So, you’re watching DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and you see a guy turn into a human Oscar statue. That’s Nate Heywood. Or Steel. Or Citizen Steel, if you’re being picky. Honestly, he’s probably the heart of the show from Season 2 onwards, but if you actually look at the comic books he came from, the TV version is almost a completely different person.
Most people think Nate was just another superhero added to fill a slot. He wasn't. He was the "everyman" who actually made the Waverider feel like a home instead of just a high-tech bus.
The Steel We Got vs. The Steel We Expected
In the comics, Nate Heywood’s story is dark. Like, really dark. He was a former college football star who got his leg amputated after a horrific infection and ended up addicted to painkillers. When he finally got his powers—after a run-in with a Neo-Nazi named Reichsmark—it wasn't exactly a gift. His skin became organic steel, sure, but he lost his sense of touch. He couldn't feel a hug. He couldn't feel the ground under his feet. He was essentially a living, breathing tank that was constantly numb to the world.
The showrunners for Legends of Tomorrow basically looked at that and said, "Yeah, let’s not do that."
Instead, they gave us Nick Zano’s version. This Nate is a "Time Detective" and a massive history nerd. Instead of a tragic accident involving Nazi blood, he gets his powers from a biomolecular enhancer modified by Ray Palmer. It’s a lot cleaner. It’s also way more expensive for the VFX department, which is why you probably noticed Nate didn't "steel up" as often in the later seasons.
Why the "Steel" Power Was Actually a Curse for the Budget
Let’s be real for a second. Steel DC Legends of Tomorrow fans always complained that Nate spent 90% of his time in a polo shirt instead of his metal form.
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Nick Zano actually talked about this in interviews. That CGI metal skin? It’s pricey. The show’s budget was famously stretched thin—we’re talking about a show that once fought a giant stuffed animal named Beebo—so the writers had to find excuses for why Nate wasn't using his invulnerability.
They eventually pivoted. They leaned into his role as a historian.
Nate became the guy who solved problems with his brain and his knowledge of the timeline rather than just punching things. It made him a better character, honestly. It’s easy to write a guy who can’t be hurt. It’s much harder to write a guy who is terrified of history being erased because he knows exactly how much blood was shed to write it.
Breaking the Heywood Family Curse
The show did something really cool with Nate’s family tree. In the DC universe, being a "Steel" usually ends in a body bag.
- Henry Heywood (Commander Steel): Nate’s grandfather. In the show, he dies a hero’s death in the 1970s while helping the Legends.
- Hank Heywood: Nate’s dad. He wasn't a superhero, but he worked for the Time Bureau and (spoilers) died in a tragic misunderstanding involving a magical creature.
Nate spent most of his arc trying to figure out if he was destined to die on a battlefield like the men before him. It was his "legacy" baggage.
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What Really Happened with Nate’s Exit?
When Nate left in the Season 7 finale, "Knocked Down, Knocked Up," it caught some people off guard. He didn't die. He didn't fly off into the sunset. He walked into a cloud of mustard gas to save Alun (Gwyn Davies’ boyfriend) and the gas basically "burned off" his steel powers.
He became human again. Completely mortal.
There was a bit of a plot hole there—earlier in the show, it was established that Nate was a hemophiliac and the "Steel" serum was the only thing keeping him from bleeding out from a paper cut. The finale kinda ignored that. But narratively, it worked. He retired to the Totem Realm to live with the original Zari Tarazi.
Nick Zano had been on the show for six years. He wanted to go home to his family in Malibu. Can you blame him? Filming in Vancouver in the middle of the night during "Fraturdays" (Friday shoots that bleed into Saturday morning) wears on a person.
The Bromance and the Heart
You can't talk about Steel without talking about Ray Palmer. The "Time Bros" dynamic was the soul of the show. When Brandon Routh left, many fans thought Nate would lose his spark. But the show pivoted again, giving him a weirdly touching relationship with Behrad and a complicated love life involving two different versions of Zari.
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It’s rare for a superhero show to let a character be "vulnerable" without it being a weakness. Nate was a guy who loved hard, nerded out over the American Revolution, and was genuinely kind. He wasn't the brooding loner that DC is famous for.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Writers
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the Steel lore or even write your own "Legends" style fiction, keep these specific points in mind:
- Watch Season 2 and Season 3 specifically: This is where the "Steel" powers are most prominent and the JSA (Justice Society of America) lore is fleshed out.
- Notice the "Power Usage" Pattern: If you're a filmmaker or storyteller, observe how Legends uses Nate's powers sparingly to save budget while still making him feel powerful through his actions.
- The Historian Angle: Nate’s real value wasn't his skin; it was his PhD. In any team-up story, the "smart guy" needs a specific niche. Nate’s niche was "Context."
- Character Growth: Notice how Nate moves from wanting to "be a hero like grandpa" to just wanting to "be a good man." That’s a distinct shift you can apply to any character arc.
Nate Heywood might not have the name recognition of Batman or Superman, but in the context of the Arrowverse, he was the glue. He proved that you don't need a tragic backstory or a dark secret to be a compelling superhero—sometimes you just need a history book and a very expensive CGI budget.
Next Steps for you:
- Check out Geoff Johns’ 2007 Justice Society of America run to see the much darker, original comic book version of Nate Heywood.
- Rewatch the Season 2 episode "The Justice Society of America" to see the first time the Heywood legacy is introduced in the show.