Iron Munro
Encyclopedia
Iron Munro is a fictional superhero
, who first appeared in Shadow Comics
#1 (June 1940), published by Street & Smith
. He is loosely based on Aarn Munro, the hero of a series of short stories written by John W. Campbell
in the 1930s. The modern and better known version of the character, who started life as Arn Munro, first appeared in Young All-Stars
#1 (June 1987) and was created by Roy Thomas
, Dann Thomas
, Michael Bair
and Brian Murray. Munro is the illegitimate son of Hugo Danner
, the superpowered protagonist from the 1930 novel Gladiator
by Philip Wylie. However, Iron was not a character or even a possibility in the original novel. Hugo's inability to pass on his powers to his children is explained by his ailing scientist father, "the effect of the process is not inherited by the future generations."
, which effectively erased the history of almost all their past characters up until that point. They were then re-introduced, some with completely different origins. In the case of those characters who retained various versions of their past, all the previous storylines were merged into one. One example would be the character Earth-2 Superman who was retconned out of existence. To fill the gap, DC introduced a new superhero named Iron Munro to replace continuing storylines where Earth-2 Superman played a large role. Similar to Superman, Iron Munro had muscles of steel, the ability to leap tall buildings and a spit curl hairstyle. DC writer Roy Thomas
created several new characters like Iron Munro (and the other "Young All Stars" characters) while trying to replace the now erased Golden Age
Superman, Wonder Woman
and Batman
characters. Iron Munro's most recent appearance is in Superman
#711, July 2011.
Using Wylie's novel as a springboard, Thomas had Hugo fake his death at the end of the novel. From there, the story of the second Iron Munro begins. Like the original, featured in Street & Smith
's Shadow Comics, the modern Munro is a superhumanly strong adventurer with black hair, who favors tee-shirts and jeans, in lieu of a colorful costume. The original version had no connection to the Gladiator novel, whatsoever. (Gladiator was also partly adapted to comics by Marvel Comics
, called Man-God.)
Before vanishing, however, Hugo returned home to Colorado once more and enjoyed a one-night affair with his high school sweetheart, Anna Blake, who became pregnant. When Hugo disappeared for good, Blake married a young businessman named John Munro, who never realized the child she bore was not his own. Their son, Arnold, began exhibiting superhuman powers of strength and invulnerability at age ten. Remembering Hugo's troubles, Anna made her son promise to keep his abilities a secret until he turned eighteen.
As a baseball player at his high school in Indian Creek, Colorado, Munro earned the nickname "Iron." He was a senior there when, in April 1942, Munro saved the superhero
es T.N.T.
and Dan the Dyna-Mite
from a burning car crash. T.N.T. died but he managed to bring Dyna-Mite to a nearby hospital. Subsequently, Munro and other new "Young All-Stars" aided the All-Star Squadron
in defeating Axis Amerika. President Roosevelt
asked Munro and the others to join the Squadron, about which Munro was reluctant, but he accompanied them on a cross-country War Bond
promotion.
Soon thereafter, Arn received a mysterious diary written by Hugo Danner, his father. He learned about his father's troubled life as one of the 20th century's first metahumans. This led the young hero on a quest to learn of his father's fate.
After having read his father’s diary, Arn turned to the government's secret Project M, demanding to know the location of the "Dinosaur Island
" mentioned in his father's diary. There he met Georgia Challenger, who led him instead to Maple White Land in South America. Surprisingly they found Arn’s father, Hugo Danner, who had spawned a new band of "offspring," the Sons of Dawn. Danner used his father's formula to bestow powers on these Sons of Dawn and mentioned that the creators of the villain Übermensch had also stolen that formula.
Arn was forced to oppose his father when Danner ordered the Sons of Dawn to attack a Brazilian city. The combined might of the All-Star Squadron defeated the Sons of Dawn and Danner was killed.
, Sandra Knight . Before the two of them were married, Sandra conceived a child (which she never revealed to him). She confided only in the Atom, Al Pratt, who helped her give the child up for adoption. The hospital mistakenly listed Al as the father on the child's birth certificate. The child was named Walter Pratt and later became the father of Kate Spencer
(the current vigilante Manhunter
).
After the war, both Arn and Sandra started working for the U.S. Government as members of the O.S.S.
off-shoot called Argent. Arn took the code name "Gladiator One." The couple eventually married and on numerous missions came up against his WWII Nazi nemesis, Baron Blitzkrieg
(calling himself simply The Baron and working for the Soviets). When the couple bore a second child, it was kidnapped by the Baron when Sandra was on a mission in Communist Poland. The child was (and still is) assumed killed at the time.
The couple gradually grew apart and sometime in the 1960s, Phantom Lady disappeared while on a cover mission for Argent. Though Munro later discovered she was alive, the two were never reunited.
Munro settled in Florida with his friend, Roy Lincoln (the Human Bomb
). There he eventually met the young hero Grant Emerson Damage (comics)
. Munro helped Emerson search for the identity of his biological parents. For a time, it appeared that Grant might be Arn and Sandra's lost child. Eventually they learned that Damage was actually the son of the Atom, Al Pratt, and his wife.
Iron Munro continues to serve as an adventurer and apparently benefits from extended youth. During the massive war between Imperiex
and Brainiac 13
, the Justice Society’s
Sand
recruited an army of All-Stars, which Arn joined. Afterwards, he joined the Human Bomb and Damage in the Freedom Fighters
. This group was doomed and recently Arn lost his good friend Roy when several of the F.F. were slaughtered by the Society.
Recently, Sandra Knight also learned the fate of the child she gave up for adoption, Walter Pratt. Pratt became a homicidal maniac. His daughter, Katherine Spencer
has now become Los Angeles' Manhunter. Pratt died when he was cut in half midstream in teleporation. Sandra met Kate Spencer , and months later brought Arn to Kate for an introduction to her and Ramsey, his great grandson.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
, who first appeared in Shadow Comics
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
#1 (June 1940), published by Street & Smith
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction and dime novels. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks...
. He is loosely based on Aarn Munro, the hero of a series of short stories written by John W. Campbell
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
in the 1930s. The modern and better known version of the character, who started life as Arn Munro, first appeared in Young All-Stars
Young All-Stars
The Young All-Stars are a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes. They were created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Michael Bair, and introduced in Young All-Stars #1, dated June 1987.-Publication history:...
#1 (June 1987) and was created by Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, Dann Thomas
Dann Thomas
Danette "Dann" Thomas is a comic book writer, the wife of comic book writer and editor Roy Thomas. She has at times collaborated with Thomas on All-Star Squadron, Arak, Son of Thunder, the Crimson Avenger miniseries and Avengers West Coast.She married Roy Thomas in May 1981 and legally changed her...
, Michael Bair
Michael Bair
Michael A. Hernandez is an American comic book artist , best known for his work as an inker. His work includes Marvel Comics' Alpha Flight, and DC Comics' Hawkman...
and Brian Murray. Munro is the illegitimate son of Hugo Danner
Hugo Danner
Hugo Danner is a fictional character, the protagonist of the 1930 American novel Gladiator, by Philip Gordon Wylie. Born in the late 19th century with superhuman abilities via prenatal chemical experimentation, Danner tries to use his powers for good, making him a precursor of the superhero...
, the superpowered protagonist from the 1930 novel Gladiator
Gladiator (novel)
Gladiator is an American science fiction novel first published in 1930 and written by Philip Wylie. The story concerns a scientist who invents an "alkaline free-radical" serum to "improve" humankind by granting the proportionate strength of an ant and the leaping ability of the grasshopper...
by Philip Wylie. However, Iron was not a character or even a possibility in the original novel. Hugo's inability to pass on his powers to his children is explained by his ailing scientist father, "the effect of the process is not inherited by the future generations."
Publication history
In 1985 DC Comics released the storyline Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
, which effectively erased the history of almost all their past characters up until that point. They were then re-introduced, some with completely different origins. In the case of those characters who retained various versions of their past, all the previous storylines were merged into one. One example would be the character Earth-2 Superman who was retconned out of existence. To fill the gap, DC introduced a new superhero named Iron Munro to replace continuing storylines where Earth-2 Superman played a large role. Similar to Superman, Iron Munro had muscles of steel, the ability to leap tall buildings and a spit curl hairstyle. DC writer Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
created several new characters like Iron Munro (and the other "Young All Stars" characters) while trying to replace the now erased Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
Superman, Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
and Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
characters. Iron Munro's most recent appearance is in Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
#711, July 2011.
Using Wylie's novel as a springboard, Thomas had Hugo fake his death at the end of the novel. From there, the story of the second Iron Munro begins. Like the original, featured in Street & Smith
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction and dime novels. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks...
's Shadow Comics, the modern Munro is a superhumanly strong adventurer with black hair, who favors tee-shirts and jeans, in lieu of a colorful costume. The original version had no connection to the Gladiator novel, whatsoever. (Gladiator was also partly adapted to comics by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, called Man-God.)
Fictional character biography
In 1894, the scientist Abednego Danner injected his pregnant wife with an experimental serum. Their son Hugo was born with super-human strength, speed, and nigh-invulnerability. Hugo lived with his parents throughout his teen years and left at age eighteen to attend college and travel the world. In the years that followed, Hugo's special powers led him through a number of adventures, but his unique stature among mortal men forever brought him grief. Eventually, Hugo staged his own death in the Yucatán Peninsula and went into hiding.Before vanishing, however, Hugo returned home to Colorado once more and enjoyed a one-night affair with his high school sweetheart, Anna Blake, who became pregnant. When Hugo disappeared for good, Blake married a young businessman named John Munro, who never realized the child she bore was not his own. Their son, Arnold, began exhibiting superhuman powers of strength and invulnerability at age ten. Remembering Hugo's troubles, Anna made her son promise to keep his abilities a secret until he turned eighteen.
As a baseball player at his high school in Indian Creek, Colorado, Munro earned the nickname "Iron." He was a senior there when, in April 1942, Munro saved the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es T.N.T.
TNT (comics)
TNT is a DC Comics superhero from the 1940s. TNT and his side-kick Dan the Dyna-Mite were created by Mort Weisinger for DC Comics, and made their debut in Star-Spangled Comics #7...
and Dan the Dyna-Mite
Dan the Dyna-Mite
Dan the Dyna-Mite is a fictional character, a teen-aged superhero published by DC Comics. He was the young sidekick to the character TNT, and was created by Mort Weisinger and Hal Sharp in 1942. TNT and Dyna-Mite made their debut in World's Finest Comics # 5, and starred in Star-Spangled Comics #...
from a burning car crash. T.N.T. died but he managed to bring Dyna-Mite to a nearby hospital. Subsequently, Munro and other new "Young All-Stars" aided the All-Star Squadron
All-Star Squadron
The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in a special insert in Justice League of America #193 . Created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway.-The concept:...
in defeating Axis Amerika. President Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
asked Munro and the others to join the Squadron, about which Munro was reluctant, but he accompanied them on a cross-country War Bond
War bond
War bonds are debt securities issued by a government for the purpose of financing military operations during times of war. War bonds generate capital for the government and make civilians feel involved in their national militaries...
promotion.
After having read his father’s diary, Arn turned to the government's secret Project M, demanding to know the location of the "Dinosaur Island
Dinosaur Island
Dinosaur Island is an island that has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. The island is not the same "Dinosaur Island" that appeared in Batman #35...
" mentioned in his father's diary. There he met Georgia Challenger, who led him instead to Maple White Land in South America. Surprisingly they found Arn’s father, Hugo Danner, who had spawned a new band of "offspring," the Sons of Dawn. Danner used his father's formula to bestow powers on these Sons of Dawn and mentioned that the creators of the villain Übermensch had also stolen that formula.
Arn was forced to oppose his father when Danner ordered the Sons of Dawn to attack a Brazilian city. The combined might of the All-Star Squadron defeated the Sons of Dawn and Danner was killed.
Legacy
During the War, Iron Munro also met his future wife, the Squadron member known as Phantom LadyPhantom Lady
Phantom Lady is a fictional superheroine, one of the first female superhero characters to debut in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books. Originally published by Quality Comics, the character was subsequently published by a series of now-defunct comic book companies, and a new version of the...
, Sandra Knight . Before the two of them were married, Sandra conceived a child (which she never revealed to him). She confided only in the Atom, Al Pratt, who helped her give the child up for adoption. The hospital mistakenly listed Al as the father on the child's birth certificate. The child was named Walter Pratt and later became the father of Kate Spencer
Manhunter (Kate Spencer)
Manhunter is a fictional character, a superheroine in publications from DC Comics. Kate Spencer is the eighth DC Comics character depicted using the name Manhunter, and the first female to do so. The character first appears in Manhunter Manhunter is a fictional character, a superheroine in...
(the current vigilante Manhunter
Manhunter (comics)
-Golden Age:The first of DC's Manhunters was a non-costumed independent investigator, Paul Kirk, who helped police solve crimes during the early 1940s. Though the series was titled "Paul Kirk, Manhunter", Kirk didn't use the Manhunter name as an alias...
).
After the war, both Arn and Sandra started working for the U.S. Government as members of the O.S.S.
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
off-shoot called Argent. Arn took the code name "Gladiator One." The couple eventually married and on numerous missions came up against his WWII Nazi nemesis, Baron Blitzkrieg
Baron Blitzkrieg
Baron Blitzkrieg is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics universe, originally residing on Earth-Two. He first appeared in World's Finest Comics #246...
(calling himself simply The Baron and working for the Soviets). When the couple bore a second child, it was kidnapped by the Baron when Sandra was on a mission in Communist Poland. The child was (and still is) assumed killed at the time.
The couple gradually grew apart and sometime in the 1960s, Phantom Lady disappeared while on a cover mission for Argent. Though Munro later discovered she was alive, the two were never reunited.
Munro settled in Florida with his friend, Roy Lincoln (the Human Bomb
Human Bomb
The Human Bomb is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Police Comics #1 , and was created by writer and artist Paul Gustavson.-Publication history:...
). There he eventually met the young hero Grant Emerson Damage (comics)
Damage (comics)
Damage is a DC Comics superhero who first appeared in a comic book of the same name during the Zero Hour crisis. He is the son of the original Atom Al Pratt. He has been a member of the Titans, the Freedom Fighters, and Justice Society of America....
. Munro helped Emerson search for the identity of his biological parents. For a time, it appeared that Grant might be Arn and Sandra's lost child. Eventually they learned that Damage was actually the son of the Atom, Al Pratt, and his wife.
Iron Munro continues to serve as an adventurer and apparently benefits from extended youth. During the massive war between Imperiex
Imperiex
Imperiex is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman #153 , and was created by Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchill...
and Brainiac 13
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
, the Justice Society’s
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
Sand
Sandy Hawkins
Sanderson "Sandy" Hawkins, formerly known as Sandy, the Golden Boy, Sands, Sand, and currently as Sandman, is a fictional character, superhero in the DC Comics universe created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #69.-Golden Age:The Character of Sandy the Golden...
recruited an army of All-Stars, which Arn joined. Afterwards, he joined the Human Bomb and Damage in the Freedom Fighters
Freedom Fighters (comics)
Freedom Fighters is a DC Comics comic book superhero team made up of characters acquired from the defunct company Quality Comics. Although the characters were created by Quality, they never were gathered in a group before acquired by DC...
. This group was doomed and recently Arn lost his good friend Roy when several of the F.F. were slaughtered by the Society.
Recently, Sandra Knight also learned the fate of the child she gave up for adoption, Walter Pratt. Pratt became a homicidal maniac. His daughter, Katherine Spencer
Manhunter (Kate Spencer)
Manhunter is a fictional character, a superheroine in publications from DC Comics. Kate Spencer is the eighth DC Comics character depicted using the name Manhunter, and the first female to do so. The character first appears in Manhunter Manhunter is a fictional character, a superheroine in...
has now become Los Angeles' Manhunter. Pratt died when he was cut in half midstream in teleporation. Sandra met Kate Spencer , and months later brought Arn to Kate for an introduction to her and Ramsey, his great grandson.