Steeljack

Steeljack © Juke Box Productions AstroFacts Status: Retired Real Name: Carl Donewicz Earliest Appearance: 1948 (as young child with mom) Mid-1960s (as Steel Jacketed Man) Origin: Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.2 #14 Affiliation: The Terrifying Three Base of Operations: The Kiefer Square Neighborhood, Astro City Personal Data Aliases: Originally went by the name of "The Steel Jacketed Man" Date of Birth: (estimate) 1940 Height: 6'4" Weight: 600 lbs Eyes: silver Hair: silver InfoDump Appearances (in Publication Order): Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.2 #14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 Astro City #32 Event Timeline 1948     Flashback Young Carl Donewicz(Steeljack) and his mom spot Starwoman flying over the rooftops of Astro City. Steeljack "I've been running all my life, but I'm still in the same place." History Hard Times On Kiefer Square Carl "Carlie" Donewicz was a young boy growing up in the Kiefer Square section of Astro City when he started to run with gangs. You had to in that part of town, or you ended up in a world of hurt. Carl wanted out, and studied as best he could in order to make it happen, but things got complicated. He had minor gang association with the Skullcrushers, and when it came to learning, well, he struggled. After a fight in which he inadvertently killed a rival gang member, Carl went a little crazy, committing an assortment of violent crimes. In desperation he turned to Dr. Norton Ganss, a scientist who could chemically enhance human physiology, giving people superhuman powers. Somehow, Carl managed to arrange an appointment to discuss potential opportunities. After being told he was acceptable, Carl was immersed in a tank filled with an assortment of liquids. When he emerged, his body chemistry was altered. The most noticeable, his skin was transformed into a metallic material that provided armor protection and made him near invulnerable to harm. He took the name "Steel-Jacketed Man" and Carl entered into the world of the "black masks" (a.k.a. "super villains"). Time For a Team Up In the early or mid 1960s, he was part of the Terrifying Three with Cutlass and the first Quarrel as team mates. This partnership didn't last long. The Jail Bird Years Although he had some moderate solo success as a criminal, Carl ended up in and out of prison, spending over twenty years in the Biro Island Correctional Facility. When he was released in 1998 he vowed to "go straight" and never return. This proved to be difficult due to his well-known reputation and distinctive likeness. Finding work was hard, especially when the system itself had rules that made moving on very difficult. The Tangled Trail to Redemption Jack had a rough path and a lot of bad reputation to live down in order to make good on his vows. He bumped into a lot of friends, old and new, that wanted to exploit him for his skills, or take advantage of his situation. No one, believed him, not even Samaritan. This distrust left him little choice but to turn to an old criminal colleague, Donnely Ferguson, known to many as the Broker. He could cut deals, and find work for any that weren't afraid to bend the laws, even break them for money. There was a string of "Black Mask" killings going on in and near Kiefer Square. The residents were getting nervous and anxieties ran high. They needed help, but given the neighborhood, and the people involved, the official channels weren't doing much. So they cut a deal, Steeljack needed the work, Kiefer Square needed a hero, and Donnely could make a profit. Steeljack followed several twisted paths to find the killer. Some lead nowhere, one was completely wrong, but the investigation dug up a lot of history about Astro City's past, including some juicy gossip about a couple of legendary Honor Guard members. Along the way we met a lot of new characters, some with dreams of finding Wonderland, others wanting out, desperately. Eventually the hideous motivation for the killings was unraveled. A full synopsis of Jack's Hero-quest is detailed in The Conquistador's Plot. A Jack of All Trades Powers Steeljack is super-strong. His DNA has been chemically altered, making his body tissues incredibly resilient, behaving in a manner similar to high grade metallic steel. Even by super-being standards, he is highly durable. Like regular human skin, the outer layers of his steel skin decays and dies over time to be replaced by new metallic cells. It does heal when injured, but it is showing sign of rusting as he ages. So far there is no sign of a cellular return to a more normal human-like composition. Observations The basis for Steeljack's physical appearance is heavily influenced by the physical appearance and emotional attitudes of actor Robert Mitchum. Mitchum played several film noir characters that shared many of the traits that make up the personality and basic character chemistry of Carl Donewicz, the Steel Jacked Man.