John Henry Irons (UE-44)

"Forged in fire, strong as steel."

- John Henry Irons

Captain John Henry Irons, mistaken by his A.I. device as Captain Luthor, is a former captain in the U.S. Army who fought to liberate his world from Superman. He failed in this mission and his world was destroyed, but he survived and made his way to Earth-Prime where he became the supervillain known as The Stranger.

Early Life
"To hell and back."

- Captain John Henry Irons

At some point, John joined the U.S. Army and was promoted to the rank of captain where he would serve alongside General Sam Lane who he came to be close friends with.

He and a group of soldiers would later fight Superman who used his heat vision to kill the entire squadron except himself. Among the dead from this battle was Sam Lane which caused John to harbour a vendetta against Superman, with him eventually learning his Kryptonian name, his weakness to green kryptonite and that he couldn't see through lead.

Superman would later go on to destroy his universe, but he somehow survived and made his way to Earth-Prime.

Attacking Nuclear Facilities
Once he arrived on Earth-Prime, he came up with a plan where he would attack nuclear power plants in the United States while hiding behind the lead walls to test the abilities of this earth's Superman.

He first attacked a power plant at Oyster Creek before going on to attack the Elison Nuclear Power Plant, but Superman soon came to the rescue and prevented a meltdown at both plants.

Deciding that he needed more information, he decided to lure Superman into a trap at the Hudson Nuclear Power Plant which eventually lead to a battle in the Earth's atmosphere. During this battle, Luthor stabbed Superman in the chest with a kryptonite blade and left him to fall to the planet's surface, but he soon pulled the blade out of his chest and flew back to Smallville to help his sons after Lois had signalled to him using an ELT.

John then returned to his ship to talk with his AI about gathering more kryptonite as he had exhausted his supply.

Searching for Kryptonite
John then began to search for kryptonite with his first target being a black market warehouse in Moldova. He took his ship to the warehouse and subdued the guards with a sonic blast before breaking into the vault only to find that they had run out some time ago. He demanded that the remaining guard acquire more kryptonite for him but when he said that this was not possible he blasted him with a sonic propulsion and returned to his ship.

He then travelled to Mongolia in his ship to another facility he believed to have kryptonite but when he scanned it he found none within. Superman then arrived after being told the location by General Lane who had been tracking the ship and briefly fought John, almost defeating him before being told that his ship was on a course for Metropolis and would explode unless Superman stopped it which ended the battle.

John later sent an automaton wearing his warsuit to a Department of Defense facility where General Lane was to warn him about trusting Superman and to give him a keychain that belonged to his doppelgänger. This warning was interrupted by Superman who burst through the wall and fought the robot until finally destroying it by slamming it into the ground.

John then talked with his AI about reconstructing his new suit before reminiscing on his time in the army with Sam Lane.

Powers

 * Powers from his Warsuit: John was extremely skilled in the use of his warsuit which was specially designed to counteract the abilities of Superman. This suit was later destroyed during a confrontation with Superman at a Department of Defense facility.
 * Flight: John's warsuit allowed him to fly even in the upper atmosphere.
 * Sonic Propulsions: John's warsuit was able to release a sonic blast from its gauntlets that was able to forcefully push away opponents.
 * Superhuman Durability: John's warsuit allowed him to fight Superman and was even able to withstand his heat vision and freeze breath.
 * Superhuman Speed: John's warsuit allowed him to travel at superhuman speeds with it even being able to travel around the Earth's upper atmosphere.
 * Superhuman Reflexes: John's warsuit allowed him to keep up with and quickly dodge Superman's attacks.
 * Superhuman Strength: John's warsuit gave him superhuman levels of strength with him even being able to lift Superman with one arm.

Abilities

 * Bilingualism: John is able to fluently speak English and Kryptonese.
 * Hand-to-Hand Combat: John is skilled in hand-to-hand combat as he has been able to match Superman in a battle.
 * Tactician: John is a skilled tactician and has been shown to be able to outmanoeuvre Superman on numerous occasions.
 * Hacker: John claims to have access to Edge EnerCorp using his hacking skills.

Current Equipment

 * Auto-Drive RV: After losing his ship and warsuit, John utilized an RV and upgraded it with his A.I. device.
 * Rocket Launcher: John is able to knock out Superman using an advanced rocket launcher.
 * Pistol: John uses a pistol as his firearm.
 * High-Tech Ray Gun: John uses a laser weapon as a saw and a blaster.

Former Equipment

 * Warsuit: John wore a high-tech warsuit that gave him various superpowers, but he eventually lost it when it was destroyed by Superman.
 * Kryptonite Blade: John used a retractable kryptonite blade to stab Superman but lost it once he pulled it out.
 * Ship: Prior to its destruction, John transports in a spaceship.

Trivia

 * As Marcus Bridgewater, John "works" for the Reuters.