Sarge Steel
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Sarge Steel was a detective/spy character published by Charlton Comics during the 1960s. As he was published during the time of Charlton's Action Heroes line of superheroes, and had loose ties to some, he is sometimes included with that group. He was purchased by DC Comics along with the other "Action Heroes".
Sarge (short for "Sargent", as in "Sargent Shriver") Steel has a mechanical left hand. He was created by Joe Gill and artist Dick Giordano. Other artists, including the team of Bill Montes and Ernie Bache, would later take over.
[edit] Charlton Comics
Sarge first appeared in his own title, Sarge Steel #1 (Dec, 1964). His title would last until #8, at which point it was retitled Secret Agent, and cancelled with #10 (October, 1967). After that, his series continued in Judomaster #91-98 (the stories in #91-96 fit in the year-long hiatus between issues #9 & #10, as all his stories are listed as 'File #xxx'). Sarge also appeared in short spots on self defense in Fightin' 5 #34 and 37 and in the Sentinels stories in Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt #57 and 58 as their CIA contact.
His enemies included characters link 'The Lynx', 'Ivan Crunch', 'Smiling Skull' (a Nazi villain who fought Judomaster during WWII), Werner Von Wess, Mr. Ize, and others.
Sarge was originally a hardboiled detective, who somehow also got involved in "spy cases", and became by issue #6 a "Special Agent".
[edit] DC Comics
In DC Comics, Sarge was eventually put in charge of the United States' governmental agencies involved with 'superhuman' activities for many years. He was apparently the head of a small agency known as the CBI (Central Bureau of Intelligence), which also included King Faraday, and Faraday's two well known agents Richard Dragon and Ben Turner. He was eventually depicted as a Federal Cabinet Secretary of Metahuman Affairs (giving him control of agencies such as the Suicide Squad), until the election of Lex Luthor as President. Luthor appointed Amanda Waller as his successor until Luthor was re-exposed as a criminal in the events of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
Steel has since resumed his old Cabinet posting as a member of the Horne Administration. He is currently in charge of Nemesis and Diana Prince.
