Spotlight: Steel's Companion Issue

52: The Companion Issues

The series 52 takes place in the year when Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are gone. This forces 10, usually sideline characters, to the center with their own subplots which feed into the main mystery.

In issue #3 we get our first extended scenes with John Henry Irons and his niece Natascha. John Henry Irons was created by Louise Simonson and artist Jon Bogdanove in Adventures of Superman #500, and emerged as the superhero Steel in after the death of Superman. Originally he was a weapons engineer who had a change of heart and ended up faking his own death. He moved to Metropolis and has his life saved by Superman. Superman challenges Irons to "live a life worth saving." Steel uses his knowledge as an engineer to create super-power armor which is then incorporated in the SCU in Metropolis.

His niece Natascha first appears in Steel #1, and ends up staying with her uncle. In the Steel solo series she ends up creating her own suit and taking Steel's place while he is injured. At times she's very smart but can also be a flippant teenager. She understands the good intentions of her uncle but can't help but be occasionally mouthy. A typical teenager.

In the 52 companion Mark Waid reccommends reading Superman: Man of Steel #97. It's written by Mark Schultz, drawn by Doug Mahnke, and is titled Bridge the Past to the Future. This issue features Steel and Natascha moving into the Steel Works in Metropolis, he meets with Superman, and helps the SCU fight off The Eradicator. It is fun to see Steel and Natascha interact and her snottiness is on display. Also great to see John Henry Irons as a scientist and nerding out with Superman. However I'd say that Steel and Natascha only make up about 1/3 of the issue. The issue's primary focus is Superman's battle with The Eradicator which is a left over from the Reign of the Supermenarc.

I would suggest reading Steel's solo series if you can find the issues. Otherwise there is a trade with the first 8 issues called Steel: Forging of a Hero. This series is good stuff, and I wish they would collect it altogether. It's not gonna happen. The run features work from Louise Simonsen, Jon Bogdanove, Peter Tomasi, and Christopher Priest. In this series Steel is solidified as a new next-gen hero who has a real morality. He sees things in very black & white, right or wrong terms, which feeds into where he is at the beginning of 52.