Steel’s plan to bring free power to the city of Metropolis is getting attention, and some of it is from exactly the wrong people. Your Major Spoilers review of Steelworks #2 from DC Comics awaits!

STEELWORKS #2

Writer: Michael Dorn
Artist: Sami Basri/Vicente Cifuentes/Max Raynor
Colorists: Andrew Dalhouse and Matt Herms
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Paul Kaminski
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 4, 2023

Previously in Steelworks: John Henry Irons’s Steelworks company may be up and running, but this radical reimagining of Metropolis civic works has caught the attention of the biggest players in the city—both good and evil! With rival businessman Charles Walker III’s newest mutation, the Silver Mist, stalking Steel’s armory, John Henry had better watch his back or he might get a knife planted into it! All this while wrestling with the biggest question of all for our man of steel… “Am I man or Super-Man?”

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Picking up where we left off last time, Steel and Steel are prepared to repulse an attack on the Steelworks, but can’t find the attacker. What’s worse, their own security system has gone mad, firing blind in all directions as it tries to pin down a threat that it cannot quite identify. John manages to turn off the security system, but it’s Natasha who realizes what’s actually happening, and a quick check of the surveillance systems shows that she’s right: An intangible attacker has entered the Steelworks. Their mysterious attacker gets away clean, returning to the offices of Charles Walker III, the energy magnate who empowered him. Walker wants his charge, now dubbed the Silver Mist, to break into Steelworks Tower and blow the whole place up, The “free power” part isn’t the only bit of John’s plans for Metropolis that are ruffling feathers, as the Superman Family arrives with some concerns of their own about his plan to eliminate the need for super-humans.

ENTER THE SILVER MIST

The discussion with Superman highlights one of my big complaints about Steelworks #1, the fact that Steel wants to create a system that will make superhero interactions unnecessary. It seems like a radical idea, but it works against the very fabric of a superhero comic. We know that it cannot be successful, which makes our genius central character seem goofy and ineffective. The discussion with the Superman family is otherwise enlightening, though, and provides some nice contrast between Clark Kent and John Henry Irons. There are three credited art teams in these pages, but having read the issue multiple times, I have to look closely to find the transition points. That’s an exceptionally good thing, especially given how much I enjoyed Basri’s art in issue #1. Both Steels look really good in this issue, though I do miss Natasha’s armored braids, and I’m not yet sold on the idea of an armored hero wearing a cropped hoodie over it. There are also three pages of backmatter explaining some of the bits and pieces of Steel’s history, which I hope will come into play as the series goes on.

BOTTOM LINE: STILL PRETTY GOOD

With the 30th anniversary of Steel having just passed, it’s hard not to view Steelworks #2 as an anniversary tale, but the successful streamlining of multiple art teams and some well-timed dramatic moments mostly overcome the problematic premise, with a bunch of super-guests rounding out to 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. There’s also a fun little Star Trek Easter egg hidden in the dialogue by writer Dorn, probably best known for playing Lieutenant Commander Worf.

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STEELWORKS #2

67%

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Interesting Stuff

I'm still not a fan of the premise (or Natasha's hoodie costume) but there's an interesting core to this story, building up to the anniversary of Steel's debut.

• Writing

  6
• Art

  7
• Coloring

  7
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