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For other uses of "Steel", see Steel (disambiguation).


"Come on! I'm Steel, you're the Atom. There is nothing we cannot handle!"
—Nate Heywood to Ray Palmer[src]

Dr. Nathaniel "Nate" Heywood[1] (died 2019; resurrected) is a historian, specializing in deductive historical reconstruction (self-described, simply as "a time detective"). He is the son of the late Hank Heywood and Dorothy Heywood, the grandson of the late Henry Heywood and Bettie Heywood, the best friend of Ray Palmer, the ex-boyfriend of Amaya Jiwe, and the boyfriend of Zari Tomaz.

Due to Nate's skills, he was able to deduce that an aberration-created reality, one in which the Nazis nuked New York City in 1942 (due to the machinations of Damien Darhk and Eobard Thawne) and World War II continued until 1947, was starting to cement in the timeline, supplanting the previous reality. With the help of Oliver Queen, he was able to locate the submerged Waverider in 2016, waking Mick Rory from time stasis. Together with Mick, Nate traveled through time, using his skills as a historian to find the locations and time periods in which different members of the Legends team were stranded.[2] For his support, Nate was made a new member of the team.[3]

After being injected with a biomolecular enhancer created by Thawne and modified by Ray, Nate gained the ability to transform his skin into steel, making him extremely strong and resilient. After Nate learned to use his abilities, Ray gave him a suit and the alter ego "Steel" (after his grandfather, Commander Steel). Among the other nicknames he suggested himself were Corporal Steel, Mr. Steel and Citizen Steel,[4] and he has also been referred to by others and himself as the Man of Steel[5][6][7] and Steel Man.[8][9] After his breakup with Amaya, Nate left the Waverider to recover and focus on himself. He soon received and accepted a new job at the Time Bureau, where he runs the magic department.[10] After Ray was possessed by Neron, Nate rejoined the Legends to aid his friends in bringing Ray back, continue his relationship with Zari, and help her care for Wickstable.[11] Nate let himself be killed in order to destroy the demon and save Ray, but his father's spirit and the Legends used magical music to bring him back to life. Zari disappeared since her future changed and her brother Behrad Tarazi appeared in her place. Nate no longer had any conscious memory of Zari since her future was different.[12] However after being briefly subjected to hypnosis it was shown that he unconsciously remembers things about Zari from the original timeline.

Later Nate met the new version of Zari and realized that she was the product of the events that took place at Heyworld. Nate also learned about their now erased relationship and was dismayed that the current Zari was much different than the one he fell in love with. He later found out that the original Zari's consciousness and spirit still existed thanks to the Air Totem and were influencing the current Zari's actions and behavior. As she possessed her counterpart, the pair was finally reunited, with Nate's memories fully restored, before Charlie used her powers as a Fate to give the original Zari her own body to use. However, Nate and Zari were forced to part ways once again when Zari returned to the Air Totem to save Behrad's life.

Nate and the Legends battled various aliens in order to find Sara. He and the others traveled to 1977 to prevent Sara from being kidnapped, but they couldn't. When Sara returned, Nate and the Legends continued to battle the aliens. When Zari Tarazi and the original Zari switched places, Nate and Zari Tomaz resumed their relationship for 24 hours. After Constantine sided with Bishop, Nate and the Legends teamed up with Kayla to defeat him. During Sara and Ava's wedding, Nate and the Legends fought an army of Zagurons and managed to defeat the Zagurons and Bishop. When they were going to leave 1925, Nate and the Legends were stuck around that time due to the Waverider being destroyed by another Waverider.

Nate and the Legends took a crazy trip to New York to find Gwyn Davies and travel back in time while fighting a robot Hoover. Traveling back in time, the Legends had to flee from an "evil Gideon" and her team of evil Legends. He and the Legends ran away at various times and he had agreed to go live with Zari on the Air Totem. In order to live a good future, Nate and the others agreed to retire after being tricked by "evil Gideon". After saving Alun Thomas and losing his steel powers, Nate left the Legends to live with Zari.

Biography[]

Original multiverse[]

Early life[]

Nate Heywood was born a hemophiliac, and as a result of his parents' decision to protect him from all harm, he was never allowed outside after one scraped knee at the age of 5.[3] As a child, he was inspired by George Lucas' Indiana Jones movies, deciding to become a historian, spending all his time studying at home.[13] In addition, Nate was always interested in stories about his paternal grandfather, eventually getting his soldier "dog tags" passed down to him.[3] Nate didn't have the best relationship with his father and always referred to him as "Hank".[14] Eventually Nate left home at sixteen for college. He studied abroad at Oxford for a year while completing his master's degree, during which time he dated a girl named Wendy and read an unpublished paper by J.R.R. Tolkien titled The Burden of the Purest Heart.[15]

Nate graduated with a PhD from Brixton University,[2] where he heard the story of the Chalice of Dionysus and attempted to steal it.[16] Afterwards, Nate became a historian specializing in historical reconstruction and deduction, calling himself a "time detective". He observed the past and current events of Earth-1, with special interest in vigilantes, deducing the identities of the Green Arrow and all members of Rip Hunter's team, identifying them as "the Legends" , and figuring out their appearances in the past from research and overview of historical artifacts and written sources.[2]

Becoming a Legend[]

Nate Heywood introducing himself

Nate Heywood meeting with Oliver Queen.

In fall 2016, Nate started to notice how historical artifacts, and thus reality itself, started to change from what he knew of it beforehand. Figuring out that the Legends ended up in trouble, Nate gathered his courage and tried to sneak past the security at Mayor Oliver Queen's office when he was not permitted through, trusting Queen to believe his findings as the Green Arrow and as a friend of Sara Lance and Ray Palmer. Oliver was easily convinced by Nate's arguments about the changed timeline, in which the Nazis attacked the United States by nuking New York City. Arranging for a submarine to lower himself as well as Dr. Heywood to the submerged Waverider, the two woke Mick Rory from stasis, alarming him. Mick instinctively attacked the newcomers but was quickly subdued by Oliver. Mick confirmed Nate's findings and suspicion and, on Oliver's advice, the two decided to travel through time and gather the Legends' members that have been scattered throughout time, due to the ship's emergency function before it was hit by a nuke in 1942.

Mick, Martin and Nate talk to Albert Einstein

Nate took part in the Legends' mission to convince Albert Einstein to reveal Mileva Maric's accomplishments to the public.

Nate and Mick eventually located and saved all team members sans Rip Hunter, before setting up to safeguard both Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric in case the Nazis, or a rogue time traveler, tried to kidnap them once again. The Legends, with Nate as the newest member, appeared in 1942 prior to Albert Einstein's physics symposium in the guise of CIA, convincing the big guy to tell the public of his ex-wife's accomplishments. Einstein happily obliged, making Mileva's support of his research public, and thus prompting the United States government to safeguard them both. Nate listened to Einstein's speech with wonder and adoration, barely able to believe that they changed history for the better. As Nate was ready to leave the premises along with the other Legends, they were halted by the Justice Society of America members.[2]

The Legends in the JSA Headquarters

Nate in the JSA Headquarters with the Legends.

Nate was excited to meet the JSA, in particular, Commander Steel. The Legends tried to negotiate with the JSA but they insisted on taking them into custody with Nate being knocked out by Commander Steel with a punch. Imprisoned by the JSA, Nate revealed exactly who they were to the rest of the team though Commander Steel thought they were Nazi spies. Nate then revealed that he was wearing the same dog tags that he was and explained to Henry Heywood/Commander Steel that he was his future grandson. They then met Rex Tyler though he insisted that he never met the Legends before and asked them to leave as they had a new mission in Paris.

Sara Lance at first intended to bid Nate goodbye, concerned with his unpreparedness for the dangerous adventure as an untrained historian, Nate vehemently opposed this, wanting to finally do something with his life. He then found that his dog tags were missing which meant history had changed and learned that the JSA never returned from Paris. Nate then revealed that he spoke six languages and Sara wondered why he became a historian due to his background though he said it was complicated. They infiltrated the nightclub where the JSA's target, a Nazi named Krieger was arranging an exchange. A fight broke out in the club that had Nate getting injured. The JSA agreed to work together when they revealed that they never returned from this mission. Sara then learned that Nate had hemophilia meaning that his blood didn't clot normally and that was why he was sheltered his whole life but Nate refused to back down because he finally felt alive. He then visited his grandfather and wondered why the man seemed to be shutting him out and he revealed that his hero worship of him frightened him as he did what he did so others, like him, didn't have to. Nate told him that he just wanted to be a hero like him but couldn't because of his affliction but Henry told him that he didn't have to be a soldier to be a hero.

Henry and Nate Heywood

Nate with his grandfather as they say goodbye.

When the mission to intercept Krieger went south due to him transforming to a berserker creature due to a serum, Amaya Jiwe and Ray Palmer were captured. The Legends and JSA went to rescue them but Henry was left behind to get caught in the bombing run. Nate went to rescue him with a motorbike but they managed to get caught just outside the bombing radius and Nate was injured. His body wasn't healing due to his blood not clotting and was starting to die. Ray then injected Nate with the serum that he stole and modified and his body started to immediately recover. When he came to, he saw that his grandfather had been watching him and hoping to speak to him before they left. Henry told him that it appeared that he was a hero after all. Nate and his grandfather then saw his dogtags had returned which meant that history was back on track.[3]

Nate discovering his powers

Nate discovering his powers.

As Nate was still recovering from his heavy wounds in the Waverider's medbay, Amaya Jiwe snuck on board the ship, trying to assassinate Mick Rory, believing him to be the mysterious time traveler that murdered Rex Tyler. As Nate awoke, he stopped Amaya using his newfound meta-human powers of organic steel transformation. Excited by his new powers, Nate discussed a possible meta-human alias with the team, suggesting "Corporal Steel", "Citizen Steel" and "Mr. Steel". As Sara and Amaya came to an agreement, they watched Nate excitedly testing his powers with Ray, taking shots from the A.T.O.M. Exosuit. In their excitement, the two vigilantes ended up damaging the ship and then freefalling through the timestream and out of the Temporal Zone, ending up in mid-17th century Japan. Awed by his historical surroundings, Nate passed out, before being found by Masako Yamashiro, a local villager. Despite it being dangerous for the villagers to assist a gaijin under the tyrannical rule of Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, Masako and her father, Ichiro Yamashiro, nursed Nate to health. Masako gave Nate a bath, telling him of her unfortunate story of being betrothed to the cruel Iemitsu. Refusing to accept injustice, Nate tried to challenge the Shogun's Samurai, who arrived to the village to inform Masako of the coming wedding day, but ended up unable to activate his powers, getting flattened by an armored samurai, and heavily wounded once again.

The Legends leave feudal Japan

The Legends leave feudal Japan.

As Nate was being healed by Masako, he was being asked on his backstory, trying to fit facts that wouldn't seem strange for the Medieval Japanese with his real life, but ended up blundering, remembering that the United States would not exist for many years after 1641, further confusing Masako. Eventually, he was found by the rest of the Legends. Recovering from his wounds, Nate was being trained by Ray to reconnect to his abilities, but to no avail. Masako imparted him with wisdom that, to Ray, sounded reminiscent of that of a fictional character, Master Yoda, whom he claimed to have been his sensei. As the Shogun and his men approached the village, Nate came out to oppose him, but, once again, couldn't activate his powers, sustaining heavy damage from the Exosuit's light blast, getting knocked out. He eventually recovered, just in time to save Ray and Masako from being slain by Tokugawa Iemitsu. Transforming into his meta-human Steel form, Nate grabbed the Shogun's sword, then, together with Ray, confused him in the duel, before catching the Yamashiro family katana thrown by Ray and destroying the Exosuit's alpha-stabilizer with it, leading to a somatic overload that had the suit blown up, along with the tyrannical Iemitsu. Nate checked on Masako, who praised him for blowing up the Exosuit, before going to comfort Ray, who was proud that Nate had "steeled on" and embraced him. As the village celebrated, Masako tried to persuade Nate to take the katana with him, but he disagreed, saying that she was just as worthy to be its wielder. Nate thought to ask Masako if she'd be interested in continuing their relationship, but she pragmatically noted that as he "came from the sky", he'd have to return, and it was impossible. The two parted with one last kiss.[4]

During the Legends' mission to the times of Civil War, dealing with an outbreak of TX-90 brought by a crash-landed time pirate, Nate joined the initial team to scout out the location of the pirate's ship. He later took initiative by informing Ulysses S. Grant, the commander of the United States Army, about the outbreak. However, he was unsuccessful with explaining what a "zombie" is to the 19th-century soldiers, before Sara Lance went on a recon mission and brought a still-moving undead head, causing Grant to prepare his sharpshooters for defense against the deceased Confederate soldiers. Struggling to gain control over his powers, Nate eventually succeeded, taking the infected soldiers' attention with a fiery signal, before making them follow him into a remote location to deal with. Once brought far enough from the Union's troops, Nate finally used his meta-human powers to protect himself, while blowing up the "zombies" that surrounded him with a bomb, getting covered in goo left from their corpses.[17]

On a mission to 1987's Washington, D.C., Nate joined Amaya Jiwe in figuring out what happened to the members of the Justice Society of America. They located an angry Todd Rice/Obsidian, whom Nate ended up knocking out in surprise. After getting healed, the aged Obsidian told the younger heroes about the JSA's fate and their role in the Cold War against the Soviet Union, including a tragic final mission in Leipzig in 1956. Nate, along with the rest of the team and Obsidian, interrupted the exchange between Damien Darhk and the KGB agents, joining the fight to defeat H.I.V.E. Ghosts in his meta-human form. After the mission, Nate and Amaya discussed Henry Heywood, with Amaya telling Nate of his grandfather's beautiful singing voice.[1]

On a mission to 1874's Wild West, Nate teamed up with Ray Palmer and Jefferson Jackson, investigating the influence of Quentin Turnbull first in the guise of tax collectors, then as bandits from his gang. Taking the results back to the team, they joined the fight against Turnbull and his outlaws. When Turnbull prepared to kill the Legends, Rory in particular, with his pistol's light blasts made from dwarf alloy bullets, Nate tried to block the shot with his own body in his form as Steel. He blocked the bullet, but it pierced his metallic skin, snapping Nate out of his meta-human form and damaging his internal organs. Brought back to the ship, Nate was nursed to health as he discussed with Ray Palmer just how hard it is to be brave, to be a hero. Together, they figured out Turnbull's plan to create a new country in place of America, using a train full of dynamite to destroy the railroad and cut off the United States Army from the western half of the country. Nate, Jax and Ray were then sent to stop the train with dwarf alloy. Nate decided to stop the train by himself, riding away from the team and turning into Steel before the train, trying to stop it with sheer strength. Despite his fears, he succeeded, although damaging part of the railroad. Back on the Waverider, Ray discussed the latest events with Nate, and presented him with a Steel suit of his own, made out of dwarf star alloy.[5]

Dominator invasion[]
Citizen Steel

Nate during the Dominator invasion.

When the Legends returned to 2016 to help their friends with the Dominators, Nate and Amaya stayed on the Waverider so they could watch it.[18] After The Dominators took Oliver, Sara, Thea, Ray, and John captive and placed them under a dream while the aliens begin searching their minds for information on Earth-1's meta-humans, the five managed to escape after stealing an alien spacecraft, pursued by the Dominators' starships, but were picked up by the Waverider, where they were greeted by Nate, who figured out that the heroes were chosen because they were not meta-humans themselves.[19] Regrouping, Nate, along with Amaya Jiwe, Mick Rory, Felicity Smoak, and Cisco Ramon traveled back to 1951, to the site of the Dominators' first incursion at Redmond. Trying his new armor for the first time, Nate was called a "star-spangled idiot" by Mick. At Mick's lead, they prepared to capture one of the aliens, but were interrupted by Agent Smith and taken prisoner. The team managed to escape capture and, at Cisco's suggestion, released the captive alien, hoping for his good fortune. The gesture didn't change the Dominators' minds, but instead empowered their decision due to how a 'normal human' like Smith could be dangerous, believing meta-humans could become a galactic scourge. They offered an exchange: the life of one Barry Allen (seen as dangerous by the Dominators for his changes of the timeline) for the lives of all meta-humans on Earth.

The heroes take on the Dominators in a final showdown

Nate standing with the other heroes as they stand against the Dominators.

The heroes refused, with Nate joining the battle against one of their major forces as Steel, along with Heat Wave, Vixen, Supergirl, the Atom, the Green Arrow, Spartan, Speedy, Firestorm and the Flash. After the Dominators' retreat, Nate was present at the celebrations with the new President of the United States. He was recognized as "Dr. Heywood" by an older Agent Smith, but reacted coldly to the agent. Nate guessed that Smith was there to try and 'cover up' the good that their team did especially when they acted against Smith's attempts to capture Barry when Kara came over and informed him on some idea pitches she made to the President on alien affairs as well as reassigning Smith to Antarctica. Nate amusingly pointed out Smith should be careful in the future about angering visitors from other planets.[20]

The Legion of Doom[]
The Legends in Chicago

The Legends in Chicago.

Returning to the Legends' quest of hunting down time aberrations, Nate practiced his abilities in the meta-human form against Ray in the Atom suit, causing quite a ruckus on the Waverider. They two were reprimanded by Sara and Jax, but continued their training with jests. After the team were alerted to a new time quake in 1927, they discussed a plan to stop Al Capone's rise to the Mayor's Office in Chicago. Ray and Nate followed Eliot Ness, but, due to Ray's falling for corrupt cops' ruse, lost him. As Nate explained the historical peculiarities of 1927's Chicago, the team regrouped to stop Al Capone from killing Ness at the docks. While Amaya Jiwe saved the drowning Ness, Nate fought Capone's gangsters in his Steel suit. The Legends brought Ness to the Waverider, seeing that he suffered severe damage and leaving him in Gideon's care. After that, the team decided that one of them should play the role of Ness, with Ray and Nate both demanding the role: Ray for his acting skills, and Nate for his knowledge of history (dismissed by Ray as looking too much like Brad Pitt). In the end, they went together, posing as agents from the same agency, but their trail on Capone has proven false. With Nate's plan not so lucky, Mick Rory gathered the team to do things his way, as criminals, outright stealing important info to take down Capone from his home turf. After a battle against the members of Eobard Thawne's syndicate, Nate and Ray met with the real Eliot Ness and gave him the necessary papers to take down Capone, with Ness hardly believing the possibility of defeating the gangster through tax evasion charges.[21]

Studying historical documents and archeological artifacts, Nate was able to pinpoint that the Spear of Destiny was the artifact searched by Eobard and his cronies, whom Nate nicknamed "the Legion of Doom", in a reference to some old "Hanna-Barbera" cartoon. Gideon later noted that a piece of the Spear was seen in the possession of Rip Hunter before he time-scattered, but he refused to tell her of its origins. Notified about an aberration caused by Merlyn and Darhk in Hollywood, 1967, Nate went on a mission with the other Legends. To their surprise, they located an amnesiac Rip Hunter, now a director under the name "Philip Gasmer". Rip was then attacked by blaster-wielding Darhk and Merlyn, forcing the Legends to protect him. Unsuccessful in catching the time criminals, the Legends retreated, while Rip was arrested by the police under suspicion of starting the shooting incident, and then placed into custody. Rip's failure as a director affected his assistant, young George Lucas, who decided to throw away the movie props, a piece of the Spear among them, and quit film school to become an insurance businessman instead. This caused another aberration, changing the personal timelines of Ray and Nate, who, without watching Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies, were now never inspired to pursue their respective academia. This led Nate to become a yoga instructor instead.

As the aberration started to set in, Nate's meta-human powers and Ray's A.T.O.M. Exosuit also disappeared. Trying to now, hunt down both Lucas and the Spear, the two ended up trapped with George and Amaya in a trash compactor by Darhk and Merlyn, forced to find and give them the spear. As the four were about to be killed, Nate, Ray and Amaya pleaded with Lucas to believe in himself and reaffirm his wish to dedicate his life to filmmaking. Now ready to believe in the impossible, George shouted about how much he'd want to direct, removing the aberration and giving Nate and Ray their powers back. With them all back to normal they escaped from the villains' trap, along with the piece of Spear and even took back the medallion. It seemed like they would be able to defeat Darhk and Merlyn but then their speedster enemy reappeared and turned the tide of the battle back for the Legion. Rip Hunter then appeared, seemingly have gotten his memory back but it was quickly seen as just an act to try and distract the Legion. Nate and his team watched as the Legion captured him and then retreated.

Movie night on the Waverider

Nate, Ray and Amaya relax on the Waverider and watch some of George Lucas' films.

Resting on the Waverider, they saw that history was back on track and all of the movies that Lucas was to make had returned and Nate had back all of his historical knowledge. Nate and Ray decided to treat themselves and Amaya to some popcorn and have a movie night dedicated to George Lucas's films.[13]

Nate was trying to find some clues to the identity of their speedster enemy when Martin revealed that he had caused an aberration which resulted in him having a daughter, Lily. Lily was brought onto the ship as she believed that she would be able to network the amulet with Gideon to be able to locate pieces of the spear for them. He and the others kept trying to find the speedster's identity when Nate realized that perhaps the reason they couldn't find anything about him was because he had somehow been wiped out of existence but was still somehow around. Martin then realized that the speedster was Eobard Thawne. They then learned that he had forged the Legion of Doom in order because he couldn't be in one place for too long or else his non-existence would catch up with him.[22]

Relationship with Amaya[]

Nate and Amaya were talking about how they loved what they did though they would like to get off the ship at times when they were docked in the Temporal Zone. Nate began to talk of dating in the future and how it was different from 'courting' in Amaya's time when there was a massive time quake that made her fall into his arms. The quake was from Christmas of 1776 which Nate knew was when George Washington crossed the Delaware during the American Revolution. The team learned that Washington had been killed. They figured it was a trap by the Legion but they had to save Washington. Nate and Amaya posed as wealthy newlyweds which caused a few heads to turn because of the racial prejudices of the time. They were then attacked by Redcoats wielding automatic weapons and Nate shielded Amaya from the bullet barrage with his steel body. They returned to the Waverider to learn that Rip was in 1776 and was working for the Legion as he went and shot Sara. Nate and Amaya went on the trail to get back both Mick and Washington but were ambushed and Nate ended up falling into the freezing river but was saved by Amaya. She heated him up with her body heat to keep him from succumbing to Hypothermia and ended up sleeping together. After, they quickly reached the British camp and helped Rory and Washington escape. Back at the Waverider, the two agreed that what they had was "fun" though they weren't going to let it interfere in their work.[23]

The team then found that Lily's algorithm had located a fragment of the spear in 3000 A.D. While most of the team was excited to travel to the future, Nate wasn't too thrilled with the idea. Amaya told him that if he didn't want to go then he should just stay on the ship. When the team discovered Dr. Mid-Nite dead and the spear gone, they realized that Rip must've had something to do with the JSA. They then found another fragment in 507 A.D. in Britannia. Nate was excited to be back in the past though immediately shot down Ray's expectations of knights and jousts based on Arthurian lore. He also commented that what the medieval times weren't like the stories that the team seemed to grow up on when they were suddenly surrounded by knights. Ray then spoke to them in a dialect that Nate hissed was incorrect, however, it pacified the knights. One of them revealed themselves to be Guinevere, the queen of Camelot. When they were taken to Camelot, Nate quickly commented that this place shouldn't exist at all. They were taken before King Arthur who called for his adviser Merlin to see if they were trustworthy. They were all shocked to see that Merlin was really Stargirl.

Nate, Ray and Jax feasted together in the castle when Ray pointed out Sir Galahad. Nate was wondering how he knew that and Ray informed him of the legendary seat reserved for him though Nate told him that there was a difference between legend and history. When Arthur returned from a hunt, it looked like he had captured the Black Knight that was terrorizing his kingdom. However, it was seen that it was a trap set up by Damien Darhk and Rip Hunter who had Arthur under their control from futuristic mind control tech. They demanded the spear fragment in return for Arthur and Camelot's safety. Nate was present for Guinevere speaking to the knights and calling them to fight and protect their kingdom from Darhk's army. He told Ray that they all didn't stand a chance and if it was worth it for a dream and Ray told him that it was as that dream meant the world to him once. As Ray left to join up with the knights, Nate looked through a manuscript of Arthurian lore and saw an image of Ray at his funeral.

Nate finds Ray unconscious

Nate panics over Ray's unconscious body after the latter is shot by Darhk.

When Amaya and Sara found the spear fragment and were preparing to leave, Nate went to collect Ray. He had taken Galahad's sword and infused it with Ionic energy from his suit. Nate then told him that they were leaving as they found the spear but Ray refused to leave as he couldn't abandon the knights. Nate then told Ray about his death but Ray was determined to stay. When Nate returned to the Waverider, he told the team about Ray's decision and argued that they couldn't just leave him. Amaya told him that they couldn't risk losing another fragment to the Legion and that it was Ray's choice but Nate wouldn't have it. The team then realized that they couldn't abandon Ray, Stargirl or Guinevere's army. Nate headed to the battlefield with Amaya and Sara and when Ray asked if he came to fight for an imaginary kingdom after all, he told him that he came to fight for his dumb friend. When Ray left to try and stop Darhk from getting away, Nate yelled after him and eventually followed him, finding him seemingly dead after Darhk shot him and escaped. Nate panicked until it was revealed that Ray had been wearing his suit under the army for extra protection due to Nate's warning. Back at the ship, Nate admitted that maybe legend and history weren't so different as both could teach future generations and help them reveal who they could be.[24]

Nate started getting nervous when Gideon couldn't locate the final fragment of the spear that was carried by his grandfather. Everyone, including Amaya, assured Nate that they would find Commander Steel before the Legion did. However, Rip Hunter managed to override the ship's controls and had swiped the medallion. Nate moved to intercept him with Amaya and Rory. They cornered him before he could escape and he went and destroyed the medallion in front of them before Rory knocked him out. The Waverider then crash landed in Cretaceous times and had lost a vital part during the crash. Nate went with Ray and Amaya to look for it though his heart wasn't too into it as they had now lost the medallion. Amaya managed to cheer him up when she helped to take a snake that was wrapping around him and sent it on its way. Nate moved to give Amaya a kiss but Ray had interrupted when he tried to warn them of a T-Rex named Gertrude had locked in on his scent. They then learned that Gertrude had a grudge against Ray for stealing one of her eggs to eat when he was there last time.

They then regrouped in a hut that Ray had built for himself when he was stranded in this time. Ray offered to catch an iguana for them to eat but Nate told him that he brought energy bars from the ship. Ray left the two of them alone and Nate and Amaya were ready to try and kiss again when Ray quickly came back with his catch before they could. Later that night, when Amaya left to gather firewood, Ray went over to Nate and told him that he couldn't be with Amaya as she had a future to go back to in 1942. He told him about his granddaughter Vixen that was a superhero in Detroit and about what happened to her village. Nate wanted to tell her what happens but Ray said that he couldn't do it and risk all the good that Mari was meant to do. The next day, the group found the part they were looking for in Gertrude's nest. They managed to get it but Gertrude returned. Nate and Ray were ready to fight but Amaya used the power of her totem to pacify the dinosaur to their amazement. Nate assured Ray that he would stop his relationship with Amaya though when she told him that she would be waiting for him in her room, he told himself that he would start tomorrow.[25]

Rip Hunter revealed to the team that he left Henry Heywood in 1965, Manhattan. Nate went with Rip, Amaya and Sara to a moment after Rip had left Henry to find that he was gone. They went back to the ship and reviewed clues to where he could've gone and found a news clipping image of Henry as a mission control manager of NASA in 1970 for the Apollo-13. They went to 1970 and Nate was reunited with his grandfather. He informed the Legends that he left his fragment of the spear on the moon in Neil Armstrong's flag which Nate thought was very clever. They moved to retrieve it when they learned that history had already changed since the Apollo-13 avoided a catastrophe that it was originally supposed to have. Nate's grandfather was cold with Rip Hunter for leaving him in 1965 and forcing his wife to raise their son by herself though Nate told him that Rip lost his family. Henry then suggested that he go back to 1956 and have it so it would be like he never left and Nate was happy at the thought of his father being able to have his own father back in his life and possibly making the man not become as cold as he presently was. Amaya then confronted Nate about the ramifications of changing his father's childhood as that would effect how Nate turned out himself but Nate was sure that events would be altered for the better. Amaya then informed Henry about the truth of time travel and the risks of going back to his son would have on how he grew up and what it could do to Nate. Henry asked Nate why he didn't tell him of all this before but Nate told Henry that his father needed him. Henry then reminded Nate that they can't forget that the mission must come first for the greater good, even over their own family. Nate became angry with Amaya for telling Henry about the risks but Amaya told him that it would change who Nate was and she liked who he was. Nate however told Amaya that they didn't have a future together and she had a destiny to go back to in 1942. He then spitefully alluded to her granddaughter and the fate of her village and asked her if she would still choose history over family. Nate went with the others to meet up with Ray as they picked him up from the moon with speedster weapons ready as he also brought in Thawne as their prisoner.

Henry Heywood's sacrifice

Nate with his grandfather before the latter's sacrifice.

Before they could return to Earth, Stein and Rory contacted the team to tell them that Nate's young father Hank had arrived because he won a contest to see Apollo's mission command. Henry then revealed that he had rigged a contest because he wanted a chance to meet his son. When the ship needed to be angled a certain way to re-enter the atmosphere, the team saw that someone would have to open the cargo bay door but that person would be killed. Nate saw to his horror that his grandfather was missing. He then ran off in time to see that Henry had closed the door into the cargo bay trapping him inside. Nate frantically tried to tell his grandfather that his son was waiting for him back on Earth but Henry told Nate that he had to do this. He also made Nate promise to destroy the spear so that this wouldn't happen again. He then watched as his grandfather opened the door to angle the ship and was then sucked out into space.

Hank and Nate Heywood

Nate talking with his young father at Apollo's mission control.

Nate went over to mission command where he saw his teenage father. He noticed that his dad was wearing the dog tags and Hank told him that they belonged to his father though he never knew him as he died when Hank was a baby. Nate told him that he didn't have a close relationship with his own father but he was sure that both his father and Hank's were sorry.[14]

The Spear of Destiny[]

After losing his grandfather, Nate grew depressed, becoming apathetic toward the entire mission. However, he perked up after learning that the Spear, when burned with fire, displays a secret message, one that translates to, "Born of blood, undone by blood". Nate alone figured out that it obviously means that Jesus Christ's blood empowered the Spear - and that His very blood destroys it. Due to the dangers of the Legends traveling to the crucifixion to take some of Jesus’ blood, Nate pointed out that they can investigate a theory on Sir Gawain, the knight who set out for the Holy Grail. That theory states that he in fact brought back the blood of Christ, and that he was buried with a vial of it somewhere in Northern France. To find a clue regarding the blood's precise location, the Legends agreed to find the theory's author: J.R.R. Tolkien. Eventually, Rip and Nate found Tolkien suffering from trench fever during World War I and managed to move him away from his commander and onto the Waverider. Nate filled him in on what they were looking for and managed to convince Tolkien by talking about how the darkness of the war will pass one day, and how they're fighting a much bigger battle for the sake of humanity. In the long run, Nate's kind words and heroic actions as Steel convinced Tolkien that the latter's not a coward, and gave him ideas for his future book series; The Lord of the Rings.

Nate took Tolkien with them when the team went to check out the chapel where the research said that Sir Gawain's remains could be found along with the blood of Christ. Mick found a golden goblet which helped both Nate and Tolkien navigate through the clues in the chapel's floor that led to the pillar where Gawain's remains were. However, they didn't find the blood with him, but a shield with an engraving. The team was then surprised with the sudden arrival of Leonard Snart, whom the Legion had gone back in time and recruited from before he joined the Legends. He and Darhk also brought in some World War I German soldiers and Nate moved to shield Tolkien from the gun fire. After Tolkien got the engraving, Nate took him back with the others to the Waverider. With the engraving, Nate and Tolkien found that it was a depiction of the site where the blood had been hidden, which was the current battlefield of the British and German armies.

The team was trying to come up with a way to get to the blood without getting killed from the warfare raging on the plain. Amaya proposed that they use the spear's power to erase the Legion but Sara and Rip were against the idea as the spear's power was too great and could tempt anyone. Eventually, they came up with a plan to get the two armies to call a cease fire. Nate left Tolkien with his regiment and then went off with Sara, Amaya and Mick to get the blood. They found a flask of it in a box buried in the middle of the field. However, Snart and Darhk arrived and held them at gunpoint, demanding the spear. Mick had it and when Sara grabbed the blood from Nate to destroy it, Mick took it away. He decided to use the spear to spare his own past and even asked Amaya to come with him but refused. Snart then threw a bomb into the air to spark the fighting back up between the two warring sides. Nate took cover and then tried to save the flask of Christ's blood but the gunfire shattered and destroyed it. He then watched as Thawne sped through and took Darhk, Snart and Mick to safety.

Back on the ship, Nate was lamenting on everything that had happened. He especially was upset about failing Tolkien as he had given him hope for a better future and instead had him cured of his disease so that he could return to the horror of the war trenches. He wanted to go back in time and prevent Tolkien from ever having been involved, no doubt ruining the future impact of his stories, but Rip pointed out that with the spear in the Legion's hands that might be a mute point. However, Nate still had hope as he guessed that even though the Legion had the spear, they didn't know how to use it. What he didn't know was that they had acquired the means to use it and his reality was then changed along with everyone else's.[15]

Nate is remembering the old reality

Nate going to Thawne for help at S.T.A.R. Labs not remembering he was his enemy.

Nate's life was altered so that he became a conspiracy theorist that ran a site that only his mother really read and he lived out of her basement. He began to have 'reality scars' which made him look into how the current reality was not right. He decided to go to Eobard Thawne of S.T.A.R. Labs to get his help to make sense of things, not realizing that he was going to the ones responsible. He managed to get through Thawne's security and made it to his lab where he found Thawne with Snart and Rory. Thawne listened to his theories and told Nate that he was onto something. Nate was happy that Thawne seemed to believe him but that went away when Thawne ordered for Snart and Rory to kill him. They took him out to the woods outside Central City to kill him though Nate didn't understand why, until he realized that his theories were all correct. Snart was ready to kill him but Rory stepped in and stopped him as he was starting to think that the changes to reality weren't what he hoped they would be. He then told Nate about the Legion and the spear and drove him to find Ray as he felt that he was their only chance.

Nate and Rory found Ray in a run down apartment, as he had been made a lowly janitor for Star Labs. However, Ray told them that he felt that things in the world weren't right either and made a device to try and undo changes done to the mind. Rory took it and used it on Nate and he instantly remembered everything, and he quickly punched Rory for his betrayal. They then restored Ray and were about to try and find the others, when Sara and Amaya barged in on them. At first, Nate and Ray were happy to see them but Rory informed them that they didn't know who they were and worked for Damien Darhk in this reality. Nate also realized that even though he had his memories back, he no longer had his powers but still tried to get through to Amaya but couldn't reach her as she and Sara tried to kill them. They managed to drive Amaya away and then restored Sara's memories. To avoid the Legion finding them they had to go into hiding and Nate brought them to his basement as he felt that would be the last place the Legion would look. Sara went to go get Amaya back, and then Jax, and they regrouped in Nate's basement. Jax then told them of Thawne's new project, a thermal reactor, which they realized he was going to use to destroy the spear and make this reality permanent. They then made the choice to try and get the spear back before that could happen and have Amaya use it to reset things back to how they were. Nate was able to find the incantation, with Rory's help, but the group felt that they couldn't trust Rory after what he had done.

Thawne faces the Legends

Nate and the others face Thawne at S.T.A.R. Labs.

They infiltrated S.T.A.R. Labs' new reactor but Stein, still under Thawne's influence, managed to alert the speedster. Thawne had the spear in his possession and called for his security force to surround the Legends. Stein then revealed that the reactor was complete and Thawne was about to toss the spear in to destroy it but the rest of the Legion arrived, with Mick, intent on betraying him and taking the spear for themselves. This caused a small fight to break out with everyone trying to get the spear. Nate managed to grab it but Darhk got to him. Thawne sped for them but Nate used it to launch the speedster across the room and knock him out. As soon as he did, Darhk then knocked him aside and took the spear from him. The spear kept changing hands before Mick got his hands on it and then chose to give it to Amaya to set things right. However, Nate watched in horror as Snart used his Cold Gun to freeze Amaya and then kill her by shattering her to pieces. Soon after, Thawne regained himself and stole back the spear and then tossed it into his reactor, destroying it and cementing the reality. Thawne then chose to spare the Legends so that they could spend the rest of their lives living in agony and defeat in the new world as he felt that was a fate worse than death for them. They all returned to his apartment, unsure of what to do now that the spear was destroyed. Sara then proposed that the only move they had left was to go back in time and stop the Legion from ever getting the spear in the first place, but for that they needed to find where Rip and the Waverider were.[26]

While the rest of the team worked to find the Waverider, Nate was off by himself, grieving for the loss of Amaya. When the team found Rip, they had to break into Star Labs to get Ray's suit so that they could enlarge the ship which had been shrunk to a small size. Nate helped fight off some of Thawne's security while the others managed to find the suit and get passed Damien Darhk. With the Waverider back, they traveled back to 1916 against Rip's better judgment. Jax asked what would happen if they did manage to destroy the spear and they all realized that they would be erased as they wouldn't exist if the Legion never got it, making them the aberrations. The team tried to get the blood of Christ to leave it for their old selves to find but Thawne guessed what they were up to and arrived to destroy the blood. He then went and killed Ray. They then decided to try and sneak aboard the ship and steal the spear and simply time jump away with it. Nate went with Rip and Mick to the ship while their past selves went to the church with Tolkien. Nate went to the library where the past Stein and Jax were and told them that the mission to the church was a dead end but was taken aback when he saw Amaya again, alive. He then tried to point the team to the Galapagos Islands and left to rejoin the others. They had been waiting and he apologized for getting held up but found they couldn't leave as their past selves were returning. Jax and Stein realized they weren't the true them and attacked them but their past selves then realized that they were the future versions of themselves and not the Legion in disguise.

Damien Darhk kills Nate Heywood

Future Nate being killed by Damien Darhk.

Future Nate and his friends shared what happened with their present selves and let them soak it all in. Present Nate was crushed to hear that Amaya had been killed when he was visited by his future self who told him to stop trying to be calm and nonchalant about his feelings with her and tell her that he loved her. Nate argued that Amaya had a destiny waiting for her but his future self told him to forget about that as he knew what he felt and wanted as they didn't want to lose her. The ship then began getting attacked by the Legion and when they tried to time jump away, a time storm emerged and made the ship crash. They then decided to go to the future Waverider but the future versions of them knew they couldn't go with them or risk another time storm. All of them, the present and future Legends, prepared to face the Legion to get the spear out of there. Future Nate moved to point them to the Waverider but he was surprised from behind by Damien Darhk who stuck a sword into him. Sara went to fight him while Amaya held him as he slowly died. He then sent a reminder to his present self about their feelings for Amaya before he died. Nate and the others had taken care of Snart, Merlyn and Darhk but they were then surprised by Thawne who had returned with versions of himself throughout time. Nate and the others, save for Present Sara, were knocked out by the multiple speedsters. Sara quickly used the spear to depower it before Black Flash arrived and then erased Thawne from existence.

The Legends travel to Aruba before crash landing in an alternate Los Angeles 2017

The Legends travel to Aruba before crash landing in an alternate Los Angeles 2017.

The Legends then moved to get the Legion back to their proper places in time and Amaya was getting ready to do the same. Nate went to Amaya and told her that he decided to go with her to 1942. Amaya tried to talk him out of it as she felt his place was with the Waverider but he told her that his place was to be with her. Amaya then decided to stick around with the team for a bit longer as her destiny could still wait for her. The team then decided to celebrate by going to Aruba per Rory's request but before they could arrive, they were hit with another time storm. They arrived in Los Angeles, 2017, to find that the past, present and future were all jumbled together as a result of them interacting with themselves.[27]

Fixing Anachronisms[]

Temporary retirement[]

As the Legends tried to figure out how to fix the now disheveled timeline, they were nearly attacked by a dinosaur only for it to run into a portal leading back to its own time period. Various portals soon opened up with Rip himself stepping out of one to explain to the group that their services were no longer needed as Rip revealed to them that in the time that he had left (15 minutes for the team; 5 years for him) that he had established the Time Bureau, a more organized and professional organization able to fix anachronisms without the extra damage the Legends usually caused, and relieved them of their duties along with the Waverider. Nate and Amaya decided to settle down in Central City and he helped Team Flash out as a vigilante, becoming in his own words the "second most famous hero in Central City". However, soon after settling down, Amaya left him on his birthday to see her granddaughter in person, which eventually led her to go to Rip, asking him to take her back to 1942, for which Nate resented her. After this incident, Nate started using dating apps.

When Sara contacted him and Ray about Mick running into Julius Caesar in Aruba, they agreed to find the Time Bureau to see about returning to their old time traveling lives. The three of them found the bureau but were greeted with hostility when they arrived. Rip arrived to quell the hostility, but Nate quickly grabbed him and angrily demanded that Rip tell him if he was the one to convince Amaya to return to 1942. He told him that it was Amaya who came to him and asked to return.

Shortly after, they were kicked out of the Time Bureau headquarters after Mick caused chaos by picking a fight with who he thought was Julius Caesar, but in reality was a tourist. After witnessing Mick force out a Roman Aereus from a vending machine, they realized that he was telling the truth about seeing Caesar. With this in mind, they stole the Waverider and reunited the Legends, sans Amaya, whom Nate refused to see.

After traveling to Aruba and capturing Caesar, the Legends made the decision to return to 1942 on their own. However, when Nate took a selfie with Caesar, he inadvertently allowed Caesar to steal his history book on Rome, allowing Caesar to learn about the future and allowing him to conquer the entire world. The Time Bureau arrived before the Legends could act however, and attempted to take over the operation only for Agent Sharpe to be captured and the operation to end in abject failure. After some persuasion, Rip allowed Nate and the Legends to finish the job, and Nate and Ray retrieved the book successfully: thereby setting history back on its proper course.

Ray checks on Nate

Nate discusses his and Amaya's breakup with Ray.

After their mission, Nate was in the library staring at Amaya's file when Ray came in, asking if he was okay. Nate confessed that he was thinking about her but admitted that he was glad to be back on the Waverider, which Ray commented was their home. Nate decided that he was happy if Amaya was. However, neither Nate nor Ray realized the trouble Amaya was actually going through with her totem.[28]

Return to time travel[]

After Nate, Ray and Jax reverse engineered stolen Time Bureau technology to track anachronisms, the Legends settled on a Level One anachronism in 1870 Wisconsin, specifically P.T. Barnum's fledgling circus. After some digging, Nate, Jax and Ray found the anachronism, which turned out to be a sabertooth tiger. Upon attempting to contain it however, they inadvertently enlarged the tiger and allowed it to escape its enclosure. Knowing that none of the Legends had handled animals, Sara sought out Amaya, much to Nate's displeasure.

Frustrated, Nate went with Ray and Jax to a nearby bar for drinks, during which Nate revealed his powers to P.T. Barnum in a bar fight. When asked by P.T. Barnum regarding his abilities, a drunken Nate revealed the abilities of Jax, Ray and Amaya. After Barnum offered to give them a "private show", a cover for his kidnapping them for the circus, Nate declined in order to talk to Amaya, but ended up passing out in the cargo bay, where he was found by Sara, Mick and Amaya. After finding Ray and Jax dressed as conjoined twins in the circus tent, Nate and Amaya attempted to free them, but were in turn captured by Barnum's troupe. While in captivity, Nate expressed how mad he was at Amaya for leaving him on his birthday to go back to Zambesi. Amaya revealed to Nate that she had gone to Detroit to see Mari first before going to Rip to send her back to 1942 to prevent Mari from disappearing.

Nate and Amaya talk

Amaya and Nate talk.

When the crowd began to lose interest in the performance, Barnum coerced Nate into "steeling up" by threatening first him, then Amaya. Barnum then shot Nate multiple times despite Nate's protests, angering Amaya to the point where she attacked Barnum, driving him out of the tent. Before she could kill him, however, Nate talked her out of it, reminding Amaya about her past with the JSA. They made their way back to the Waverider, where Amaya revealed to the Legends her lack of control over her powers.[29]

Nate and Professor Stein tried to help Amaya's ailment, but both looked for the cause in different ways. Martin saw a scientific background to it, while Heywood looked for a mystical solution. However, the study was interrupted by an alert from Gary's agent received by Gideon changed the plans of the team, which traveled to Seattle in 2042. There, they found out about a mysterious woman, chasing a resistance hacker, whom they had discovered. The girl, however, exposed them and ran away, not trusting them. After successfully retreating aboard the ship, Nate decided to focus on helping Jiwe by ingesting a decoction of the root of a rare hallucinogenic plant. The man had to deal with controlling the Waverider after all, but he was acting stoned and unable to make full use of his wits. When he regained consciousness, Amaya thanked him for his help and, despite his fears, decided to stay on the team, not for him, but for Zari - the new teammate who controls the totem entrusted she had recruited to the team.[30]

Amaya and Nate watch over young Ray

Amaya and Nate watch over young Ray.

Palmer was trying to improve the team relationship when he suddenly disappeared from the deck. As it turned out, he was murdered in 1988, so the heroes immediately went to Ivy Town the day before his disappearance and took up the case. The team split, and each looked after the friend's young version, discovering that he had changed significantly: he was stealing, truancy, all in order to take care of Gumball, the child of the Dominators. As if that were not enough, the alien was hunted by Agent Smith and his mother - the Dominator Queen. Nate himself was infatuated with his friend's mom, and when it turned out she was in danger, he immediately went to help her. On the spot she began to seduce him, but Amaya, who noticed the trick, interrupted the courtship. The mother of an alien whom the legends defended was said to be a woman. Zari and Ray's time remainder pulled a young Palmer version and an alien from the lab, then returned it to their mother who took the baby and flew off Earth. Legends decided for a short time to stay in 1988 and support young Ray at a Halloween party, scaring the children who harassed him.[31]

Nate stayed awake for the following nights, looking for a pattern between anachronisms. He managed to find it, discovering a surprising thing - two of them did not fit the pattern. The first was 2042, from which legends took Zari, and the next was 1895, which they decided to go to. As it turned out, their problem was a vampire who sucked blood from victims and tossed their bodies in random places, but there was no evidence of his existence. The investigation led them to an excavated grave from which Rip Hunter emerged. Upon returning on board, the director of the Time Office revealed that he was on a secret, even for his own organization, mission following a certain Mallus - a mystical being who is remembered in every epoch and year. The heroes agreed to cooperate with Hunter, but during one of the searches Heywood was stunned and transferred to a secret laboratory. When he woke up, he met Professor Stein's ancestor, Henry, who wanted to use Nate's blood to bring his master back to life in a glass coffin. After some time, Rip and Sara came to their friend to help, discovering that it was Damien Darhk who was about to be resurrected. The historian returned to the ship, where Hunter later locked the entire party, wanting to meet Mallus himself. During this time, he contributed to Darhk's resurrection and his escape, which resulted in Sara's decision to hand Rip over to the Time Bureau.[32]

Nate Heywood watches Helen of Troy on a movie set

Nate watches Helen of Troy on a movie set.

Since recent events, Nate has worked on finding another Darhk lead, finding an anachronism in 1937 in Hollywood. The heroes immediately went there, discovering Helen of Troy, who was their target, on the set. Her ability, or rather the "beauty curse", forced her to flee and join K&B Pictures. The team went to the college prom where Helen was to be introduced, but there they discovered that Damien Darhk himself was her agent. The man was not going to fight the legends, wanting to compromise. Sara, however, did not agree, took Helena to the Waverider and ran away with her friends. When things seemed to be going their way, Martin Stein in Jax's body stood up for Hedy Lamarr and was attacked by Darhk's allies. The legends immediately traveled to where Lance offered Damien an old league-style duel with no magic or allies. Sara won the fight and when she was about to finish the enemy, his daughter attacked her with magic, effectively wounding. Fortunately for her, Firestorm joined the fight and forced the enemies to flee. Sara in a serious condition was taken to the hospital room on the ship, where she began regenerating.[33]

With Sara still unconscious since the last fight, the team decided to tackle another anachronism on their own, encountering those in Vietnam in 1967. Nate and Rory changed into military uniforms and tried to find out more about the disappearance of one of the squads, encountering a team that included Mick's father. The men introduced themselves as CIA agents and offered their help, to which the elder Rory agreed. Soldiers roamed the jungle, encountering more members of the missing team who acted like deserters, forcing the heroes to kill them. All this time Heywood tried to make Mick realize that his father wasn't so bad, but Mick found out for himself in the evening, during a frank conversation around the fire. Eventually, the soldiers reached the desired location, where the "beast" lay - the source of their problems. Due to his insubordination, Nate was stunned when the armed men entered enemy territory. Dick was going to kill all the campers, but Rory explained to him that it was pointless, threatening him with a gun and saying he had a lot to lose. After all the confusion and the anachronism were over, the team returned to the ship to eat a cake from President Johnson's wife's recipe. After a while, they spotted Sara, who awoke from her coma to the satisfaction of the team.[34]

Crisis on Earth-X[]
Earth-1 heroes and Earth-X rebels listens to Oliver of Earth-X's bargain

Nate with the other heroes of Earth-1.

Sara, Jax, Martin and Mick left the band and went to the wedding of Iris West and Barry Allen.[35] Hours later, the remaining members of the legends were summoned to 2017,[36] so they immediately visited S.T.A.R. Labs besieged by the Nazis. Heywood freed his friends from their target in the pipe, and then they all attacked Metallo, eventually defeating him. Then the heroes moved to Waverider, where they began to prepare for a battle with the enemy from Earth-X, when they were interrupted by a message from the evil Oliver, who offered a truce in exchange for Supergirl's life.

Citizen Steel takes Supergirl before beat to the ground

Nate catches Supergirl before she hit the ground.

The heroes, however, did not agree, causing a fight in the streets of the city. It soon became apparent that Overgirl was becoming unstable and could explode, wiping Central City off the face of the Earth. Wells advised Supergirl to take her counterpart high into space, where it was destroyed. Thus, the Green Arrow murdered Black Arrow, ending the war. After picking up, Nate and his friends went to the funeral of Martin Stein, to whom they all said goodbye, and then returned to the ship with a new ally - Leo Snart.[6]

Fighting Mallus[]

The Totems of Zambesi[]

After the loss of Professor Stein, everyone on the team struggled with mourning in their own way. Leo Snart decided to help the crew express their emotions and with the help of a puppet he wanted them to tell Martin the last thing they wanted to say. The idea, however, was quite powerful after such a short time, and didn't work out in the long run, and if that wasn't enough, a powerful anachronism emerged in South America in 1000. The legends immediately went there, discovering that the Vikings worshiped a new god - Beebo - a mascot from the present, and also kidnapped young Stein. The heroes retook the younger version of their friend and returned to the Waverider, where they learned everything. Wanting to set out and retrieve the toy from a Viking settlement, Sara asked for help from Ava Sharpe, who helped the legends infiltrate the tribe of warriors. Unfortunately for them, Mick was caught stealing the mascot and the battle started, which was interrupted by Damien Darhk who pretended to be the god of Asgard - Odin. Realizing the danger, the legends withdrew to make a plan. The Time Bureau refused to send several agents due to heavy losses in its ranks due to the arrest of Rip Hunter. Despite this, the heroes decided to act, effectively stunning the enemy's daughter and forcing him to flee, which was interrupted by Sara. Darhk, however, used an artifact that allowed him to travel through time, effectively escaping, while Lance was transferred to a mysterious place where she had the opportunity to talk to Mallus. After a while, Ava pulled it out of there, completing the mission. Late in the evening on the ship, Jax planned to secretly leave the team, unable to be a hero and thinking about how to revive Stein. So the friends prepared a Christmas dinner, which they said goodbye to Jefferson, in memory of the fallen.[37]

When John Constantine, an exorcist following the trail of a mysterious demon who knew Sara Lance's name, arrived on board, Amaya and Nate wanted to know the reason for his arrival. As it turned out, this being was Mallus himself, with whom the heroes had been fighting for several months. Consequently, the warriors went to the asylum to learn more from patient Constantine, who turned out to be Nora Darhk herself. Despite this, the heroes decided to help John during another exorcism on the girl, but just then the demon took control over Nora, drawing a rune that carried the exorcist, Sara and Snart to the past. Meanwhile, Amaya began to fight Kuasa, and Nate, seeing that her friend might fall, froze the enemy, and they both took her to a cell on Waverider. After several hours of argument, Jiwe decided to talk to her granddaughter and offered to help. The woman liked the idea when suddenly Heywood attacked her, seeing the cell open. The opponent turned out to be cleverer and with the help of her abilities she started to water the man. To avoid bloodshed, Amaya put down the gun and admitted once again that she could help her, but Nate would be part of it, so she had to leave him alone. Hearing this, Kuasa decided to trust her grandmother and left the ship. Ultimately, this was not the team's only loss, as Darhk persuaded the younger version of his daughter to let Mallus operate, joining the Order of the Drunken Compass. While the team was back on board safe and sound, Constantine departed, offering his help at every moment, and Leo said goodbye to the legends, believing it was time to return to his world.[38]

Nate freezes Kuasa, saving Amaya

Nate freezes Kuasa, saving Amaya.

On Sara's orders, Zari was to perform a routine inspection of the Waverider. The hacker, however, decided to slightly modify the Gideon system, adding a program that searches for gaps in the history, so that Tomaz could save her brother and change the future. Unfortunately, the rest of the members returned from the mission, noticing the burnout of the AI core. Captain Lance became furious with Zari, who she ordered to repair the ship. During the repairs, a mysterious substance from the core pipes sprayed into the face of the woman who had fallen into a coma. As soon as the team found Zari, they took her to the medical room and hooked her up to Gideon. For the next few hours, the girl got stuck in a Gideon simulation, thanks to which the AI tried to show Zari that she can trust legends. As soon as she woke up, she was sure she knew her place in the band. From the information obtained from the simulation, she revealed to Sara the task that Constantine entrusted to Palmer. At the same time, she supported Nate and Amaya in their relationship, and also assessed Mick's literary work, suggesting a different ending to him.[39]

When Sara went on a date with Ava, the Legends followed the trail of the Zambesi totems. The first target was a fire totem, but this one was stolen from the Detroit museum by Damien Darhk. The second course was an earth totem hidden by Blackbeard in 1717 in the Bahamas. Everyone except Zari went to retrieve the artifact, creating the story of "Cruel Captain Jiwe" and immediately afterwards without Mick and Amaya returned to the ship, which turned out to be parked in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. This forced the team to leave their friends behind and roll back to 2018 to Star City. Soon after, Captain Lance unexpectedly appeared on board, who interrupted her date when she saw a ship falling from the sky. After the team explained to her what happened, Sara immediately ordered Zari to repair the ship and as soon as possible return to 1717, where the heroes finally captured the Earth Totem, lost the Anansi Totem, and lost Palmer who was kidnapped by the Darhks.[40]

Legends team meeting

Legends team meeting.

When the team found out that Palmer had disappeared, Sara immediately ordered a search. Following Ray's recording tips, she sent Nate and Mick to Grateful Dead concerts at different times but found nothing. Returning to the ship, Heywood saw Hunter bringing Wally West, which made him extremely happy. After many struggles and trials, we managed to track Palmer in Berlin, from where Kid Flash took him with a fire totem. Nate, considering the missions complete, went to the gym, where he began talking to Ray, noticing his infatuation with Nora Darhk and willingness to help her person.[41]

Elvis Presley's mother

Amaya and Nate in 1954.

The team encountered strange changes over time, discovering a great anachronism in Memphis in 1954. Everything was linked to Elvis Presley, who never became "king of rock & roll", prompting legends to try to meet him at his uncle's mass. When Elvis was playing the guitar, Zari's totem went crazy, which forced the heroes to flee to the ship. As it turned out, Presley was the owner of the sixth missing artifact, the death totem. Wally swapped the guitar quickly, but that wasn't enough to fix the course of history. It turned out that thanks to the crystal, Elvis saw his brother's spirit while playing, which gave him the strength to continue making music. This forced Nate to try with Amaya to show Elvis the right way, eventually getting rid of the spirits summoned by the musician. Thus, Heywood showed his beloved atmosphere of rock & roll, while winning the most dangerous totem.[42]

Elvis sings Amazing Grace to the dead

Elvis sings Amazing Grace to the dead.

As the anachronisms began to pile up, the team couldn't sit back and watch Mallus grow stronger. So Sara divided the team into several smaller divisions and sent them to specific places to fix the time. When everyone returned, they found Ray Palmer unconscious and injured, and Mallus-possessed Captain Lance with the Death Totem. The heroes had no chance to fight her, so they took refuge in the medical room. One by one, they tried to stop their friend, but all power to the ship was cut off, preventing the legends from communicating or evacuating. When, after several dozen minutes, they found the wounded Zari, they decided to defeat the totem with a totem, and for this purpose Amaya ordered Mick to use a fire totem, with the help of which they managed to immobilize Sara. This one, however, was still locked in the kingdom of Mallus and only Ava's sincere words made her awake, apologizing to the band for all the confusion.[8]

Nora murders Kuasa

Nora murders Kuasa.

After Sara went on a personal mission, Amaya was appointed captain. She quickly split the duty, ordering Zari to train Rory and Nate and Wally to speak to Mari McCabe in 2018. When West returned on deck less than an hour later, Kuasa showed up and gave Anansi's totem to her grandmother, revealing that she had earned it through Heywood's sacrifice. During this time, the man was tortured by Damien, who was struggling with a crisis. He did not trust his daughter, who had been possessed by a demon, and he talked with the bound hero about his feelings until Eleanor stunned his father. At the last moment, Vixen and Kid Flash arrived and began to fight the enemy. The moment of inattention was used by Kuasa, who freed Heywood. Mallus was unstoppable in his present form, but his focus was on the betrayal of his former ally, who had been ripped from the heart by the totem of water, killing her in front of her grandmother. Jiwe was ready to fight and avenge the murder of her granddaughter, but West and Heywood managed to pull her away and escape to the ship. There, Amaya told Nate that she still did not know what she wanted in life and went secretly on the Jumpship, with which she went to Zambezi in 1992.[43]

The Legends and Damien Darhk attempt to release Mallus

The Legends and Damien Darhk attempt to release Mallus.

When Nate saw that Amaya was gone, he immediately notified the team. As if that were not enough, Rip Hunter needed help to distract Grodd from the young Barack Obama. Nate and Wally were sent to stop Jiwe from doing the foolishness. Unfortunately, they arrived too late and witnessed the handing over of Anansi's totem, without her successor - daughter Amai. Immediately after that, the men began looking for a friend who was responsible for everything, who finally persuaded Heywood to help. Wally was not convinced of this plan, knowing what he had led Barry to with "Flashpoint", but decided to support his friends anyway. Nate managed to steal the old totem Amai, not expecting that she would wake up and attack him with full verve. The woman acted as if she didn't remember the man, but eventually decided to listen to him and used the advice she had given to her daughter. Thus, Esi accepted her heritage, and the three legends were able to return to the Waverider. There, it turned out that the team did not mind the anachronism created by Amaya, as they wanted to use the phenomenon to defeat Mallus with their associate Damien Darhk, whose sole purpose was to save his daughter. Together with the enemy, they moved the possessed woman to a village in Zambesi and waited for the demon's release, equipped with totems. The plan, however, failed due to Darhk's release from Grodd, to whom the death totem showed another way to retrieve Nora. Nate successfully chased the meta-human with the help of the earth totem, discovering that old Jiwe remembers him. Despite the efforts of the heroes, Mallus freed himself mocking the ineptitude of the team.[44]

Using the Earth Totem[]
Mick burning the Cronenbaby

Mick burning the Cronenbaby.

The legends, seeing no chance in the fight against the demon, decided to regroup on Waverider. They were helped by Rip Hunter who sacrificed himself to gain them some time. The heroes had to stop despairing and headed to Salvation in 1874, where, as Nate and Amai discovered, they intended to use the power of the wards to create something pure that would stand against Mallus. The first try did not turn out well, which ruined the team's morale. Their quarrel was interrupted by the arrival of Ava with reinforcements of Helen of Troy, Kuasa from the new timeline, and Jax in 2023, who were ready to help fight evil.

The Legends use the Totems of Zambesi to manifest as Beebo to take on Mallus

The Legends use the Totems to fight as a giant Beebo against Mallus.

When the armies of Julius Caesar, Freydís, and Blackbeard arrived for the totems, the heroes began a fight, joined by Eleanor Darhk and Jonah Hex. As soon as Mallus showed up in person, the team was forced to proceed with another attempt to use the power of the wards. Thus, they created a manifestation of their power, which took the form of Beebo, in which they managed to destroy Mallus.

Nate leaves Amaya in Zambesi in 1942

Nate leaves Amaya in Zambesi in 1942.

After that, Amaya decided to go back to her time, to which Heywood had escorted her. The woman did not agree to erase her memory and said goodbye to her beloved with a kiss. After returning to the ship, he went with the rest of the team to Aruba in 2018, but their rest was quickly interrupted by Gary and Constantine. The exorcist had a grudge against the heroes that they had released a demon, opening the door to new, mystical threats. At the same time, he threw the severed dragon's head out of the sack, pointing to the gravity of the situation.[45]

Joining the Time Bureau[]

Magical Fugitives[]
Who told Ava about the dragon?

Nate, Zari, and Ray blame each other.

The Legends removed an aberration interfering with a tour of The Beatles. During the bureau celebration, Nate and Mick went to rob a house, but were discovered by Nate's parents. Nate had an argument with his father because he hated him. The first magical fugitive that the Legends faced after defeating the demon Mallus was a Unicorn in Woodstock Festival, 1969. Nate and the Legends tried to catch the unicorn, but were affected by its slime, which caused Nate to see Mick as his father. After John Constantine, Sara, Ray, and Zari took care of the unicorn, Nate stayed in 2018 to try to reconcile with his father.[46]

After this, Nate traveled to present-day Washington D.C. to begin what he called "Operation Dinner with Dad". While eating out with his father, Nate belatedly realized that as a Legend, he had no money, so he sneaked into the Time Bureau headquarters to spend the night and ran into Ava Sharpe. Ava recruited him, as well as Gary Green, for help in convincing the Department of Defense to give her extra funding so that the Bureau could address the fugitives, but Nate discovered with horror that the person they had to convince was Hank himself. Nate stayed behind while Ava and Gary spoke to Hank and presented the evidence of Gary's unicorn-bitten nipple, but Hank shut them down, saying that he needed better proof. Ava found Nate and gave him a pep talk and convinced him to return to the Waverider in search of better proof. This proof came in the form of Ray and Mick, who had been turned into pigs by the Fairy Godmother. Nate interpreted Ray's grunts as the latter explained the situation to him and agreed to go to the Bureau as proof of magic. Carrying Ray in his suit jacket, Nate approached his father and presented Ray, but nothing happened. Nate continuously raised Ray in the air, pleading him to turn back into a human. Eventually, when the Fairy Godmother was released by her host, her spell on Ray was reversed, causing him to spontaneously turn human in Nate's arms and forcing Nate to reveal his powers to Hank in order to keep his hold on Ray. However, this convinced Hank to give Ava the $4.2 billion she needed to work on the fugitives.

Later, after making plans for another meal with Hank and describing his travels with the Legends, Nate celebrated his victory with Ava and told her that he was always happy to help. Ava replied that she could use his help in the Bureau and help him get some income in the process. When Nate hesitated, she left him alone to think about her job offer. After getting new clothes, Ray met up with Nate so that they could travel back home by time courier. Nate announced that he would remain in the present temporarily to accept Ava's offer, work at the Time Bureau, and continue to reconnect with Hank, but he promised that they would "see him for the next one". The two hugged goodbye while exchanging playful slaps, and after a final glance, Ray returned to the Waverider alone, leaving Nate behind in 2018.[47]

Ray and Nate say goodbye

Nate parts ways with Ray before beginning his leave of absence from the Legends.

Nate later told Sara about his decision and revealed that other than his father, the real reason he was taking a leave of absence was that being on the Waverider made him think of his ex-lover Amaya, but he was over it. Because of this, Sara decided not to tell him about Charlie, a new fugitive whom John Constantine had trapped in the appearance of Amaya, as planned and instead told him that she liked to watch him grow and maybe the break would be good for him. Just then, Ava came in, Nate quickly left the room, and the two women went on a date.[48] Nate and Gary were temporarily in charge of the Bureau while Ava was on a mission with the Legends.[49]

On Thanksgiving, Nate and Ava planned to take the day off and attend the Heywoods' Thanksgiving dinner, as Nate could keep connecting with Hank and Ava didn't have a family to celebrate with. Nate arrived and introduced Ava to his mother, uncle, and cousins before they revealed that dinner would not be ready for about 6 hours. Exasperated, Nate and Ava drank during the long wait. At the same time, Gary, who was left in charge during Ava's day off, received food from his friend Mona, whom he invited to eat with him. As Gary and Mona were preparing, a Baba Yaga, a Chupacabra, and a Kaupe that were being incapacitated by the Bureau woke up from their tranquilizers and escaped, wreaking havoc. Gary called Nate, who had Ava distract Hank while he went to help Gary and Mona. Nate quickly deduced that they were starving. Mona rattled off the foods that each creature liked before escaping to go find them. Meanwhile, Hank soon realized that something was wrong and forced Ava to portal him to the Bureau and find his son. Hank and Ava arrived just as Mona returned with the food, which the fugitives eagerly ate. Nate and Gary updated them on the situation and praised Mona, who was later hired as the Bureau's official creature handler.

Heywood family

Nate celebrates Thanksgiving with his family and Ava.

Hank complimented Mona and told Nate that they both had a similar eye for talent. Nate realized that his experience must have been how Hank felt when he left family gatherings, but Hank admitted that he partially did it to escape from the house. Nate playfully called him an "old so-and-so" as Ava joined them so that they could return to the Thanksgiving dinner. The three arrived just as dinner was ready, and Nate began to cut the turkey. However, Hank's phone rang, and Nate dismissed him so he could take the call. Hank went into a private room and told an unknown individual that the fugitives were controllable, and "Project Hades" was go.[50]

Final mission[]

Nate was working one day when his father came up to him, complaining about the deficits that had been caused by the Legends. Nate offered to take him aboard the Waverider to see what the Legends did and prove that their efforts were worth the high deficit. Though Ray was very excited to see him and vice versa, Nate was surprised to find John Constantine living in his library, Gideon with a new look made by Zari, and "Amaya", who turned out to be Charlie and slapped him when he tried to embrace her. Ray and Sara filled Nate in on the situation but the three raced out after realizing they'd left Hank with John and Mick, leaving an annoyed Charlie alone. Nate, Sara, Hank, and Mick went to the Cafe du Dome to talk with some of the locals, including both Heywoods' idols, Ernest Hemingway (Hank) and Salvador Dalí (Nate). Nate and Mick approached Dali and listened to his story of the fugitive. Nate had Dali draw him a picture as Sara and Mick supervised Hank, who was busy hanging out with Hemingway.

Hank sings the Minotaur to sleep

Nate sees Hank sing to the Minotaur to calm him down.

While questioning the locals, Nate ran into Charlie, who asked if he was lost. Nate snapped that he didn't need directions from her, but Charlie reminded him that regardless of what happened with Amaya, he shouldn't let it out on her. The two were approached by F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, exciting Nate. Charlie told them that she and Nate were not a couple, but the Fitzgeralds insisted on taking them for drinks. Nate reluctantly let Charlie pull him after them. The four of them settled down in a restaurant and discussed the Minotaur. Charlie interrupted the Fitzgeralds with the fugitives' side of the story: the Minotaur had been rejected by his father, and he had chosen to stay in the maze in order to avoid the problems. Nate realized that Charlie's myth applied to him, abruptly leaving to find a way to stop the Minotaur peacefully. Just then, Sara and Mick returned with Hank, who had been injured by the Minotaur. Gideon sedated Hank, and Nate and Sara left to work on stopping the Minotaur. Nate eventually remembered the story of Daedalus's lute, which had been used in mythology to lull the Minotaur to sleep. Hank, who had been healed, complained at the plan and tried to get Sara to back him up, but Sara supported Nate, saying that his benevolent approach to the fugitives made him a Legend, no matter where he was. Nate, Hank and the Legends (save Zari and Charlie) headed back to Paris, where Nate brought and began to play a lute for the Minotaur. Unfortunately, he failed and was smacked across the room by the creature. However, Hank retrieved a guitar and began to sing a James Taylor song, and to everyone's surprise, Hank's music was enough to sedate the Minotaur, causing the latter to pass out on the spot.

Nate says goodbye to the Legends

Nate gives a final speech to the Legends before beginning full-time work at the Time Bureau.

After everyone had switched to casual clothes, Hank told Nate and Sara that the mission was messy but fun, and he now understood the Legends' purpose. Nate opened a portal for his father to return to the Bureau headquarters, leaving him alone with Sara. Nate admitted that at this point, being a Legend felt like "the old days", and Sara joked that they of all people should know how confusing time is. Nate said that he loved the Legends, but he now belonged at the Bureau. Sara understood, telling him that she was proud of him and sending him off to do his "adult thing". The two were about to hug goodbye, but Sara suddenly asked if he was in a rush. They headed to the galley, where the Legends threw a pizza party that Nate had suggested earlier. Nate distributed beer while rattling off suggestions to make the Waverider more fun, such as softball, piñatas, and unionizing. He then comforted a miserable Ray, saying that he would always be in his friend's heart and the Legends could visit him anytime at the Bureau. Nate told the Legends that he had boarded the Waverider trying to run from his problems at home, but being with them had shaped him into the man he needed to be and made him realize that he didn't have to run anymore. Nate then called for a toast, reminding the Legends that they never knew when their journey would end, so they should all "enjoy the ride while it lasts". He moved aside to speak to Charlie, telling her that because he had found his place with the Legends, he knew that she would too. The two new friends shared another toast as the Waverider flew away.[10]

The destroyed timeline[]

On one of his first days of full-time Bureau work, Nate ran into Gary, who was attempting to flirt with Mona. Gary made terrible pirate jokes, and Mona eventually left him behind. Nate approached Gary and scolded him for following such misogynistic dating advice. Gary asked Nate to help him ask Mona out, but Nate said that they weren't in high school. Realizing that "high school" was a trigger phrase for Gary, Nate changed his mind and reluctantly agreed to be Gary's "time bro wingman". He later approached Mona, who revealed that she had a crush on one of her coworkers. Mona was afraid that she would lose her job if he confessed her feelings, but Nate told her that he would personally ensure that Ava would not fire her for following her heart, adding, "Carpe datum!" Mona left to confess her feelings, exciting Gary. However, neither of the boys realized that Mona's actual crush was Konane, one of her fugitive clients.

During these events, Constantine had gone back in time in an attempt to save the life of his ex-boyfriend Desmond by breaking up with the latter before he could become attached to Constantine. His actions caused a giant temporal explosion of light that struck the entire timeline, including the Time Bureau headquarters. Nate was unseen during the events, but he was presumably frozen in time, along with other employees such as Mona, as the new timeline settled in.[51]

Puppets of Tomorrow

Puppets of Tomorrow.

When Constantine's joining the Legends was erased from the timeline, Nate's retirement from the team was erased as well, making him a prime victim of the new timeline. Constantine and Charlie's attempts to fix the timeline left him once the leader of the Custodians of the Chronology, once a Puppet of Tomorrow, and twice murdered by fugitives. Eventually, after restoring Nate's status as a living Bureau agent, Charlie distracted Sara while Constantine undid the events that had started the first temporal explosion, triggering a second one that restored the correct timeline.[52]

The death of his father[]
Nate found Nora over Hank's corpse

Nate sees Nora with Hank's corpse.

Nate and Zari attended a Bureau party and Nate and Zari infiltrated, saying they were dating to find out if Hank has secrets. Nate discovered that his father had secret talks with a mysterious man.[53] He accompanied his father to 1973 on a road trip to capture the Legends, so Nate made excuses to prevent his friends from being captured. Nate and Hank spent a good time together, reconciling their father-son relationship, but Nate's plan was discovered by Hank. When Ray, Mick, Sara, John, and Mona Wu were captured, Nate decided to save them by revealing to his father that the Legends are like his family and Hank agreed to accept the Legends as allies again. Through an Agents of Ma'at, Nate revealed that he likes Zari. Nate and his father decided to spend some more time together. Hearing noises, Nate went to his father's office only to find Nora Darhk with the body of Hank, who had been murdered and Nate was upset with Nora, but she did not do it but was someone else, despite his protests Nate didn't believe him and cried over Hank's death.[54]

During Hank's funeral, Nate wanted to trap Nora to avenge him. Nate was consoled by Zari. Soon after, Nate found his father's mysterious room and found a recording of Hank talking about making an amusement park that he called "Heyworld" where magical creatures were the attraction for the children and Hank was inspired by a drawing Nate made of kid. Nate decided to honor his father by building Heyworld.[55]

Nate and Zari met Mikey T., a Heyworld park worker, and Nate was hopeful that the park would be spectacular. After much thought, Nate decided to cancel construction. Nate returned to the Bureau and discovered that John and Nora captured the demon responsible for Hank's death, Neron. Nate apologized to Nora and wanted to kill Neron, but was calmed down by Ray. Later, Nate and Zari went together to stop the demolition of the park, and Nate finally decided to accept the construction of Heyworld to continue Hank's legacy. Nate finally asked Zari to go on a date together.[56]

Relationship with Zari[]

Mummy

Nate talks to Zari.

A while after Nate's encounter with Neron in the Bureau headquarters, Nate and Zari were sent on a mission by Sara and Ava, who were attempting to set the two up, to find a golden egg in the 1930s. They decided to gather the remaining reinforcements on the Waverider, and Nate went to get Ray, who was acting strange. Nate wanted Ray to be his wingman, but he suddenly remembered Nora, who was in a coma, and apologized for being a bad friend. They attempted to hug it out, but Ray's hand suddenly began to snap Nate's neck. Confused, Nate left for the mission with Zari. As they went, they began to realize that Sara had set them up for their first date by giving them an easy mission under the aliases of the Indiana Jones main couple. Suddenly, they were attacked and captured by Nazis, which they assumed was also part of Sara's plan. However, when they contacted Sara, she told them that the Nazis weren't supposed to be there.

Nate and Zari fought off the Nazis and escaped their bonds. They went in for a kiss until they were joined by Sara and Ava, who were thrilled that they had successfully hooked them up. They belatedly realized that Ray was supposed to be tracking Nate and Zari, but he hadn't been in touch with them. Nate contacted Ray, who told them not to enter the ship under any circumstances. Confused, they decided to split up, with Nate checking on Ray while Sara and Ava took over for him. Nate apologized to Zari for their failed first date before heading to the Waverider. Ray appeared, explaining that his hand had been possessed, but Nate initially doubted him until Neron summoned a meat knife. Ray begged Nate to leave before Neron killed him, but Nate refused, saying that he believed Ray was stronger than the demon. Ray successfully dropped the knife, but Neron took over Ray's body and pinned Nate to the floor, punching him bloody and unconscious. Ray finally allowed Neron to possess him completely in exchange for Nate's life, and Neron left Nate crumpled in the galley. Nate eventually made his way to the bridge, where he broke the news of Ray's fate to Zari, Sara, and Ava.

Nate was in the med bay, healing while struggling to locate Ray, when Zari came in to check on him. As Zari examined his injuries, she told him that she often didn't openly express her feelings but gave him a kiss, saying that that was how she felt. Nate confessed that he felt the same and was about to kiss her back when the golden egg, which Zari had retrieved, started moving. Gideon then revealed the creature inside the egg was a dragon.[57]

The Legends went to save John and Ray from Neron, but failed due to Mick accidentally launching the missiles, leaving them stranded on a mountain of snow. Nate and Zari spent time together and looked after Wickstable. They both shared a kiss. Nate and Zari met the others to play a card game while they waited to die from trying to get out of the mountain, but they managed to unite their minds and the Legends managed to survive by escaping from the ice mountain. The team went to find Constantine, but it was too late as he went to Hell to save Ray. Nate and the Legends were shocked to discover that the Fairy Godmother was Tabitha, Neron's mistress.[58]

Nate carries the dragon egg

Nate carries Wickstable.

To stop Neron's plan, the Legends had to have a way to prevent their trap magical creature app from being used. Nate, Zari, and Charlie were distracted watching Wickstable. Nate and the team were preparing to help the Magical Fugitives escape, but they watched as Sara and Ava were transported to the Bureau. Nate and Mick were forced to pretend they were taking orders from Gary, who wore the steel suit. Nate was turned by Tabitha into the representation in which Gary was a teenager. Nate, Sara, Ava, and Mick accepted Gary as a friend and a Legend and managed to convince him to send Tabitha to Hell to save Ray, but accidentally saw that Nora was the new Fairy Godmother being sent to Hell to help John save to Ray.[59]

To prove to the world that magical creatures were good, Nate decided to open Heyworld. With the help of Brigid's diary, Nate made the Heyworld drawing come true by building the park Hank wanted. Nate, Sara, and Gary dressed up as the trinity to get attention, as the real ones didn't want to participate. When John returned from Hell, Nate learned that the only way for Ray to return to his body would be for Nate to be killed by Neron, and then it would all end, but Sara rejected the idea.

The Heyworld visitors, Legends and magical fugitives attempt to bring Nate back to life

Nate tries to be revived by all of his friends.

Secretly, Nate accepted John's idea and Nate took the form of Constantine in order to cheat Neron. During the show, Tabitha and an adult Wickstable attacked and Nate recognized the sound of the dragon. When Neron fought with the Legends, "Constantine" confronted Neron, who killed him instantly, but revealed himself as Nate and sacrificed himself for Constantine to kill Neron. Nate was reunited with Hank with joy, but it was not time to die yet, as his friends needed him.

Legends

Nate rejoins the Legends.

Nate watched as the Legends, the visitors, and the Magical Fugitives sang Sweet Baby James for him, bringing Nate back to life. Nate and Zari shared a kiss, but said goodbye to her as the timeline changed. Now the changes were that Zari's brother, Behrad Tarazi, joined the Legends instead of her, but none of the Legends noticed. Nate hugged Ray and thanked everyone for bringing him back to life. Nate and the Legends left Heyworld for crazy new adventures.[60]

Anti-Monitor Crisis[]

During the Anti-Monitor Crisis, Nate as well as everyone in the multiverse except for the seven Paragons, was killed in an antimatter wave by the Anti-Monitor on December 10, 2019,[61] only to be restored a month later, after the Paragons and the Spectre created a new universe.[62]

New multiverse[]

Challenging fate[]

Meeting the new Zari[]
Steel (Earth-Prime)

Nate shoots a Japanese commercial.

Nate was on the Waverider with Ava Sharpe when he learnt that Sara was shanghaied to another crossover without them. Soon after, Nate and Ava sadly watched the Oliver Queen tribute.[63] Since they were famous for what happened in Heyworld, Nate as Steel recorded a Japanese commercial promoting whiskeys.

Legends (Earth-Prime) team meeting

Legends team meeting.

After the Crisis, Nate began to record Kevin Harris' documentary; Meet the Legends, along with the other Legends. When Sara, Mick and Ray arrived at the Waverider, Nate welcomed them. After a temporal quake in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1917 hit the timeline, the Legends went to investigate and found that Grigori Rasputin was resuscitated. Then the Legends went back to the ship and planned a way to kill Rasputin.

After the recent failed mission of the Legends and trying to kill Rasputin, Behrad advised Nate with his problems. It has been revealed that Rasputin is one of the Encores, souls freed from Hell by Astra Logue. After Rasputin was defeated, he and the Legends gave an interview to their fans, where they said that all this was a lie. They went back to the ship and Nate help Berhad fix Gideon, then Behrad went to his room and Nate saw a holographic projection of Zari Tomaz, which he did not recognize.[64]

Tarazi Family

At the birthday dinner.

Nate traveled to 2044 with Behrad Tarazi to attend the latter's father's birthday and to meet the mystery woman in the video, who he learned was named Zari, a social media influencer and the former "Dragon Girl". He tried to make her remember something from their time in the Waverider, but Zari misconstrued it as Nate trying to hit on her, to which she caught on, before being interrupted by Behrad. Zari later realized who Nate is after remembering re-watching a video of him and Behrad at Heyworld, and tried to tell the truth to their parents, before Behrad portalled her to the Waverider to keep her mouth shut.[65]

Ray and Nate talk with Freddy Meyers

Nate and Ray talk to Freddy Meyers.

Nate and the others traveled to 2004 to stop a new encore, Freddy Meyers and found a body and decided to follow Ray's plan which was to travel back to when Freddy was a teenager and reform him. Upon reaching 1989, Nate, Ray and Nora supported Freddy so that he would have a good time at the school dance with success and with the mission accomplished, Nate and the team took selfies to celebrate.[66] Following their quest against the Encores, Nate and the Legends traveled to 1974 to stop Marie Antoinette and Nate, Behrad and Ray ended up captivated by her fragrance and later recovered. Nate, Ava, and Behrad went to 2044 to help Zari escape people captivated by the fragrance and Nate knocked out S'More Money and back to the ship.[67]

He built scooters for the missions and impressed Zari and Ray. Nate traveled with the Legends to 1997 to face another Encore who turned out to be Genghis Khan and fought some soldiers while Khan fought with the Legends. After the confrontation, Nate found out that Khan stole their scooters and learned that Charlie and Behrad were a couple. After Charlie and Behrad defeated Khan, Nate and the others decided to look for the pieces of the Loom of Fate.[68]

Ray's retirement[]
Ray sees Nora in her wedding dress

Nate at his best friend's wedding.

A few weeks later, Ray got married to Nora Darhk, during which Nate walked Ray down the aisle and presumably served as best man.[69] After the Legends' next mission, Nate, the other male Legends, and Charlie decided to throw Ray a late bachelor party in Victorian London, but they all got drunk and caused a bar fight. They revealed their powers, not realizing that William Shakespeare had been watching them, which changed Romeo and Juliet from a romantic tragedy to a superhero story and interrupted Nora's bachelorette party. The Legends returned to London to convince Shakespeare to fix his play, but Nate overheard a conversation with Shakespeare in which Ray revealed that he was leaving the Legends. Upset about not hearing it from him directly, Nate lashed out at Ray, called off their friendship, and told him to leave right away. Sara attempted to talk about it with him, but he refused.

Later, the Legends decided that the only way to fix history was to perform Romeo and Juliet themselves. Nate, as Juliet, began to act out the balcony scene with Constantine as Romeo, but he suddenly realized how poorly he'd acted and ran backstage. After getting a pep talk and an understudy out of Zari, Nate tore off his drag and rushed back to the Waverider to see Ray off before it was too late. He apologized to Ray for his behavior and assured him that he was still happy for him and Nora. Ray responded by telling Nate that he wished that everything and nothing could change at the same time. After exchanging a final "I love you", the two tearfully shared a long hug before Ray and Nora departed from the Waverider.

Nate hugs Ray goodbye

Nate and Ray part ways on the bridge of the Waverider.

Sara later found Nate alone on the bridge, and they discussed how friendship starts because you need each other, but you need each other less if you do it right. Sara offered to be there for Nate, and they attempted a bro hug. Unable to sleep that night, Sara and Nate met up again in the galley, joined by the rest of the Legends minus Constantine. After they all poured glasses of Ray's favorite green juice, Nate led a toast to Ray for teaching him how to be a better friend by being better than he deserved.[70] Nate and Ray regularly met up for drinks together.[71]

The Loom of Fate[]

Nate woke up to see that Zari was on his bed, and they were both shocked and embarrassed. Nate and Behrad helped Zari find out what was going on and discovered that Zari is an alternate version of the original Zari Tomaz and Nate realized that he and Tomaz were dating. When the team was in danger, Nate went to help them, but when he returned, everyone cried and mourned Behrad's death because of Atropos. They all decided to look for the last piece of the Loom to revive Behrad.[72]

While Ava, Mick, and Gary were in Hell looking for the last piece of the Loom, Nate and Charlie stayed behind to watch a game. When the trio returned, Nate and Charlie were happy to see that they returned safely, but the duo were surprised to see that Astra Logue joined the team.[73]

The Legends stare down Gary Jr.

Nate stares at Gary Jr.

When the Legends argue about what should be done with the reassembled Loom, Nate sides with Zari that Behrad should be resurrected first; Nate noticed that Constantine wanted to keep his promise to Astra, opposing Zari, so he took a position to get closer to her. Clotho's decision was for Behrad as well, but manipulating the Loom caused an explosion, disabling the ship. Ultimately, the Legends learned that Marchosias was manipulating their actions; they also learned that Clotho was not strong enough solo to wield such powerful magic.[74]

The Chalice of Dionysus[]

The Legends research through different books that Gary brings to the ship how to become immortal so they can use the Loom of Fate. When they come across a passage about the Chalice of Dionysus, Nate realizes that he already had an encounter with this artifact when he tried to steal it in his college days. The Legends go to Hudson University to procure the item, but Dion tells them that it only works for "Greeks", so they need to pledge a fraternity or sorority for it to work for them.

Glowing Legends

Nate glows with immortality.

While the women work on Delta Chi Sigma, Nate becomes mesmerized by an IPA that Dion has him drink and becomes a party-boy under Dion's thrall. Nate tells Dion the women's true intent to become immortal to use the Loom, causing Dion to have reservations about them using it because he does not want free will and partying to end. Ultimately, Dion is defeated by Sara Lance in a wagered game of beer-pong and Nate, with the other Legends, drink from the chalice, gaining 24 hours of immortality.[16]

The next morning, the Legends learn that Astra Logue has stolen the Waverider and the Loom and has left them stranded at John Constantine's house, forcing them to go to London to get to a time courier. During their trip, the England Zombie Apocalypse begins. Nate battles Zombies for his life in the Time Bureau office disguised as an English pub as Clotho escapes with the time courier.[75]

Loomworld[]
Zari, Nate, and Behrad break the fourth wall

Ultimate Buds

Reality is reset and Nate is a character in the show Ultimate Buds where Nate lives across the hall from a now-living Behrad Tarazi and his sister. She starts acting weirdly and causes the show to begin an impromptu cross-over with other shows written by Clotho Productions. In the last chapter of the cross-over, Clotho appears and demands that all the characters should return to their various shows; to bribe Behrad, Zari Tarazi is split from Zari Tomaz, to Nate's delight that he is reunited with his lover. However, the Legends cannot cope with living in a fantasy world, even if it is one that fulfills their desires. Nate helps to rebel against his script, causing his show to be cancelled. With the Legends real again, they decided to fight the Fates.[76]

The Legends fight the encores

The Legends fight the Encores.

Nate goes with the group of Legends assigned to find the Waverider; when they do, it is in a garbage yard, without Gideon. Tomaz uses her skills to get the time-ship operational, but she must use Nate in Steel form to act as a conductor. The team is forced to time-jump to four months into the future to save themselves from the explosion of Loom of Fate.

The team soon goes to a museum where Nate explains to Ava Sharpe various displays there, such as the shake-weight and the "Thong Song" by the musician Sisqó. In the museum, the Legends find Clotho, who has been brainwashed to believe that she is the worst offender in history because of her belief in free will.

Later, the Legends pretend to be museum mannequins so they can attack Lachesis to give the world free will from the Fatewatch. During the battle against the Encores under Lachesis' command, Nate activates the Sisqó display, allowing him to dance as he fought. When victory comes, Nate spends the night with Tomaz.

The next morning, Tomaz bids Nate an emotional farewell as her existence alongside her other self is killing Behrad; Tomaz returns to the World between worlds, leaving Nate heart-broken. Nate goes with the others to a The Smell concert and gets so drunk that he fails to notice the abduction of Sara by a space ship.[77]

Abduction of Sara[]

Aliens scattered throughout history[]
Mick sees the Aliens

The Legends see the aliens floating in the Temporal Zone.

In 1997, London; Nate talked to David Bowie about his feelings for Zari Tomaz and how he missed her. Nate and the others found out from Bowie that Sara had been abducted by aliens, and were shocked to discover that Gary was an alien the entire time. After convincing Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz to help search for Sara, Nate and the Legends saw all the aliens floating in the Temporal Zone.[78]

Nate and the others traveled to California in the 1950s and explored the Big Bang Burger, since Spooner detected an alien. In an effort to find the alien, Nate along with Behrad and Zari became cooks while investigating the mystery sauce. He tried to calm Behrad and Zari from fighting over who was going to wear the Air Totem.

Nate, Zari, and Behrad prepare to cook

Nate, Behrad, and Zari prepare to cook hamburgers.

Then they discovered that the sauce made people crazy about meat and customers started attacking the restaurant; Nate, Behard, and Zari used Zari's Dragon Ash to calm the crowd to calm the mob. They would shove unconscious people into the restaurant and he saw the Giant Air Feeder. Nate informed Ava that the alien is here. After Spooner managed to kill the alien, Nate and the others returned to the ship.[79]

Later he and the Legends traveled to 2045 as an alien assassinated S'More Money and helped Zari so that the whole world would treat her famously so that the plan would work out. Nate and Behrad tried to stop Lord Knoxicrillion without success, but he did not kill S'More Money and challenged him to the Da Throne. Nate, Behrad and Les-Lay groomed John to be Zari's cool boyfriend.

Later he, Behrad and John discovered that S'More Money cheated with Knoxicrillion, and they could not warn Zari in time, so to help Zari, Nate donned S´More Money clothing and mask to prevent Knoxicrillion from winning. Nate pretending to be S'More Money celebrated that Zari won and fought with the real S'More and Zari and John managed to win the Da Throne. Returning to the Waverider to celebrate Zari's triumph, Nate and Behrad had a few drinks and became fond of seeing Knoxicrillion's true form, but were shocked when Mick crushed Knoxicrillion.[80]

Temporary base of operation[]
Zari and Nate

Nate and Zari infiltrate in the White House.

He was woken up by Mick as he had a clue to find Sara, and Nate and Zari had an awkward chat about how much he misses old Zari. Nate and the others traveled unknowingly to 1962 and stole a truck with the alleged cryochamber that contained Kayla, but were shocked to learn that it was a missile warhead and realized that they are in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nate and Zari infiltrated the White House where they met President John F. Kennedy, his brother Bobbie, and General Kilgore.

Nate talked to Kennedy about football games and convinced Kennedy not to launch a missile at Cuba. When Kilgore showed images of a man with steel skin whom they called the "Man of Steel", Nate was concerned because it was him and could not convince Kennedy to reject the images because Kilgore finished convincing him to launch a missile at Cuba. Nate finally managed to convince Kennedy to avoid a nuclear war, and the two forged a friendship. Kilgore and other generals obtained an explosive ball to attack Cuba and threatened to kill Zari, so Nate, Kennedy, Bobbie and the other prosecutors played a game of football against them to get the ball, and they managed to triumph, but Cuba had sent a missile towards them. They were saved thanks to the missile being deactivated, and Nate along with Kennedy and the others celebrated the victory. Nate and Zari joined the others to go to Constantine's house to rest, while Mick and Kayla rescued Sara.[81]

Legends as objects in the form of animation

Nate and the Legends as cartoons.

Upon arriving at Constantine's House, Nate and the others asked Astra many questions, and she angrily transformed Nate along with the others into objects and Nate became a cheese and later became an animated version of cheese. Then, Nate and the other Legends helped Astra defeat Aleister Crowley and returning everything to normality.[82]

Legends in Bishop's Gambit

Nate and the Legends ask Astra for help.

Nate played Constantine's guitar while he was at the house, but accidentally broke it Later, Nate found out that Amelia Earhart was pretending to be Sara, and they believed that she might be an alien. Nate and Ava investigated and found the Waverider without Sara or Mick. Nate and the Legends asked Astra to help them travel through Earhart's memories.[83]

Legends reunited[]

Sara reunited with the Legends

Legends reunited.

Upon learning of Sara's death, Nate and the others cried for their friend. Nate and Zari searched for Behrad only to discover that he traveled to 1977 to prevent Sara's kidnapping, so everyone except Ava accompanied Behrad to support him in his plan. Nate and the team made a thousand attempts to stop Sara from leaving, but they failed. After Sara was kidnapped, Nate and the others planned to leave the place, but watched with joy as Sara, Mick, Ava, and Gary returned and celebrated Sara's reunion and marriage proposal to Ava.[84]

The Legends enter the Fist City bar

Nate and the Legends enter the Fist City bar.

Nate and the others helped Ava make a romantic breakfast for Sara. Traveling to 1981 in Fist City, Nate was left in charge of the team and was upset that the townspeople should be cruel. Nate commented that Levi Stapleton was a villain while Bass Reeves was a hero. When the Haverack appeared, Nate and the team hid in the canteen where Nate tried to keep calm among the team, but when he had had enough of everyone, Nate began to vent against everyone in anger calling the attention of the alien, but was saved by Astra and Spooner. When they got back to the ship, Nate was glad that he could enter Behrad's totem to visit the original Zari.[85]

Relathionship issues[]
Nate on Bud Stuy trying to find Gus

Nate in Bud Stuy.

Nate was spending a romantic night with Zari Tomaz until accidentally Behrad and Zari pulled him out of the Totem. Nate, Behrad, Astra, and Zari went to the film set for the comedy Bud Stuy in 2023 and saw a new alien arrive. The Legends tried to catch it, but could not because the alien was being protected by Kamran Saeed. While on mission, Nate started talking with Zari about his visits with Tomaz, with Tarazi asking with what she asked for the most with Nate answering that she speaks a lot of Behrad.

Zari Tomaz is reunited with the Legends again

Nate celebrates Zari's return.

Later on, Nate had to participate in Bud Stuy playing the annoying landlord to catch Gus-Gus and managed to form a bond with the alien. After all the madness Tarazi decided to visit Tomaz for Behrad's birthday, and started telling her she should go to Behrads party on the Waverider, Nate to this was excited to see how Tomaz changed places with Tarazi and they resumed their relationship.[86]

Legends after the fight with Gus

Nate and the Legends after the fight with Gus.

While on the ship Behrad, Gary and Nate were singing to Gus-Gus so he would stop crying, meanwhile Tomaz was taking a video of them doing so. It was revealed by Gary that Gus-Gus was growing up. Gus-Gus started growing and attacking other legends but they had a bit of an issue, they all thought Lita was about to give birth so they rushed her to the med bay. Gus-Gus was finally defeted until Mick, Behrad, and Tomaz managed to kick Gus-Gus out of the Waverider, it turned out Lita wasn't about to give birth but thought Mick was.[87]

Nate and Zari on a date

Nate and Zari on their last date.

While some legends went to find an alien pod, Nate decided to have a romantic date with Zari with no distractions. They went camping to Alaska to where they were finding a place to camp, and some noisy campers started telling them to join them. While all of this Tomaz was thinking of both Nates and her relathionship, since thanks to the timeline they can't be together. After finding out earth was on a Bowling Alley, Zari took shots at Mike the Strike's finger, disturbing a roll, permitting Sara's group to overcome the Pin Killers. After all the worries Nate consoles Zari telling her he loves her. After all of this the legends took a photo at the Bowling Alley.[88] After getting on the Waverider Tomaz went back to the Air Totem, while Tarazi got out.[89]

The Legends play Beast Slayers

Nate and the Legends play Beast/Slayers.

After getting stranded on the Waverider, Nate along with Zari and Behrad did yoga until Gary convinced them to play Beast/Slayers. Nate got to be the wealthy foreigner and to ignite the game, John used magic to make the game come true, and they had to find out who the Beast was before being killed. During the game, Nate was the first to be killed with a knife. When Zari finished the game, Nate and the Legends returned to the Waverider and ran quickly to help Mick with his pregnancy.[89]

Fight with Bishop[]
Galixipost

Nate and the Legends try to trick Kayla.

When the person responsible for Sara's abduction, Bishop, showed up, Nate and the others locked him in the cell. He and Sara wouldn't allow Ava to talk to him, as Bishop is very dangerous. Nate and Ava watched Sara fight Bishop, but she lost in the fight. When they went to confront Bishop, Nate and the team saw that Bishop just wanted to help give birth to Mick's eggs.[90] Upon discovering that Bishop would go after John, Nate and the Legends tried to stop him, but were tricked into seeing that Constantine and Bishop escaped on the ship. With no other options, he and the others used Galixipost to post a photo of Mick with fake eggs and get Kayla's attention. After convincing Kayla to help, Nate went with Zari to find John in 1925, but saw John get killed by the Fountain of Imperium.[91]

The Legends fight the Zagurons

The Legends about to fight.

When most the Legends were together, they saw a sad Zari getting on the ship announcing John had died. Later they went to check up on Esperanza, to what a madness started happening with the Zagurons pods started falling from the sky. Ava, Sara and Nate went to check them out and when they were there Sara told Ava to marry her. Just when Sara and Ava were about to get married, Bishop arrived and the Zagurons escaped from their pods. All of the Legends prepared for a fight, but retreated to Gloria's house after noticing how many Zagurons there were. While they were fighting the Zagurons, Esperanza used her newly found powers to give Nate's powers to Ava to fight the Zagurons. After Sara and Ava said their "I do's", the Fountain of Imperium awoke and killed all of the Zagurons. After that the Legends came out the house, to where Bishop was, Sara told him to give up but just then Mick and Kayla's eggs started hatching and once they got out killed Bishop, because they were hungry.

After this all the legends were heading back to the Waverider, another Waverider appeared destroying it, leaving the Legends stuck in 1925.[92]

Messing up time[]

Stuck in 1925[]
The Legends try to escape 1925

The Legends try to get out of 1925.

After the Waverider was destroyed, Sara told the Legends that they would board the other Waverider and figure out who destroyed their ship. However, Nate's courier had no juice left in it, meaning that they were stuck in 1925. Gary reminded Ava about the fail-safe that was installed on the Waverider, so Nate and the Legends began to search Gloria's property for the safe. After returning to Gloria's house, Astra and Spooner told the rest of the team, that the safe was in the Sheriff's office. When trying to figure out how to draw heat off of Gloria and her property, Ava and Gary remembered a Time Bureau rule that required agents to create a cover story, specifically a circus, if things went sideways on a mission.

The Legends find out what is inside the fail safe

Nate and the Legends see the safe empty.

While the team dealt with the circus acts, Nate and Ava went to the sheriff's office to persuade him and successfully get the safe. After returning home, the Legends discovered that he did not have the messenger and only had a note from Mick saying he took the time messenger, a Time Bureau manual, and Behrad's gummy bears. Later, Astra tried casting a spell to bring the Waverider back, but she only ended up hurting herself and causing an explosion.

Legends in Constantine's Pocket Dimension

Nate and the Legends in Constantine's pocket dimension.

When J. Edgar Hoover and his men showed up at Gloria's house, Zari and the rest of the Legends were forced to hide, but they couldn't figure out where to do so. When Zari opened the door, the team saw a hallway and had no choice but to enter. The Legends eventually realized that they were in Constantine's house, but Gary told them it wasn't actually Constantine's house, but a pocket dimension that he had created that just looked like his house. Not believing it, Nate opened the doors, but seeing hellish flames, he began to believe.

After returning to Gloria's house, Nate and the Legends stole Hoover's car to fake a robbery and avoid suspicion. Nate and the Legends managed to escape to go to New York and find Gwyn Davies to travel back in time again, but Hoover chased them again, so Nate drove fast to knock Hoover down and accidentally ran him over discovering that he was still alive, but when he transformed into steel to avoid a bullet, Hoover was accidentally killed, which ruined the story, so Gary was asked to eat Hoover.[93]

Behrad, Nate and Gary

Nate, Behrad, and Gary pretend to be agents.

Nate and the Legends found train tickets in Hoover's jacket, so Sara decided to have Gary cast a spell to make Nate just like Hoover to get on the train and get to New York. On the train, Nate wore a hat to imitate Hoover's voice and the Legends took the train. While Sara and Ava were in the pocket dimension. Nate, Behrad, and Gary were confronted by a duo of detectives, who came looking for Hoover, so Nate took Gary's spell to take on Hoover's appearance. Nate successfully fooled the detectives and proved his detective skills by finding a dog and a bag.

Upon learning of a crash on the train, Nate, Gary, and Behrad began investigating who was planning to rob the passengers. Nate met with the detectives to discuss the train robbery, but discovered that the real Hoover was a bogeyman and a torturer, something that surprised Nate. When he had to interrogate and torture the driver, Igor, as a possible suspect, Nate thought to stop imitating Hoover, since he would never hurt an innocent. Nate was left alone with Igor and pretended to torture him to deceive the agents. Nate discovered that the duo of agents is in cahoots with Al Capone's gang, who were planning the assault, but Nate, Gary, and Behrad stopped them, but it was too late because the entire Al Capone gang arrived at the train.

The Legends and Al Capone's men against J

Nate and the Legends confront Hoover.

Because the gang wanted to kill Hoover, Nate decided to sacrifice himself for everyone, but Gary's spell was over, causing Nate to return to his normal appearance, but he was saved by the rest of the team. The gang apologized to them and admitted to being fans of the Bullet Blondes, but the Legends and the gang were shocked to see Hoover alive. When Sara managed to kill Hoover, the Legends discovered that he was actually a robot pretending to be the real one and when the robot activated its self-destruction, the team escaped in Hoover's car to flee.[94]

Zari, Nate and Gary

Nate, Zari, and Gary walk into a club.

Reunion with Zari[]

The Legends made it to Chicago, but first they had to go unnoticed. Nate, Behrad, and Gary realized that the police were looking for them, so they had to disguise Sara and Ava in order to prevent the girls from being recognized as the Bullet Blondes. Nate and the team walked into a club, where they met Eddie, the owner. The Legends had a good time, but accidentally made some thugs shut down the club. To help Eddie, Nate and the team used the pocket dimension as a temporary club to raise money and reopen Eddie's club. While fixing the pocket dimension, Nate was surprised to see that Gary had a crush on Tarazi, but Nate still missed his Zari.

Nate argued with Gary about Zari and their relationship, but Nate had faith that his relationship with Tomaz was okay. While Sara and Ava put on a great show, Nate and Gary took it upon themselves to keep watch as they continued to argue about their relationship with Zari until Hoover's robot and the thugs arrived. He and Gary successfully beat the thugs. When Eddie's club reopened, Nate apologized to Gary and agreed to try talking to his Zari. In the pocket dimension, the Legends did not know what to do with Hoover, so Zari called the Zari of the totem to help and Nate was happy to see his girlfriend again.[95]

When Gary arrived in New York, the Legends came out of the pocket dimension to find Gwyn. Nate bought donuts to share with Zari in the pocket dimension while she worked with Hoover's robot. Nate and the Legends learned that Hoover's goal was to destroy them. He talked to Zari about how to continue their relationship, since sooner or later, Tomaz will have to return to the totem. After setting up Hoover, Nate and Zari had the robot help them talk to Thomas Edison to get the blueprints for Davies' time machine.

The Legends manage to travel through time again

The Legends travel back in time.

Nate and Zari watched as Hoover exploded and discovered that Edison was also a robot. Nate agreed to continue his relationship with Zari anywhere, and they both shared a kiss and then took the plans. He and Zari brought the plans to Gwyn's house to help the others bring Ava and Gary back. When they were going to travel in time, a human Gideon appeared to save them. The whole team got together and together with Gwyn they managed to travel through time successfully, but they traveled to another era.[96]

Not knowing what to do, the team decided to split up to look for things to survive. Nate and Zari realized that to continue their relationship they both had to live in the totem, but Nate didn't know whether to move to the totem or not. Nate rejected Gary's advice to keep thinking. After several hours, Nate considered moving into the totem. When Zari, Gwyn, and Behrad returned, Nate finally told Zari to move in with her. The Legends discovered that they were in Chernobyl, 1986, and had to escape before being caught in the explosion. The team managed to escape, but a man was taken away in a toilet.[97]

Hunted by "Evil Gideon"[]

The Legends see Bishop

The Legends see Bishop.

The Legends managed to escape and discovered that the man on the toilet was Bishop, and they all entered the pocket dimension to escape the Waverider rouge. Nate and Zari promised to live together in the totem. Nate announced this to the team, but promised the team that he would come visit them, and allowed Gary to wear his helmet. Nate was helped by Behrad and Zari to learn about their Persian culture successfully and learned the language. He and the rest of the group went to McDougle Jemison Factory to celebrate. Nate and the team were found by the Waverider, so they had to flee quickly in the time machine driven by Gideon, but lost Bishop, who sacrificed himself for them.[98]

Breaking the Fixed Point[]
Zari and Nate ask the Legends to pick a side

Nate argues with Zari.

In the pocket dimension, Nate and the Legends tried to process the situation, but spread out to rest. Nate and Zari discussed their decision to go to the totem, and due to the heat of Hell, he and Zari had sexual intentions until the power went out and they looked for a way to turn the power back on, but to everyone's surprise, they found Gary and Gideon having sex. Soon, the Legends found out that their attitudes were because a reality show, Lowest Common Demoninator, was recording them. Nate and Zari continued to have issues and started arguing about their friendship.

The Legends chase Gary

Nate and the Legends chase Gary.

To pass the time, Nate started lifting weights and found out from Gideon, who was lying, that Zari bad-mouthed the real Zari, and confronted her over dinner, where everyone lost their minds, and the real Zari showed up, and Nate and Zari 2 tried to tell Zari their problems until Gary ate the Neural Navigational System that Bishop created. Angry, Nate and the others chased after Gary to kill him.

Zari, Nate, and Spooner together

Nate, Zari and Spooner are calmed down by Behrad.

However, their problems would calm down when Behrad interrupted, and Nate and the others listened as Behrad revealed his true feelings, managing to remove the curse from the reality show. Nate and Zari 2 were calmed down by Zari and Zari's kiss, before she left, and he reconciled with Zari 2 to be friends again.

Legends (Earth-Prime)

Nate and the Legends listen to Gideon say that they will save Franz Ferdinand from dying.

Nate and the others were summoned by Gary and Gideon into the living room to reconcile again and Nate apologized for insulting Gary and Gideon's relationship. Hearing that Gideon wanted to save Archduke Franz Ferdinand and prevent World War I, Nate and his friends started laughing at the idea until they found out that Gideon was serious.[99]

The Legends discussed how to break the Fixed Point in Time to avoid the great war. Nate, Sara, Gideon and Gary started a plan to prevent the Archduke's death in a drawing. Nate and Sara went to 1914 Sarajevo to poison assassins until the Time Authority caught them and took them to the Fixed Point Bar.

The Legends see how Sara gets killed multiple times

Nate, Astra, Behrad, Gideon and Gary try to help Sara prevent the Archduke's death.

Nate and the team realized that many have tried to save the Archduke and sent Sara to try, but she died, although she revived thanks to her powers. Nate tried to motivate Sara, since other time travelers were making fun of him. Cheering her up, Nate, Behrad, Astra, Gary, and Gideon made plans with her in her thousands of attempts to stop the assassins and managed to kill most of them, making all the travelers respect Sara.

The Legends see the evil Waverider from the distance

Nate and the Legends watch the evil Waverider arrive in 1914.

The Legends realized that there was someone altering the Archduke's death so they wouldn't be killed, so they used Gwyn's device to freeze time, and have Sara save the Archduke. After breaking the Fixed Point, the Legends went out to take the evil Waverider.[100]

Facing the Robot Legends[]
The Legends in The Fixed Point Bar

The Legends and Gwyn make a plan to defeat the robots.

With surprise and fear, the Legends saw that in reality the crew of the evil Waverider were robotic copies of themselves, and upon being discovered, Nate and the others fled to the bar to make new ideas. Out of ideas, Nate and the Legends agreed that Gwyn should lead them because of his military experience. The plan was for Behrad to pretend to be his robot version to enter the ship while Nate, Sara, and Spooner did aberrations to call out the robots. The team's attempts failed until they took things to ruin the story. Nate made a graffiti which said: "Darth Vader is the father of Luke".

Sara, Steel, Gwyn and Spooner prepare to fight the robots

Nate, Sara, Gwyn and Spooner prepare to fight against the latest Robot Legends.

Nate, Sara, Spooner, and Gwyn celebrated the plan's success, as most of the robots were destroyed, and Behrad Astra and Zari dismantled evil Gideon until they were surprised by Robot Nate and Robot Sara. After learning that Sara should be the new guardian of the Fixed Point due to the death of Eobard Thawne, Nate wanted his friend not to accept that fate, but she was determined to sacrifice herself, however, Nate became Steel and was with Gwyn and Spooner to help Sara in the fight, but Gideon pretended to be the "evil Gideon" to make the robots deactivate.

Nate meets his robot counterpart

Nate tricks his robot copy.

So that Sara would not protect the Fixed Point, Nate reactivated his robot copy and they began to talk about his appearance. Nate gave him the Fixed Point watch to be the new guardian, and since his copy was dumb, Nate managed to trick him, and mocked him after he was sent to guard Fixed Point eternally.[101]

Retirement[]

Nate and the Legends took Gideon to the Waverider to try to heal her, but had to reprogram the Evil Gideon for the human Gideon. The Legends were going to die at the hands of Evil Gideon until Good Gideon made a deal with the AI. However, Nate and the others sent Spooner on a mission to disable Evil Gideon again. Nate was taken by Gary and Gideon to see his future if he retires from the Legends. The future was about how he went back to 2022 and became a famous author, and even saw his own book, and got really excited starting to consider his retirement.

The Legends take a picture before retiring

Nate and the Legends take a photo together one last time before they retire and return to 2022.

Finally, the Legends agreed to retire and threw a farewell party to spend one last day together. Nate talks with Zari about the legacy they left behind and the future that lies ahead. When the party ended and Gideon managed to save "Alun Thomas", Nate and the Legends took a final photo, and each returned to 2022[102], but they always met in the pocket dimension, and had fun now that they lived in peace, but they noticed that Gideon, Gary and Gwyn were not coming to the weekly meetings.[103]

Sometime later, Nate called Ray Palmer to apologize for missing the drinking nights they always had, and told him about the problem of being stranded in 1925 and his run-ins with Evil Gideon.[104] During their meeting, Nate told Ray about how they encountered an alternate version of Thawne who helped them break through the fixed point during their adventure in 1914.[105]

Saving Alun[]

Nate and the others greet Gary, who reveals that Evil Gideon tried to kill him, learning that the Alun Gideon brought was a robot while Gwyn went to World War I, where he was killed by the 1916 fixer, since that real Alun's death was a fixed point, so they decided to save their friend.

After confronting Gideon, Nate, Sara, Ava, Zari, Behrad, and Gary met up with Gwyn to aid him in his plan to replace the real Alun with a fake one, and painted their hands to make an alliance with the Fixer. Nate and the Legends met the fixer, whose name was Mike, and a huge fan of the team, and he agreed to help them. Nate and the others prepared themselves, but watched as Mike betrayed them by stealing the Waverider and destroying the Time Machine, much to Nate's disappointment.

Nate saves Alun

Nate saves Alun from dying in the war.

Nate, Gwyn and Gary got excited that Sara was pregnant and started their plan to save Alun. While running from the explosions, Nate turned into steel, but because of the mustard gas, his steel form corroded, although it didn't stop him from saving Alun's life, and he returned to the team, becoming a true hero.[103]

Leaving the Legends[]

Nate was taken to the cabin, where Gwyn helped him up, and talked to Sara about the success of the mission, and how they both no longer had their powers.

Nate leaves the Legends

Nate says goodbye to his friends.

Determined, Nate revealed that he was leaving the Legends to live with Zari, and all his friends said goodbye to him, and Zari 2 gave him the Air Totem to make him happy. Touched, Nate thanked the Legends for all the time they spent, and said goodbye to his friends, before going to the totem pole, and living with his true love.[103]

Potential future[]

Battle with Magog[]

In a present future in 2049, Nate was summoned by Oliver Queen in aid of Nora and Bart West-Allen to fight Magog. Back in his suit, Nate supported the other summoned heroes in defeating Magog and his evil forces. After the fight, Nate took it upon himself to bring the evil Necrians back to their respective time.[106]

Possible future[]

If Nate retires and leaves the Legends, he would go back to 2022 and become an author and writer of books recounting the adventures he had as a superhero and about his Legend friends.[102]

Reverse Flashpoint timeline[]

In an alternate timeline created by Eobard Thawne, Nate and all the Legends died at the hands of Barry Allen, who had been turned into the Reverse-Flash, and Damien Darhk, but the timeline was erased by Barry.[107]

Personality[]

"First time in my adult life, I told my dad I love him. Years of therapy couldn't even get me to do that. Hey, speaking of, I love you so big. I love you so big. I love you so big."
—Nate Heywood to the Legends[src]
Nate and Sara amused by the Firestorm mix-up

In comparison to Sara Lance's dry humor, Nate is openly excitable.

Nate is an easily excitable individual, with great passion for his work and a tendency to ramble off when describing his findings or hypotheses, clashing in character with the no-nonsense attitude of Oliver Queen. Nate is altruistic, ready to go and save a team of complete strangers at the bat of an eye, just because he noticed something terrible might have happened to them in a certain period of history. He is also brave, risking his skin to get help from Oliver and revealing to the vigilante's face that he knew Oliver's secret identity. Nate is resourceful as well, securing both human resources (Oliver's help) and relevant historical artifacts to help him locate the Legends throughout time.[2]

Despite calling himself a "time detective", Nate is awed and humbled by the concept of time travel, at first refusing the call, saying that he only intended to go on a salvage mission, before being persuaded by Oliver that this adventure is something Nate had been waiting for his entire life. He also experienced a nerdy thrill the first time he traveled in time,[2] similar to that expressed by Ray Palmer and Professor Stein when they first time traveled[108] and later, Cisco Ramon and Felicity Smoak.[20] His adoration of time travel is further shown when he looks with awe at Einstein's speech, commenting on how he can't believe the Legends, him included, had just changed history. However, it is seen that traveling to the future makes him uncomfortable as it's too uncertain and his historical knowledge is of little use. It also frustrates him when he encounters something that history has regarded as legend or fabrication but turns out to be true such as the legends of Camelot, though in that case it was partially a case of a time traveler changing history according to the legend retroactively.[24]

Throughout his life, Nate suffered from his hemophilia, spending half of his childhood in a hospital and never leaving home until he went off to college at the age of 16. Sheltered at home and unable to make his own decisions, Nate longed for a life as an adult, where he took the choice to go on an adventure as soon as one came up. Brave and dedicated, he refused to agree with Sara's suggestion to have him leave the Waverider in fear for his safety. Instead, Nate risked his life for the team and the Justice Society of America, ending up on the verge of death, but recovered after Ray injected him with a dose of Eobard Thawne's biomolecular enhancer that Ray's modified to drastically increase his strength, as well as grant him accelerated healing and enhanced durability.[3]

After gaining powers due to the enhancer, Nate showed even more childlike excitement, testing out his strength against that of Ray's A.T.O.M. Exosuit rather recklessly, ending up with a damaged timeship and two time travelers freefalling through the Temporal Zone. Arriving to Medieval Japan, Nate immediately recognized the time period, claiming it to be awesome, before passing out. Despite being a historian and trying to make his story of a "gaijin merchant" to Masako Yamashiro seem believable, he ended up blundering when he referenced the United States, before realizing those weren't supposed to exist yet. Nate also shown himself to be a fan of popular fiction, referencing the fictional "Master Yoda" when listening to Masako's advice, further confusing her. During his stay with the Yamashiro family, Nate showed both a flirtatious side in his interactions with Masako, and, once again, his altruism when trying to protect her and the village's freedom from the Shogun's Samurai. Despite his infatuation with Masako, Nate agreed with her pragmatic response regarding their possible relationship: as a time traveler, he could not stay with her. He also was willing to kill in battle, as he personally took the life of Tokugawa Iemitsu when he destroyed the A.T.O.M. Exosuit Tokugwa was wearing.[4]

Nate is courageous and willing to try new things for a good cause. When the Legends visited Liberty, Colorado in 1874, Nate stopped a train containing a large amount of dwarf star alloy that Quentin Turnbull was using to create his own country. Nate stood in front of the train and, using his steel powers, pushed against it until it came to a stop. This ultimately fixed the time aberration.[5]

After the Legends went their separate ways when Rip disbanded the team, he went off and worked with Team Flash in Central City, forming a bond with Wally West. The two shared similar backgrounds with formerly-absentee fathers, similar stories of accidental powers, and similar personalities when it came to being heroes, thus giving them much in common.[28]

Nate carries the dragon egg

Nate carries the egg of Wickstable, whom he has taken in as his own.

Possibly because of his lack of paternal care growing up, Nate has shown to have somewhat parental instincts. When he and Zari recovered a dragon egg from the 1930s, Nate quickly began researching and applying the best ways to care for eggs and babies, even going so far as giving the dragon a name, playing classical music, installing a space-heated incubator, and carrying the egg on his chest when the incubator was powered off. Both Nate and Zari even hesitated to loosen up in their relationship until Nate realized that intimacy would generate extra body heat for the egg. They also made sure to secure the egg while the Waverider was in flight.[11]

"It's a weird thing with friendship. It starts because you need each other... and then if you do it right and help each other grow, you need each other less. I guess change is the whole point."
—Nate Heywood[src]


Nate as Ray's best man

Nate and Ray shared an intimate friendship during their time together on the Legends.

Nate is approachable and friendly, able to easily bond and make friends with all of his fellow Legends. He has grown especially close to Ray, forming a strong friendship to the point that Nate was even able to hold a naked Ray without being flustered[47] and was the loved one that Neron chose to pursue while attempting to possess Ray.[57] Sara has remarked on their bromance and "sibling rivalry",[21] and they have exchanged hugs, high fives, chest bumps, cheek kisses, and even a forehead touch on one occasion.[56] Nate was also the first person to whom Ray confessed his feelings for Nora Darhk, implying that they trust each other with their secrets[41] Nate has shown to be protective of Ray to a degree; he did everything in his power to stop Ray from risking his life in Camelot and panicked when he thought he had failed.[24] This protectiveness has been returned by Ray, who sat with Nate in the med bay after the latter's first injury in battle[5] and showed extra concern whenever he heard Nate's urgent voice on comm[34] or discovered that Nate had not been sleeping well.[13][32] Their friendship has even saved Nate's life: when Nate's anger was about to drive him into becoming a vessel for Neron, Ray immediately went after Nate even as the latter punched him in the face, and Nate's guilt from hurting Ray was enough for him to regain control.[56] Ray eventually gave Neron his body in exchange for Nate's life, inspiring Nate to rejoin the Legends in Ray's honor.[57] Nate later died to return Ray's soul, and Ray, along with the rest of the Legends, channeled love into Tabitha's staff to bring him back.[12] After being resurrected, Nate continued to support Ray and his relationship with Nora (despite his fear that it was rushed) and eventually had the honor of being Ray's best man at their wedding.[69] Nate was the most impacted by Ray's departure from the Legends and misses him dearly.[70]

Since Ray's departure, and his relationship status with Tomaz, Nate took a new "seat" in the Legends, comforting the co-captains, and organizing the team as their "Mission Captain" while they were stranded in Chernobyl.[97]

Powers and abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Meta-human physiology: As a result of being injected with a modified dose of Thawne's biomolecular enhancer, Nate's DNA cells were altered, augmenting his physiology to access his powers, essentially becoming a Meta-human super soldier.[4]
    • Superhuman strength: While not as strong as he is when he’s in his steel form, Nate is still far stronger than a normal person. He can easily break a piece of a desk to use as an improvised weapon.[48] He was also able to send the Reverse-Flash flying with a single hit. When he and the other legends got stuck on a reality tv show in Hell, Nate was able to easily bench press 315 lbs in human form.
    • Enhanced speed: Nate is slightly faster than the average human as shown how he outran all the other superheroes when they charged at the Dominators.
    • Superhuman reflexes: Nate turned to steel before J. Edgar Hoover could shoot him in the head, after the latter had already pulled the trigger. He was also able to do this years prior, when a Nazi shot at him at point blank range and he turns to steel mere seconds before the bullet hit him.
    • Accelerated healing factor: A bonus effect of the biomolecular enhancer cured Nate's hemophilia. To which, Nate's enhanced body is able to recover from injuries much faster than a normal person. Even a direct hit to his chest by the A.T.O.M. Exosuit's blasters only knocked him out for a minute before he somewhat recovered shortly afterwards.[4]
  • Timeline change/Reality alteration awareness: Nate seems to be able to sense changes in the timeline or reality itself, as shown when he detected changes to the past, such as New York City being nuked by Nazis in 1942, causing World War II to last until 1947,[2] and when the Legion of Doom changed reality using the Spear of Destiny, he was able to realize someone had "operated" on reality.[26] However, this awareness still has its limits, as when Zari Tarazi's past was rewritten, Nate knew something was amiss but didn't know what it was and eventually dismissed it.[12]

Former powers[]

"You injected me with Nazi serum?"
"Which I redesigned to quintuple my own strength and transform my skin into an alloy a hundred times stronger than steel."
—Nate Heywood and Ray Palmer[src]
  • Organic steel transformation:
    Nate's steel form

    Nate's steel form

    As a result of Eobard Thawne's biomolecular enhancer that Ray Palmer altered and injected into him, Nate gained the ability to transform his entire body into steel, though Ray claims that it is actually an organic form of alloy. In this state, his body increases somewhat in height and build. Despite being entirely constituted of steel in his altered state, Nate appears to retain his normal level of mobility, leaving his agility unhindered. Also, upon transforming, any injuries his body has sustained fully heal immediately. Nate is also able to transform only parts of his body, leaving the rest of it intact.[4] Exposure to mustard gas corroded away his metal form and it is unknown if his steel powers will ever return.[103]
    • Superhuman strength: Nate is far stronger than any normal human; Ray stated his physical strength being quintupled from its normal level, however it seems to actually be much more; at times, he had exhibited Kryptonian-like strength. He was able to easily overpower and knock out Vixen while she was channeling the spiritual might of a gorilla and go toe-to-toe against Ray and his A.T.O.M. Exosuit without difficulty. He is strong enough to lift and fling a full-grown man and even a Dominator like a rag doll, also knocking one out with a single punch (whereas Supergirl had a certain difficulty doing so). His strength was further tested when he tried to stop a train carrying eight boxcars of Dwarf star alloy, which was moving at full speed and was able to slow its momentum until it completely stopped in its tracks, equaling to 320 tons total including the locomotive.[5]
      • Stomp-induced shockwaves: Nate can generate shockwaves by stomping hard from where he is presently positioned, inducing loud tremors that can knock people off their feet.[77]
    • Superhuman durability: Nate is far more durable than any normal human, approximately 100 times stronger than steel, according to Ray. This makes him extremely resistant to injury from low to high-caliber bullets, landmines, knives and even ion blasts from Ray's A.T.O.M. Exosuit and super-accelerated hits from the Reverse-Flash. He could also survive falls from great heights, such as when he fell from the temporal zone, through the skies, and eventually crashed into solid ground in Feudal Japan while showing no physical injury. Nate's durability is not without limits, as he can be affected by bullets or any weapons molded from Dwarf star alloy and possibly any metal/steel strong enough to penetrate his body.[4]
  • Abilities via Earth Totem: This totem allows its user to control the Earth. When battling Mallus, Nate wielded the totem, tapping into its Earth-based powers. After the demon was defeated once and for all, this totem, along with the Spirit, Water, Fire, and Death totems, was returned to Zambesi.[45]
    • Geokinesis: The totem allows its user to manipulate stone, soil, and shape and affect it in any conceivable way. Nate used this totem to create powerful waves of rolling earth as a projectile weapon.[45]
    • Totem connection: The totem connects to other totems when in the presence of them or from a far and can also let the other users know if a totem bearer has died.[45]
  • Immortality: After drinking from the Chalice of Dionysus, Nate became immortal for 24 hours.[75]

Abilities[]

"I'm a historian. I specialize in deductive historical reconstruction. In layman's terms, I'm a time detective, which I really don't have to be to look at a calendar to see one week after you came to this city, Robin Hood showed up."
—Nate Heywood to Oliver Queen[src]
  • Genius-level intellect/Master historian/Master investigator: Nate is a very intelligent individual, being a highly accomplished and resourceful historian, priding himself on deduction. With his deduction skills and extensive work with sources, Nate deduced the identities of Green Arrow and Rip Hunter's Legends, as well as the locations of time-scattered members of the Legends throughout history. Nate is very observant and sharp-witted, able to recognize that the timeline was starting to change due to aberrations, despite previously not being acquainted with the mechanics of time travel. He immediately thought to bring his findings to Oliver, Green Arrow and mayor of Star City, requesting assistance with saving them.[2] Nate's talents for deductive reasoning and analysis proved their worth even in the Legion of Doom's rewritten reality, where he soon realized how the world had been unnaturally altered.[26]
    • Animal care/interpretation: For unknown reasons, Nate was able to perfectly understand Ray's grunts and snorts when the latter was turned into a pig. He also knew how to take care of pig-Ray and hold him comfortably while escorting him to the Time Bureau.[47]
    • Expert engineer: Nate has been proven to be highly trained with machinery. After learning about how time travel works, he was able to design an alarm system to detect aberrations in the timeline.[17]
    • Multilingualism: Nate is fluent in English, German, French,[3] Japanese,[3][4] Italian,[3] and Latin.[3][28] Hence, he does not require the use of an ingestible translator.
  • Skilled hand-to-hand combatant/Brawler: Since joining the Legends, Nate has begun sparring with his companions (especially with Ray) to better his combat skills. Despite not being as skilled as other Legends such as Sara Lance, Mick Rory and Amaya Jiwe, Nate can hold his own in a fistfight, partly because of his powers. Nate's style of fighting is mostly that of a brawler mixed with basic boxing, which he most likely learned from Ray. He also demonstrated knowledge in judo throws while sparring with him.[21] Nate was also able to briefly overpower Malcolm Merlyn, using his steel powers before pushing him back.
  • Skilled marksman: Nate fought decently with a rifle while undercover in the Vietnam War with Mick.[34]
  • Acrobatics: Nate was able to successfully escape and evade a number of security guards on his quest to reach mayor Oliver Queen.[2] He was also flexible enough to successfully maneuver through a course of trip wires without getting hurt.[57]
Commander Steel design

Nate's sketch of a "Commander Steel" suit

  • Drawing/Sketch artist: Nate is proven to be a decent sketch artist, drawing accurate sketches of the Askaran Amulet from memory, as well as designing the "Steel" suit himself.[5]
  • Guitarist: Nate seems to have some musical skills, at least in guitar-like instruments. During his final mission before his leave of absence, he played a lute in an attempt to lull the minotaur to sleep, which would have succeeded had he not been attacked by the creature.[10]
  • Singing: Nate seems to be a decent singer, as he performed many songs with Ray and Sara as the Puppets of Tomorrow in an alternate timeline.[52]
  • Acting: Nate is a decent actor. He briefly portrayed Juliet in the Legends' production of Romeo and Juliet, only having to stop because he was overwhelmed after getting in a fight with Ray.[70]

Weaknesses[]

  • Dwarf star: Although Nate is able to easily deflect normal bullets without getting affected, he was once shot with bullets laced with dwarf star, nearly costing him his life.[5]
  • Emotional state: While Nate's new powers make him very strong, his ability to access and maintain them are all dependent on his focus and emotional drive. If too careless, he could end up leaving himself completely vulnerable.[4]
  • Ophidiophobia: Nate has a fear of snakes.[25]
  • Tranquilizing drugs: Tranquilizing drugs can temporarily disable Nate's ability to access his powers. This was first demonstrated when Nate, Amaya, and Mick traveled to 1951, to the first time the Dominators invaded Earth to try to find out why the aliens returned in 2016, and Smith's NSA agents knocked the trio out with tranquilizing darts. When he came to, Nate stated that whatever drug it was they'd been injected with was preventing him from accessing his powers.[20] This was also shown when Nate was drugged and abducted from the streets of London in 1895 when attempting to draw out what he and his team, at the time, believed to be an anachronistic vampire. When Nate awoke sometime later and found himself strapped to a table in what appeared to be an operating room, he found that whatever he'd been "roofied with" was preventing him from using his powers, making it impossible for him to attempt to escape.[32]
  • Hangover: After a night of extensive drinking, Nate woke up with a serious hangover and had difficulty to transform into steel, even though at the time he normally could do so at will.[29]
  • Reality alteration: After the Legion of Doom used the Spear of Destiny to rewrite reality, even after Nate managed to remember reality as it had been before the Legion used the Spear, he was unable to use his powers.[26]
  • Extreme force: Despite Nate being very powerful in his steel form, his durability does have its limitations. When the Legends traveled to 1916 for the second time in an attempt to stop the Legion of Doom from ever getting a chance to use the Spear of Destiny, in the battle that followed, Eobard hit the present version of Nate (who hadn't lost his powers when the Legion of Doom altered reality) at super speed, which, in spite of Nate being in his steel form, was enough to knock him to the ground. He was also forced to transform back to normal when the demon Neron repeatedly punched him with extreme force.[27]
  • Reaction time: If Nate does not anticipate a physical attack, he can be subdued before getting the chance to access his powers. This has been done by Tokugawa Iemitsu,[4] Dick Rory,[34] Ray,[45] and Neron.[57]
  • Human form: Even though Nate is virtually indestructible in his steel form, he’s vulnerable in his human form. So if he gets attacked when he’s not armored up, he’ll get hurt or killed. An example of this is when the Shogun’s men attacked and stabbed Nate in his normal form and he almost bled out.
Mustard gas corrodes Nate's steel form

Mustard gas corrodes away Nate's steel skin.

  • Mustard gas: Mustard gas has been shown to cause rusting on Nate's steel skin, which also left scars on his organic skin (though Nate's accelerated healing caused the scars to vanish within a few hours).[103]

Former weaknesses[]

  • Hemophilia: Nate was born with a condition where his blood doesn't clot properly, severely diminishing his healing rate. He could easily bleed to death from any injury, even a simple cut. However, after being injected with Eobard Thawne's biomolecular enhancer, which Ray Palmer had modified, Nate's condition was permanently cured.[3][4]

Equipment[]

Original multiverse[]

Steel suit (Earth-1)

Nate's Steel suit.

  • Steel suit: After rebuilding his A.T.O.M. exosuit using the dwarf star alloy savaged from the Old West, Ray Palmer realized there was still a lot of unused ore. Using Nate's sketch as concept, Ray created a suit for Nate using some of the leftover alloy.[5] The suit had a red helmet with white and blue accents to conceal his identity. However, Nate later uses the suit without the helmet while fighting Earth-X Nazis, possibly finding it irritating to his head.

Former equipment[]

New multiverse[]

Appearances[]

DC's Legends of Tomorrow[]

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7


The Flash[]

Season 3[]

Season 8[]

Arrow[]

Season 5[]

Season 8[]

Comics[]

EARTH-PRIME[]

Gallery[]

Concept artwork[]

Promotional images[]

DC's Legends of Tomorrow[]

Season 5[]

Season 6[]

Trivia[]

  • Nate might be an athiest, as after he died, and was visited by the ghost of Hank Heywood, and he proclaimed to have faith, Nate took it as faith in god and asked if there really was a god.
  • Like Tony Woodward, Nate retains his ability to speak while in his steel form.
  • During the Legends' mission to 1874, Nate referred to himself as "the man of steel",[5] referencing Superman's well-known moniker. This is a third reference to that title, after Eobard Thawne referred to Tony Woodward as such, and Rip Hunter described Vandal Savage as having defeated "men of steel".
    • Furthermore, during the final battle against the Earth-X Nazis, after Nate caught Supergirl when she plummeted back to Earth after dragging her doppelgänger (whose body was about to explode) to space, he said, "Figured it'd take the Man of Steel (Nate) to catch the Girl of Steel (Kara)".[6]
  • Nate is the 13th character in the Arrowverse to have an episode ("Tender is the Nate") named after him in a civilian sense in some way, after Sara Lance, Felicity Smoak, Harrison Wells, Oliver Queen, Alex Danvers, Zari Tarazi, Harry Wells, Iris West-Allen, Winn Schott, Ava Sharpe, Nora West-Allen, and Gary Green.
  • Nate is the fifth major character in the Arrowverse to be brought back from the dead at some point without any means of time travel after Sara Lance, Kuasa, Damien Darhk, and Otis Graves.
    • He is also the fourth to be resurrected by means of magic.
  • Nate listens to loud music and drinks a lot of coffee when he needs to think.[13][32]
  • Nate has had three love interests so far: Masako Yamashiro, Amaya Jiwe, and Zari Tomaz.
    • Ironically, none of the women were from the present at the time of Nate's interest in them.
    • The details of Nate's sexuality are unknown beyond his attraction to women, but Lita suggested he might have a crush on Dionysus.[16]
  • Nate is best friends with Ray Palmer.[48][39][59][70]
    • According to Ray, the two watch Patrick Swayze movies together between missions[48] and enjoy pairing up for the buddy system.[49]
    • Both men often wear a wristwatch on their left arm.
    • At some point, they took a photo together, which Ray keeps in a frame.[70]
    • Every episode on the week of Halloween thus far has had some significance towards their friendship.
      • In "Shogun" (October 27, 2016), they teamed up for the first time to take down Tokugawa Iemitsu and became friends.
      • In "Phone Home" (October 31, 2017), they shared their first on-screen hug, and Nate comforted Ray upon the latter discovering the truth about his childhood "friends".
      • In "Witch Hunt" (October 28, 2018), the two parted ways after pairing up for a mission with the Time Bureau.
    • Like Ray, Nate is secretly a "brony", being a fan of the TV show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.[46]
  • Nate has admitted that he loves Ray, Sara, and Mick Rory like family,[54] a feeling returned by Ray.[55] Interestingly, Sara and Mick are the only two Legends to be present for all of Nate's time on the team.
  • In the Suit Up special, his alter-ego was swapped from Steel to Citizen Steel, possibly resembling his comics counterpart.
  • Mick's nickname for him is "Pretty".[2]
  • Despite being 6 feet tall, Nate is the second shortest major male character in Season 4, tied with Gary. Hank Heywood was 6'3", Ray is 6'2", and Mick is 6'1". The only major male character shorter than Nate that season was John Constantine, who is 5'11".
  • In an interview with The London Reporter, Nate revealed that he doesn't like wearing his Steel cowl.[64]
  • Nate loves dancing to The Thong Song. So much so, in a deleted scene from "Swan Thong", Nate reactivated the Sisqó display to celebrate the defeat of the Encores.[109]
  • During one of the Legends’ fights with Damien Darhk, Nate was unaffected by his magic due to being in his steel form. This makes Nate one of two of the only people in the Arrowverse to not be affected by Darhk’s magic. The other one being Oliver Queen.

Behind the scenes[]

  • In the DC comics, Nathaniel Heywood is a superhero and a member of the present-day Justice Society of America known as Citizen Steel. Though his powers are slightly different. he wears a similar suit. Like his television counterpart, he is the grandson of Golden Age hero Commander Steel/Henry Heywood.
    • In the comics, Nathaniel's cousin, Henry Heywood III was the superhero Steel. Unlike Nathaniel, he was a cyborg rather than a meta-human. He was killed alongside Vibe by Professor Ivo decades before Nathaniel became a superhero.
    • Additionally, in the comics, there is another Steel, John Henry Irons. He is a separate superhero who uses a metallic exoskeleton fighting crime as a member of Team Superman. Nate Heywood using his powers on the show are close to the looks of this Steel's metallic exosuit, as well as The Flash's Girder. Nate's Steel suit is closest to his comic counterpart's Citizen Steel suit, however.
    • Nate was called a "Star-spangled idiot" by Mick Rory when wearing his armor for the first time, possibly referencing the Star-Spangled Kid, a Golden Age superhero and the predecessor of Stargirl.
    • Despite the fact that Nate refers to his superhero identity as simply "Steel" in the show, he is referred to as "Citizen Steel" in interviews, promotional material, and concept art.
      • However, shortly after gaining his powers, Nate did suggest "Citizen Steel" as a potential nickname for himself.[4]
  • Donavin Kuhl was a stunt double for Nick Zano in the role of Nate Heywood.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Compromised"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 "Out of Time"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 "The Justice Society of America"
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 "Shogun"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 "Outlaw Country"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4"
  7. "The Need for Speed"
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Necromancing the Stone"
  9. "Bay of Squids"
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Tender is the Nate"
  11. 11.0 11.1 "Nip/Stuck"
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Hey, World!"
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "Raiders of the Lost Art"
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Moonshot"
  15. 15.0 15.1 "Fellowship of the Spear"
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Freaks and Greeks"
  17. 17.0 17.1 "Abominations"
  18. "Invasion!"
  19. "Invasion!"
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 "Invasion!"
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 "The Chicago Way"
  22. "The Legion of Doom"
  23. "Turncoat"
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 "Camelot/3000"
  25. 25.0 25.1 "Land of the Lost"
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 "Doomworld"
  27. 27.0 27.1 "Aruba"
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 "Aruba-Con"
  29. 29.0 29.1 "Freakshow"
  30. "Zari"
  31. "Phone Home"
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 "Return of the Mack"
  33. "Helen Hunt"
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 "Welcome to the Jungle"
  35. "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 1"
  36. "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2"
  37. "Beebo the God of War"
  38. "Daddy Darhkest"
  39. 39.0 39.1 "Here I Go Again"
  40. "The Curse of the Earth Totem"
  41. 41.0 41.1 "No Country for Old Dads"
  42. "Amazing Grace"
  43. "I, Ava"
  44. "Guest Starring John Noble"
  45. 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 45.4 45.5 "The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly"
  46. 46.0 46.1 "The Virgin Gary"
  47. 47.0 47.1 47.2 "Witch Hunt"
  48. 48.0 48.1 48.2 48.3 48.4 "Dancing Queen"
  49. 49.0 49.1 "Wet Hot American Bummer"
  50. "Tagumo Attacks!!!"
  51. "Hell No, Dolly!"
  52. 52.0 52.1 "Legends of To-Meow-Meow"
  53. "Lucha De Apuestas"
  54. 54.0 54.1 "The Getaway"
  55. 55.0 55.1 "Séance and Sensibility"
  56. 56.0 56.1 56.2 "The Eggplant, The Witch & The Wardrobe"
  57. 57.0 57.1 57.2 57.3 57.4 "Egg MacGuffin"
  58. "Nip/Stuck"
  59. 59.0 59.1 "Terms of Service"
  60. "Hey, World!"
  61. "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three"
  62. "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Four"
  63. "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five"
  64. 64.0 64.1 64.2 "Meet the Legends"
  65. "Miss Me, Kiss Me, Love Me"
  66. "Slay Anything"
  67. "A Head of Her Time"
  68. "Mortal Khanbat"
  69. 69.0 69.1 "Mr. Parker's Cul-De-Sac"
  70. 70.0 70.1 70.2 70.3 70.4 "Romeo V. Juliet: Dawn of Justness"
  71. "Armageddon, Part 1"
  72. "Zari, Not Zari"
  73. "The Great British Fake Off"
  74. "Ship Broken"
  75. 75.0 75.1 "I Am Legends"
  76. "The One Where We're Trapped On TV"
  77. 77.0 77.1 "Swan Thong"
  78. "Ground Control to Sara Lance"
  79. "Meat: The Legends"
  80. "The Ex-Factor"
  81. "Bay of Squids"
  82. "The Satanist's Apprentice"
  83. "Bishop's Gambit"
  84. "Back to the Finale: Part II"
  85. "Stressed Western"
  86. "This is Gus"
  87. "Bad Blood"
  88. "The Final Frame"
  89. 89.0 89.1 "Bored On Board Onboard"
  90. "Silence of the Sonograms"
  91. "There Will Be Brood"
  92. "The Fungus Amongus"
  93. "The Bullet Blondes"
  94. "The Need for Speed"
  95. "Speakeasy Does It"
  96. "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Scientist"
  97. 97.0 97.1 "Deus Ex Latrina"
  98. "A Woman's Place is in the War Effort!"
  99. "Lowest Common Demoninator"
  100. "The Fixed Point"
  101. "Rage Against the Machines"
  102. 102.0 102.1 "Too Legit to Quit"
  103. 103.0 103.1 103.2 103.3 103.4 "Knocked Down, Knocked Up"
  104. "The (Ex) Legends of Tomorrow"
  105. "The Man in the Yellow Tie"
  106. "Savior Complex"
  107. "Armageddon, Part 4"
  108. ,"Pilot, Part 1"
  109. DC's Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Fifth Season


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