| John Henry | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Real Name |
John Henry |
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First Appearance |
1800s American Folklore |
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Created by |
US Folklore |
Origin[]
John Henry is an American folk hero famous for winning a race against a steam powered hammer according to some along the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in Talcott, West Virginia. However, John wins only to die with his hammer in his hand. Legends have said he was the strongest man alive and that he was a slave born in Missouri in the 1840s.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of John Henry from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Notes[]
- John Henry makes an appearance in the IDW Publishing miniseries The Transformers: Hearts of Steel, with the steel-driving machine being the alternate mode of the Autobot Bumblebee, who ends up befriending Henry.
- Elements of John Henry's legend were featured in DC Comics:
- In the comic series DC: The New Frontier, an African-American man named John Wilson becomes a vigilante named John Henry in order to battle the Ku Klux Klan after his family is lynched.
- The superhero Steel's civilian name "John Henry Irons" is inspired by John Henry. The story of John Henry further inspired Steel's weapon of choice, a sledgehammer.
- In DC's Super Friends #21 (January 2010), Superman encountered the actual John Henry after being placed in the folk tale by the Queen of Fables.
- Issue #6 of "Flashpoint Beyond" and issue #1 of The New Golden Age revealed that there was a Golden Age superhero named John Henry Jr.