Lieutenant Commander Steel

Lieutenant Commander Steel was the young and ambitious second-in-command of Commander Feral. Steel had his sights set on Feral's job, but he had neither the patience to wait for his turn nor the experience needed for such an important position. During Dark Kat's plot to nuke Megakat City, Feral tried to sneak aboard the Doomsday Express, but got himself captured in the process. Rather than try to rescue him, the selfish Steel instead took over as commander, but Feral was saved by the Swat Kats and Dark Kat defeated, and it is unknown if Steel was punished or not despite seeming to have a change of heart and come looking for Feral.

He still held the position of Lt. Commander during the appearance of Madkat. Katzmer arrived at Enforcer Headquarters to report the robbery, but because Feral was in the middle of running off to save Mayor Manx, the old shopkeeper was instructed to see Lt. Steel. Feral ended up as Madkat's third victim of revenge, and Steel quickly took over as commander yet again, ignoring poor Katzmer and making him wait all day despite nagging from the Enforcer sergeant serving as his aide at the time. He did little if anything to prevent Madkat from taking hostage Deputy Mayor Briggs, and tried to blame Enforcer Headquarters' destruction on the Swat Kats. But after being set free by the vigilantes, Feral told Steel to shut up. Apparently Steel's ineptitude eventually got him replaced by Feral's more able-bodied niece, Felina Feral, and he has not been seen since.

Comments

• The exact spelling of Steel's name is somewhat contentious. Many fan sources give it as "Steele" due to the way it's spelled on his nameplate in Enter the Madkat. However, in The Wrath of Dark Kat, Steel emphasizes that his name is spelled "with two Es," implying it is spelled S-T-E-E-L, and the storyboards for Enter the Madkat identify him as "Steel" and it is also spelled that way on the nameplate there, making the S-T-E-E-L-E spelling on it in the episode an error. At present, this entry is taking Steel's claim of "two Es" and the way the name is spelled in the storyboards as the correct spelling.
• Some fan sources give his first name as "David," likely as a reference to voice actor David Steele, though at present there is no evidence of what Steel's actual first name is. He is simply called "Lt. Steel" in the storyboards of Enter the Madkat and no behind the scenes material from The Wrath of Dark Kat has surfaced.
• The tendency for characters to call him "Lieutenant Steel" is a mistake. The proper shortened form of address of a lieutenant commander is "Commander." However, he is probably identified as a lieutenant in order to avoid confusion with Commander Feral.