Commander Steel
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Commander Steel is the name of a fictional characters, a DC Comics superheroes. He first appeared in Steel, The Indestructible Man #1 (1978), published by DC Comics and was created by Gerry Conway and Don Heck. His stories were set in World War II. He is the grandfather and great-uncle of two superheroic successors.
[edit] Fictional biography
Henry Heywood enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps prior to their involvement in WW II, but was injured when saboteurs attacked his base spearheaded by the man who would become Baron Blitzkrieg. As a biology student under the tutelage of Doctor Gilbert Giles, his former professor performed extensive surgery on him with mechanized steel devices that facilitate normal human functions only on a superhuman level. He adopted the persona Steel, and started fighting fifth columnist saboteurs before being sent to Europe on secret missions.
Heywood soon allied himself with the All-Star Squadron and while in a field of war was later commissioned Commander Steel by President Roosevelt. He joined the Squadron for a brief period, until effects of the Crisis on Infinite Earths caused him to shift from his native Earth-Two to Earth-One, wherein he retired from his superhero career as there were no active costumed heroes at that time on his new home.
Years later, as a wealthy industrialist, he incorporated the same mechanized components into his grandson Hank Heywood, III - who later joined Justice League of America and fought Heywood along with his ally Mekanique, former allies Justice Society of America and their descendants Infinity, Inc..
Although it was originally stated that Heywood performed unnecessary surgeries on his grandson, this was later retconned in Justice League of America #260 to state that if he hadn't made his grandson into Steel, he would have been dead years ago.
After his grandson's death, Heywood resumed the mantle of Commander Steel and died battling the supervillain Eclipso, while a member of the Shadow Fighters. He did come to a heroic end - detonating the Sunburst 300 (a device meant to destroy Eclipso) as his teammate Nemesis escaped.
