Steel - The Jersey City Era, Part 6

[superboyprime]

Steel #42: By far my favorite ever story starring an armored black superhero that takes place in a hospital, of all the many stories starring armored black superheroes that take place in hospitals out there.



The issue begins with Steel assisting at an accident on the Polaski Skyway and helping deliver a baby. He and Amanda Quick are supposed to attend some awards banquet, but his heroics delay their departure. He thinks they'll never arrive on time now, but she insists that between her driving skills and her knowledge of shortcuts, they can make it. "You're in for a treat," she tells him as she takes the wheel.







The cops rough them up and are preparing to take them in, but they back off when they notice what's inside the vehicle.



John's still recovering from his concussion from several issues back, so Amanda insists he gets checked out at Garden State Medical Center's emergency room.

The ER, as it turns out, is presently in a state of chaos. Another hospital in the area's currently closed to trauma, so lots of people are being re-routed to GSMC. The staff's swamped. Amanda's a high-paid surgeon and normally doesn't work in the ER, but, given the circumstances, she decides
to pitch in.



John leaves the room and is immediately snatched up by one of the nurses.

Comments

[tsunamiwombat]

I so..wait, what the hell?

Cops just beat them up because they're black? is that the implication here?

[karunya]

Because they were necking as if in a lovers' lane?

[recognitions]

I know, that never happens in real life!

[kaete]

Well yeah, definitely because they're black. But it also didn't help that instead of exiting the vehicle, she turned around and started rooting in the back seat.

There's a reason you're not supposed to pull out your license and registration until the cop specifically asks you for it - they don't know if you're reaching for your purse, or a gun.

That being said, it's *very* doubtful the cops would have jumped in guns blazing and yelling for the driver to exit the car if it was some equally well dressed white couple. So that's why I say it was surely racially motivated.

[icon_uk]

I assume there were consquences for the cops in this?

And the Dr Villain thing reminds me of, of all things, and episode of Diagnosis: Murder with Michael Tucci. He played the Hospital Adminsitrator and was generally viewed by all as being a money-minded, pencil-pushing anal retentive pedant who is the butt of endless jokes and gibes. But as the episode points out, though he IS a money-minded, pencil-pushing anal retentive pedant, he's also the ONLY reason that the Hospital has been able to stay open at all for the past five years.

[recognitions]

Honestly, if this was the real world, Amanda would be doing 20 to life for assaulting a police officer and her face would have been on the front page of the Daily News.

[icon_uk]

Well, sadly yes, but this is now a cop who beat up a member of the JLA without the remotest probable cause.

[recognitions]

Mmm. With the assault on both sides, it would probably be the Henry Louis Gates thing all over again, only more dramatic.

[icon_uk]

I imagine that John Henry Iron's character witnesses would be a mite more impressive than any cops.

[superboyprime]

There are consequences for the cops, but in later issues.

Interesting comparison...

In case you missed it...

[bewareofgeek]

Paul Tomlinson = Boris.

And he's picking up his HIV medication.

(Unfortunately, this particular subplot never had much time to develop)

[psychopathicus_rex]

Did... Did Dr. Villain just casually flick off a guy's life support and kill him, or am I misinterpreting things?

[tsunamiwombat]

No, he made them stop working, as good as killing him. I think. But not murder.

or..Something..?

[psychopathicus_rex]

Well, no one calls him on it, so perhaps it's less extreme than it looks. But he IS definitely flicking a switch of some sort, immediately followed by 'time of death', so... yeah.

[althechi]

"By far my favorite ever story starring an armored black superhero that takes place in a hospital, of all the many stories starring armored black superheroes that take place in hospitals out there."

What, no love for week #40 of 52? (I'm sure there's a medical wing somewhere in the LexCorp building.) ;)