The Untold Truth Of Steel

The perception of comic book films has changed quite a bit in the past couple of decades. Right now, four of the top grossing films of all time have roots going back to sequential storytelling. These projects are taken incredibly seriously, with a lot of money and thought put into presenting them to the largest audience possible.

The same can not be said for "Steel," the 1997 flick based on one of Superman's allies starring basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal. The resulting film, written and directed by Kenny Johnson ("V," "Alien Nation"), is often mentioned when lists of the worst comic films of all time are being compiled. For a time, the only way to watch the film was on a made-to-order DVD through the Warner Archive site, but now you can check it out streaming on HBO Max to see how it stacks up.

In "Steel," Shaq plays John Henry Irons, a weapons designer who quits the military after one of his associates, Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson), gets reckless during a demonstration and brings down a building, leading to Steel's partner Sparky (Annabeth Gish) losing the use of her legs. Disgusted with the whole thing, Irons returns to his home in Los Angeles, meets up with his little brother Martin (Ray J), and tries to keep his head down. But it's not long before he discovers that Burke has set up shop nearby and is intent on selling the same weapons. Irons begins working with Sparky and his uncle Joe (Richard Roundtree) to build a high-tech suit of armor he uses to get Burke's guns off the streets.

With more potential eyes on the property in a post-"Justice League" world than when it flopped at the box office, now is the perfect time to uncover the truth of "Steel."

During the '90s, there were few stars as big as Shaquille O'Neal — his own website will tell you that. Towering just over seven feet tall, he burst onto the professional basketball scene in 1992, earning the Rookie of the Year honor while playing for the Orlando Magic. Between his affable nature and Hall of Fame-worthy skill, he became a cultural icon. But he had plans to branch out in ways that had not been done before.

In 1993, Shaq released his first of five rap albums, "Shaq Diesel." He followed that up the following year with "Shaq Fu: Da Return" which tied into the similarly titled fighting video game "Shaq Fu." That very same year, he starred in the college basketball drama "Blue Chips," which had him acting alongside Nick Nolte for director William Friedkin. From there, he lead the genie movie "Kazaam" and appeared in "Good Burger" as himself. "Steel" arrived in 1997, coinciding with him not only transitioning from the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers, but also playing for the 1996 United States Olympic team, which won a gold medal in Atlanta.

By that point, he hadn't won a championship yet, and some wondered if he might be focusing on too many other arenas. Though he would continue with his music career, O'Neal stopped starring in films at that point, but would pop up in cameos here and there. Going on to play for Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland, and Boston, he would eventually wrap up a nearly 30-year career in 2011.

There's no two ways about it — Hollywood did not know what to do with comic book movies in the '90s. The results are all over the map, some with shoehorned celebs in lead roles, some being surprisingly good adaptations of comics that most people have never heard of, and, well, a lot of craziness. By the beginning of the decade, all four Christopher Reeve "Superman" films had come and gone. While the first two may have made you believe a man could fly, the final pair proved how hard a franchise could tank. Tim Burton's "Batman" seemed to change the game in 1989, but not every superhero movie the following decade could truly follow suit.

In 1990, both the surprisingly dark "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and a big-screen attempt at "Captain America" — starring J.D. Salinger's grandson Matt — debuted. "The Rocketeer" took off in 1991, with "Batman Returns" hitting the following year. 1994 offered up an interesting mix that included "The Crow" and "Time Cop." This would have also most likely been the year that the never-released "Fantastic Four" film would have come out. Sylvester Stallone and Pamela Anderson got in on the action with "Judge Dredd" in 1995 and "Barb Wire" in 1996. Meanwhile, the Dark Knight took a major tonal shift in 1995 with "Batman Forever."

By the time "Steel" came out on August 15, 1997, three other comic films had already bowed that year — both "Batman and Robin" and "Men in Black" earlier that summer, and "Spawn" just two weeks prior. Everything changed in 1998 with the release of "Blade," which showed the world that comic book films really could balance big, fun, exciting action with dark, gritty, R-rated adult entertainment. Just a few years later, "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" would continue to further the efforts leading right up to the films we enjoy today.

If the idea of a man who designs weapons leaving that life behind after seeing what those same arms can do before donning a suit of armor sounds familiar, then you've probably also seen the 2008 "Iron Man" film. That first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe begins with Tony Stark showing off what his new weapons system can do. He then gets captured by the Ten Rings, who want him to make munitions for them, but instead he builds the first suit of Iron Man armor to break free. The rest is Marvel history, as he goes on to make a variety of different suits throughout the course of the other films in the series. 

"Steel" also begins with the main character exhibiting the weapons he's been working on. While the other circumstances are different, John Henry Irons also winds up building a suit with the equipment and technology available to him and Sparky in Uncle Joe's junkyard. Both men have a change of heart when they see what their inventions can do up close. Since the comic character Iron Man debuted much earlier — in 1963's "Tales of Suspense" #39 — he gets the edge as far as originality goes, but it is interesting that these two films which came out a decade apart have such similar set-ups.

Throughout the film, John Henry Irons struggles to toss anything into objects even remotely resembling a basketball hoop. Trash lands outside the can, and a towel flops squarely on a dog's head instead of its intended bin. Then, by the end, there's a bit where he has to throw a grenade through a small opening to save Martin. These moments were included as a way for O'Neal and the filmmakers to poke fun at his inability to shoot free throws in his day job. As a premiere center, Shaq either dunked the ball or shot from just a few feet away in the paint. The further he got from the basket, the less likely the ball was to go in, especially during free throws. In fact, teams would foul the big man on purpose, thinking that he was far less likely to make the two uncontested shots than to just slam it in. Thus the term "Hack-a-Shaq" was born – it even has its own Wikipedia page.

This inability to shoot from distance did not just play into the film as a running gag, though — it was also something that had to be dealt with during filming. Co-producer Mark Allan told /Film that it was written into the contract that there had to be a hoop near every shooting location for Shaq to work on his shot in between takes, which could lead to a few headaches when the crew needed him for shooting.

Johnson has said that "Steel" was hindered right from jump, thanks to a lower-than-expected budget, a less-than-seasoned lead, and a tight filming schedule. Even so, he likes the film that he was able to make given those restrictions. So why did the film only make $1.7 million on a $16 million budget (especially after the much-maligned "Batman and Robin" took its $125 million budget and made $238 million worldwide)? It all comes down to advertising, and Shaq's former agent and "Steel" executive producer Leonard Armato told /Film he believes that Warner Bros. did not give the film a bigger advertising budget because it starred an African American lead.

A number of people involved note that the studio did not put resources behind advertising the film. Johnson thinks that part of that came as the result of WB's "Conspiracy Theory" stumbling out of the starting gate, which had megastars Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts headlining. That movie opened earning just shy of $20 million, but went on to take in roughly $137 million worldwide. He also says that the marketing department was fired after "Steel" failed to draw eyes. Whatever the case may be, a fun, very of-the-time flick just did not land with the audience.