DC Superman pal Steel gets a shake up from Star Trek’s Michael Dorn

Star Trek’s Michael Dorn voiced the first TV version of the superhero Steel in two episodes of Superman The Animated Series, and I wouldn’t blame him for forgetting. The show was made a quarter of a century ago (aired in the wake of the 1997 release of the Shaquille O’Neal SteelDorn, who played Worf throughout the last seasons of Star TrekDeep Space Nine.

Dorn told Polygon that he remembered this role perfectly when DC Comics contacted him. “It stands out because he is a Black character.”

DC will be publishing in June. Steelworks, a new series written by Dorn and drawn by Sami Basri centered on John Henry Irons, the engineer who built his own supersuit to protect Metropolis in the wake of Superman’s death. Like Iron Man, if he wasn’t an asshole. Dorn is a fan of John the Superhero. You can also find out more about the following:John Henry, the American legend

Dorn told Polygon that aside from Steel’s rarity as a Black superhero role in the 1990s, he remembered the Superman voiceover gig because of his own vivid memories of the American folklore figure John Henry, specifically in George Pal’s rather haunting 1946 stop-motion retelling.

“John Henry was this guy who could drill railroad spikes faster than anybody, and he goes against the machine;” Dorn said, “he beats the machine but he dies in the process.” As a child, he remembers finding John Henry’s death disappointing and upsetting, and only later developed an appreciation for the legend’s enduring theme of the necessity and dangers of fighting more metaphorical machines.

“Ain’t no machine made can beat a man,” John Henry declares in Pal’s short, “once a man got a mind he can beat that machine.” For his John Henry Irons, Dorn says, the machine — the competitor John must best without losing himself in the process — is his own supersuit.

SteelworksJohn Irons is shown in the same position as in recent Superman Comics: he’s the CEO of Steelworks, a technology company that has a plan for Metropolis. But John’s plans might not be what readers, citizens, or even the Superfamily might expect. Namely, that he wants to try doing it without the suit (naturally, that’s exactly when a vengeance-minded supercriminal sets their sight on Irons, his loved ones, and his company).

Image: Mikel Janín/DC Comics

Dorn says that if there’s one thing he wants readers to know, it’s “for them to to get a sense that this is going to be different. It’s going to be in the wheelhouse — we’re not going to see him turning into a fashion designer or something. But we will have twists and turns in there that we probably haven’t seen before. I’ve delved into the comics and I’ve seen that there’s a certain feel that they have, that I’d like to just kind of tweak a little bit. But not too far. [readers] go ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ But just the idea that people will look and go, ‘Oh, look at this! Yeah, it’s beautiful, but did you see what he said?’”

Dorn is clearly thrilled about this project. He has had creative ambitions for a long time beyond his role as an actor. SteelworksDC’s editors provide feedback, and they also offer guidance. But he’s also simply delighted to have his first official writing credit.

“I’ve written maybe four or five screenplays and people liked my writing and blah, blah, blah, blah, but nothing’s come to fruition. What’s next? [about Steelworks] is, I’m a paid writer,” he said, laughing. Gone are his days of conversations that go: “Oh, I’m a writer.” “What have you done?” “Oh, nothing, but I write.”

“No,” Dorn said with a chuckle. As he puts it, his new answer will be: “‘Written by Michael Dorn.’ And we sent him money.”

SteelworksOn June 6, #1 will arrive on shelves.