In the early twentieth century, the US government was attempting to better understand several aspects of the universe. One such project was RONOL (Research On the Nature Of Light), headed by the genius Dr. Dayzl. The doctor believed that it was possible for light to combine with a human, creating an all powerful light entity. When World War II broke out, the government refocused RONOL into coming up with light based weapons. To this end they would attempt to create a light entity, starting an experiment just outside the city of Vanity, Oregon.

Attempting to release a light bomb that would theoretically bond to a volunteer soldier, the experiment would go off prematurely, the bomb exploding next to a nearby hot air balloon. On board the balloon was local journalist Langford Terrill. Believing that the balloon was hit by lightning, he would wake up in a hospital. Upon being released, Langford would discover that he now possessed light based powers. Taking the name the Ray, he would follow in the steps of other superheroes and defend the city of Vanity.

However, the government would be keeping an eye on Langford, eventually nudging him to join the Justice Society of America and directly fight in the war. Langford would serve with the Justice Society for the rest of the war, being a part of the team that got enchanted as to slow down their aging. After the war the Justice Society was targeted by the House on Un-American Activities, forced to either reveal their identities or disband. The Society would choose to disband.

Now retired from heroics, Langford would resume his journalism career, get married, and have a son named Joshua. As soon as Joshua was exposed to light, his powers manifested. With no hiding it, Langford revealed to his son that he was the Ray. Joshua was excited and wanted to be a sidekick to his father, even picking out the name Spitfire. However, Joshua would die before his eleventh birthday, exploding in an overload of light as he absorbed too much energy for his young birthday.

After this tragedy, Langford would get divorced. The former hero would put all his focus into journalism, even getting a syndicated column in several national newspapers. Langford would continue to live in Vanity for several decades, his aging still slowed by the enchantment. By the 2000s, the spell had begun to weaken, as Langford finally started aging again. He would decide to retire from journalism and ended up meeting a woman named Nadine, someone closer in age to how Langford looked. After a brief whirlwind romance, the two would get married.

Several years into their marriage, Langford and Nadine would get a massive shock. Despite both of their advanced age, Nadine was pregnant. It was at this time that Langford shared with his wife the story of how he was the Ray and what happened to Joshua. When their son Raymond was eventually born, the two parents decided to lie and say he was allergic to sunlight.

For a good chunk of his young life, Raymond was kept locked up in his home. The only people he associated with were his parents, being home schooled by his mother, a former middle school teacher. Things were lonely for Raymond, that was until his parents bought him a computer for his twelfth birthday. Suddenly with access to the outside world, Raymond tried to accumulate all possible knowledge that there was. He would then learn about superheroes, a topic his parents had never brought up to him. It wasn’t long before Raymond dreamed of leaving his home and becoming a superhero.

It was also during this time that Raymond made a friend online, a local girl named Jennifer Jurden. The two would chat frequently, Jennifer being Raymond’s one tie to the outside of his home. It was through his chats with Jennifer that Raymond helped understand the fact that he liked guys, another topic never brought up in the Terrill household. Things were actually going well for Raymond, that was until the Fourth Reich arrived at his doorstep.

A group of Neo-Nazi supers, the Fourth Reich had managed to find an old government list of known identities of Justice Society of America members. The Fourth Reich would split up, attacking the homes of these former heroes all at once. Raymond would be on his computer when the Neo-Nazis broke into the Terrill. The elderly Langford would attempt to fight them off, but his light powers had been weakening in recent years.

Hearing his father being hurt outside, Raymond moved without thinking, running into the light for the first time. Immediately he absorbed a massive amount of solar energy, and fired a massive blast of light, forcing the Fourth Reich back. The fight was then interrupted by the arrival of several members of the Justice League. They had learned of the Fourth Reich’s plan and had intervened, saving all the former heroes and their families.

After the Neo-Nazis were taken to prison, Raymond and Langford had a long talk. The older Terrill would admit to being the Ray and explained what happened to Joshua. While initially angry, Raymond would understand his parents reasoning. He would forgive them, with the one stipulation being that he was allowed to operate as a new Ray. Langford would begrudgingly agree.

Raymond would then start patrolling Vanity as the Ray, all the while being trained by his father. In order to better manage his powers, Raymond was limited in how long he could spend outside, so that he never absorbed too much solar energy. It was also during this time that he would meet Jennifer in person, revealing to her that he was the Ray.

It was after a few months of mixing training and heroics, that Raymond and his father were invited to attend the Justice League’s Tenth Anniversary. Wondering if that meant the Justice League was interested in him joining, Raymond practically forced his dad to agree to go with him. Langford would agree, but only if Raymond was dressed as the Ray, as he was now the one true Ray.

The Irons family had been in Metropolis ever since they were freed from slavery. As such they have been a key part of Metropolis’ history. That continued into modern day when the Irons family were prominent civil rights activists. However they would be in the wrong place when a nearby gang shoot out caused stray bullets to kill the Irons. This left their two children, John Henry and Clay without a home. Ending up in the same foster home in the Suicide Slums neighborhood, the brothers would have a different outlook on life than the other.

John Henry just wanted to get out of the city, to make something of his life. To that end he forced himself to excel in school, getting scholarships to attend the nation’s best schools. Clay on the other hand embraced the Slums, becoming a drug dealer. While his big brother was away making something of his life, Clay got his girlfriend pregnant twice, leading to his kids Natasha and Ezekiel.

Upon having children, Clay tried to turn his life around. He engaged with his kids, seeing that Natasha had the same smarts of her uncle, while Ezekiel was an emotional and caring kid. However, the better times would not last as an old enemy of Clay’s, the supervillain Skyhook, kidnapped Ezekiel. Their would be a massive manhunt to located the kidnapped child, Superman even getting involved. In the end Ezekiel was found dead, with Superman arresting Skyhook.

The failure of the police and Superman to save his son caused Clay to spiral, falling into hard drugs. Natasha dealing with the pain of a dead sibling and an absent father would throw herself into her studies, joining as many extracurricular programs she could, just so she wouldn’t have to go home. Then the Reach Invasion happened, Metropolis being hit hard.

In the chaos of the battle, Clay Irons was believed killed. Left alone, Natasha would be rescued by her uncle John Henry who decided to move back to Metropolis to help rebuild. Natasha would move in with her uncle, while he joined a company called Amertek Industries. Wondering what her uncle was doing at the company, Natasha would hack into their servers and discover that John Henry was helping the US government develop weapons to fight off another potential alien invasion.

But Natasha kept her mouth shut, focusing instead on her studies. However, the true purpose of the weapons was revealed when more Kryptonian stasis pods were found. Fearing an army of Supermen, the military used the weaponry to try and capture General Zod and his commanders. When John Henry learned of this he immediately quit Amertek and went to give tech support to the Kryptonian refugees.

Following this incident, Superman and the other Kryptonians would depart the Earth to find the remnants of Krypton. However, shortly after they left, an explosion happened in deep space and Earth lost all communication with the Kryptonians. With the public believing Superman dead somewhere far off in space, super-criminals began to exploit this opportunity in Metropolis.

Wishing to honor Superman’s legacy, John Henry would build a power armor to defend Metropolis with. Dubbed the New Man of Steel, John Henry would clash with the gang lord known as the White Rabbit. It would only take a few days for Natasha to deduce that her uncle was the new hero. Wanting to help, she forced her way into the role of tech support.

The pair would work together for seven months before Superman returned. Apparently he had encountered a slaver fleet controlled by an AI, which had destroyed their communications gear. With his hero returned, John Henry and Natasha were prepared to retire, only to be approached by Superman. He was so impressed with how the two had handled protecting Metropolis, that he offered John Henry a place with the Justice League.

John Henry would immediately agree, slightly altering his name to just Steel before fully joining the League. The niece and uncle would then move to Washington D.C. to be closer to the League. Natasha would end up graduating high school early, taking a position as a Senator’s aide. But Natasha quickly became disillusioned with politics, and decided to move back to Metropolis on her own.

There she would start a small think tank called Steelworks. As a side project she would build her own set of power armor. While she would test it several times, she actually had to use it when someone kidnapped the Mayor of Metropolis. Apparently a new crime boss named Reggie Clover aka Crash had appeared and wanted to make a name for himself. Natasha would track down the kidnapped Mayor, only to discover that Crash was in fact her thought-dead father Clay.

The man had faked his death during the Reach invasion and decided to build a new name for himself. Natasha would defeat her father in combat before turning him over to the police. Deciding that she was obligated to do this, she began operating as a superhero. Her uncle, while initially against it, would give his blessing and allow for her to use the name Steel.

In the year she has been working as a hero, she’s become friends with Superman, who invited her to attend the Justice League’s tenth anniversary event. While her uncle would be there as a Justice League member, Natasha hopes to be seen as her own hero.