Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Superman and Lois season 1, episode 8, "Holding The Wrench."
A season 1 episode of Superman and Lois has introduced another twist with its version of John Henry Irons, setting him on the road to heroism and possibly taking up the Man of Steel name he used in the comics. The Arrowverse version of Irons was initially introduced as an adversary of Superman, who had reason to see Kal-El of Krypton dead. Recent events, however, have caused Irons to put his agenda on hold in favor of joining with Lois Lane and Superman against a common enemy, the corrupt billionaire Morgan Edge.
Originally known only as The Stranger on Superman and Lois, John Henry Irons appeared in the first episode and nearly killed Superman, warning him that he would not let Kal-El destroy Earth-Prime like he had destroyed the Stranger's world. Over the course of the first season, it was revealed that John Henry Irons was from a parallel Earth where Superman had turned against humanity, joining forces with an army of Kryptonians. Irons was also married to that world's version of Lois Lane and they had a daughter together.
When his wife was killed on camera while trying to reveal the existence of Kryptonite to the world, Irons went to work with his daughter and began constructing a suit of power armor and weapons that would allow him to fight a Kryptonian on equal footing. The John Henry Irons of the comics crafted the same tools (including his trademark hammer) but had entirely different motivations, seeking to replace the Superman of his Earth rather than destroy him. Originally, when the Arrowverse version got to Earth-Prime, he went by the name of Captain Luthor and was bent on killing Superman. He now seems to be working toward the same end as his comic book counterpart, though he remains wary of Superman.
Superman & Lois Set Up Steel As A New Ally
Superman and Lois episode "Holding The Wrench" opened with The Stranger in the custody of the U.S. Department of Defense, having been arrested after nearly killing Superman in the previous episode, "Man of Steel." He was identified as a man named John Henry Irons, a former U.S. Army Ranger who went into the private sector and made a name for himself as a mechanical engineer before dying under mysterious circumstances six years earlier. Irons eventually revealed that he was from a parallel Earth, one where he had worked with his world's version of General Sam Lane on developing anti-Kryptonian weapons for the DoD in order to fight off an invasion of Kryptonian spirits who had taken possession of human bodies.
While this story sounded far-fetched to General Lane, it resonated with Superman and Lois Lane, who had been investigating Morgan Edge and his efforts to lay claim to a mine full of X-Kryptonite; a rare variation of Kryptonite that could give human beings the powers of a Kryptonian. One of Edge's test subjects, a man named Derek Powell, had briefly spoken to Superman as if he were someone else, addressing Superman by his Kryptonian name of Kal-El and telling him that "You're not alone anymore." This led Lois to theorize that, beyond giving people the same powers as Superman, Morgan Edge was also somehow enabling Kryptonian intelligences to take over their X-Kryptonite-infused bodies. This theory was confirmed both by Irons' story of how Edge was responsible for creating an army of resurrected Kryptonians on his Earth and by the revelation that one of General Lane's aides, Lieutenant Rosetti, had been possessed by one of Edge's Kryptonian spirits.
Rosetti laid a trap for Superman using Irons as bait in Room 7734, which was where the DoD maintained a lab devoted to weaponizing synthetic Kryptonite. However, Rosetti didn't account for the fact that Irons' quest for revenge, while focused on Superman, demanded he kill any Kryptonian he could. Irons killed Rosetti with a Kryptonite spear and was about to finish off a weakened Superman when Lois Lane arrived and told him that whatever Superman had become in his world, he was still a good man on Earth-Prime. The thought of killing an innocent man made Irons relent and was released from DoD custody at the episode's end, as a gesture of good faith on Superman's part. While he was still skeptical of Superman's good intentions, Irons was willing to allow that he might be wrong. Superman informed him that if a war with Morgan Edge was coming he would need all the help he could get. The two parted as allies, if not friends, and Irons drove off in his RV, telling his artificial intelligence to delete the "Captain Luthor" profile he had used as an alias and to start addressing him as John Henry Irons, setting him up to become the hero from the comics.
How John Henry Irons Becomes The Man Of Steel In The Comics
While John Henry Irons' first appearance came during The Death and Return of Superman saga in The Adventures of Superman #500 in June 1993, his first full appearance came later that same month, in Superman: The Man of Steel #22. Dr. John Henry Irons had originally been a weapons designer for AmerTek Industries, but he quit the company and moved across the country to Metropolis after he became aware that his employers were illegally selling weapons he had designed for military use on the black market. Adopting the alias of Henry Johnson, Irons worked as a construction worker and tried to lay low, until the day he found himself falling off a skyscraper after acting to save one of his co-workers. Irons was saved by Superman, who told him to "make it count for something" when a grateful Irons said that he owed Superman his life and asked what he could do to repay him.
Shortly after that fateful encounter, Superman seemingly died fighting Doomsday and Irons thought of a way that he could pay it forward and honor the man who saved him. Irons constructed a suit of armor and, inspired by the legend of American folk hero John Henry, a kinetic energy-absorbing hammer that hit harder the further it was thrown. Dubbing himself "the Man of Steel" as a tribute to both Superman and his namesake, John Henry Irons went on to become one of several superheroes who protected Metropolis until Superman's resurrection. Afterward, he shortened his codename to Steel and became one of Superman's most stalwart allies and a member of the Justice League.
How Arrowverse Could Use The Man Of Steel
It's unclear what role John Henry Irons will play in the second half of Superman and Lois season 1. While the final scenes of "Holding The Wrench" could serve as the set-up for a solo series where Irons travels the country in his RV, helping people in need while trying to find a place for himself in an unfamiliar world, it seems unlikely that he'll be leaving the series immediately. Superman was not wrong about Irons being an invaluable ally whose expertise will be needed if he and Lois cannot thwart Morgan Edge's plans on their own.
Beyond the first season of Superman and Lois, there are several possibilities for John Henry Irons to emerge elsewhere in the Arrowverse if he wishes to avoid settling down in Smallville. There's an opening for an engineer at STAR Labs now that Cisco Ramon has left Team Flash. Another possibility is that he could join the crew of the Waverider on Legends of Tomorrow, which is also in need of technical support since Ray Palmer departed the team. The dour Irons could make an interesting foil to the more light-hearted heroes on both teams, though it seems likely he might lighten up once his quest for revenge is abandoned or satisfied.