Credits: Written by Louise Simonson, pencilled by Jon Bogdanove, inked by Denis Janke and edited by Mike Carlin.
Cast: Henry Johnson/John Henry Irons/The Man of Steel, Keith, Henry & Zoid, Myra, Dutch, Superman (in Flashback), Rosie the fortune teller, Lois Lane, Jeb Friedman, the White Rabbit, Jonathan Kent, Sydney Happerson and Lex Luthor II.
Plot: Henry Johnson is giving a history lesson to local kids Zoid, Henry and Keith. This particular bit of history is about John Henry, a man who faced off against a steel driving machine and won. He sends the kids home, but their path there goes through a mobile gang fight between the Bloods and the Sharks, Using a weapon that Henry recognises, the Sharks kill Zoid. Henry races after them and attacks the car, pulling the passenger’s weapon off him before the car crashes him into the wall. Before he loses consciousness, he sees that the weapon is the one he thought is was, but he believed they were all destroyed, how did they get to this city.
When he wakes up, Keith and Myra are there, Myra having made somewhat of an effort (which Keith points out) and they all commiserate over the loss of Zoid. Keith laments the loss of Superman, who would help him. Henry tells him that Superman once saved him and recounts the tale of him working high steel and saving a colleague but almost dying himself and Superman caught him. Henry points out that he owes Superman his life and Superman’s reply is to make it count for something. Very shortly after that, Doomsday hit Metropolis and a lot of things changed.
A week later, Henry is walking to his workshop, passing local fortune teller Rosie and goes inside. Several of the Sharks see this and decide to firebomb the building. Inside, Henry is forging a suit of armour. It moulds to his face and over the chest piece, he has a plate designed like the Superman S ,fastened to it is a long red cape and in his hands a twenty pound hammer, like the story of John Henry. When this is done, the fire has started to spread and there is a oil reservoir down there, so the whole building goes up. He saves Rosie and a family from the building and leaves them outside safely. By now the news has arrived and Rosie talks about being saved and lets out the theory that this man had the spirit of Superman inside him. Lois Lane is one of the news people and is dragged from it by Jeb Friedman, a union activist whose interest in her is, well I don’t want to say creepy, but I will. He tries to console her over the fact her fiance is missing, while making a light hearted pass at her. No, seriously he does that, then laughs it off and invites her for coffee.
Anyway, back to the Man of Steel and now Lex Luthor II is finding out about all this and wants to know more. So does the Man of Steel, who is following the car that the gang used when they killed Zoid and he follows it home and interrupts the packaging of drugs. He smashes through the wall and takes most of the gang members down, but the Dutch, the gunman from earlier shoots through one of his friends to hit Henry, who positively identifies them as BG-80’s or more colloquially known as Toast Masters, he recognises them, because he was the one who designed them. We get a brief flashback that fleshes out his feelings over the guns and then he goes after Dutch. He pins him to the wall with rivets, fired from his wrist launchers. He is about to interrogate Dutch who name drops the White Rabbit, but from a nearby rooftop, the White Rabbit shoots Dutch. The thing is, she recognises Henry as John Henry Irons. She kills Dutch and not Henry, because she sees potential and decides Dutch was expendable.
We then go to Lois, who is talking with Jeb, who is offering to take care of her, with such words as Superman is dead, Clark is dead and he’s alive, so is she. He then takes her out to dinner. In a Kansas hospital bed, Jonathan Kent sees the Man of Steel and wonders if this is how his son has returned. We finish in Metropolis with Lex Luthor II wondering how best to take advantage of the Man of Steel..
Notes: In an issue that contains gang-members, drug dealers, a murdering arms merchant, Sydney Happerson and Lex Luthor, how is the biggest d**k Jeb Friedman. He’s trying it on with a grieving woman. Anyway, just had to get that out of my system, This issue is the introduction of the Man of Steel, John Henry Irons. He is one of those characters that carried on far beyond this initial era. A physically impressive man, his real gift was his genius with mechanical engineering. His haunted past, his mechanical skills, red cape, hammer and huge presence, he was like all of the original Avengers shoved together. He was a fascinating character with a rich backstory that was heavily hinted at here. This is the second of the 4 stand in heroes that took Superman’s place, but probably the one who was most relatable, the most heroic.
Writing: 3 out of 5 – Simonson isn’t given much here, but she does well, everyone has their own voice, each character seems fleshed out, but the whole making a suit of armour comes out of nowhere, it may have needed a page for seeding that idea. That said, the story is strong and gives John Henry Irons a foundation to start from.
Art: 3 out of 5 – Bogdanove is something of an acquired taste to me, some issues work incredibly well, others less so. His character design is top notch and the visuals of the Man of Steel in action are nothing short of exciting and stunning. He’s building something here and while some scenes are ropey, the bones are good and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Overall: 6 out of 10 – It’s a middle of the road issue, but it’s a hell of a road to be on. We’re on the ground floor and it looks like it’s only getting higher.
Next Time: We’re halfway through the Finale of Fire From Heaven
My Marvel Life 