Detroit Steel
Encyclopedia
Detroit Steel is a fictional suit of powered armor appearing in books published by Marvel Comics
, usually as an adversary or rival to Iron Man
. Created by writer Matt Fraction
and artist Salvador Larocca, Detroit Steel first appeared in Iron Man (vol 5) #25 (June 2010) as part of the "Stark Resilient" storyline. Detroit Steel is the first in a line of armored soldiers called the Steelcorps, which is marketed by Stark's corporate rival Hammer Industries. Principal characters in storylines that have worn the armor include Lt. Doug Johnson and Sasha Hammer
. Individual soldiers wearing the Detroit Steel armor have been called Steelmechs or Hammermechs.
Detroit Steel first appeared in Iron Man
(vol 5) #25 (June 2010), the first part of the nine-part "Stark Resilient" storyline, which saw Tony Stark as he struggled to build a new company, Stark Resilient. As Stark's previous company, Stark Industries, had already been critically damaged from terrorist attacks in the 2008 storyline "The Five Nightmares", he was ultimately forced to liquidate what was left of that company in the 2010 "Stark Disassembled" storyline, which also saw Stark removed from his position as head of S.H.I.E.L.D.
following the events of the 2008 "Secret Invasion
" crossover. Stark's plan for Stark Resilient was to begin by building a car powered by clean repulsor technology, the same technology used to power the arc reactor in his chest with which he first saved his own life in his origin story.
Writer Matt Fraction
created Detroit Steel to embody jingoistic
patriotism in the vein of Team America
, and describes the character thus:
Though the armor exhibits the colors of the American flag, Fraction states that the armor can repainted to reflect the colors of whatever country or corporation purchases them, from the Japanese
Rising Sun Flag
(which makes an appearance in Iron Man #27) to the yellow and red colors of McDonald's
. Fraction also contrasts Detroit Steel with Iron Man's Bleeding Edge armor, which debuted in the same issue, by describing the latter as "sleeker, slicker and pared down", whereas the former is "bigger and better and boisterous and loud and noisy and everything else. It's like the difference between a Porsche and a Mack Truck."
In the "Stark Resilient" storyline, Hammer Industries, led by Justine Hammer
(daughter of Stark's former adversary Justin Hammer
) and her daughter, Sasha Hammer
, not only wish revenge on Stark for the death of patriarch Justin, but see Stark as an obstacle for their product, Detroit Steel, which they hope to market globally as a new soldier for the post-9/11
world. The prototype unit, Detroit Steel Mark One, is piloted by Lt.
Doug Johnson III, who underwent surgical modifications in order to operate the armor, and also trained the other pilots in the company's Steelcorps army.
Detroit Steel next appears in Iron Man during the 2011 company-wide crossover storyline "Fear Itself
". Lt. Johnson is deployed in Paris, where he confronted Grey Gargoyle
, who has been transformed by Asgardian
magic into Mokk: Breaker of Faith. Mokk has turned the population of the city into stone, and during his confrontation with Johnson, rips open his armor and turns Lt. Johnson into stone as well. Sasha Hammer subsequently leads a team of "Steelmechs" into Paris, ostensibly on behalf of both the U.S. and French governments, to recover Johnson and his armor, and encounter Pepper Potts
(aka Rescue). Hammer and the Steelmechs battle Rescue before they are both confronted by Mokk.
, thoracic or corticospinal injuries
. Weighing four and a half tons, the "oversized" Detroit Steel towers over Iron Man, at approximately twice his height. The suit affords its occupant considerable protection from automatic weapons and explosives, though Mokk: Breaker of Faith
was able to easily rip open the armor.
The suit allows its users to fly, and usually is seen with a rotary cannon
mounted on its right arm, and a specialized chainsaw on its left, which can penetrate Iron Man's armor. There are rocket-powered munitions on the suit's shoulders. The rotary cannon can be dismounted so that the soldier can carry and fire it as a traditional handheld weapon, and users of the armor have been seen outfitted with other types of weapons in this manner, including both directed-energy weapon
s and rifles. Sasha Hammer's armor has also been observed to have a directed-energy weapon in palm of its hands. Those who pilot the armor are required to undergo considerable surgical modifications, which leave implants visible on the pilot's chest, which Lt. Johnson, who first piloted the Mark One, felt "turned him into a monster". According to Justine Hammer, the company designed models for different environments and hot zone
s, including arctic climates and urban encounters.
During the "Stark Resilient" storyline, Detroit Steel was aided in his attack against Iron Man by a fleet of unmanned flying drones that were operated by anonymous users duped into believing that the missions they were carrying out on behalf of Hammer Industries were a video game, playable via a cell phone application
, in which they pretended to be Detroit Steel's "wingman
".
, while praising the "Stark Resilient" storyline, including issue #33 (which he gave a B-), found the Justine
and Sasha Hammer
to be more effective villains than Detroit Steel, which he found to be "bland" and "boring". Evans also disliked the lack of a resolution to Steel and Iron Man's battle in that issue, though he later praised Iron Man #505, which he felt tied up that loose end.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, usually as an adversary or rival to Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
. Created by writer Matt Fraction
Matt Fraction
Matt Fritchman, better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of The Invincible Iron Man, The Immortal Iron Fist and Uncanny X-Men for Marvel Comics and Casanova for Image Comics.-Career:Fraction wrote two...
and artist Salvador Larocca, Detroit Steel first appeared in Iron Man (vol 5) #25 (June 2010) as part of the "Stark Resilient" storyline. Detroit Steel is the first in a line of armored soldiers called the Steelcorps, which is marketed by Stark's corporate rival Hammer Industries. Principal characters in storylines that have worn the armor include Lt. Doug Johnson and Sasha Hammer
Sasha Hammer
Sasha Hammer is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe. She is the daughter of Justine Hammer and The Mandarin, the granddaughter of Justin Hammer, and an enemy of Iron Man.-Fictional character biography:...
. Individual soldiers wearing the Detroit Steel armor have been called Steelmechs or Hammermechs.
Publication history
Detroit Steel first appeared in Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
(vol 5) #25 (June 2010), the first part of the nine-part "Stark Resilient" storyline, which saw Tony Stark as he struggled to build a new company, Stark Resilient. As Stark's previous company, Stark Industries, had already been critically damaged from terrorist attacks in the 2008 storyline "The Five Nightmares", he was ultimately forced to liquidate what was left of that company in the 2010 "Stark Disassembled" storyline, which also saw Stark removed from his position as head of S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
following the events of the 2008 "Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008....
" crossover. Stark's plan for Stark Resilient was to begin by building a car powered by clean repulsor technology, the same technology used to power the arc reactor in his chest with which he first saved his own life in his origin story.
Writer Matt Fraction
Matt Fraction
Matt Fritchman, better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of The Invincible Iron Man, The Immortal Iron Fist and Uncanny X-Men for Marvel Comics and Casanova for Image Comics.-Career:Fraction wrote two...
created Detroit Steel to embody jingoistic
Jingoism
Jingoism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. In practice, it is a country's advocation of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests...
patriotism in the vein of Team America
Team America: World Police
Team America: World Police, often referred to as simply Team America, is a 2004 action comedy film written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady and directed by Parker, all of whom are also known for the popular animated television series South Park...
, and describes the character thus:
He is what follows in the hole left behind by Iron Man once Tony Stark leaves the world stage. Tony hasn't been around to protect the regular interests that he might have during his time running Stark Industries or running S.H.I.E.L.D. And now that he's back, he's made it clear he doesn't want to get back into the geo-political side of things necessarily. Detroit Steel is what happens in that absence. He is a sort of BlackwaterBlackwater WorldwideXe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
-meets-NASCARNASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
corporate-sponsored armored enhanced guy available for hire to the highest bidder for whatever cause around the round. Basically, Iron Man's worst nightmare of what he could become. An absolute perversion of everything he is.
Though the armor exhibits the colors of the American flag, Fraction states that the armor can repainted to reflect the colors of whatever country or corporation purchases them, from the Japanese
Flag of Japan
The national flag of Japan is a white rectangular flag with a large red disk in the center. This flag is officially called in Japanese, but is more commonly known as ....
Rising Sun Flag
Rising Sun Flag
The is the military flag of Japan. It was used as the war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army and the ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy until the end of World War II...
(which makes an appearance in Iron Man #27) to the yellow and red colors of McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
. Fraction also contrasts Detroit Steel with Iron Man's Bleeding Edge armor, which debuted in the same issue, by describing the latter as "sleeker, slicker and pared down", whereas the former is "bigger and better and boisterous and loud and noisy and everything else. It's like the difference between a Porsche and a Mack Truck."
In the "Stark Resilient" storyline, Hammer Industries, led by Justine Hammer
Justine Hammer
The Crimson Cowl , is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe. She was a recurring adversary of the Thunderbolts. Justine was the second villain to use the alias, Ultron being the first. Edwin Jarvis was framed as the first Crimson Cowl by Ultron...
(daughter of Stark's former adversary Justin Hammer
Justin Hammer
Justin Hammer is a fictional character that has appeared in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics. As a frequent adversary of the superhero Iron Man, Justin Hammer exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe...
) and her daughter, Sasha Hammer
Sasha Hammer
Sasha Hammer is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe. She is the daughter of Justine Hammer and The Mandarin, the granddaughter of Justin Hammer, and an enemy of Iron Man.-Fictional character biography:...
, not only wish revenge on Stark for the death of patriarch Justin, but see Stark as an obstacle for their product, Detroit Steel, which they hope to market globally as a new soldier for the post-9/11
Post-9/11
Post-9/11 is a term used to describe state of living in the United States or other parts of the world after the September 11 attacks, in reference to the many changes that have occurred due to the attacks...
world. The prototype unit, Detroit Steel Mark One, is piloted by Lt.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Doug Johnson III, who underwent surgical modifications in order to operate the armor, and also trained the other pilots in the company's Steelcorps army.
Detroit Steel next appears in Iron Man during the 2011 company-wide crossover storyline "Fear Itself
Fear Itself (comics)
"Fear Itself" is a 2011 crossover comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics, consisting of a seven-issue, eponymous miniseries written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Laura Martin, a prologue book by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Scott Eaton, and...
". Lt. Johnson is deployed in Paris, where he confronted Grey Gargoyle
Grey Gargoyle
The Grey Gargoyle is a fictional comic book supervillain that appears in books published by Marvel Comics, often as an enemy of Thor, Iron Man, She-Hulk or the Fantastic Four. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #107 The Grey Gargoyle (Paul Pierre Duval) is a fictional comic...
, who has been transformed by Asgardian
Asgard (comics)
Asgard is a fictional realm within the Marvel Comics universe based on the Asgard of Norse mythology and is home to the Asgardians and other beings of Norse mythology...
magic into Mokk: Breaker of Faith. Mokk has turned the population of the city into stone, and during his confrontation with Johnson, rips open his armor and turns Lt. Johnson into stone as well. Sasha Hammer subsequently leads a team of "Steelmechs" into Paris, ostensibly on behalf of both the U.S. and French governments, to recover Johnson and his armor, and encounter Pepper Potts
Pepper Potts
Virginia "Pepper" Potts is a fictional character, a supporting character and a love interest of Iron Man in the Marvel Comics Universe...
(aka Rescue). Hammer and the Steelmechs battle Rescue before they are both confronted by Mokk.
Powers and abilities
According to Hammer Industries, Detroit Steel represented "the most bleeding-edge research into man/machine spinal hybrid mechanics the world has ever seen", and incorporates technology, such as C.N.S. (Controlled Exo-Enhanciles) that would eventually be used to end paralysis caused by cervicalCervical vertebrae
In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae are those vertebrae immediately inferior to the skull.Thoracic vertebrae in all mammalian species are defined as those vertebrae that also carry a pair of ribs, and lie caudal to the cervical vertebrae. Further caudally follow the lumbar vertebrae, which also...
, thoracic or corticospinal injuries
Spinal cord injury
A spinal cord injury refers to any injury to the spinal cord that is caused by trauma instead of disease. Depending on where the spinal cord and nerve roots are damaged, the symptoms can vary widely, from pain to paralysis to incontinence...
. Weighing four and a half tons, the "oversized" Detroit Steel towers over Iron Man, at approximately twice his height. The suit affords its occupant considerable protection from automatic weapons and explosives, though Mokk: Breaker of Faith
Grey Gargoyle
The Grey Gargoyle is a fictional comic book supervillain that appears in books published by Marvel Comics, often as an enemy of Thor, Iron Man, She-Hulk or the Fantastic Four. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #107 The Grey Gargoyle (Paul Pierre Duval) is a fictional comic...
was able to easily rip open the armor.
The suit allows its users to fly, and usually is seen with a rotary cannon
Rotary cannon
A rotary cannon, or Gatling-type cannon, is a rapid-firing weapon that utilizes multiple barrels in a rotating cluster to provide a sustained rate of fire greater than single-barrelled machine guns or automatic cannons of equivalent caliber...
mounted on its right arm, and a specialized chainsaw on its left, which can penetrate Iron Man's armor. There are rocket-powered munitions on the suit's shoulders. The rotary cannon can be dismounted so that the soldier can carry and fire it as a traditional handheld weapon, and users of the armor have been seen outfitted with other types of weapons in this manner, including both directed-energy weapon
Directed-energy weapon
A directed-energy weapon emits energy in an aimed direction without the means of a projectile. It transfers energy to a target for a desired effect. Intended effects may be non-lethal or lethal...
s and rifles. Sasha Hammer's armor has also been observed to have a directed-energy weapon in palm of its hands. Those who pilot the armor are required to undergo considerable surgical modifications, which leave implants visible on the pilot's chest, which Lt. Johnson, who first piloted the Mark One, felt "turned him into a monster". According to Justine Hammer, the company designed models for different environments and hot zone
Hot zone
Hot zone may refer to:* Hot zone refers to an area that is considered to be dangerous due to biological, chemical, or nuclear contamination.* "Hot Zone" , an episode of the TV series Stargate Atlantis...
s, including arctic climates and urban encounters.
During the "Stark Resilient" storyline, Detroit Steel was aided in his attack against Iron Man by a fleet of unmanned flying drones that were operated by anonymous users duped into believing that the missions they were carrying out on behalf of Hammer Industries were a video game, playable via a cell phone application
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
, in which they pretended to be Detroit Steel's "wingman
Wingman (social)
Wingman is a role that a person may take when a friend needs support with approaching potential partners. A wingman is someone who is on the "inside" and is used to help someone with relationships...
".
Reception
Alex Evans, reviewing Invincible Iron Man #33 for Weekly Comic Book ReviewWeekly comic book review
Weekly Comic Book Review, is an American blog founded by Jason Montes featuring various comic book reviews.The blog is valuable to comic book fans, providing current and upcoming comic book reviews so readers can get a critics perspective before deciding to purchase...
, while praising the "Stark Resilient" storyline, including issue #33 (which he gave a B-), found the Justine
Justine Hammer
The Crimson Cowl , is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe. She was a recurring adversary of the Thunderbolts. Justine was the second villain to use the alias, Ultron being the first. Edwin Jarvis was framed as the first Crimson Cowl by Ultron...
and Sasha Hammer
Sasha Hammer
Sasha Hammer is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe. She is the daughter of Justine Hammer and The Mandarin, the granddaughter of Justin Hammer, and an enemy of Iron Man.-Fictional character biography:...
to be more effective villains than Detroit Steel, which he found to be "bland" and "boring". Evans also disliked the lack of a resolution to Steel and Iron Man's battle in that issue, though he later praised Iron Man #505, which he felt tied up that loose end.