After all, even the most heroic intentions and actions can have unintentionally disastrous outcomes, and humanity's reliance on an extraterrestrial powerhouse and others like him could weaken them. In most cases, this is just a xenophobic ruse to mask Luthor's hatred of the Kryptonians, but it's very much in line with Steel's recent concerns. The human race will become dependent on him due to his always being there to save them from almost everything. In continuities and characterizations where Lex is more in line with his Silver Age scientist persona, he claims that Superman's mere presence is detrimental to the development of humanity. Questioning Superman's place in Metropolis is something that Luthor is infamous for. Perhaps the most jarring part of this development for John, however, is that it makes him a lot like the greatest scourge to ever vex Metropolis, Lex Luthor. Such a question is ironic because the same concerns have been raised over advanced technology, the likes of which Steel and Steelworks are built upon. John doesn't rail against superheroes, but he does wonder if they've made simple human effort obsolete. John discusses his plan with his niece Natasha Irons and Lana Lang, both of whom are less convinced that taking Superman and other heroes out of the equation will work. Of course, this plan has a few caveats, namely the fact that the rest of the Superman Family wasn't really made aware of his ambitions beforehand. To this end, he hopes to hang up his hammer and corresponding armor, working more from the background and on the ground level of the city. Its other goal is to empower the citizens, making them less reliant on a guy in the sky. The aim of the company's infrastructure isn't to simply protect against the many tumultuous metahuman battles. In Steelworks #1 (by Michael Dorn and Sami Basri), John Henry Irons launches a new company in order to better protect the city of Metropolis.

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