Iron Munro (Arn Munro) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Roy Thomas created the character in 1987 for Young All-Stars. He largely served to replace Superman in stories set during World War II after the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline eliminated continuities in which Superman was active in this period.
After DC cancelled Thomas' World War II-set comic All-Star Squadron in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the company charged him with writing a follow-up series with a new superhero team, Young All-Stars. Iron Munro was one of several new characters Thomas created as analogues for popular superheroes written out of the continuity; he stood in for Superman, with comparable powers and appearance. He was inspired by two 1930s pulp fiction characters who in turn prefigured Superman: John W. Campbell's science fiction hero Aarn Munro, who appeared in comics as "Iron Munro", and Hugo Danner, the protagonist of Philip Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator, who had powers similar to Superman's and is sometimes seen as an inspiration.
Young All-Stars did not achieve the popularity of All-Star Squadron, which had featured better known characters from the Golden Age of Comic Books. The series was cancelled in 1989. Iron Munro continued to make occasional appearances in DC Comics.
Development
From 1981 to 1987, Roy Thomas wrote DC Comics' popular series All-Star Squadron, set on Earth-Two, a parallel universe based on the company's characters of the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books. All-Star Squadron depicts a team of Earth-Two versions of characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman fighting in World War II. In 1985, DC launched the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover storyline, which ultimately eliminated the company's Multiverse of parallel worlds in favor of a new unified continuity. This removed Superman and others from the World War II setting, and DC cancelled All-Star Squadron in 1987.
DC charged Thomas with writing a follow-up series with new characters. He created Young All-Stars, featuring a new team of World War II-era superheroes. His concept was that the "displaced energy" of the removed superheroes generated analogs to replace them; as such, most of the new cast stood in for the heroes written out of the continuities. Iron Munro replaced Superman with similar powers and appearance; Flying Fox, Fury, and Neptune Perkins replaced Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman respectively.
Thomas' Iron Munro was inspired by two characters from 1930s pulp fiction. His name comes from Aarn Munro, the hero of John W. Campbell's 1934 science fiction novel The Mightiest Machine and some subsequent works. Campbell's character had incredible strength and agility from growing up on a high-gravity planet, the same explanation for Superman's powers in early stories. Notably, this is an inversion of Edgar Rice Burroughs' earlier character John Carter, an earthling whose strength increased on the smaller planet of Mars. Aarn Munro appeared in Shadow Comics as "Iron Munro" in the 1940s. Additionally, Iron Munro is based on Hugo Danner, the protagonist of Philip Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator. Often viewed as a precursor to and possible inspiration for Superman, Hugo Danner likewise had otherworldly strength, speed, and impervious skin. In a nod to Superman's debt to Gladiator, Thomas made Iron Munro the son of Hugo Danner.
Publication history
Loosely following Philip Wylie's novel Gladiator, the comics establish that in 1894, scientist Abednego Danner injected his pregnant wife with an experimental serum. Their son Hugo was born with super-human strength, speed, and nigh-invulnerability. Hugo's powers led him through a number of adventures, but set him apart from mortal humans, bringing him grief. Eventually, Hugo staged his own death in the Yucatán Peninsula and went into hiding. He briefly returned to Colorado and had a one-night stand with his high school sweetheart, Anna Blake, who became pregnant. When Hugo disappeared for good, Blake married a young businessman named John Munro, who never realized the child she bore was not his own. Their son, Arnold, began exhibiting superhuman powers of strength and invulnerability at age ten. Remembering Hugo's troubles, Anna made her son promise to keep his abilities a secret until he turned eighteen.