Thanks to scripter Gerry Conway and artist Don Heck, the red, white and blue shone like never before - on the steel alloyed suit of the WWII cyborg, Steel. A biology student who had become a U.S. Marine, Hank Heywood nearly died in an explosion on his military base. However, his college professor, Gilbert Giles, literally pieced him back together. In addition to fitting Heywood with micro-motors and steel compounds to replace ravaged bone, muscle,and organ tissue, Giles infused his former student with a bioretardent formula to induce rapid skin growth over his charred body. The series ran for 5 issues before falling victim to the "DC Implosion."