March Special: Conway & Heck's Commander Steel

The original Steel (Henry "Hank" Heywood, Sr.) was a Princeton biology major who decided to join the U.S. Marines following the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939.  This sparked a long-running feud with Hank's then-girlfriend, a woman named Gloria Giles.  She dumped him over what she perceived as Hank's warmongering.  This particular relationship was complicated by the fact that Hank's then-boss, Dr. Gilbert Giles, was Gloria's father.  Prior to joining the Marines, Hank had been assisting Dr. Giles in his efforts to develop "a special bioretardant formula." (ComicVine)

Anyway, sometime after joining up with "The Corps," Heywood was on guard duty for a military base when it was attacked by Nazi saboteurs.  Hank was horribly maimed in an explosion.  Realizing he had little prospect of recovery (or even survival) he volunteered to be a human guinea pig for Dr. Giles' experiments.  And so, Henry Heywood came to be the recipient of a largely steel skeleton (to replace bones pulped in the explosion), micromotors through his joints to facilitate the movement of his now much heavier limbs, an artificial replacement for his lungs (greatly increasing their capacity), and finally a sub-dermal layer of steel alloy that essentially made his skin near-unbreakable.

If this whole schpiel sounds familiar, I suspect it's no coincidence that the super-heroic Hank Heywood appeared four years after the very successful Lee Majors television show, The Six Million Dollar Man (1973-1978).

As alluded to above, the bio of this character is complicated by the increasingly-common phenomenon of there being multiple versions of Commander Steel.  Apparently, in their editorial wisdom, someone at DC decided that wasn't enough confusion and so they've had these various characters adopt a similarly diverse range of names:  Steel, Commander Steel, Citizen Steel, Captain Steel, and maybe even more that I don't know about.

Without getting into all the subsequent iterations, I want to briefly say a little about why I prefer the name Commander Steel.  First, in the original appearance of Hank Heywood, Sr. (which is reviewed below) he is simply referred to as "Steel, the indestructible man."  I don't want to use the unqualified name Steel because it breeds unnecessary confusion with a DC's 1990 John Henry Irons character. (For the sake of clarity, Heywood did not technically become Commander Steel until gaining a commission after his first mission with the All-Star Squadron. (ComicVine).

Second, Captain Steel--especially when considered in light of his patriotic color scheme--makes our man, Hank, look even more like a  Captain America wannabe.

Third, there's only about a bazillion "Captain Somebody or others" out there.  For these three reasons, then, I think Commander Steel is best name to use.

After being introduced in his own title Steel experienced a pretty unceremonious cancellation as part of the DC Implosion.  He resurfaced in the pages of Jerry Ordway's All-Star Squadron.  (Incidentally, as the above the pic suggests, it was in the pages of All-Star that "Steel the Indestructible Man" experienced his first major rebranding, as "Commander Steel.")

Commander Steel's First Appearance: Steel, the Indestructible Man #1 

We begin with young Hank Heywood accompanying his mentor, Prof. Gilbert Giles, to a medical conference in Nazi-occupied Munich.  When the professor claims Heywood has developed a "biological retardent" that enables the surgical replacement of damaged limbs and organs, the incredulous and xenophobic German scientists heckle the duo off-stage.  There is, however, one exception to this arrogant dismissal.  A curiously cold and ominous-looking fellow named Baron Todlich comments to an aide that he believes Giles' claim.  "He may," the Baron goes on, "prove useful to us when we make our--visit--to America."

On their way out of the lecture hall, Hank and Prof. Giles spy two Nazis harassing an elderly Jewish man.  In a prolepsis of his heroism, Hank intervenes to take the old man's side.  When the Nazis (temporarily) flee, the old man warns Hank that they will return with friends and kill him unless he flees now.  Fearing for the life of the elderly Prof. Giles, Hank and his mentor depart.  

Back in America, what should have been a joyous reunion with a daughter and fiancee is cut short when Gloria gives Hank news of the German invasion of Poland.  This is the final straw for Heywood who stalks off to join the military, deaf to the protests and pleas of Gloria and her father.

Hank goes off and endures "six weeks of Hell" through Marine basic training.  Gloria then shows up at (apparently) his first duty posting to wildly misrepresent his words and issue a psycho-girlfriend ultimatum.

As Gloria speeds off, Hank concludes (for some bizarre reason) that, "she didn't mean it."  Meanwhile off the shore of Long Island, a dude in garish yellow and violet garb emblazoned with swastikas rides a torpedo to shore.  Emerging from the surf the corporeal defiance of the color wheel is met by three dudes in regular garb who, little surprise, are undercover saboteurs.  It turns out that the mystery chap goes by the name of Baron Death.  Hitler and Goring have dispatched him to deliver a cache of experimental machine guns for the sleeper cell to utilize against the American military machine.

With Gloria gone, Hank's original plans for the evening are shot.  What's a love-lorn marine to do?  Why, get smashed at the bar with his buddies of course!  Pleasantly buzzed and on his way back to base, Hank spies shadows near the base perimeter.  When he investigates, of course, he winds up in a open-air bar fight with our previously introduced saboteurs.  (No explanation is given for 1. why Hank's alone on this walk back, 2. How he's so alert and sharp-eyed when he's supposed to be drunk, or 3. Why a drunken marine is so easily beating the crap out of no less than three trained saboteurs...Semper Fi I guess.)

Anyhoo, in the midst of this donnybrook somebody stumbles into the plunger attached to the dynamite the saboteurs have placed to blow up the base ammo dump.  When the responding marines get to the explosion site they find naught but 3 corpses...and a fourth as good as.  As our ole buddy Hank lays on the ground moaning, barely clinging to life, one of his especially sensitive brothers in arms comments, "He may be breathin' now Fred, but the way he's been hit, if he ain't dead by morning--he's sure gonna wish he was!"  (Gee...thanks for that, marine.  That really helped. 😒)

When the heavily bandaged Hank regains consciousness days later in a marine hospital, he overhears an emotion-laden conversation between Gloria and her father.  Dr. Giles informs her that Hank's condition is extremely serious:  third degree burns over most of his body, multiple shattered bones, and a destroyed lung.  To her credit, Gloria feels terrible about the last words she spoke to Hank, and she genuinely seems remorseful. 

After Gloria flees the room overcome with emotion, Hank shocks his mentor by speaking.  Hank begs the doc to test their biological retardant process on him.  Giles protests that it would be too risky, but Hank prevails with the argument that his life is essentially over otherwise.  There's, literally, nothing for him to lose in trying the procedure.  This, then gives us the comic book version of the Six Million Dollar Man intro.

Following the surgeries, Giles and Heywood discover that Hank is now capable of far more than he ever was before.  Unfortunately--and in a surprisingly insightful critique of government--Hank notes that the marines, "like all bureaucracies, hate to update their files."  Hanks confides to Gloria that due to having a recorded 'medical disability,' even if the U.S. went to war in Europe, he would be restricted to desk-jockey service. Of course, Gloria is overjoyed by this news--Hank, not so much.  When he evidences insufficient agreement with her position, Gloria reverts back to huffy girlfriend mode and stomps off.  (So much for that remorse, I guess.) 

Later, Hank decides that if the marines aren't going to take advantage of all he has to offer, he'll just have to find an alternative way to contribute.  Laboring in secret, he constructs a costume for himself, until finally...

Talking to himself (apparently) the newly-christened Steel announces the practical benefits of his colorful steel alloy uniform:  given his already abnormally-strong replacement skin, it will be just enough to make him effectively bullet proof.  As good as this effective invulnerability, super-strength, super-speed, and super-endurance are...our boy Hank decides he still needs a little something more.  Soooo...he jumps out he window and races to the Westchester Federal Armory, which he promptly raids for rifles, pistols and machine guns.  (Now, call me crazy, but this seems really out-of-character for Hank Heywood as he's been developed thus far.  Hank is supposed to be this idealistic, straight-shooting, patriotic chap.  Now he's engaging in larceny?!)

As Hank's preparing to flee the scene with his ill-gotten loot, he hears "something from the fence area...the sound of metal shears."  You guess it, dear reader, it just so happens that an second set of saboteurs under the direction of our ole buddy Baron Death have been assigned to steal American weapons from the Westchester Armory.  (You know...the thing that Steel just did!)  Needless to say, the Ratzis are somewhat befuddled when they arrive at the weapon storage area only to find the lock already crumpled and the door ajar.  About this time, our hero appears on the roof of the building to offer the saboteurs the opportunity to come along quietly...though he expresses the earnest desire that they choose to "get rough" instead.

Of course the Nazis unload with machine gun and small arms fire that merely bounces of our hero's frame.  Steel decides to lead them on a little game of cat-and-mouse, which the Nazis (for really improbable reasons) oblige.  Ostensibly, the argument of their leader (Otto) is that the group should split up and capture Steel because Baron Death, "will wish to examine this man whose body deflects bullets so easily."  Okay, that makes some sense...but left curiously unanswered is any actual plan for precisely how they'll capture Steel.  Apparently their gunfire can't hurt him so...what?  They're gonna beat him up?  And somehow subdue Steel and haul him out of there before armory personnel track down the location of this gunfire? 

Steel comes crashing through a wall to take out the first Nazi, who calls him "ein Juggernaut!"  (Meanwhile...somewhere over at Marvel, Stan Lee is checking with legal to see if there are any options.)  Our boys chunks this fifth columnist into the base's chain-link fence hard enough to "embed" him.  (Now that's pretty hard, my friend!)

A second Nazi--who supposedly is much-less concerned about delivering Steel to Baron Death alive--is thoughtful enough to pretentiously proclaim his intentions prior to spraying the air with machine gun bullets.  As Hank plants the base of his attacker's skull into the pavement, he announces that "nobody kills the indestructible man!"

As the final "Ratzi" tries to flee, Steel takes the unconscious body of his last attacker and hurls him like a bowling ball into his retreating comrade.  About this time, the base MPs finally get the spotlights trained on the right area only to find a bunch of unconscious bad guys.  When one badge-heavy chap comments, though there's no immediate sight of the person responsible for stopping these guys he'll soon be caught because, "this base is sealed up tighter'n a drum."  A second soldier--apparently a bit more in touch reality--opines that anybody who could pull of this kinda destruction "ain't gonna be stopped by this man's army."  (Yeah...that, and the fact that no less than five unauthorized personnel got into the base this night kinda puts the lie to that whole, "this base is sealed tighter than a drum" claim.)

From a safe distance, Commander Steel observes the soldiers rounding up the saboteurs.  We're then treated to a  collapsed timeline as Hank Heywood records the events of the following week in his personal journal...and setting the reader up for what to expect next from this patriotic hero.