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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
Natasha "Nat" Irons is the niece of John Henry Irons. A young technological genius from Metropolis, she followed in the footsteps of her uncle and became the next Steel, using highly-advanced armor she developed herself.
History
Early Years
Due to her father's trouble with the law, Nat and her baby brother Ezekiel were often left in the care of her Aunt Lana and Uncle John, the latter of whom raised her with a deep admiration for the Metropolis hero Superman.[1][2] Her brother was kidnapped by Skyhook, an former associate of her father looking for revenge, and was never found. Heartbroken, life continued on for Natasha; excelling in the scientific field, she attended college at a young age and became active in scientific research, at one point being invited to conduct studies in Zambia.[3][4]
At some point, she became well-acquainted with Superman who in turn thought highly of her, calling her a "great kid".[2]
Becoming Steel
Natasha frequently developed technology for use by her Uncle John and Aunt Lana, then Superwoman, to assist them in battles. Eventually, she began joining them using some of the armor she designed, and together with Traci 13 they faced off against Ultrawoman and later Midnight.[5][6]
Titans
Titans Together!
Natasha began sharing the mantle of Steel with John and was recruited into the second incarnation of Titans.[7] During this time she developed a working relationship with fellow young genius Ben Rubel after the two briefly had a clash of egos, as well as the ever-friendly Beast Boy.[8] Steel debated leaving the team after the devastating shooting of Nightwing, who was her inspiration for joining, but ultimately decided to remain on.[9]
She became somewhat demoralized after an emergency decision to boom the team goes awry, leaving them stranded across the galaxy until their distress beacon is found by the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. During this time a major Atlantean incident struck the world; Natasha felt guilty, believing that if she had not made the mistake the Titans could have been there to help save lives.[10][11]
Steel was one of the many heroes deputized as members of the Justice League to assist in the battle against Perpetua.[12] Along with the other members of the Superman Family, she later helped face the crisis created by Perpetua and her lieutenant, The Batman Who Laughs.[13]
The Authority
Steel and The Authority.
Natasha, who had continued to protect Metropolis in Clark Kent's temporary absence, was recruited by him for a new incarnation of The Authority.[2] During the team's first outing, Midnighter expressed reservations about Manchester Black's leadership, seeing Steel as the better choice. When the group faced off against fighters hired by the Ultra-Humanite, Steel faced and defeated Siv, a tech-enhanced alien refugee. She expressed empathy for her attacker, who had only participated in hopes of drawing attention to the plight of their people, and promised to help draw attention to their effort.
After the team's success, Superman revealed the team's true purpose: to free the enslaved people of Warworld from the new Mongul.[14] Unfortunately, they were enslaved by Mongul's warriors after the slaves rejected their call to action.[15] Natasha managed to defeat multiple combatants throughout her time on the planetoid, leveraging her earned respect to find work with a blacksmith. She used the opportunity to forge a gift for Superman, a rudimentary "S" armor to protect him while depowered by Warworld's red solar radiation.[16]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Other Characteristics
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Chrome Armor: Natasha has semi-sentient metal that she can will to form her own variation of the Steel armor.
Weapons
Notes
- Natasha Irons was created by Louise Simonson, Jon Bogdanove, and Chris Batista, first appearing in Steel (Volume 2) #1. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Natasha Irons first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Action Comics (Volume 2) #7 by Sholly Fisch and Brad Walker.
Trivia
Related
- 70 Appearances of Natasha Irons (Prime Earth)
- 43 Images featuring Natasha Irons (Prime Earth)
- 1 Quotations by or about Natasha Irons (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Natasha Irons (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ Superwoman #10
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Superman and the Authority #2
- ↑ Superwoman #3
- ↑ Superman: Doomed #1
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Superwoman #2
- ↑ Superwoman #16
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Titans Special #1
- ↑ Titans (Volume 3) #26
- ↑ Titans (Volume 3) #27
- ↑ Titans (Volume 3) #29
- ↑ Titans (Volume 3) #31
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #30
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal #6
- ↑ Superman and the Authority #4
- ↑ Action Comics #1038
- ↑ Action Comics #1038
- ↑ Superman and the Authority #4
- ↑ Superwoman #5
  Superman Family member |
 This character is or was a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from both interstellar and domestic threats. |
 This character is or was primarily a member of the superhero team known as the Titans, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Titans members" category. |
