Forgotten Superhero Movie Needs To Be Revisited In The New DCU

Watching Steel knowing that it’s a very loose adaptation of the Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove-created comic book character of the same name, I decided to watch this movie in a vacuum and take it at face value.

From my casual-viewing perspective, I can’t reliably tell you when or where the movie deviates from comic book lore through its creative liberties, but as a family-friendly action film, it’s pretty much what you would expect to come out of the late ’90s.

Shaquille O’Neal drips with charisma, and he’s having fun with the premise; he even makes a nod to his lackluster free-throwing abilities on more than one occasion, adding a hint of meta-humor to the mix.

As for Steel’s plot, the premise couldn’t be more simple. Military weapons designer John Henry Irons (Shaquille O’Neal) quits the military and heads home after witnessing a botched demonstration that left his partner, Susan “Sparky” Sparks (Annabeth Gish), confined to a wheelchair and honorably discharged.

When Irons testifies how Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson), an ambitious but arrogant soldier, pushed his weapons to the limit without prior authorization, the latter gets expelled from the military for causing so much damage.

Knowing the potential power that Irons’ weapons possess, Burke steals the prototypes and decides to sell them on the black market for his personal gain. Wanting to keep the streets safe, Irons takes on the Steel persona with the help of Sparky, as well as his Uncle Joe (Richard Roundtree). Taking matters into his own hands may seem like a death wish, but wearing a steel-plated suit and standing over seven feet tall works to his advantage.

Steel is a low-stakes superhero film treading into “feel-good” territory, but watching it after so many serious films in the genre have been released over the years, I can’t knock it for not taking itself too seriously. The fact that Uncle Joe helps his vigilante nephew develop his armor and weapons in a secret junkyard lair that looks like something you’d see in Sanford and Son only adds to the film’s charm. Shaquille O’Neal, despite his not-so-great acting chops at this point in his career, still brings his A-game and sense of humor.

Judd Nelson also knew the assignment, as his portrayal of Nathaniel Burke is so smarmy and overconfident that he makes the perfect villain in this context.

Steel bombed at the box office upon its theatrical release, earning $1.7 million against its reported budget of $16 million. The eight percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t do it any favors either. While the film was criticized for being extremely formulaic fare with one-dimensional characters, that’s exactly what I enjoyed about it.

Sometimes, it’s nice to turn off your brain and enjoy movies like Steel because there’s no ulterior motive or storyline about a checkered past that makes our protagonist a conflicted anti-hero who fights off his demons while simultaneously trying to save the day. Steel has a clear good guy and an obvious bad guy. Such an easy premise allows viewers to microwave some popcorn and witness the Shaq Attack in all of its glorious simplicity.

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While Steel may not be on the shortlist for a DCU reboot, I can’t think of any reason why we shouldn’t revisit this character. All of the elements for a fun and snappy superhero movie that’s full of campy charm are there, and audiences need something lighthearted to watch now more than ever.

I don’t necessarily think Steel is a great movie, but after watching it on Amazon Prime Video, I can say with confidence that it’s orders of magnitude better than other films I’ve watched boasting similar critical scores on Rotten Tomatoes.