion and colour to represent other Lanterns turns what could easily be a dismal concept, into something beautiful. The Rage of the Red Lanterns serves as one of the prologues to The Blackest Night, and is one of the beats we will hopefully talk more about in 2009.

I'd love to find the words to go deeper into this issue, but we're fast losing days in the year. Instead, let the this and the previous entry reveal where the Infinite Wars has come to rest at the end of the year. DC has been superb. In the new year I hope to talk more about Final Crisis, which has also been a series I've been quite impressed with, in stark contrast to Marvel's Skrull-event.

In case you missed it; be sure to check out our last review of this issue, detailing the personal battle between Sinestro, Hal Jordan, and Kyle Rayner. We will no doubt return to this epic issue at a later date for more of the Sinestro Corps War and the Superboy-Prime fight.

Next up, we tackle two of the major events that drove action on the Infinite Wars in 2008! First, I have to tag all these bloody Green Lanterns!

The Fight: 6 The Issue: 6

The complete Sinestro Corps War is available split across two Green Lantern trade paperbacks. You can pick them up at an affordable price via Amazon, and by using purchase links provided, also help sponsor the efforts of the Infinite Wars! Those, plus collected editions of most issues reviewed in the Secret Archive, are also available via the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe. Perfect for ringing in the new year!

STEEL/LETHAL versus FELIPE DECLAUDE
Lethal Tendencies (DC comics)
Where: Steel #20 When: October 1995
Why: Ruben Diaz How: Roberto Flores

The story so far...
John Henry Irons was a man with many skeletons in his closet. Having moved to Metropolis to escape his past as an advanced weapons designer, he unceremoniously finds the BG-60 energy cannon in the present as part of a gangwar. Inspired by Superman, he turns his expertise to developing a suit of weapon that makes him a man of steel.

Having overcome humble beginnings in the ghetto; Irons is emotionally motivated to investigate when a high school coach, who was crucial to steering him away from violence and drugs, goes missing. He fears the worst, having discovered the coach's car hidden in the backyard of the Voodoo Crew.

Instead of a deceased friend, Steel discovers the slaughter of the entire crew, along with a brutal vigilante calling himself Lethal. Despite their ethical differences, the two heroes team-up to the follow the clues, finding a sleezy sociallite, and a restaurant venture that is dying to have the heroes for dinner...

Previous Form:
Steel (#24): Victories over Metallo, Plasmus & Lex Luthor.
Lethal/Felipe Declaude: Making their debut in the Infinite Wars.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Steel 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Steel 5 (Professor)
Speed: Lethal 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Steel 5 (Marathon Man)
Agility: Lethal 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Lethal 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: Steel 2 (Projectiles)


- John Henry Irons is a brilliant technician and scientist, particularly affluent in the field of engineering and machinery. Though Irons has a close history with the design of elaborate weapons, as Steel he employed lo-tech options.
Though various iterations have existed, Steel's armor typically enhances his strength and durability, grants flight capabilities, carries a wrist-mounted pneumatic rivet gun, and carries his collapsable sledge hammer.

There has been vague suggestion that Steel was born with natural advantages as a 'meta human.' He is known for having exceptionally powerful arms, marrying his exceptional intelligence with muscle and skill.

- The man called Lethal is a ruthless vigilante whose methods buck against a prison system that all too often sees the same crooks back on the streets to reoffend. In an effort to stem the flow, Lethal boasts what his name suggests.

Wearing a suit that includes bladed weaponry, wrist-mounted projectiles, and a variety of other technologies; Lethal combines his small arsenal with fight training and a well conditioned body. Little more is known about him.

- Hidden beneath the facade of WASP, faux-French entrepreneur, Felipe DeClaude, is the dark identity of Royce DeClaude; a monstrous undead creature capable of raising an army of zombies.

Little is known about the origins of the creature, but he is capable of transforming from a hideous, fanged green creature, into the more kocher blonde fop that greets bookings at his restaurant - Man's Food.

The Math: Steel/Lethal The Pick: Steel/Lethal

What went down...
Following information obtained from the local police precinct, Steel arrives at Man's Food with a string of accusations and the intent to place Felipe DeClaude under citizen's arrest. DeClaude's denials of Steel's accusations are quickly squashed as the bombastic Lethal enters the scene.

Tossing a bodybag from the kitchen, Lethal parades soylent evidence infront of patrons ready to unwittingly devour the delicacy of human meat. The maneuver is enough to provoke DeClaude to reveal himself as he truly is, a self-described savage, who apparently feels persecuted by the hero's intrusion.

Seeking a final taste of vengeance, DeClaude snatches the girlfriend of the criminal foreman who had couriered the harvested meat of dead humans.
The waiting staff removed their masks to reveal decaying green faces, launching into combat with Steel and Lethal while their master toys with the woman.

Morally exonerated by the undead status of those that attack, even Steel willingly indulges in lethal force, as the pair of heroes cut through their pale green opposition. Steel knocks a jaw away, while Lethal cuts with blades.

Steel makes light work of the agile, but slow moving zombies, fully recognising the liklihood that they serve little more than a distraction.
Not wanting to allow himself to be distanced from the kitchen, Steel finishes the job with his rivet blaster, only to turn to discover DeClaude with his talons buried in Lethal's bloody chest.

Despite his injuries, Lethal manages to deliver a slash with his wrist-blade that tears through DeClaude's olive chest and stuns him sufficiently to send them both tumbling through the restaurant's high-rise window.

Steel leaps out after them, hoping to use his jet-powered DeClaude recognises his peril and cries to Steel for aid. Despite his greatest attempts, Steel proves too slow to catch the bulky undead villain in his descent.

The armored hero has no choice but to pull back barely a meter from a delivery van that makes for a harsh landing for DeClaude.

Back in the restaurant; Steel discovers holding pens hidden within the industrial refridgerators. Contained within are the many kidnapped, including Coach Burt Lawson, the man that had connected Steel to the bizarre scenario in the beginning.

The hammer...
Well, we can close the file on this case, with Steel and Lethal walking away the victors. Even though they were zombies, let the record show kill stats for the pair, four/three respectively.

Now, yesterday we discussed at some length the industry mystery of how Marvel continues to fail to capitalize on the multi-media success of everyone's favourite vampire-hunter -- Blade.
Here, we find ourselves staring down another bizarre mystery, this time one unique to the Infinite Wars. See, Bahlactus shon the spotlight on Steel during the week, and even though we're too late for the FNF, it was the perfect excuse to pull this Halloween hangover issue out for our holy day of fighting.

Thing is, presumably by pure coincidence, the Infinite Wars have suffered an uncharacteristic dip in hits every time I've featured Steel. Granted, it's only been three times [Steel #21, #28 & 52 #42], but it seems very peculiar that we'd make notable dips each time! I guess you could say missing out on FNF referrals is a good opportunity to see if we can break the curse.

I like Steel! Though much of the series is characterized by cheesy afterschool morality specials, and the epitomy of mindless 1990's action, it has a strange left-field appeal to it. During a period where Batman and other prominent DC icons didn't have an appeal to strike me, I delighted in taking full advantage of Steel's lack of popularity, sifting through longboxes to find the dismissive bargain purchases that came with the territory.

Ironically, I probably missed out on what many consider the best of the book, having drifted away during the mid-thirties. For me, instead of Christopher Priest hospital drama, Steel is typified by weird guest characters, and what seems like experiments with tech-savvy contemporary villain concepts and similar experiments with digital effects in comics. Granted, this was presumably going on across the entire DC line, taking full advantage of the acquisition of Wildstorm Comics and their digital colourists.

Lethal is a prime example of the atypical nineties "EXTREME" characters and storytelling getting a platform in Steel. The wise-cracking, murderous vigilante, equipped with tech and 'tude, is the very epitomy of the post-grim and gritty characters that mischaracterize the 90's as a lost cause.

This issue, with a fill-in creative team, sits obscurely as a stand-alone tale that has no effect on Steel past, present, or future. Lethal, who makes his first appearance here, literally teleports out of the issue, never to be seen again.
Likewise, Felipe DeClaude registers a one-time appearance with, like Lethal, no developed history, or depth as a character. As a monster, DeClaude at the very least benefits from associated motivation, even with a hilariously benign European villain-name.

Lethal, in an incestual sort of way, reads a lot like a non-specific knock-off of Deadpool. I wouldn't imagine that's the case, but I would love to know the circumstances behind this story that feels so bizarrely out of context.

Double would be an obscure guest-character that I would recall more fondly, appearing with the familiar grounding of mystery men similar to The Shadow, or The Sandman, albeit with a modern tilt. Double had the benefit of making a small handful of appearances throughout the series, best noted for aiding Steel in relocating after his identity was exposed, and family endangered.

So, what is it about this issue that affords a concession that Ultimate Spider-man #96 doesn't receive? It may very well be an unfair double standard, but on the merits of the work and the context of the period, it's hard for me to come down on this book with too much venom. It never really has the potential to rise to the heights that an Ultimate Spider-man does. It isn't reinventing the wheel with the benefit of hindsight, in fact, it's blindly groping around an industry being led by flashy gimmickery, instead of more cerebral conceptuals.

By definition, the pencil-driven EXTREME of books like these never even pretend to have the soul of a lasting character or title. The action struggles to conform to any kind of spiney expectation, with word balloons and action spilling in and out of neighbouring panels like a game of snakes and ladders.

This comic succeeds in being fun. The oddities contained within it's pages are what makes it interesting to me. The critic could not deny that it fails to fully capitalize on the format or potentially iconic character that is Steel, but as we begin to examine zeitgeist more as 2007 closes, we can look back on this issue as being borne of it's time, and it's role.

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4

It should come as no surprise that Steel has not been collected in paperback by DC Comics, who have been notoriously slow to tackle even the most critically acclaimed issues in it's 1990s back catalogue. You can find Steel currently starring in the 52-spin off, "Infinity Inc." For a history lesson, you might like to check out the Death of Superman, which inevitably gave birth to Steel!

STEEL versus LEX LUTHOR
Man Ain't Nothing But a Man (DC comics)
Where: 52 #40 When: April 2007
Why: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka & Mark Waid How: Keith Giffen & Chris Batista

The story so far...
Lex Luthor's everyman project appears to have discovered means of granting normal human beings fantastic powers through the use of an injectable meta-gene therapy.

The only side effects appear to be the development of superpowers, and in the case of John Henry Irons, the armored hero once called Steel, this means literally becoming a man of steel.

When his powers begin to dissipate, Irons realises Luthor's meta-gene not only has finite potential, but also a potential 'off-switch', which leads to the deaths of several experiment subjects. Thus, Irons shrugs off a bitter depression, and dons the Steel armor once more to confront the evil Lex Luthor.

Previous Form:
Steel (#18): Steel has victories over well known supervillains; Plasmus and Metallo.
Lex Luthor: Luthor had a cameo during Batman's battle with the OGRE droid.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Steel 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Lex Luthor 6 (Genius)
Speed: Steel 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Steel 5 (Marathon Runner)
Agility: Steel 2 (Average Human)
Fighting Ability: Steel 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Lex Luthor 4 (Arsenal)

The tape paints a pretty clear picture of how we rate Luthor on our scale.
As a guy who's arguably a top-tier DC villain, Luthor rates deceptively low, but regular visitors to the blog will be accustomed to how characters are capable of playing above their weight.

Luthor's speciality is in his intelligence, and that's how he's able to duke it out with the likes of Superman. The only problem with that is that in the bredth of his abilities, there isn't a lot more to pad out his potential in a fight.

Luthor's advantages are in his technology, like the powersuit, which was deemed too irregularly used to effect his strength rating. Likewise, his seemingly endless access to hired minions and other external aids are perhaps his greatest tools in a confrontation with any character, without even getting into something like his masterminding the gathering of The Society.

Steel's a character of great determination and intelligence, but against the likes of Luthor his greatest advantage may come down to brute strength.

Against the likes of Luthor, regardless of what arsenal has been called upon, Steel's potential to be a raging bull would probably be the key to victory, gaining the momentum-based victory.

The Math: Steel (Meta Class)
The Pick: Steel

What went down...
Having fought his way through Everyman and had his armor shattered whilst wearing it, Steel barges his way into Luthor's top story office with the use of his unique sledgehammer.

There, Luthor waits confidently with Natasha Irons, Steel's neice, beaten and well restrained. Her cries of warning are too late, as John Henry walks straight into a Superman style blast of heat vision.

Luthor, only coming to terms with his newly aquired powers, shifts to X-ray vision, gleefully enjoying his new abilities whilst examining his own skeleton.

Steel, unwavering, leaps back at Luthor literally steaming from the previous attack, with the fire sprinklers activating above.

He drives his hammer down atop the skull of the villainous former-President, but it is for moot.
The force of the blow piledrivers Luthor into the very floor, but as Luthor himself exclaims, he feels no pain from the potentially lethal blow.

Thigh-deep in the floor, Luthor wrenches the hammer from Steel's hands with but one of his own, and drives the handle shaft through Steel's exposed mid-section, impaling him on his own weapon.

As Dr. John Henry Irons pulls the hammer from his own gut, Luthor hovers out of his rut, striking his opponent with a fist packing super strength.

He swats Steel with an open backhand, taking delight in sending him through the wall, despite having only barely touched him.

Luthor professes his maniacal plans of world domination to the restrained Natasha Irons, noting the absence of the world's greatest heroes as opportunity to capitalise on the vaccuum of uncoordinated heroes.

To Luthor's surprise and chagrin, Steel again staggers back into the field-- a changed man. Luthor's self-obssession has full restored the man who built the armor, and John Henry Irons is again a man who recognises the value and reason for men who would be called super heroes. Men who fight for something more than themselves.

Luthor compells Steel to give up, "You have four broken ribs and a ruptured appendix. Your small intestine is leaking fecal matter into your bloodstream. Trust me... I have X-ray vision."

Despite his greivous injuries, Steel shows the determination of his namesake, holding his ground.

Luthor flies at the hero, who hurls his hammer seemingly in vain, as Luthor uses his explosive heat vision to blast a hole through the ceiling.
The hammer, as it turns out, actually strikes the mechanical chair which holds Steel's neice hostage. Set free, the female who once donned Steel armor of her own is able to recognise that Luthor's 'failsafe' for disrupting the exo-gene powers was an electrical pulse, and deduces that the atomic power source housed within Steel's hammer could permanently render the powers inert.

On the rooftop, Steel disengages his robotic hand, which explodes around the super-durable neck of Lex Luthor, who is coming to terms with the influx of sound and sights with his new heightened senses.

He doesn't hear Natasha fiddling with her uncle's hammer on the floor below, but he does feel it, as his body comes crashing down, bound once more by the laws enforced by gravity.

With the tables turned, Luthor spouts desperate threats as the fitter, more powerful of the two men declares his moral superiority.

Steel reveals that the everyman gene treatment was toxic, and would have killed Luthor in six months had his neice not nullified it's effect.

With the Teen Titans gathered below, the giant L atop the Lexcorp building comes crashing down to the evacuated ground floor.
Standing mightily atop the building, a triumphant pair of heroes, each barers of the Steel legacy, and victors over a would-be tyrant.

The hammer...
The winner by knockout, with the assist from his neice-- Steel!

Regular readers will know I've been on a kick of more recent comics lately, and I'm pleased to finally be a part of 52. I'm not sure I could have ever pledged my dollar to a year's worth of weekly comics, but I think I picked the right time to pop in for a visit. It sounds like things are wrapping up on a strong note, and certainly when I read the solicitation for what turned out to be nearly an all-Steel issues, I was chuffed!

If you track back to the one or two previous Steel appearances on the blog, you'll discover that he's one of my favourite DC characters, inspite of his relative obscurity. As one of the lead characters in the second-tier push of 52, I'm certainly very pleased with the concept, and the push to bring a guy like this back. I just wish we could be seeing him in active duty in the other One Year Later DC Universe titles.

I picked up four issues of 52, weeks thirty-nine through forty-two, and I've certainly been impressed with the quality of the books. The back-up origin features are a nice touch, particularly with what seems to be an effort to customize the artist to fit the character. #42's Green Arrow feature with Scott McDaniel art is a notable occasion, McDaniel being the current on-going artist on the character.

The art is probably what most sceptics would have been epecting to see suffer under the load of such a heavy schedule, but it looks to me like it's been handled brilliantly. The price of rotating artists seems to be well worth it, with Keith Giffen's direction seemingly giving the series an appropriate throughline. Although, I imagine a great deal of credit has to go to the inking and colouring teams, who although different, seem to be similar enough, perhaps by design, to maintain a consistency that prevents jarring from issue to issue.

It's difficult for me to really say how I feel about the broader scope of the 52 story, having only read the two issues, thus far. I'm certainly the type of reader who has no bones about jumping into the middle of a story, but I could see how it might benefit from a recap page of some sorts. Simple decduction and a willingness to go with the story should be enough to leap in, but is probably a rare trait among modern readers, and they may find themselves uncomfortable.

The anthology style in some of the issues is interesting, and I wonder if it may have made weekly reading a little tedious. Like some popular TV shows, it feels like it's only letting out insignificant movement in the story through dribs and drabs, but certainly it delivers in an issue like forty, which dedicates a great deal of time to wrapping up one of the plots.

One would imagine the combined might of Johns, Morrison, Rucka and Waid would be enough to place the necessary value on each of the stories.
Presumably the involvement of each writer overlaps, even if they tackled their own stories, or moments throughout the saga of 52.*

I'm struggling with what I could really say here that is something you don't already know. It's very much a what-you-see kind of book, and I can't elaborate a great deal. It doesn't excel, but it is strong enough that it's difficult to criticise.

I guess I leave you with the hope that DC isn't over extending itself with the announcement of Countdown, which will run every week for a year, this time rolling down from fifty-two down to one, in reverse order.

I hope post-52 we can see John Henry Irons back in active duty as Steel, and I hope the events of the new Countdown will not affect that.
Speculation has the regularly appearing 'multiverse' theory bobbing back up for Countdown, but I'd like to think DC and the writing team that is steering the cohesive ship are wise enough to recognise the negatives that far outweigh the potential cons.

I've poo-pooed the theory in the past, and I'll continue to do so, but I wonder what Countdown will entail. Certainly the promotional artwork has a lot of people talking, and I wonder if the featured heavy-hitters of the DC universe aren't indicative of a 52 style book that recaps the journies of the major heroes who were deliberately omitted from 52. As opposed to the theory that it represents the segregation of the heroes into their own universes.

Here's hoping!

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 5

* The presumption that the writers crafted an overall outline for the story as a group is the reasoning for each writer being credited for this entire issue, which features only one storyline.

STEEL versus PLASMUS
The Drowning Room (DC comics)
Where: Steel #28 When: July, 1996
Why: Peter J. Tomasi How: Andrew Robinson

The story so far...
Ever since John Henry Irons was outed as Steel, life's been just that much more hectic.
When Steel starts having nightmares about his family, he decides to move out, but not before real in-house fighting is caught by reporters -- literally leaning into their house!

Cut to "elsewhere," where in an abandoned warehousey type set-up, Plasmus just happens to be watching a TV on a diving board, while he tries to chill in the swimming pool.

Plasmus kidnaps Steel's niece Natasha, and when Steel catches up to the giant melting man, his plan becomes clear. He wants to be saved. From himself.

Recommended reading:
52 #1+: DC Universe without it's top heroes for a year. Features Steel.
Villains United #1-#6: If there's a more specific good Plasums read, let me know.
Steel #21: Steel battles Superman villain, Metallo.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Plasmus 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Steel 5 (Professor)
Speed: Steel 2 (Average Human)
Stamina: Steel 5 (Marathon Runner)
Agility: Steel 2 (Average Human)
Fighting Ability: Steel 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Plasmus 2 (Projectile Weapon)

I'm going to immediately confess a degree of ignorance where Plasmus and his abilities are concerned. Obviously there are some innate and self-explanatory powers and strengths, but my palette of Plasums references just isn't strong enough to quote. Sorry about that.

You have a pretty basic set-up here of a guy in a suit of armor and a guy who's big, strong, oozy, and burning hot. They are Steel and Plasmus respectively.
You have to ask yourself a certain set of questions regarding this kind of situation.

What capabilities does the armor have?
He may have produced weapons in a past life, but Steel is not Iron Man. His armor is far less on the tech side, and more on the suspension-of-disbelief, with a twist of old fashioned elbow grease and manufacturing pride.

Offensively Steel uses his easy-to-carry extendo-hammer, and wrist-mounted projectile shooting rivet gun. While these are pretty decent basic offenses, against a guy made of burning goop, they're not going to be of great use. In fact, there's every possibility tiny rivets would probably melt to slag before doing any damage.

Steel's armor is clearly strong and versatile, but you'd have to think heat would be a real issue for him. Likewise, the armor only does so much where his strength is concerned, and physically you'd have to think Plasmus has the greater bulk of offense.

If it comes down to it, Steel's an incredibly smart and industrious guy, and no doubt he could think his way around the gooping Russian miner.
It might very well be that element that lends Steel the distinct advantage, but it would still no doubt be a mighty close bout.

What went down...
When Steel's niece is set upon by a stampede of reporters, things look pretty unpleasant, but it gets worse. Steel is on the scene just in time to see the sidewalk ripped through, and a big pair of pink mittens drag his niece into the sewers below.
No, it's not Krang, it's Plasmus!

Steel suits up and heads down, but in that short time Plasmus has managed to stash Natasha someplace else. He's pretty quick for a guy who's losing his physical integrity.

Steel takes a swing, and sizzles his hand -- but it didn't melt, so we'll take Plasmus' word for it, and assume that is a good thing.

Ignoring the pain, John Henry opens up an old fashioned can of whoop, and pounds Plasmus into an unrecognisable, gelatenous mountain of slop, but the heat is still a problem.
Plasmus counters, snatching Steel's hands in his, and squeezes.

Plasmus yaps on some more, and Steel finally manages to swing his feet up, unleashing a blast from his jet boots, and turning the momentum around on Plasmus.
Pushing the hulking mass of... bleh... Steel drives him through a wall, and into a mass of sewer water stuff.

With a wiclked grin, Plasmus swims his way to Steel's feet, and then allows some of his gooey mass to solidify in the cool water, effectively weighing the armored hero down Mafia style.
Working his way to the surface, Plazzy then melts a bunch of brick onto the surface of the channel, where it solidifies into a thick crust.

Using his rivet gun, Steel blasts himself free, and then rocket boots his way back up, crashing through the surface seel with a, "SHAKOOM!" -- which reads quite a bit like Shaq and Doom put together. Sorta like the movie... Haw!

Anyway, burnt into the wall is a message, "She is safe unless you follow. Make suit. I be in touch." The message comes complete with a burnt in arrow, which points to a note left, marked specifications.

While Steel does his best Flashdance montage, working the steel into a suit of armor that will hold Plasmus together -- Natasha helps the sympathetic villain, pouring water into his abandoned swimming pool HQ.
As Plasmus heats up, the waters ceases to be effective, and when Natasha gets a little to close, the hose catches alight! Bummer!

Plasmus grabs her leg as punishment, scorching his way through her French Toast denims. Being Russian, no doubt he was thinking to himself, 'my pain, you taste bitch.'

Steel turns up with a big pile of metal, and it passes the melting test.
Plasmus doesn't let Natasha go just yet, though, wanting to try on his new togs, presumably to see if they fit, or make his melting arse look big.
When all is well, Plasmus turns the girl over to her uncle. But wait!...

When Plasmus starts to bubble and boil his way through the gaps in the suit, he curses up a bloody storm, "You will both die for this! Your entire family will die!"

Steel fires off a rivet as he flies away with Natasha, striking a button on the chest which in turn unleashes a shot of liquid nitrogen -- TO THE BRAIN!

Steel decides to leave him for STAR Labs to take care of, but feeling a little resentful toward her captor, Natasha decides to get a piece of her own back, smashing Plasmus to pieces with a stray crowbar.
Ironically, she cites him as a murderer, but for any concerned readers, he has showed up in Villains United, so... There you go.

The hammer...
I got to talk about it briefly the last time I featured an issue of Steel [Steel #21], but damned if this isn't one great, thoroughly underused character.

During the nineties Steel was a character I bought pretty regularly, and was certainly the only DC title I was reading. This was a time of electric Superman, and other wacky business, and for whatever reason, I just hadn't quite reconnected with DC after living life as a Marvel fan.

Really, it doesn't make a lot of sense that Steel would be the guy I would like, either. I mean, here's a guy who's atypical of bad minority characters, derving himself from another character. Obviously some efforts were made to give him his own direction, and I think losing the Superman S had to be one of the best things to happen to the guy, but that stigma is still there.

Then you look at the stories. This guy never came close to reaching his potential.
These stories are, even to the most generous reader, average. A lot of pretty standard superhero action, with some pretty standard nineties ghetto superstar swirls.

Still, there was just something about this character. Something mysterious that made him enjoyable right through all those early, cheesy, ugly stories.
Maybe it's the armor, or the cape, or the fact that, like Batman, this guy is just all the more impressive for earning his place amongst the Gods. Even with all that meta-human nonsense that worked it's way into things.

He's the 'Black Superman,' and a character of great inspiration and all that rah-rah, but just purely as a character, ignoring the angles... He's the crossroads of humanity and super-humanity. He's technology and magic. He's brain and brawn.
He's a great character who has just so much potential, and I think it's great that 52 to casting a spotlight on that.

I just hope Steel can live up to the Steel I would like to see.
It's an opportunity that shouldn't be missed, if you ask me.

I mean, this is a guy you could literally go anywhere with, I think.
I didn't read a lot of the later Priest issues of the solo series, and I know the character shifted a little. He seemed to become a little more mature, but I'd like to think those varying character traits and faces just load the guy up with more potential.

I see him ranging everywhere from senior mentor, guiding voice of reason -- to very much an everyman, standing awkwardly with rookies in a room with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
He's the kind of guy who can seem so right with these guys [JLA], and yet, as a veteran of only a decade and a half, sticks out like a sore thumb. He's got the power to roll with those guys, but the touch to stay down on the streets.

I'd love to see an on-going mixing it up in exactly that fashion.
Put him somewhere where you can regularly throw super villain overflow in the mix, but at the same time let him deal with common crime. Put him in a world of character driven dilemma, and let him deal with the streets.
The first order of business, surely, has to be getting him out of STAR Labs, which I assume 52 is doing.

Not that he has to remove himself entirely from the group.
Maybe STAR Labs could provide some of the supporting cast and sets, ala the Flash TV series. There's just so much to draw upon, and I'm really failing to highlight that with specifics, but maybe next time Steel comes around, I'll be better prepared.

The Fight: 3 The Issue: 4.5

NEXT: Face the face! The bat-family do combat with one of Batman's oldest foes -- together again for the first time!

STEEL versus METALLO
"Stalker"
Where: Steel #21 When: November 1995
Writer: Louise Simonson Artist: Phil Gosier

The story so far...
John Henry Irons was a disillusioned former weapons designer, when he fell from a building construction site.
Rescued from his fall by Superman; John Henry was inspired by the hero's apparent death, and used his mechanical knowledge to fashion a suit of armor - becoming the black Superman, the man of Steel.

Setting out to right the wrongs of his past, Steel moves to Washington DC.

In the aftermath of Underworld Unleashed, an event that saw the wishes of villains globally granted by Neron; Steel struggles to control a city gone mad. It only gets worse from there.

Tale of the tape...
Being a Steel fan has proven to have a lot of unique pros and cons over the years.
Though involved in the hype of the Death of Superman, I didn't get into the character until his solo series began, and even then, I don't remember how that came about.

Steel's a character that, for me, goes against type. Generally speaking, I don't warm to spin-off characters that rely heavily on the characters they are derived from. This is perhaps why Steel has succeeded in raising my interests where characters like Superboy and Supergirl have failed.

When Steel lost the S, he essentially severed any immediately obvious connection to his Superman origins. Not only his appearance was distanced, but because of the very nature of the character, his powers and abilities were greatly removed.

Strength: 4 (Steroid Popper)
Intelligence: 5 (Professor)
Fighting Ability: 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: 2 (Guns)

Though peaking on similar beats to Superman, Steel operates on a much lower field. That's not to say he's a weak character by any means, but his strengths are comparably lower than other Superman characters, and often different.

Against an opponent like Metallo, Steel has some very initial obstacles to overcome. His arsenal is entirely composed of metal, from his strength enhancing armor, to his wrist mounted pneumatic rivet shooter, or even his big ol' steel sledgehammer.

Packing a mean punch thanks to Neron, even beheaded, Metallo can reconstitute a makeshift body out of any available metals. Considering the nature of most populated areas the characters operate in, even if Steel manages to hold on to his armor through metahuman means, there's still a lot to worry about.

Strength: 5 (Super Strength)
Stamina: 6 (Generator)
Energy Powers: 3 (Explosives)

Potentially Metallo remains a volatile character regardless of whether he specifically incorporates explosives into his body, or if he just brings a full tank with him when he reshapes a nearby car.

The hero of the story always has an X-factor edge, especially a character with as much heart as Steel. That said, on paper and by the numbers, this is a fight Metallo should win.

What went down...
They say ignorance is bliss, so Steel must've been in seventh heaven while he scrambled across DeeCee trying to help those in need, narrowly avoiding being hit with a couple of rockets.

On the way back from saving a few people in distress, Steel finds himself on the receiving end of an electro-cannon fire blast. Understandably, our hero was beginning to feel a little perturbed as he spun around to face his mystery attacker.

Steel wastes no time beheading Metallo, recalling Superman's previous encounters with the metallic fiend. Unaware, of course, that by knocking his head into a scrap yard, he was loading Metallo up with a whole new bag of toys.

Absorbing portions of nearby cars, Metallo finds his new torso with a full tank of gas. Not terribly bad news for a character who doesn't use heat vision, but unfortunately some jerk conveniently left a cigarette lighter lying around. Those are Metallo's words, not mine.

From a shoulder mounted hose, Metallo lets the petrol fly, covering Steel in flames. The hero, however, remains unphased, laying claims to a new strategy of pulping Metallo's head, rather than just removing it.
Steel swings in with his hammer, but Metallo is able to catch it, and swing back with a running motor for a fist.
Locked up, either character is unable to move, prompting Steel to throw a hydrolically empowered leg up to punt Metallo's head a coinsiderable distance.

The head comes to land in a river, leading our hero to believe the threat of Metallo was now officially averted. Unfortunately inner city attitudes had led to considerable pollution in this particular river, giving Metallo adequate materials for a body strong enough to reach a boat looming overhead.

While helping firemen fight a fire, Steel finds himself struck once again my a mystery blast. Lamenting on the origin of his new powers, Metallo attempts to absorb Steel's own armor into his body, but is unable to budge it, giving Steel the chance to send the head bouncing once more with a super right hook.

Steel leaves the head with police, to resume serving the public at a neo-Nazi bomb threat. Of course, it's not long before he's struck again by a mystery attacker.

Metallo begins making plans for Superman, as he fires off a laser cannon at Steel, who just happens to be carrying the terrorist bomb.
Steel blasts Metallo with his jet boots, and attempts a further get-away, only to be pursued by his new, ever persistent nemesis.

Making it to a clear area, Steel prepares to toss the bomb loose, but Metallo has other plans. He strips the casing, and prepares to make himself a living bomb, until Steel delivers some rather grim news - "... the explosive mechanism's plastique."

The hammer...
Whew! Well, that was a long one.
As you hopefully guessed, this time Metallo wasn't coming back, making Steel our winner. Which is pleasing, because I always like it when my favourites win. It's true.

As I mentioned earlier, there were a lot of interesting advantages and disadvantages to being a Steel fan. One of the few Steel fans at my preferred comic store. Which, as you can imagine, meant prospective prices as issues moved off the shelves were considerably less than other titles, which meant I could buy up on any I missed.

Of course, this lesser demand also meant there were less issues available.
Likewise, it also meant the title began disappearing, most notably from local venues, like newsagencys, where the title had previously been sold.

The supply versus demand pendulum was an on-going theme, it seemed.
Perhaps what I find most peculiar about the character, is that despite being relatively unpopular, he not only endured, but also extend beyond the point of most nineties DC characters.

Another prime double edged example was the Steel feature film.
Positive, because this was a time when very few new DC properties, let alone most comic features, were making any leeway in effort to get to the big screen.
Unfortunately, Steel went the way of the Batman films, and was really quite a substandard effort. Shaq maintains a season record for most shitty films in a decade.

Still, peculiar highpoints would continue. Steel would be the only other superhero featured in a Superman action figure giveaway at McDonalds, and there would be great Steel action figures, and even a video game appearance. Eventually the on-going series was finally cancelled, but the character still maintained appearances as part of JLA, which is pretty impressive, if you ask me.

Now, as Infinite Crisis bleeds into 52, John Henry Irons prepares to have another shot at the big time. I hope, this time, the character has more consistent success.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 3

NEXT: The Boy Wonder versus the Girl Mutant!