Superman: The Man of Steel # 22 1993 NM-

Superman: The Man of Steel #22 is a historic and highly celebrated comic book published by DC Comics on April 29, 1993 (featuring a June 1993 cover date). It serves as Part 2 of the legendary "Reign of the Supermen!" storyline. It is permanently etched into comic book history as the official first full appearance and origin story of John Henry Irons as Steel.

The Plot & Storyline

Following the Death of Superman, four mysterious new individuals emerge to claim the mantle of the Man of Steel. This issue introduces the most human and grounded of the four:

• The Folk Tale Opening: The story opens with John Henry Irons (living under the alias "Henry Johnson") telling a group of neighborhood kids the classic American folklore of John Henry—the legendary steel-driving man who fought a machine and won, but died in the process. John reflects that he is fighting a much deadlier machine.
• Forging a Hero: A violent local street gang known as the "Mustangs" firebombs John's apartment building. Realizing nobody is left to protect the inner-city neighborhood of Suicide Slum, the brilliant weapons engineer constructs a towering suit of mechanized, iron-alloy armor equipped with a massive sledgehammer.
• The Debut against the Mustangs: Debuting his armored alter-ego, Steel tracks down the gang to disarm them and halt their crime wave. He demands to know who supplied them with their high-tech, military-grade energy weapons (the "Toastmasters").
• The White Rabbit's Snipe: Before a gang member can speak, he is sniped from a rooftop by The White Rabbit, a ruthless female underground crime lord with past ties to John Henry. She leaves Steel alive, viewing him as a potentially profitable adversary for the future.
• Lois Lane & Lex Luthor: Meanwhile, an emotionally vulnerable Lois Lane tries to cope with Clark Kent's legal death while warding off the opportunistic advances of union leader Jeb Friedman. Over at LexCorp, a young Lex Luthor monitors news reports of this new "Man of Steel", confident he can eventually put this armor-clad hero on his payroll.

Creative Team & Impact

• Creators: This historic issue was written by Louise Simonson and beautifully illustrated by the fan-favorite artistic duo of penciler Jon Bogdanove and inker Dennis Janke.
• Legacy: John Henry Irons quickly became one of DC’s most beloved heroes of the 1990s, branching off into his own long-running solo Steel series and eventually being adapted into a 1997 live-action movie starring Shaquille O'Neal.

Collectibility & Variations

This key issue was a massive seller during the 90s comic boom and features two prominent editions:

• Collector’s Edition (Die-Cut Cover): The premium comic shop version featuring a distinctive silver, die-cut outer cardboard cover shaped like Superman's shield. Opening it reveals a full-color splash page underneath, and the issue originally came packaged with a large, fold-out Steel wall poster.
• Standard Edition: A regular comic book printing featuring standard cover art of Steel leaping into action in front of a shattered glass background, distributed to newsstands and traditional retailers