DC's Legends of Tomorrow Recruits Nick Zano as Citizen Steel

Minority Report star Nick Zano will join the cast of DC's Legends of Tomorrow as Nate Heywood, better known to comics fans as (Citizen) Steel, Deadline reports.

In the comics, Nathan Heywood is the grandson of Henry Heywood and cousin of Henry Heywood III, who both carried the Steel/Commander Steel name. Like Jax (and Arrow's new recruit Wild Dog), Nate Heywood was a star athlete before he was forced to retire after shattering his kneecap, having his leg amputated, and becoming addicted to painkillers. He would become a member of the Justice Society of America during its very legacy-heavy period which also included characters like Stargirl and Cyclone.

Zano, who has had recurring or regular roles on Cougar Town, Melrose Place, and Happy Endings before landing on Legends of Tomorrow is one of those actors who is in demand every pilot season but seems to end up on shows that don't last long.

Citizen Steel's most significant contribution to Justice Society mythology was in the team's battle against Gog, a godlike being whose herald Magog ultimately joined the team. The original Commander Steel served for years with the JSA and the All-Star Squadron.

Many fans had speculated, given the casting descriptions released online a few weeks back, that Citizen Steel was one of the new series regulars coming to DC's Legends of Tomorrow. The show is reportedly also casting for a female hero with World War II ties, often speculated to be Lady Blackhawk.

The Commander/Citizen Steel mantle has been handed down through the Heywood family, but it's a fairly simple concept: people whose bodies have been badly damaged in accidents or in war, have pieces repaired or replaced with "living steel," giving them enhanced ability, strength, resistance to damage, etc.