| The Steel Commando | |
|---|---|
 The Steel Commando on the cover of the 4 August 1973 edition of Lion. Art by Alex Henderson. | |
| Character information | |
| First appearance | Thunder (17 October 1970) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Mark 1 Indestructible Robot |
| Species | Robot |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Team affiliations | British Army |
| Partnerships | Lance-Corporal Ernest Bates |
| Notable aliases | Ironsides |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | IPC Magazines |
| Schedule | Weekly |
| Title(s) | Thunder 17 October 1970 to 13 March 1971 Lion 20 March 1971 to 18 May 1974 Thunder Annual 1972 to 1973 Lion Special 1971 to 1976 and 1978 Valiant 25 May to 22 June 1974 Lion Annual 1975 to 1978 |
| Formats | Original material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s) Thunder Lion Valiant. |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | 17 October 1970 – 18 May 1974 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Frank S. Pepper |
| Artist(s) | Alex Henderson Vince Wernham |
| Reprints | |
| Collected editions | |
| Steel Commando - Full Metal Warfare | ISBN 9781781086810 |
The Steel Commando is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by IPC Magazines. Created by Frank S. Pepper, the character first appeared in the first issue of the short-lived boys' weekly adventure anthology comic Thunder, dated 17 October 1970. After Thunder ended in March 1971 the strip continued in Lion until 1974. The character is a robotic soldier fighting for the British Army in World War II; due to a programming error the mechanical man will only obey the orders of layabout Private Ernest 'Excused Boots' Bates.