Nate Heywood (aka Citizen Steel) is a crucial member of the Legends of Tomorrow. Despite the fact he wasn't with the team from the start, he now is one of its oldest members. Just like many characters on the show, Nate also has special powers, can change his body into steel.

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The show's creators didn't come up with this power by chance since Nate has a very similar set of skills in the comics as well. However, the fans who only know Nate Heywood from the Arrowverse might be surprised to find out that there are also many things that are different about him in the comics.

His Sport Career

Legends of Tomorrow Sara and Nate are HeyWorld

Nate doesn't seem like such a big athlete in the Arrowverse. While he does fight his enemies and engage to hand to hand combat from time to time, his primary strength continues to be his intelligence and historical knowledge.

However, in the comics, Nate is much closer to sports. His original plan was to become a professional football player and he was a successful footballer while he studied at Ohio State University. That all came to an end because of a knee injury that stopped Nate from playing.

He Lost His Leg

Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Premiere introduces Nate Heywood

After his terrible football accident, it did take Nate some time to recover from his injuries. While he was recuperating in the hospital, the doctors told Nate that he would have to have his leg amputated due to an infection spreading in his knee. This was something that ended up affecting him greatly in the future.

Although the show hasn't exactly followed Nate's comic arc, the Arrowverse paid a nod to his knee injury by having his parents confide in him about how he had scrapped his knee when he was five years old and they wanted to protect him from any further injuries.

He Lost His Family

Legends of Tomorrow Nate watches his dad Hank sing to the minotaur

In the Arrowverse, the most prominent member of Nate's family is his father Hank. He and Nate don't exactly see eye to eye at first but they make up in the end after Hank had been killed by Neron.

In the comics, though, Nate's family had met a much more gruesome end. The villainous metahuman Reichsmark and his cohorts murdered most members of Nate's family and Reichsmark himself changed Nate's mother and brother into metal statues. Needless to say, Nate wasn't the slightest bit happy about this turn of events.

How He Got His Powers

Nate Heywood is suited up alongside Supergirl in Legends of Tomorrow

The way a superhero gets their powers, their origin story, is often one of the defining moments in the comics. Nate's transformation to a superhero was relatively peaceful in the Arrowverse. It happened thanks to Ray who gave Nate his powers when he tried to cure him after Nate had been severely injured.

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In the comics, Nate got his powers also by accident, but in a much more dramatic manner. He was fighting the above-mentioned Reichmark and when he attacked the villain with his crutch, Reichmark's metallic blood got on Nate's body and it caused the transformation to Steel.

He Fought Against Vandal Savage

Vandal Savage attacks Kendra on Legends of Tomorrow

The Legends of Tomorrow had Nate join the team in the second season after Vandal Savage had already been defeated. But the comics told the story in a different way.

As Savage was the one who sent Reichmark to kill Nate's family, erase their line from existence, Nate participated in fighting against the immortal tyrant. He became a superhero and decided to continue fighting Savage to make sure that Savage wouldn't fulfill his evil plans.

He Joined The Evil Side For A While

egends of Tomorrow Rip Hunter and Mick Rory and Nate Heywood travel back in time

Nate is a good guy, both in the comics and in the Arrowverse, but in the first case, he still joined the evil side for a while. The reason was that Nate had to wear a special suit to control his powers and it took away his sense of touch.

He felt isolated from the rest of the world so when the villainous god known as Gog promised to grant Nate a favor (possibly to take away his powers) if Nate worked for him. Nate accepted the offer and then joined Gog. Luckily, he eventually realized who he was dealing with and when Gog tried to murder the Flash, Nate rejoined his superhero friends and helped them to stop Gog.

He's Much Stronger

Legends of Tomorrow Nate Heywood appears in the Abominations episode

Nate's strength is impressive in the Arrowverse, as he can easily stand a blow and even stop a train in motion from moving any further. But it's still nothing in comparison to his strength in the comics.

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Without the suit that would help Nate control his strength, he's so strong he can even knock out a god-like Gog with a single punch. Just to clarify things, that's something even someone as powerful as Superman couldn't manage.

How He Got His Superhero Name

Citizen Steel Legends of Tomorrow

Every superhero needs a superhero name they could use. Not only because it cements their status as a superhero but also because it helps to protect their secret identity. Just like with the origin of his powers, Nate got his name differently in the comics. It was the work of Power Girl who suggested the name Citizen Steel and Nate took it.

But since Power Girl doesn't exist in the Arrowverse, Nate instead discussed his superhero name with the rest of the Legends and he came up with Citizen Steel mostly by himself.

He Looks Significantly Different

Nate Heywood

If someone put comic book Nate and Arrowverse Nate side by side, it would be difficult to realize it's supposed to be the same person as Nate looks significantly different in the Arrowverse.

In the comic books, Nate has red hair, green eyes and stands quite tall at 6ft. Actor Nick Zano, who portrays Nate on Legends of Tomorrow, has brown hair, blue eyes, and is a bit shorter than the comic book Nate since he's 5ft 11inch.

He Joined A Different Team

Nate works alongside the Legends

In the Arrowverse, Nate was the one who managed to put the team back together after they were torn apart in the first season's finale. He also joined the Legends and is with them to this day.

But he was a member of a different team in the comics. Nate initially joined the Justice Society of America, (also known as simply JSA). And when the Justice Society split up, Nate decided to join the team JSA All-Stars. Power Girl led the team, which mostly comprised of younger superheroes than the original JSA.

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