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<HEAD><TITLE>Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Steel Sterling </TITLE> <script language="JavaScript"></script> <META name = "author" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "description" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "subject" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "keywords" content = "comic books animated cartoons animation comics comix syndicated comic strips"> <META name = "publisher" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "format" content = "text/html"> <META name = "language" content = "EN"> </HEAD><BODY> <body onload="if (self!= top) top.location = self.location"></body> <BODY BGCOLOR="FFFFFF" TEXT="000000" LINK="0000EE" VLINK="551A8B"> <TABLE><TR><TD WIDTH=290 VALIGN="CENTER"><IMG GALLERYIMG="NO" ALIGN="LEFT" HEIGHT=396 WIDTH=280 ALT="Steel Sterling: A 1940 cover." SRC="steelstr.jpg"> <TD VALIGN="CENTER"> <H1>STEEL STERLING</H1><FONT SIZE=4> <B>Medium:</B> Comic Books <BR><B>Published by:</B> MLJ/Archie Comics <BR><B>First Appeared:</B> 1940 <BR><B>Creators:</B> Abner Sundell (writer) and Charles Biro (artist)<FONT SIZE=3> <! BEGIN DONATION CODE> <HR><FONT SIZE=2 COLOR="993366"><CENTER> If this site is enjoyable or useful to you, <BR>Please contribute to its necessary financial support. <BR><A HREF="http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/pay/T1237L0BCY25QA" TARGET="_blank">Amazon.com</A> or <A HREF="https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=don%40toonopedia.com&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_cod e=USD" TARGET="_blank">PayPal</A> </FONT></CENTER><HR> <! END DONATION CODE> <P><A NAME="cont"> Comics' original "Man of Steel" appeared almost two years after <A HREF="superman.htm">Superman.</A> In <A HREF="mlj_arch.htm">MLJ's</A> <I>Zip Comics</I> #1 (February, 1940),  <P ALIGN="RIGHT"><A HREF="#cont"><FONT SIZE=2><I>continued below</A></FONT> </TABLE> <CENTER><! BEGIN ADSENSE "LEADERBOARD" CODE> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <! END ADSENSE CODE></CENTER> <P><TABLE><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP"> John Sterling tried a daring experiment. Protected only by a coating of a chemical he'd formulated himself, he plunged naked into a cauldron of molten steel. As is often the case when comic book characters do things of that nature, he emerged super-powered instead of dead. With the strength and durability of the metal itself, he re-named himself "Steel" Sterling (aka "The Man of Steel"), put on a colorful costume, and started saving people from deadly menaces. <P> He continued to do so, not just in <I>Zip Comics,</I> but also as a cover feature of <I>Jackpot Comics,</I> which from 1941-43 contained several of MLJ's most popular characters. In late 1941, he began sharing the <I>Zip Comics</I> cover with his fellow <A HREF="glossary.htm#superhero">superheroes,</A> such as <A HREF="blakjack.htm">Black Jack</A> and <A HREF="web.htm">The Web.</A> In 1943, a more comical superhero named <A HREF="redrube.htm">Red Rube</A> actually started up-staging him, and in '44, a couple of issues went by where Steel didn't appear on the cover at all. <I>Zip Comics</I> ended with its Summer, 1944 issue, and the Steel Sterling series ended with it. The publisher soon re-named itself after its most prominent character, <A HREF="archie.htm">Archie,</A> and didn't do superheroes again for more than a decade. <P> Steel hadn't been gone long before <A HREF="dc.htm">DC Comics</A> swiped his nickname, "The Man of Steel" (Superman's original nickname had been "The Man of Tomorrow"). For the record, the original user of that sobriquet was Steel Sterling. <P> In 1965, Archie Comics revived almost all the old MLJ superheroes, at least for a walk-on in its <A HREF="mightycr.htm"><I>Mighty Crusaders</I></A> comic book. Most appeared only in crowd scenes, but Steel had several adventures of his own, and was even a member (with <A HREF="mr_just.htm">Mr. Justice</A> and <A HREF="jaguar.htm">The Jaguar</A>) of an extremely short-lived group called The Terrific Three, before the line folded, in 1967. Archie revived the superheroes again from 1983-85. This time, Steel had his own comic. It lasted all of four issues. <P> Today, Steel Sterling is just like <A HREF="comet.htm">The Comet,</A> <A HREF="blakhood.htm">The Black Hood,</A> and all the rest of the superheroes owned by Archie Comics — a mostly but not quite entirely neglected property. He's seen in the "Mighty Crusaders" section of the Archie Comics Web site, and very occasionally does a walk-on in comic books, but is mostly forgotten. <P ALIGN = "RIGHT">— DDM <P><A HREF="index.htm">BACK</A> to <I>Don Markstein's Toonopedia</I> Home Page <BR><A HREF="today.htm">Today in Toons:</A> Every day's an anniversary! <P><! BEGIN ADSENSE BANNER CODE><CENTER> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </CENTER><! END ADSENSE CODE> <TD WIDTH=10><TD WIDTH=180 VALIGN="TOP"> <! BEGIN ADLINKS CODE><script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><! END ADLINKS CODE> <P><! BEGIN ADSENSE REFERRAL CODE><script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><! 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