John Henry Irons, also known as John Henry Jr., is a racial freedom fighter inspired by the first John Henry.
History
Early Life
John Henry was born in Knoxville, Tennesse. When he was four years old in 1953, the Ku Klux Klan burned down his neighbour John Wilson's house, killed his wife and daughter and almost lynched Wilson before he got away. John Henry and his older brother Butter told the police what had happened, but the white police officers instead framed John Wilson for the murders. Shortly after, John Wilson returned as a masked, sledgehammer-wielding vigilante, waging war on the Klan who killed his family. The Klan murdered John Wilson and the police tried to cover the incident up.
However, reporters uncovered up the story and the murder of the Wilson family became a national scandal. John Wilson was compared to the legendary John Henry and became an early icon of the Civil Rights Movement. John Henry Irons was approached by a mysterious elderly man, who gave him one of John Wilson's hammers. John Henry took up John Wilson's mask, christening himself "John Henry Jr.", and used the hammer and the power it granted him to track down the last of John Wilson's killers and avenge his death. He disappeared shortly afterwards and the Irons family assumed he had been killed by white supremacist terrorists. Heartbroken, his family moved north and settled in Metropolis.[1]
John Henry Irons's older brother was Butter Irons, the grandfather of John Henry Irons II, aka the hero Steel, who was named after his missing great-uncle.
The Thirteen
John Henry was one of thirteen heroes and villains who were erased from history when Barry Allen and Doctor Manhattan altered the timeline. The Time Masters preserved them by placing them in stasis pods in the Time Lab.[1][2] Per Degaton's meddling in the timeline caused the pods to fail and they were reintegrated back into history before the timeline was fully restored.[3]
Lost Children
A "time scavenger" known as The Childminder captured John Henry and many other forgotten sidekicks of Golden Age heroes before they could be fully restored to their proper place in history. They were imprisoned on Orphan Island, an uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean outside the normal flow of time.[1][4] The sidekicks managed to defeat the Childminder and her employer, an adult version of Corky Baxter, with the help of Stargirl, Red Arrow and Hourman. As they could not be returned to their proper places in time, Hourman transported them to the present, where they became known as the Young Justice Society.[5]
The Justice Society attempted to find homes for the time-displaced young heroes. Although John's immediate family were long dead, his brother's descendants were still alive, and so he was sent to Metropolis to stay with his grand-nephew and namesake Steel.[6]
Paraphernalia
Weapons
- Sledgehammer: John Henry Jr. wields one of the sledgehammers created by the original John Henry, which grants him great strength and power.
- Geokinesis: John Henry can generate powerful shockwaves by striking the ground with the hammer.
- Superhuman Strength
Notes
- John Henry was created by Darwyn Cooke, first appearing in DC: The New Frontier #6. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, John Henry first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in The New Golden Age #1 by Geoff Johns, Todd Nauck, and Matt Herms.
- However he was first mentioned in Flashpoint Beyond #6.
- However he was first mentioned in Flashpoint Beyond #6.
Trivia
Related
- 11 Appearances of John Henry Irons I (Prime Earth)
- 7 Images featuring John Henry Irons I (Prime Earth)
- Quotations by or about John Henry Irons I (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: John Henry Irons I (Prime Earth)
Footnotes