STEEL III (John Henry Irons)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: John Henry Irons
Aliases: Henry Johnson
Identity: Public
Occupation: Inventor, crime fighter
Homeworld: Earth
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Bess Irons (grandmother; deceased); Butter Irons (grandfather); Clay Michael Irons (brother); Blondell Irons (sister-in-law); Natasha Irons (niece)
Base of Operation: Jersey City, NJ, later Metropolis
Group Affiliation(s): JLA
Gender: Male
Height: (in armor): 6' 7"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: None
First Appearance: Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993)
Creators: Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove

HISTORY

Originally a weapons designer, John Henry was disgusted at the devastation caused by one of his inventions, the Toastmaster. He quit what was his life and moved to Metropolis, where, having become a construction worker, his life was saved by Superman. When his saviour was killed, he donned a suit of steel armour and became a defender of Metropolis in his honour. Later, Superman having returned to life, Steel moved to Washington DC to be nearer his family, but recently he returned to Metropolis, where he heads up the Steelworks, a facility dedicated to technological breakthrough. He and his niece Natasha have developed strong friendships in Metropolis, including Superman, Lois Lane and Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E.. Steel was briefly a member of the JLA, where he demonstrated a clear head and a truly heroic heart. In the cataclysmic battle with Imperiex, Steel was seemingly killed and only survived due to some dangerous technology from Apokolips which almost made him Darkseid's slave. He has now retired from the hero business to concentrate on technological achievements and his niece Natasha now occasionally operates as Steel.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Steel in chronological order click here

PROFILE REFERENCES

Team Superman Secret Files #1 (May 1998)

Superman Metropolis Secret Files #1 (July 2000)
JLA-Z #3 (January 2004)