This Forgotten Superman Spinoff Movie Might Be DC’s Weirdest in History, But It’s Virtually Unwatchable

DC has seen some weird and arguably bad movies over its numerous attempts at a cinematic universe. Wonder Woman 1984 inexplicably complicated, rather than clarified, the hero’s public image, given her numerous public acts of heroism despite her being a mystery in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Supergirl, despite a great performance from Milly Alcock, failed to hit the mark, even outside of the unnecessary scenes with Jason Momoa’s Lobo. The first Suicide Squad has been largely forgotten in favor of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. 

Still, there’s a difference between movies that have their enjoyable moments — like the campy feel of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever and Batman & Robin — and movies so weird that they’re virtually unwatchable. Despite a strong starting point in the comic lore for John Henry Irons — who first appeared during the Reign of the Superman storyline — 1997’s Steel is a dumpster fire even moviegoers with the lowest of standards should avoid. 

A Baffling Deviation from Source Material

At its core, Steel is a movie lost in a battle over what it should be. The film’s writer/director, Kenneth Johnson, tossed out Steel’s comic storyline, along with Irons’ niece, Natalie, in favor of creating his own characters for the film. Johnson felt the characters he created better emphasized Steel as a “blue-collar Batman” and a “super human being” as opposed to a superhero. One of the film’s producers, Quincy Jones, spoke about wanting the film to inspire kids to believe in the future again, but it’s hard to see how Steel was supposed to do that.

Steel, originally proposed as a spinoff film from a Death of Superman feature that was never made, simultaneously refuses to be a superhero film while refusing to let go of the cheesiest aspects of the genre. It’s okay for John Henry Irons, played by Shaquille O’Neal, to deliver the cheesy “it’s hammer time” line, but to keep the character grounded, the costume can’t include the comic-accurate red cape. For a moving visual of just how cheesy the costume still looks, check out the movie’s trailer below!

The film also changes Steel’s motivation from vigilantism motivated by wanting dangerous weapons out of the wrong hands to a vigilantism fueled by his partner Susan Sparks’ tragic backstory. Sparks was caught in the crossfire when movie antagonist Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson) tested Irons’ weapon to its max capacity, and made Sparks a paraplegic. Sparks exists in the film as inspiration for Irons and to serve as a woman in the chair, but has no interiority or agency beyond these two functions for Irons. The ending of the film of course has Sparks showing off modifications to her wheelchair that allows her to walk again. 

While it may be dismissed as a product of its time, this change is frustrating because the comics did a similar storyline so much better for one of Steel’s nephews. During Steel’s spin-off series, his nephew Tyke gets paralyzed by a bullet meant for Jemahl, Tyke’s brother. While Steel takes down the gang responsible, Tyke is still angered by his disability and exposes Irons’ secret identity to Hazard, a main villain of the comic. Tyke feels closer to a real character rather than a plot device, something that can’t be said for Sparks. 

A Utter Failure

Steel had a budget of 16 million, but only made $870,068 in its opening weekend. For the second weekend that the film was in theaters, purchased tickets dropped 78%, and the film only ended up making 1.7 million dollars for its entire theatrical run. 

Reviews for the film were brutal. Critics called O’Neal’s performance dull, unconvincing, and silly, while calling the script “shallow”. It’s a given that special effects usually don’t age well, but even at the time, critics referred to them as “pathetic”. Audiences also struggled to take Irons seriously given how the suit looked. Very quickly, DC and Warner Bros. gave up on trying to make a franchise for Steel. There wasn’t even a follow-up comic for the film, unlike other quote-unquote superhero film failures of the time. 

The character has made animated appearances since Steel — from Young Justice to My Adventures with Superman — but has yet to reappear in a live-action film. His one live-action appearance in Superman and Lois was again an altered version of the character, this one from an alternate Earth that was terrorized by Kryptonians. Superman and Lois also changed Nat from his niece to his daughter. 

While the character certainly has a lot of potential, especially if they keep his tie to his niece, Nat, it’s uncertain whether he’ll be adapted in the DCU. 

Even then, will it be a comic-accurate version of him or yet another one bogged down by baffling changes by the creative team? Comment down below on the future of Steel in live action!