Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Who's Who Vol.V: Commander Steel (7/85)



Just to keep things from getting too heavy with text, and to post something before it's too far removed from relevancy, here's the bio page for right-wing nutjob and former Detroit benefactor/frienemy Commander Steel. Click the pic for full information.

3 comments:

Luke said...

Man, Commander Steel was Steve Austin before Steve Austin! Well, in every way except chronologically.

But anyway, that Who's Who is awesome! It's also very telling that Hank Sr was "limited" to around half a ton, while his first dead grandson was around three tons (we haven't seen the limits of his Nate's strength yet). I think it's a much more common DC trait to have lower super-strength like that, once you get past the upper echelon of strong guys. It's also cool to see his history delved into, since Hank joining the USMC before the US entered WW2 remains, I think, an important part of his character and something which Conway would use to paint his personality over the years.

Even though he was a historical insert, I think that his costume really does the time period justice. I could very well see Commander Steel's red-white-and-blue duds coming from the Golden Age.

Even the art is cool. I am so nabbing this picture, dude. Awesome.

Diabolu Frank said...

1) Nab away. I figured that pic would be like a pec on the forehead.

2) Didja get the banner pic I sent'cha? Sunday, I think it was.

3) I'd have to disagree about Steel's costume. It's always seemed too busy and/or design heavy for the era. The way the eagle is incorporated fairly screams 70's. I have similar issues with Triumph, for the opposite reason. His suit might have been believable for a Golden Age implant, but needed more work for Silver authenticity. Actually, if you mentally switch their costumes, they work better.

Luke said...

First off, yes, I did get the scan you sent. I am currently trying to think about how to use it properly with the primitive image editing software I have. That, or getting the substantially more advanced software off my old clunker PC. I appreciate it!

And, yeah, I can see the eagle as a 70s touch, a sort of Bicentennial affair. But the abstract representation of the colors of the flag push it to the 40s for me, much like the Star Spangled Kid. The skin-tight outfit does suggest the Silver Age, but the fin-head look, I dunno, it has a more pulpy feel to it for me, like the original Starman. But maybe I am just trying too hard.